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 THE 
 
 BRITISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, 
 
 OR 
 
 DICTIONARY 
 
 OF 
 
 AETS AND SCIENCES. 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 AN ACCURATE AND POPULAR VIEW 
 
 OF THE PRESENT 
 
 IMPROVED STATE OF HUMAN KNOWLEDGE, 
 
 BY WILLIAM NICHOLSON, 
 
 Author and Proprietor of the Philosophical Journal, and .various other Chemical, Philosophical, and 
 
 Mathematical Works, 
 

THE 
 
 BRITISH ENCYCLOPEDIA. 
 
 s. 
 
 SAB 
 
 O f, or s, the eighteenth letter, and 
 ’ fourteenth consonant of onr alphabet ; 
 the sound of which is formed, by driving the 
 breath through a narrow passage between 
 the palate and the tongue elevated near it, 
 together with a motion of the lower jaw and 
 teeth towards the upper ; the lips being a 
 little way open, with such a configuration of 
 every part of the mouth and larynx, as 
 renders the voice somewhat sibulous and 
 hissing. Its sound however varies, being 
 strong in some words, as this, thus, &c. and 
 soft in words which have a final e, as muse, 
 wise, &c. It is generally doubled at the 
 end of words, whereby they become hard 
 and harsh, as in kiss, loss, &c. In some 
 words it is silent, as isle, i3lu7id, viscount, &c. 
 Used as a numeral, S anciently denoted 
 seven ; in the Italian music, S signifies solo ; 
 and in books of navigation, S stands for 
 south ; S. E. for south-east ; S. W. for 
 south-west ; S. S. E. for south south-east ; 
 S. S. W. for south south- west, &c. 
 
 SABBATARIANS, a sect of Christians, 
 chiefly Baptists, who observe the Jewish or 
 Saturday Sabbath, from a persuasion that, 
 it being one of the ten commandments, 
 which they contend are all in their nature 
 moral, was never abrogated by the New Tes- 
 tament. They say that Saturday must at 
 least be deemed of equal validity for public 
 worship with any day never particularly set 
 apart by Jesus Christ and his Apostles. Thos^ 
 of this sect w'lio are what are denominated' 
 Particular Baptists, hold, in common with 
 most other Christians of the present day, all 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SAB 
 
 the other doctrines of grace, as they are 
 sometimes called, vk. the J'rinity, Atone- 
 ment, Predestination, &c. &c. 
 
 In our own countiT, this sect is by no 
 means numerous. They have only two 
 congregations in London ; the one of Gene- 
 ral Baptists, and the other of Particular, or 
 Calvinistic Baptists. In America, however, 
 as we are informed by Morse, author of the 
 American Geography, there are many 
 Christians of this persuasion, particularly in 
 Rhode Island, New Jersey, and at Ephrate 
 in Pennsylvania. 
 
 This tenet, frivolous and unimportant as 
 it may appear, has contributed its quota to 
 the odium theologicum of modern divinity, 
 and has been productive of several weighty 
 controversies. Drs. Chandler and Kenni- 
 cott ; Messrs. Amner, Palmer, and Estlin, 
 in behalf of the Sunday Christians ; and Mr. 
 Cornthwaite on the side of the Sabbata- 
 rians, have all displayed their ingenuity 
 and talents on this very important ques- 
 tion. 
 
 SABELLA, in natural, history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Testacea class and order. Ge- 
 neric character: animal a nereis, with a 
 ringent mouth, and two thicker tentacula 
 behind the head ; shell tubular, composed 
 of particles of sand, broken shells and vege- 
 table substances, united to a membrane by 
 a glutinous cement. There are twenty;five 
 species ; of which we may notice S. sciu- 
 posa ; shell solitary, loose, simple, curved, 
 with lentiform glossy granulations. It in- 
 habits India and the American islands. The 
 
 B 
 

 SAC 
 
 SAC 
 
 shell is subulate, obtuse at the tip, as thick 
 as a swan’s quill, and composed of equal 
 white grains of sand* S. alveolata, has nu- 
 merous parallel tubes communicating by an 
 aperture, forming in the mass the appear- 
 ance of honey-combs. This is described 
 by Ellis and Pennant. It is found on Euro- 
 pean coasts, covering the rocks for a con- 
 siderable space, and easily breaking under 
 the feet. The shell is composed chiefly of 
 sand, and very fine fragments of shells; 
 the tubes straightish, two or three inches 
 long. 
 
 SABLE. See Mustela. 
 
 Sable, in heraldry, denotes the colour 
 black, in coats of arms belonging to gentle- 
 men; but in those of noblemen it is called 
 diamond; and in those of sovereign princes, 
 saturn. It is expressed in engraving by 
 perpendicular and horizontal hatches cross- 
 ing one another. 
 
 SABRE, a kind of sword, or scimetar, 
 witli a very broad and heavy blade, thick at 
 the back, and a little falcated, or crooked 
 towards the point. It is generally worn by 
 the heavy cavalry and dragoons. The gre- 
 nadiers, belonging to the whole of the 
 French infantry, are likewise armed with 
 sabres. The blade is not so long as that of 
 a small sword, but it is nearly twice as 
 broad. French hussars wear the curved 
 ones somewhat longer than those of the 
 grenadiers. Perhaps it may be in the con- 
 templation of his Royal Highness the Com- 
 mander in Chief, to arm the British gre- 
 nadiers with this useful and fotmidable 
 weapon. 
 
 SACCHARUM, in botany, sugar-cane, a 
 genus of the Triandria Digynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Gramina, Grami; 
 nese, or Grasses. Essential character ; ca- 
 lyx two-valved, involucred with a long 
 lanugo; corolla two-valved. There are 
 eleven species ; among which we shall no- 
 tice the S. officinarum, common sugar-cane, 
 the root of this plant is jointed, like that of 
 other sorts of cane, or reed ; from this root 
 arises four, five, or more shoots, proportion- 
 able to the age or strength of the root, 
 eight or ten feet high according to the good- 
 ness of the ground; in very good rich soils, 
 canes have been measured nearly twenty 
 feet in height, these are not so much esteem- 
 ed as those of a middling growth, abound- 
 ing in juice, and having little of the essen- 
 tial salt. 
 
 The canesj are jointed, more or less dis- 
 tant according to the soil ; a leaf is found 
 at each joint, the base of which embraces 
 
 the stalk to the next joint above its inser- 
 tion, before it expands ; from hence to the 
 point it is three or four feet in length, on 
 the under side is a (jeep whitish furrow, or 
 hollowed midrib, broad and prominent; the 
 edges are thin, and armed with small sharp 
 teeth, which are scarcely to be discerned 
 With the naked eye ; the flowers are produ- 
 ced in panicles, at the top of the stalks, from 
 two to three feet long, composed of many 
 spikes, nine or ten inches in length ; these 
 are again subdivided into smaller spikes, 
 having a long down inclosing the flowers, 
 so as to hide them from sight ; the seed is 
 oblong, pointed, and ripens in the valves 
 of the flovVer. It has been asserted that 
 the sugar-cane is not indigenous of Ame- 
 rica; but that it migrated through the Eu- 
 ropeans from Sicily and Spain to Madeira 
 and the Canary islands, afterwards to the 
 West Indian islands, to Mexico, Peru, and 
 Brazil. 
 
 S ACCOL.'ITES, in chemistry, salts form- 
 ed from the Saclactic acid, which see. 
 
 SACERDOTAL, something belonging to 
 priests. 
 
 SACK of wool, a quantity of wool con- 
 taining just twenty- two stone, and every 
 stone fourteen pounds. In Scotland, a sack 
 is twenty-four stone, each stone containing 
 sixteen pounds. 
 
 Sacks of earth, in fortification, are can- 
 vas-bags filled with earth. They are used 
 in making intrenchments in haste, to place 
 on parapets, or the head of the breaches, 
 &c. to repair them, when beaten down. 
 
 SACKBUT, a musical instrument of the 
 wind kind, being a sort of trumpet, though 
 different from the common trumpet both in 
 form and size : it is fit to play a bass, and is 
 contrived to be drawn out, or shortened, 
 according to the tone required, whether 
 gr^ve or acute. 
 
 SACLACTIC acid. To this acid Four- 
 croy has given tlie name of mucous acid, 
 because it is obtained from gum arabic and 
 other mucilaginous substances. This acid 
 may be obtained by the following process : 
 To one part of gum-arabic, or other muci- 
 laginous substance, add two parts of nitric 
 acid in a retort, and apply a gentle heat. 
 There is at first disengaged a little nitrous 
 gas and carbonic acid gas, 'after which let 
 the mixture cool. Tliere is then precipi- 
 tated a white powder which is slightly acid. 
 This powder is the saclactic acid. Thus ob- 
 tained, saclactic acid is a little gritty, and 
 with a weak acid taste. It is readily decom- 
 posed by heat, and yields an acid liquor winch 
 
 
SAF 
 
 crystallizes by rest in the shape of needles. 
 It is partly sublimed in needles, or brown 
 plates, with an odour similar to that of ben- 
 zoic acid. Saclactic acid, in the state of 
 powder, is not very soluble in w’ater. Cold 
 water does not take up more than 200 
 or 300 parts of its weight ; boiling "water 
 does not take up above one half more. On 
 cooling, the acid is deposited in brilliant 
 scales, which become white in the air. 
 The solution has an acid taste. It reddens 
 the tincture of turnsole. Its specific gra- 
 vity at the temperature of 59“ is nearly the 
 same as that of water. This acid enters 
 into combination with earths, alkalies, and 
 metallic oxides ; and the salts which it 
 forms are known by the name of sacco- 
 lates. 
 
 SACRAMENT, signifies, ^n general, a 
 sign of a thing sacred and holy ; and is de- 
 fined to be an outward and visible sign of a 
 spiritual grace. Thus there are two objects 
 in a sacrament, the one the object of the 
 senses, snd the other the object of faith. 
 Protestants admit only of two sacraments, 
 baptism and the eucharist, or Lord’s sup- 
 per : but the Roman Catholics own seven, 
 viz, baptism, confirmation, the eucharist, 
 penance, extreme unction, ordination, and 
 marriage. 
 
 SACRIFICE, a solemn act of religious 
 worship, which consisted in dedicating or 
 offering up something animate or inanimate 
 on an altar, by the liands of the priest, ei- 
 ther as an expression of gratitude to the 
 deity for some signal mercy, or to acknow- 
 ledge a dependance on him, or to conci- 
 liate his favour. 
 
 SACRILEGE, is church robbery, or a 
 taking of things out of an holy place, as 
 where a person steals any vessels, orna- 
 ments, or goods of the church. 
 
 SADDLE, is a seat upon a horse’s back, 
 contrived for the conveniency of the rider. 
 The ancient Romans are supposed not to 
 have made use of saddles and stirrups, and 
 it is thought that they did not come into 
 use till the time of Constantine the Great, 
 A.D. 340, as appears from the Greek his- 
 torian, Zonaras, who (through his whole 
 history^ makes no mention of a saddle for a 
 horse, before such time as Constans, at- 
 tempting to deprive his brother Constantine 
 of the empire, made head against his army, 
 and entering into the squadron where he 
 himself was, cast him beside the saddle of 
 his horse. 
 
 SAFE conduct, in law, is a security given 
 by the King, under the Great Seal, to a 
 
 SAF 
 
 stranger, for his safe coming into, and pass, 
 ing out of the realm. Passports, however, 
 under the King’s sign manual, or licences 
 from his ambassadors abroad, which are 
 now more usual, are obtained with greater 
 facility. 
 
 SAFFRON. See Crocus. 
 
 Saffron is cultivated in fields for use, and 
 is no w'here raised with so much success as in 
 England, the English saffron being generally 
 allowed to be greatly superior to any other. 
 The usual way of propagating it is by the 
 bulbs, of which it annually produces new 
 ones. These are planted out in trenches at 
 five inches distance, or less, and they sel- 
 dom fail. They produce only leaves the 
 first year, but in September, or October, 
 of the year following, they flower. The 
 saffron is, gathered as soon as the flowers 
 open, and is then separated from all filth, 
 and formed into cakes by a very careful 
 pressure and gentle heat. At the end of 
 October, when the flowering season is over, 
 the bulbs are taken out of the ground and 
 hung up in a dry place, and in spring are 
 put into the ground again. 
 
 It is not, however, the entire flower of 
 the plant that produces it, but only some of 
 its internal parts. It is met with in the 
 shops in flat and thin cakes, into which it 
 has been formed by pressing, and which 
 consist of many long and narrow filaments, 
 that are smallest in their lower part, where 
 they are of a pale yellow colour ; in their 
 upper part they are broader and indented 
 at their edges, and of a very strong and 
 deep orange colour, approaching to redness. 
 They are somewhat tough, moderately 
 heavy, very easily cut, of an acrid, pene- 
 trating, but not unpleasant smell, somewhat 
 affecting the head, and of a bitterish and 
 hot, but highly cordial taste. Thrown into 
 water, they almost instantaneously give it a 
 strong yellow or reddish colour, according 
 to the quantity used. These filaments are 
 the cristated capillaments, into which the 
 pistil of the flower divides at its head ; they 
 are of a deep reddish orange colour, while 
 growing, and there are only three of them 
 in each flower. 
 
 Hitherto saffron has not been subjected 
 to a correct chemical analysis. From the 
 experiments of Neumann, it does not ap- 
 pear that any volatile oil can be procured 
 froni it by distillation. It is probable, how- 
 ever, that it owes its strong smell to such a 
 principle, though in too small a quantity to 
 be easily obtained separate. The colouring 
 

 »'i.-r3 -i''|-nrTtinr’ii'iiiiii n iiwi|iinnrpi|irwiriiillli|i » 
 
 ~ V;- j ■ 
 
 SAG 
 
 Jiiatter of saffron is equally soluble in alco- 
 liol and water. 
 
 SAGAPENUM. See Gcm rmn. 
 
 SAGE. See Salvia. 
 
 SAGINA, in botany, pearl-wort, a genus 
 of the Tetrandria Tetragynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Caryopliyllei, or 
 Caryopliylleae. Essential character : calyx 
 four-leaved j petals four ; capsule one celled, 
 four-valved, inany seeded. There are five 
 species, of which the most remarkable is 
 the sagittafolia, growing naturally in many 
 parts of England. The root is composed 
 of many strong fibres, which strike into the 
 mud ; the footstalks of the leaves are in 
 length proportionable to the depth of the 
 Watei* in which they grow ; so they are 
 sometimes almost a yard long: they are 
 thick and fungous; the leaves, which float 
 upon the wafer, are shaped like the point 
 of an arrow, the two ears at their base 
 spreading wide asunder, and are vei 7 sharp 
 pointed. There is always a bulb at the 
 lower part of the root, growing in the solid 
 earth beneath the mud. This bulb consti- 
 tutes a considerable part of the food of the 
 Chinese ; and upon that account they culti- 
 vate it. Horses, goats and swine eat it; 
 cows are not fond of it. 
 
 SAGITTA, in astronorhy, the arrow, or 
 dart, a constellation of the northern hemis- 
 phere, near the eagle, coilsisting of five 
 stars, according to Ptolemy and Tycho; 
 but in Mr. Flamsteed’s catalogue, of no 
 less than twenty-three. 
 
 Sagitta, in geometry, a term used for 
 the absciss of a curve. 
 
 Sag itta, in trigonometry, the same with 
 the versed sine of an arch. 
 
 SAGITTARIA, in botany, airow-head, 
 a genus of the Monoecia Polyandria class 
 and order. Natural order of Tripetaloi- 
 de®. Junci, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter : calyx three-leaved ; corolla tliree-pe- 
 talled : male, filaments commonly twenty- 
 four : female, pistils many ; seeds many, 
 naked. There are five species. 
 
 SAGITTARIUS, the archer, in astro- 
 nomy, the ninth sign of the zodiac. The 
 stars in this constellation in Ptolemy’s cata- 
 logue are thirty-two, in Tycho’s sixteen, 
 and in Mr. Flamsteed’s fifty-two. 
 
 SAGO, a simple brought from the East 
 Indies, of considerable use in diet as a 
 restorative. 
 
 Sago and Salop are vegetable fecula. The 
 former is the produce of the cycas circina- 
 lis, and is extracted from the pith of the 
 stem and branches, by maceration in wa- 
 
 SAI 
 
 ter ; it is washed, passed through a perfo. 
 rated copper plate, so as to reduce it to 
 grains, which are dried. Salop is the pro- 
 duce of the orchis mascula. The lately 
 introduced arrow- root powder is said to be 
 the produce of the maranta arinidinacea. 
 Cassava is (irepared from the tuberose root 
 of the manise (jatropha manihot). With 
 the fecula of this root, there is associated 
 an acrid and poisonous juice, which is, how- 
 ever, completely separated by washing, in 
 the process by which it is extracted. The 
 roots of the bryonia alba, and the arum 
 maculatum, are likewise composed princi- 
 pally of fecula, associated with acrid mat- 
 ter, which is separated in the process by 
 which the fecula is extracted from them. 
 These two were formerly prepared for me- 
 dicinal use. Wheat rfords, perhaps, a 
 larger quantity of fecula than any other 
 vegetable substance, and in a state of per- 
 fect purity. A very pure fecula, in large 
 quantity, is also extracted from the potatoe, 
 the root being peeled, well cleansed, and 
 rasped, the pulp placed on a hair sieve, 
 and water poured on it until the fecula is 
 extracted, which, after being deposited, is 
 washed and dried. 
 
 SAHLITE, in mineralogy, a species of 
 the Talc genus, of a light greenish-grey co- 
 lour ; it occurs massive ; externally it is 
 shining and splendent; its principal frac- 
 ture is foliated ; fragments frequently rhom- 
 boidal ; consists of very coarse granular dis- 
 tinct concretions ; it is translucent on the 
 edge; semihard, brittle, and easily fran- 
 gible ; specific gravity 3.21. It is found at 
 Sahlberg in Sweden. 
 
 SAICK, or Saique, a Turkish vessel, 
 very common in the Levant for carrying of 
 merchandize. 
 
 SAIL, in navigation, an assemblage of 
 several breadths of canvass, sewed together 
 by the lists, and edged round with a cord, 
 fastened to the yards of a ship, to make it 
 drive before the wind. Every yard in a 
 ship has its proper sail, except the cross- 
 jack, which takes its name from the yard : 
 and those which are not bent to the yard, 
 are the flying jib, fore, foretop, main, main- 
 top, maintop-gallant, mizen, mizentop-mast, 
 stay-sails, main and maintop studding sails. 
 
 SAILING, properly denotes the art of 
 navigating and working a ship, or of causing 
 her to observe such motions and directions 
 as are assigned by the navigator ; in which- 
 sense, sailing differs from navigation, and 
 must be learped by practice on shipboard. 
 See Navigation. 
 
 
SAL 
 
 Sah.ing also denotes a particular me- 
 iliod of navigation ; in wliich sense we say, 
 Mercator’s sailing, plane sailing, parallel 
 sailing, middle latitude sailing, and great 
 circle sailing. 
 
 Sailing, ffreat circle, in navigation, the 
 art of finding what places a ship must go 
 through, and what courses to steer ; so that 
 her tract shall be in the arch of a great cir- 
 cle, or nearly so, passing through the place 
 sailed from and that bound to. It is chiefly 
 on account of the shortest distance, that 
 this method of sailing has been proposed ; 
 for in the sphere, it is well known that the 
 shortest distance between two places is the 
 arch of a great circle intercepted between 
 them, and not in the rhumb or spiral pass- 
 ing through those places. 
 
 As, in Mercator’s sailing, the several 
 cases are solved by plane triangles ; so 
 the solution of the cases of great circle-sail- 
 ing is obtained by means of spherical trian- 
 gles : and, therefore, the navigator should 
 be master of spherical trigonometry, before 
 he attempts this method. See Trigono- 
 metry. 
 
 SAILORS, the principal seamen who 
 are employed jn working or managing the 
 sails, the tackle, steering, &c. 
 
 SAL ammoniac, natural, in mineralogy, 
 a species of the fossil salts, is of a greyish 
 white colour, passing to yellow. It is flaky, 
 and of a saline consistence. It occurs mas- 
 sive, and likewise crystallized : the crystals 
 are small and adhere or intersect one ano- 
 tlier ; externally shining, internally sjilen- 
 dent or shining, and lustre vitreous. The 
 substance is composed of 
 
 Muriate of ammonia ... 97..50 
 
 Sulphate of ammonia .. 2.50 
 
 100.00 
 
 When placed on burning coals it emits a 
 peculiar odour, and is volatilized in the 
 form of white smoke; when burned or 
 rubbed with lime, it emits an ammoniacal 
 smell. It is said to be the product of vol- 
 canoes, and pseudo-volcanoes, where it oc- 
 curs in difterent forms ; it is also found in 
 the waters of different lakes in Tuscany ; 
 it is found at Vesuvius, Etna, and the Li- 
 pari Aiolian islands ; in France ; at Mount 
 Hecla, in Iceland ; and in the vicinity of 
 inflamed beds of coal in Scotland and Eng- 
 land. It is also found in divers parts of 
 Asia, and in the Isle of Bourbon. 
 
 SALACIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Gynandrip Triandria class and order, Es- 
 
 SAL 
 
 sential character : monogynmis, or one* 
 styled ; calyx five-parted ; corolla five-pe- 
 talled ; anthers placed on the apex of the 
 germ. There are two species, viz, S. chi- 
 nensis, and S. cochinchinensis. 
 
 SALE of goods. If a man agrees for the 
 purchase of goods, he shall pay for them, 
 before he carries them away, unless some 
 term of credit is expressly agreed upon. 
 
 If a man upon the sale of goods, war- 
 rants them to be good, the law annexes to 
 this contract a tacit warranty, that if they 
 be not so, he shall make compensation to 
 the purchaser ; such warranty, however, 
 must be on the sale. But if the vender 
 knew the goods to be unsound, and ha.s 
 used any art to disguise them, or if in any 
 respect, they differ from what he repre- 
 sents them to be to the purchaser, he will be 
 answerable for their goodness, though no 
 general warranty will extend to those de- 
 fects that are obvious to the senses. 
 
 If two persons come to a warehouse, and 
 one buys, and the other to procure him 
 credit, promises the seller, “ if he do not pay 
 you,,! will;” this is a collateral undertaking, 
 and void without writing, by the statutes of 
 frauds; but if he say, let him have the 
 goods, I will be your paymaster, this is au 
 absolute undertaking as for himself, and he 
 shall be intended to be the real buyer, and 
 the other to act only as his servant. The 
 question in these cases is always which 
 party was originally trusted. For if the 
 party to whom the goods are delivered was 
 ever considered as responsible, the engage- 
 ment of the other is void, unless it is in 
 writing ; after earnest is given, the vender 
 cannot sell the goods to another without a 
 default in the vender, and therefore, if the 
 vendee does not come and pay, and take 
 the goods, the vender ought to give him 
 notice for that purpose; and then if he 
 does not come and pay, and take away the 
 goods in convenient time, the agreement is 
 di^olved, and he is at liberty to sell them 
 to any other pe.rsou. 
 
 SALEP, or Salop. See Sago. 
 
 SALIANT, in fortification, denotes pro- 
 jecting. There are two kinds of angles, 
 the one saliant, which are those that pre- 
 sent their point outwards ; the other re- 
 entering, which have their points inwards. 
 Instances of both khids we have in tenaillcs 
 and star-works. 
 
 Saliant, Salient, or Saillant, in 
 heraldry, is applied to a lion, or other beast, 
 when its fore-legs are raised in a leaping 
 posture. A lion salient is that which is 
 
SAL. 
 
 erected bend-ways, standing so as that liis 
 right fore-foot is the dexter chief point, and 
 his hinder left foot is the sinister base point 
 of the escutcheon, by which it is distinguish- 
 ed from rampant. 
 
 SALIC, or Salique law, an ancient 
 and fundamental law of the kingdom 
 of France, usually supposed to have been 
 made by Pharamond, or at least by Clovis, 
 in virtue whereof males are only to in- 
 herit. 
 
 SALICORNIA in hoiaxiy, jointed glass- 
 wort, a genus of the Monandria Monogynia 
 class and order. Natural order of Holo- 
 raceae. Atriplices, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter : calyx, ventricose, entire ; petals 
 none ; stamens one or two ; seed one cover- 
 ed by the calyx. There are nine species, 
 of which the most remarkable is the S. 
 perennis, with a shrubby branching stalk, 
 which grows naturally in Sheppey island. 
 They are perennial, and produce their 
 flowers in the same manner as the former. 
 The inhabitants near the sea-coasts where 
 these plants grow, cut them up toward the 
 latter end of summer, when they are fully 
 grown : and after having dried them in the 
 sun, they burn them for their ashes, which 
 are used in making of glass and soap. These 
 herbs are by the country people called 
 kelp, and promiscuously gathered for use. 
 
 SALISBURIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Richard Anthony Salisbury, a 
 genus of the Mouoepia Polyandria class and 
 order. Essential character: male, amenta- 
 ceous; anthers incumbent, deltoid : female, 
 sohtary; calyx four cleft; drupe with a 
 triangular shell. There is only one species, 
 viz, S. adiantifolia. 
 
 SALIVA. The saliva which is secreted 
 by peculiar glands, and which flows into the 
 mouth, is a clear viscid fluid, without taste 
 or smell. It has generally a frothy appear- 
 ance, being mixed with a quantity of air. 
 Saliva has a strong attraction for Oxygen, 
 which by trituration it communicates to 
 some metallic substances, as mercui-y, gold, 
 and silver. When saliva is boiled in water, 
 albumen is precipitated, and when it is slow- 
 ly evaporated, muriate of soda is obtained. 
 A vegetable gluten remains behind, which 
 burns with the odour of prussic acid. 
 Saliva becomes thick by the action of acids. 
 Oxalic acid precipitates lime. Saliva is 
 also inspissated by alcohol. It is decom- 
 posed by the alkalies ; and the nitrates of 
 lead, of mercury, and the silver, precipitate 
 muriatic and phosphoric acids. By distil- 
 lation in a retort, it froths up, affords nearly 
 
 SAL 
 
 four-fifths of its quantity of water almost 
 pure, a little carbonate of ammonia, some 
 oil; and an acid. What remains behind 
 consists of muriate of soda, phosphate of 
 soda and of lime. 
 
 SALIX, in botany, willow, a genus of the 
 Dioecia Diandria class and order. Natural 
 order of Amentaceae. Essential character : 
 calyx ament, composed of scales; corolla 
 none : • male, nectary a melliferous gland : 
 female, style bifid ; capsule one celled, two 
 valved ; seeds downy. There are fifty- 
 three species ; of which we may notice the 
 following : the S. caprea, or common sallow- 
 tree, grows to but a moderate height, having 
 smooth, dark-green, brittle branches ; oval, 
 waved, rough leaves, indented at top, and 
 woolly underneath. It grows abundant- 
 ly in this country, but more frequently in 
 dry than moist situations. It is of a brittle 
 nature, and unfit for the basket-makers ; but 
 will serve for poles, stakes, and to lop for fire- 
 wood : and its timber is good for many pur- 
 poses. The S. alba, white, or silver-leaved 
 willow, grows to a great height and con- 
 siderable bulk, having smooth, pale-green 
 shoots; long, spear-shaped, acuminated, 
 sawed, silvery-white leaves, being downy 
 on both sides, with glands below the ser- 
 ratus. This is the common white willow, 
 which grows abundantly about towns and vil- 
 lages, and by the sides of rivers and brooks, 
 &c. S. fragiles, fragile or crack willow, 
 rises to a middling stature, with brownish, 
 very fragile, or brittle branches ; long, oval, 
 lanceolate, sawed, smooth leaves of a shining 
 green on both sides, having dentated glan- 
 dular foot-stalks. This sort in particular 
 being exceedingly fragile, so that it easily 
 cracks and breaks, is unfit for culture in 
 osier-grounds. S. Babylonica, Babylonian 
 pendulous Salix, commonly called weeping 
 willow, grows to a largish size, having nu- 
 merous, long, slender, pendulous branches, 
 hanging down loosely all round in a curious 
 manner, and long; narrow, spear-shaped, 
 serrated, smooth leaves. This curious wil- 
 low is a native of the East. 
 
 All the species of Salix are of the tree 
 kind, very hardy, remarkably fast growers, 
 and several of them attaining a considerable 
 stature when permitted to run up to stand- 
 ards. They are usually, of the aquatic 
 tribe, being generally the most abun- 
 dant, and of most prosperous growth, in 
 watery situations ; they, however, will 
 grow freely almost any vyhere, in any com- 
 mon soil and exposure ; but considerably 
 the fastest and strongest in low moist land. 
 
 
 '■ rj 
 
 -u- 
 
SALMO. 
 
 particularly in marshy situations, by the 
 verges of rivers, brooks, and, other waters ; 
 likewise along the sides of ditches, &c. 
 which places often lying w'aste, may be 
 employed to good advantage in plantations 
 of willows for dilFerent purposes. 
 
 SALLY, in the military art, the issuing out 
 of the besieged, from their town or fort, and 
 falling upon the besiegers in their works, in 
 order to cut them olf, nail their cannon, 
 hinder the progress of their approaches, 
 destroy their works, &c. 
 
 SALMASIA, in botany, so named in 
 memory of Claudius Salmasius, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Cisti, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx, five parted ; corolla, five 
 petalled ; style none ; capsule, three celled, 
 three valved, many seeded. There is but 
 one species, viz. S. racemosa, a native of 
 the woods of Guiana. 
 
 SALMO, the salmon, in natural history, 
 a genus of fishes of the order Abdominales. 
 Generic character: head smooth, compress- 
 ed ; tongue white and cartilaginous ; teeth 
 in the jaws and on the tongue ; gill-mem- 
 brane from four to twelve-rayed ; body fur- 
 nished at the hind part with an adipose fin. 
 Gmelin enumerates fifty-five species, and 
 Sliaw sixty-two, of which we shall notice 
 the following : 
 
 S. salar, or the common salmon. This 
 abounds principally in the Northern Seas, 
 which it quits at particular periods, to as- 
 cend rivers to a very considerable height, 
 and deposit its spawn in them. In order 
 to gain the favourite spots in rivers for this 
 purpose, which are sometimes at the dis- 
 tance of several hundred miles from the 
 ocean, these fishes will overcome diffi- 
 culties of surprising extent, ■ stemming the 
 most rushing currents, and leaping with 
 astonishing activity over various elevations. 
 It is related, that the same individual fishes 
 will return to the same spot for a succes- 
 sion of seasons ; in this respect exhibiting 
 preferences similar to those of birds in simi- 
 lar circumstances. The salmon is generally 
 about two feet and three-quarters long, and 
 has been seen of the length of six, and 
 weighing, in this case, seventy-four pounds. 
 This fish is remarkable for the excellence 
 of its flavour, and its richness, and is a wel- 
 come dish at every table. It constitutes, 
 also, an important article of commerce. 
 Tlie principal fishery for salmon, in this 
 island, is at Berwick on the Tweed. In 
 November, they begin to ascend that river, 
 and soon afterwards deposit their spawn 
 
 with extreme care, in recesses in the sands. 
 Here it remains till the advance of spring, 
 when the young are completely developed, 
 and grow with such rapidity, that, by the 
 beginning of August, they attain to the 
 weight of six or seven pounds, and occa- 
 sionally even more. Some hundreds have 
 been occasionally taken in a single draught ; 
 but the average number is not above fifty. 
 These fishes, in their most abundant season, 
 are salted and barrelled for exportation. 
 The principal part of these, taken before 
 April, is sent to the London market, in a 
 fresh state, and packed in ice. In July, 
 the most plentiful month in the year, sal- 
 mon have been sold at Berwick, at the rate 
 of less than a halfpenny per pound. The 
 rent of the forty principal salmon-fisheries 
 on the Tweed, between its mouth and four- 
 teen miles upwards, towards its source, 
 amounted, many years since, to between 
 five and six thousand pounds per annum, 
 and the number of fishes annually taken by 
 these, is calculated at upwards of two hun- 
 dred thousand. It' is a singular circum- 
 stance, that no food, if we may believe the 
 uniform statements of fishermen, is ever 
 found in the stomach of the salmon ; yet 
 fishes and worms are employed by the angler 
 with success in taking them. The case may 
 possibly be, that, at particular seasons, they 
 may totally neglect food, as is the case 
 with some other species of animals, parti- 
 cularly seals, which abstain for a series of 
 months, and this instance of exception may 
 have been exaggerated into a universal 
 practice. 
 
 S. fario, or common trout, is found in ab 
 most all the European streams, at least 
 such as are cool and clear. Its length, in 
 general, is about fourteen inches. Occa- 
 sionally, it has been known to weigh ten 
 pounds. Trout of the common size, how- 
 ever, are far preferable to those of such 
 extraordinary magnitude. These fishes sub- 
 sist on worms, small fishes, shell-fish, and 
 water-insects. They are extremely rapa- 
 cious and devouring, and not unfrequently 
 prey upon each other. Those are most 
 esteemed which are found in the coldest 
 streams, and they are generally regarded as 
 an elegant and luxurious article of food. 
 They appear to have been only slightly 
 known to the Greeks and Romans, and to 
 have been rather admired for the beauty of 
 their appearance, than eagerly sought after 
 for the table. 
 
 S. salvelinus, or red charr, is about a foot 
 long, very similar in form to the common 
 
SAL 
 
 I 
 
 salmon, but more slender. It abounds in 
 the rivers of Siberia, and the lakes of Ger- 
 many, and in this country, in the .lakes of 
 Cumberland and Vyestmoreland. It is con- 
 sidered as one of the highest delicacies, 
 and has the most brilliant colours, and 
 finest flavour, when inhabiting the coldest 
 waters. 
 
 Tile S. eperlanus, or smelt, is about se- 
 ven inches long, highly elegant, of a taper- 
 ing form, and semi transparent appearance. 
 It has an odour not unlike that proceeding 
 from vegetables, and which has by some 
 been resembled to that of a violet, and by 
 others to that of a cucumber. In the win- 
 ter months it is caught in extreme abun- 
 dance in the rivers Thames and Dee. 
 
 The S. Greenlandicns, or Greenland sal- 
 mon. These abound otF the coast of Green- 
 land, where they are taken in vast quanti- 
 ties and dried, not only for the use of man, 
 but of cattle, for which they constitute a 
 valuable food in winter. It is about the 
 size of a smelt. 
 
 S. thyniallus, or the grayling, is about a 
 foot and a half long, and abounds in the ri- 
 vers of iBountainous countries in Europe 
 and Asia. It resembles the trout in form. 
 In some of the rivers of England, it is found 
 in great perfection. It feeds on insects 
 and fishes, and is highly voracious, catches 
 with extreme avidity at the bait, and swims 
 with extraordinary rapidity, passing through 
 the water like a dart, or a meteor through 
 fhe air. 
 
 SALON, or Saloon, in architecture, a 
 very lofty spacious hall, vaulted at top, and 
 sometimes comprehending two stories or 
 ranges of windows. The salon is a grand 
 room in the middle of a building, or at the 
 head of a gallery, &c. Its faces or sides 
 ought all to have a symmetry with each 
 other ; and as it usually takes up the height 
 of two stories, its ceiling, should be with a 
 moderate sweep. Salons are frequently 
 built square, and sometimes octagonal. 
 
 SALPA, in natural history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Mollusea class and order : body 
 loose, nayant, gelatinous, tubular, and open 
 at each extremity: intestine placed ob- 
 liquely : eleven species have been enume- 
 rated, in tw'O divisions ; Afurnished with an 
 appendage: B. without the terminal ap- 
 pendage. The animals of this genus are of 
 a gregarious nature and often adhere to- 
 gether: they swim with great facility, and 
 have the power of contracting or opening at 
 pleasure the cavities at the extremities. 
 
 SALSOLA, in botany, salt-wort, a genus 
 
 SAL 
 
 of the Pentandria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Iloloraceae. Atriplices, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx, five- 
 leaved ; corolla none ; capsule one-seeded ; 
 seed screw-shaped. There are thirty-one 
 species. These plants are well known for 
 producing alkaline salt, commonly called 
 barilla, soda, or kelp ; many of them are 
 herbaceous and annual, some have shrubby 
 stems. The leaves are generally alternate, 
 in some opposite, others round or flat; 
 flowers terminating or axillary. S. kali 
 grows naturally in the salt marshes in 
 divers parts of England. It is an annual 
 plant, which rises above five or six inches 
 high, sending out many side branches, 
 which spread on every side, with short awl- 
 shaped leaves, which are fleshy, and ter- 
 minate in acute spines. S. soda rises with 
 herbaceous stalks near three feet high, 
 spreading wide. The leaves on the prin- 
 cipal stalk, and those on the lower part 
 of the branches, are long, slender, and have 
 no spines ; those on the upper part of tlie 
 stalk and branches are slender, short, and 
 crooked. All the sorts of glass-wort aresonie- 
 times promiscuously used for making soda 
 or mineral alkali, but this species is esteem- 
 ed best. The manner of making it is as 
 follows: having dug a trench near the sea, 
 they place laths across it, on which they lay 
 the herbs in heaps, and having made a fire 
 below, the liciuor which runs out of the 
 iierbs drops to the bottom, which at length 
 thickening, becomes soda, which is partly 
 of a black, and partly of an ash -colour, very- 
 sharp and corrosive, and of a saltish taste. 
 This, wlien thoroughly hardened, becomes 
 like a stone, and in that state is transjmrt- 
 ed to diiferent countries for the making of 
 glass, soap, &c. 
 
 SALT, culinary, or Muriate of Soda. 
 This salt is one of the most abundant pro- 
 d\iction$ of nature, and exists native ip 
 much greater quantity than any other neu- 
 tral salt. The waters of the ocean owe 
 their saltness to it, it is found in a number 
 of mineral springs, and it forms immense 
 strata in the bowels of the earth, or rising 
 on the surface, even to the height of moun- 
 tains. According as it is produced from 
 these sources, it is named sea-salt, or rock- 
 salt. Rock-salt is solid, hard, and more or 
 less transparent, of a white, grey, or red- 
 dish colour, sometimes of a bright or deep 
 red, or yellow, and more rarely with spots 
 of blue. Its fracture is foliated or fibrous ; 
 generally itis massive, but sometimes crys- 
 tallized in cubes, and its fragments are al- 
 
T’V'^ *.fwY % 't 
 
 
 SALT. 
 
 ways of a cubical form. The colours have 
 been supposed to depend on the oxide or 
 muriate of iron. In general it is pure, and 
 hence its taste is purely saline ; but some- 
 times it is bitter from the presence of fo- 
 reign salts. There are immense mines of 
 it in ditferent countries. Those of Cracow, 
 in Gallicia, have been long celebrated. It 
 abounds in the east and south of Germany, 
 is found in large quantities in Spain, and 
 likewise in Cheshire, in England. In Afri- 
 ca, Asia, and America, it is not less exten- 
 sively distributed, forming hills above the 
 surface, or very extensive beds. It is al- 
 ways connected with rocks of secondary 
 formation, and generally with gypsum or 
 sulphate of lime. 
 
 Dr. Watson, in the second volume of his 
 “ Essays,” speaking of the salt mines, says, 
 “ There are several mines of rock-salt near 
 Nortliwich in Cheshire, the first of which 
 was discovered aS they were boring for coal 
 in the year 1670. The springs which are 
 met with both above and below the level 
 of the Nortliwich bed of rock-salt, are 
 strongly impregnated with salt. This is, 
 easily accounted for: the rain-water, in 
 sinking through the ground which lies over 
 the rock-salt, at last arrives at the salt ; its 
 further descent is in a great measure ob- 
 structed by the solid body of salt ; it rests 
 upon it, and, in resting upon it, dissolves it, 
 and thus constitutes a brine-spring above 
 the level of the bed of rock-salt. The brine- 
 springs, which are found below that level, 
 probably arise from the water, which has 
 dissolved a portion of rock-salt, in sinking 
 ^o that depth in the earth. I have,” conti- 
 ;iues the Doctor, “ had the curiosity to go 
 to the bottom of some of the most famous 
 mines in England, but I never thought my 
 labour, in these subterraneous expeditions, 
 so well rewarded as in the sight of the 
 rock-salt mines at Northwich. These are 
 superior to the mines at Cracow, in Poland, 
 which have, for many centuries, been the 
 subject of general admiration.” A single 
 pit, at Northwich, yields, at a medium, 
 4,000 tons of salt in a year. 
 
 In different countries, the process of ob- 
 taining salt is differept. In very cold cli- 
 mates, the water being received into shal- 
 low ditches during the winter, is frozen, by 
 which a great part of the superfluous water 
 is removed, and the remaining liquor af- 
 fords salt, by artificial evaporation. In 
 warm climates, it is obtained by sponta- 
 neous evaporation. The water is received 
 into broad, shallow trenches at the sea-side, 
 
 without the reach of the tide. The bottom 
 of these is made of clay, well beaten, and 
 tliey are divided into several departments. 
 The fluid being thus spread out on an exten- 
 sive surface, quickly evaporates, and by 
 sluices it is removed from one department 
 to another, so that when it arrives at the 
 last, it is a strong brine, and the salt is soon 
 deposited. It is necessarily mixed with 
 the clay of the ground, and with several of 
 the neutral salts, and other impurities, 
 which sea-water contains. Salt, prepared 
 in this manner, is known by the name of 
 bay-salt. In colder climates, recourse must 
 be had to artificial evaporation. The wa- 
 ter is heated in .shallow iron pans. Muriate 
 of soda possesses the singular property, 
 that it is as soluble in cold as in hot water; 
 after due evaporation, therefore, it begins 
 to crystallize on the surface of the hot li- 
 quor ; the crystals, as they increase, fall to 
 the bottom of the vessel, are raked out, and 
 set to drain. This is the process by which 
 it is obtained in this country. Sometimes 
 this method is conjoined with natural eva- 
 poration. The sea water, before it is re- 
 ceived into the boiler, is pumped into a 
 large reservoir, under which faggots of 
 thorns, &c. are suspended. It is allowed 
 to drop over these, and a large surface be- 
 ing thus presented to the atmosphere, while 
 the air is also rapidly renewed, a consider- 
 ably part of the water is evaporated. It is 
 then conveyed to the boiler, and evaporated 
 in the usual manner. Or, in some of the 
 northern departments of France, the sea- 
 water is made to flow over a bottom of clay 
 covered with sand, which favours both the 
 evapojation of the water, and the concre- 
 tion of the salt ; the saline deposit, which is 
 at length formed, is lixiviated with sea-wa- 
 ter, which, becoming thus more impreg- 
 nated with salt, is concentrated by boiling, 
 so as to afford it by hasty ciystailization. 
 Sea-salt, obtained by any of these pro- 
 cesses, is never perfectly pure. Sea-water, 
 by its analysis, is found to contain, besides 
 muriate of soda, several other neutral salts, 
 particularly muriate of magnesia, muriate 
 of lime, and sulphate of soda. These being 
 much more soluble in hot, than in cold wa- 
 ter, remain dissolved in the hot liquor, from 
 which the salt crystallizes. A small quan- 
 tity of them, however, still adheres to the 
 muriate of soda, they render it deliquescent, 
 give it a bitter taste, and considerably im- 
 pair its antiseptic power. Different pro- 
 cesses have therefore been contrived to ob- 
 tain the salt free from these mixtures. The 
 
 
 .b •i.l 
 
SALT 
 
 most simple is merely to procure the salt 
 by a slow artilicial evaporation. It then 
 crystallizes with scarcely any mixture of 
 the others. This is the cause of the supe- 
 rior purity of the bay-salt. Hence, also, the 
 larger the crystals of sea-salt are, they may 
 be justly supposed to be the purer, as the 
 largeness of the crystals is owing to the 
 slowness of the evaporation bj' which they 
 are formed. 
 
 For chemical purposes, muriate of soda 
 is most easily purified, by dissolving it in 
 water, and adding to its solution a solution 
 of carbonate of soda, drop by drop, till no 
 cloudiness is produced by the addition. 
 Every foreign salt is thus decomposed and 
 precipitated, and the strained solution will 
 contain the pure mmiate of soda, which may 
 be crystallized. Muriate of soda has a salt, 
 rather agreeable taste, being, when pure, 
 free from all bitterness ; it is soluble in ra- 
 . ther less than three parts of water, at the 
 temperature of 60°. The crystals neither 
 deliquesce, nor effloresce, on exposure to 
 the air ; the common sea-salt, indeed, is de- 
 liquescent; but this is owing to the muriates 
 of magnesia and lime, which adhere to it. 
 Exposed to heat, the crystals of muriate of 
 soda decrepitate from the sudden conver- 
 sion of their water of crystallization into va- 
 pour. If the temperature is raised to a red 
 heat, the salt melts ; in an intense heat, it 
 is volatilized in white vapours, without hav- 
 ing undergone any decomposition. 
 
 Crystallized muriate of soda contains S3 
 of soda, and 47 of acid, containing, how- 
 ever, some water of composition, so that of 
 real acid, the quantity is 38.83. Its speci- 
 fic gravity is 2.12. Tlus salt is decomposed 
 by the sulphuric and nitric acids, in the 
 same manner as the muriate of potash is. 
 It is from its decomposition by the sulphu- 
 ric acid, that "the muriatic acid is best ob- 
 tained, as has already been observed. When 
 decomposed by the nitric acid, part of the 
 latter is decomposed, a quantity of its oxy- 
 gen being transferred to the muriatic. One 
 of the most important practical problems in 
 chemistry is to decompose this salt, so as to 
 obtain its alkali. It abounds so much in 
 nature, that if such a process, capable of 
 being carried on to advantage, could be dis- 
 covered, a vast supply of soda would be ob- 
 tained ; and as this alkali can be employed 
 for every purpose that potash can, and is 
 even much superior to it for some uses, such 
 a discovery would be of much importance to 
 the chemical arts. Salt is decomposed in 
 the usual mode by sulphuric acid ; and to 
 
 defray the expense, the muriatic acid is 
 collected and employed in the manufacture 
 of sal ammoniac, in the preparation of oxy- 
 muriatic acid for bleaching, or for any other 
 useful purpose to which it can be applied. 
 The sulphate of soda is calcined in a rever- 
 beratory furnace, to free it from any super- 
 fluous acid. It is then to be decorqposed. 
 It is of very extensive use. Its applica- 
 tion to preserve animal substances from 
 putrefaction is well known ; the theory 
 of its antiseptic quality has never yet been 
 properly explained. It is also taken uni- 
 versally as a seasoning to food, and seems 
 to be very necessary to promote digestion, 
 as even the lower animals, it has been 
 proved, languish when altogether deprived 
 of it. It is employed in a variety of arts. 
 In the manufacture of pottery of the 
 coarser kind, when it is thrown into the 
 oven in which the ware is baked, it is con- 
 verted into vapour, and, being applied in 
 this state to the surface of the vessels, glazes 
 them, an effect probably owing to the com- 
 bination of its alkali with the siliceous earth 
 of the pottery. It is employed in the ma- 
 nufacture of glass, which it is said to render 
 whiter and clearer ; in that of soap, which 
 it makes harder ; as a flux, in the melting 
 of metals from their ores ; and in a variety 
 of chemical and pharmaceutical processes. 
 
 Salt, in a chemical sense, is a chrystal- 
 lizable substance, considerably soluble in 
 water, and highly sapid. The term is ap- 
 plied likewise by modern chemists to all 
 the crystallizable acids, or alkalies, or earths, 
 or combinations of acids with alkalies, 
 earths, or metallic oxides ; hence salts in 
 chemistry are distinguished into alkaline, 
 earthy, and metallic, and they take their 
 names from the acid, and alkali, &c. of 
 which they are combined : thus the sul- 
 phate of soda is a combination of sulphuric 
 acid and soda; the sulphite of soda is a com- 
 bination of sulphurous acid and soda. The 
 termination ate denotes that the salt is 
 formed of the acid containing the greater 
 quantity of oxygen, and the termination ite 
 of the acid, containing the smaller quan- 
 tity of oxygen. There are also salts oftriple 
 combinations, as alum, tartarized antimony, 
 &c. Salts are either also neutral, that is 
 where the ingredients are in perfect satura- 
 tion, (see NEUTRALtzATroN,) or with the 
 acid in excess, of which tartar is an exam- 
 ple, or with an excess of the, base, as in 
 borax. These circumstances have been 
 distinguished by the prefix super in the first 
 case, and sub in the latter : hence tartar is 
 
/ 
 
 SAL 
 
 named the super-tartrite of potash ; and 
 borax, the sub-borate of soda. - 
 
 SALVADORA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Atriplices, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx four-cleft ; corolla 
 four-cleft ; berry one-seeded ; seed covered 
 with an aril. There are three species found 
 in China. 
 
 SALVAGE money, a reward allowed by 
 the civil and statute law, for the saving of 
 ships or goods from the danger of the seas, 
 pirates, or enemies. Where any ship is in 
 danger of being stranded, or driven on 
 shore, justices of the peace are to com- 
 mand the constables to assemble as many 
 persons as are necessary to preserve it; 
 and on its being preserved by their means, 
 the persons assisting therein shall, in thirty 
 days after be paid a reasonable reward for 
 the salvage, otherwise the ship or goods 
 shall remain in the custody of the officers 
 of the customs, as a security for the same. 
 
 SALVIA, in botany, sage, a genus of the 
 Diandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Verticillatae. Labiatae, 
 Jussieu, Essential character: corolla un- 
 equal ; filaments fastened transversely to a 
 pedicle. There are seventy-nine species. 
 This extensive genus consists of herbs or 
 under shrubs ; the flowers are from one to 
 three together from a bracte, or a leaf, fre- 
 quently in spikes. S. oflacinalis, or common 
 large sage, which is cultivated in gardens, of 
 which there are the following varieties ; 1. 
 The common green sage. 2. The wormwood 
 sage. 3. The green sage with a variegated 
 leaf. 4. The red sage. 5. The red sage 
 with a variegated leaf. These are acci- 
 dental variations, and therefore are not 
 enumerated as species. The common sage 
 grows naturally in the southern parts of 
 Europe, but is here cultivated in gardens 
 for use ; but the variety with red or black- 
 ish leaves is the most common jn the British 
 gardens: and the wormwood sage is in 
 greater plenty here than the common green- 
 leaved sage, which is but in few gardens. 
 S. auriculata, common sage of virtue, 
 which is also well known in the gardens and 
 markets. The leaves of this, are narrower 
 than those of the common sort ; they are 
 hoary, and some of them are indented on' 
 their edges towards the base, which inden- 
 tures have the appearance of ears. 
 
 SALVINIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Cryptogamia Miscellaneae class and order. 
 Generic character : male, flowers four to 
 nine, among whorled roots, heaped into a 
 
 SAL 
 
 little ball ; calyx sub-globular, pubescent, 
 one-celled, consisting of a double mem. 
 brane ; corolla none, unless it be the inner 
 membrane of the calyx ; stamen an up- 
 right pillar, placed on the base of the calyx : 
 female, in the middle of the ball, solitary; 
 calyx and corolla as in the males ; pistils ; 
 germs about fifteen, obliquely ovate, blunt, 
 rugged with dots, each on distinct pedicles, 
 fastened to the bottom of the calyx ; style 
 none ; stigma a dot on the top of thq germ ; 
 pericarpium none ; seeds as many as there 
 are germs, and of the same form. The 
 male and female flowers may be distin- 
 guished in the dry plant before the calyxes 
 open, by the size of the protuberant grains. 
 
 SALUTATION, the act of saluting, 
 greeting, or paying respect and reverence 
 to any one. There is a great variety in the 
 forms of salutation. The orientals salute 
 by uncovering their feet, laying their hands 
 on their breasts, &c. In England, we sa- 
 lute by uncovering the head, bending the 
 body, &c. The pope formerly paid reve- 
 rence to none except tlie emperor, to 
 whom he stooped a very little, when he per- 
 mitted him to kiss his lips. A prince, or per- 
 son of extraordinary quality, is saluted at 
 his entering a garrison by the firing of the 
 cannon round the place. In the field, when 
 a regiment is to be reviewed by a king, 
 or his general, the drums beat as he ap- 
 proaches, and the officers salute him one 
 after another, as he passes by, stepping 
 back with the right foot and hand, bowing 
 their half pikes to the ground, and then re- 
 covering them gently, bi’inging up the foot 
 and hand, and planting them ; which done, 
 they pull off their hats without bowing. 
 The ensigns salute all together, bringing 
 down their colours near the ground directly 
 before them at one motion, and having 
 taken them up again, gently lift their hats. 
 At sea, they salute by a discharge of can- 
 non, which is greater or less, according to 
 the degree of respect they would show ; 
 and here ships always salute with an odd 
 number of guns, and galleys witli an even 
 one. To salute with muskets is to fire one, 
 two, or three vollies ; which is a method of 
 salutation that sometimes precedes that of 
 cannon, and is chiefly used on occasion of 
 feasts. After the cannon, they also some- 
 times salute or hail with the voice, by a 
 joint shout of all the ship’s company, re- 
 peated three times; which salutation also 
 occasionally obtains where they carry no 
 guns, or do not care to discharge any. Sa- 
 luting with the flag is performed two ways. 
 
 
SAM 
 
 either by holding it close to the staif so as 
 it cannot flutter, or by strikinc; it so as it 
 cannot be seen at all, wliich is the most re- 
 spectful. Saluting with the sails is per- 
 formed by hovering the topsails half-way 
 of the masts. Only those vessels that carry 
 no guns salute with the sails. 
 
 The following regulations on this subject 
 are deserving of notice : “ When any of his 
 Majesty’s ships shall meet with any ship or 
 ships belonging to any foreign prince or 
 state, within bis Majesty’s seas, (which ex- 
 tend to Cape Finisterre) it is expected that 
 the said foreign ships do strike their top- 
 sail, and take in their flag, in acknowiedg- 
 nieut of his Majesty’s sovereignty in those 
 seas : and if any shall refuse, or offer to 
 resist, it is enjoined to all flag-officers and 
 commanders to use tlieir utmost endeavours 
 to compel them thereto, and not suffer any 
 dishonour to be done to his Majesty. And 
 if any of his Majesty’s subjects shall so much 
 forget their duty, as to omit striking their 
 top-sail in passing by his Majesty’s sftips, 
 the name of the sltip and master, and from 
 whence, and whither bound, together with 
 affidavits of the facts, are to be sent up to 
 the Secretary of the Admiralty, in order 
 TO their being proceeded against in the 
 Admiralty Court. And it is to be ob- 
 served, that in his Majesty’s seas, his Ma- 
 jesty’s ships are in nowise to strike to 
 any ; and that in no other parts, no ship 
 of his Majesty is to strike her flag or top- 
 sail to any foreigner, unless such foreign 
 ship shall have first struck, or at the same 
 time, strike her flag or top sail to bis Majes- 
 ty’s ship. The flag-officers and commanders 
 of his Majesty’s ships are to be careful to 
 maintain his Majesty’s honour upon all oc- 
 casions, giving protection to his subjects, and 
 endeavouring, wdiat in them lies, to secure 
 and encourage them in their lawful com- 
 merce ; and they are not to injure, in any 
 manner, the subjects of his Majesty’s friends 
 and- allies.” 
 
 SAMARA, in botanj’’, a genus of the 
 Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Rhamni, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx four-parted ; co- 
 rolla four-petallod ; stamina immersed in 
 the base of the petal j drupe oiie-seeded. 
 Tiiere are four species. 
 
 S.ABTBUCUS, in botany, elder, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Naturfd order of Duniosie. Caprifolia, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx five part- 
 ed ; corolla five-cleft ; berry three-seeded» 
 Tliere are five species. 
 
 .SiAMIELS, the Arabian name for a hot 
 
 SAN 
 
 suftbeating wind peculiar to the desert of 
 Arabia. It blows over the deserts in the 
 months of July and August from the north- 
 west, and sometimes it continues its pro- 
 gress to (he very gates of Bagdad, but it is 
 said never to affect any person within the 
 walls. It often passes with the quickness 
 ot lightning : and there is no way of avoid- 
 ing the dire effects but by falling on the 
 ground, and keeping the face close to the 
 earth. Those who are riegligent of this 
 caution experience instant death. 
 
 SAMOLUS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order .of Precice. I/ysimachiae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla sal- 
 ver-sliapcd ; stamina fenced by the scalelets 
 of the corolla ; capsule oiie ceiled, inferior. 
 There is but one species ; viz. S. valerandi, 
 brookweed or water pimpernel ; this plant 
 is an inhabitant of every quarter of the 
 globe, in marshes, wet meadows, and 
 ditches ; Mr. Mifler considers it as an 
 annual; Linnatus marks it as biennial j 
 and otliers as perennial. 
 
 SAM YD A, in botany, a genus of the 
 Decandria Monogynia class and order. Es- 
 sential character : calyx five-parted, co- 
 loured ; corolla none ; nest bell-shaped, sta- 
 miniferous ; capsules berried within, four- 
 valved, one celled; seeds nestling. There 
 are nine species, 
 
 SAND, in natural history, a genus of 
 fossils, the characters of which are, that 
 they are found in minute concretions ; form- 
 ing together a kind of powder, the genuine 
 particles of which are all of a tendency to 
 one determinate shape, and appear regular, 
 though more or less complete concretions ; 
 not to be dissolved or disunited by water, 
 or formed into a coherent mass by means 
 ol it, but retaining their figure in it ; trans- 
 parent, vitrifiable by extreme beat, and not 
 dissoluble in, nor effervescing with, acids. 
 See Sand-stone. 
 
 Sand is of great nse in the glass manufac- 
 ture ; the white writing sand being employed 
 for making of the white glass, and a coarse 
 greenish-looking sand for the green glass. 
 In agriculture it seems to be the office of 
 sands to make unctuous earths fertile, and 
 fit to support vegetables, &c. For earth 
 alone, we find, is liable to coalesce, and ga- 
 ther into a hard coherent mass, as appears 
 in clay ; and being thus embodied, and as 
 it were glued together, is no way disposed 
 to nourish vegetables. 
 
 Common sand is a very good addition, 
 by way of manure, to all sorts of clay-lands ; 
 it warms tlieni, and makes them more open 
 
SAN 
 
 and loose. The best sand for the farmer’s 
 use is that which is washed by rains from 
 roads or hills, or tliat which is taken from 
 the beds of rivers ; the common sand that 
 is dug in pits never answers nearly so well. 
 However, if mixed with dung, it is much 
 better than laid on alone : and a very fine 
 manure is made by covering the bottom of 
 sheep-.^lds with several loads of sand every 
 week, vvhich are to be taken away, and laid 
 on cold stiff lands, impregnated as they are 
 with the dung and the urine of the sheep. 
 
 Beside clay-land there is another sort of 
 ground very improveable by sand ; this is 
 that sort of black boggy land on which 
 bushes and sedge grow naturally, and which 
 they cut into turf, in some places. Six 
 hundred load of sand being laid upon an 
 acre of this land, according to the Cheshire 
 measure, which is near double the statute 
 acre, meliorate it so much, that without 
 ploughing it will yield good crops of oats or 
 tares, though before it would have produced 
 scarcely any thing. If this crop is taken off, 
 the land will be well dunged, and if then 
 laid down for grass, it will yield a large crop 
 of sweet hay. 
 
 Once sanding this land will improve it for 
 a vast number of years, and it will yield two 
 crops of hay in the year, if there be weather 
 to make it in. Some land in Cheshire has 
 been, by this means, rendered of twelve 
 times its former value to the owner. The 
 bogs of Ireland, when drained, have been 
 rendered very fruitful land, by mixing sand 
 in this manner among tlie earth, of which 
 they consist. Add to this, that in all these 
 boggy lands, the burning them, or firing 
 their own turf upon them, is also a great 
 advantage. The common peat, or turf- 
 ashes, mixed with the sand for these pur- 
 poses, add greatly to its virtue. Sea-sand, 
 which is thrown up in creeks and other 
 places, is by much the richest of all sand for 
 manuring tlie earth; partly its saltness, and 
 partly the fat and unctuous filth that is 
 mixed among it, give it this great virtue. 
 In the western parts of England, that lie 
 upon the sea coast, they make very great 
 advantages of it. The fragments of sea- 
 shells also, which are always in great abun- 
 dance in this sand, add to its virtues; and 
 it is always the more esteemed by the far- 
 mers, the more of these fragments there are 
 among it. 
 
 The sea-sand, used as manure in different 
 parts of the kingdom, is of three kinds : 
 that about Plymouth, and on other of the 
 southern coasts, is of a blue-grey colour, like 
 
 SAN 
 
 ashes, which is probably owing to the shells 
 of muscles, and other fish of that or the like 
 colour, being broken and mixed among it 
 in great quantity. Westward, near the 
 Land’s End, the sea-sand is very white, and 
 about the isles of Scilly it is very glistening, 
 with small particles of talc ; on the coasts 
 of the North Sea, the sand is yellowish, 
 brown, or reddish, and contains so great a 
 quantity of fragments of cockle-shells, that 
 it seems to be chiefly composed of them. 
 That sea sand is accounted best which is of 
 a reddish colour : the next in value to this 
 is the bluish, and the white is the worst 
 of all. Sea-sand is best when taken up 
 from under the water, or from sand-banks, 
 which are covered by every tide. The 
 small grained sand is most sudden in its 
 operation, and is therefore best for the te- 
 nant who is only to take three or four crops; 
 but the coarse or large grained sand is 
 much better for the landlord, as the good it 
 does lasts many years. 
 
 Sand bags, in the art of war, are bags 
 filled with earth or sand, holding each about 
 a cubic foot : their use is to raise parapets 
 in haste, or to repair what is beaten down. 
 
 Sat^b flood, a terrible mischi,ef, incident 
 torthe lands of Suffolk, and some other parts 
 of England; which are frequently covered 
 with vast quantities of sand, rolling in upon 
 them like a deluge of water, from sandy hills 
 in their neighbourhood. 
 
 The flowing of sand, though far from 
 being so tremendous and hurtful as in Ara- 
 bia, is of very bad consequences in this 
 country, as many valuable pieces of land 
 have thus been entirely lost; of which we 
 give the following instances from Blr. Pen- 
 nant, together with a probable means of 
 preventing them in future. “ I have more 
 than once,” says he, “ on the eastern coasts 
 of Scotland, observed the calamitous state 
 of several extensive tracts, formerly in a 
 most flourishing condition, at present cover- 
 ed with sands, unstable as those of the de- 
 serts of Arabia. The parish of Furvic, in 
 the county of Aberdeen, is now reduced to 
 two farms, and above 5001. a year lost to 
 the Errol family, as appears by the oath of 
 the factor in 1600, made before^ the Court 
 of Session, to ascertain Jhe minister’s salary. 
 Not a vestige is to be seen of any buildings, 
 unless a fragment of the church. The es- 
 tate of Coubin, near Forres, is another me- 
 lancholy instance. This tract was once 
 worth 3001. a year, at this time overwhelm- 
 ed with sand. This strange inundation was 
 still ill motion in 1769, chiefly when a strong 
 
SAN 
 
 wind prevailed. Its motion is so rapid, that 
 I have been assured, that an apple-tree had 
 been so covered with it in one season, that 
 only the very summit appeared. This dis- 
 tress was brought on about ninety years 
 ago, and was occasioned by the cutting 
 down some trees, and pulling up the bent 
 or star which%rew on the sand-hills ; which 
 at last gave rise to the act of t5 George II. 
 c. 33, to prohibit the destruction of this 
 useful plant. 
 
 “ I beg leave to suggest to the public a 
 possible means of putting a stop to these 
 destructive ravages. Providence hath kind- 
 ly formed this plant to grow only in pure 
 sand. Mankind was left to make, in after 
 times, an application of it suitable to their 
 wants. The sand-hills on a portion of the 
 Flintshire shores, in the parish of Llanasa, 
 are covered with it naturally, and keep firm 
 in their place. The Dutch perhaps owe 
 the existence of part, at least, of their 
 country to the sowing of it on the mobile 
 solum, their sand-banks. My humane and 
 amiable friend, the late Benjamin Stilling- 
 fleet, Esq. recommended the sowing of this 
 plant on the sandy wilds of Norfolk, that 
 its matted roots might prevent the deluges 
 of sand which that country experiences. It 
 has been already remarked, that whereso- 
 ever this plant grows the salutary effects 
 are soon observed to follow. A single plant 
 will fix the sand, and gather it into a hil- 
 lock; these hillocks, by the increase of 
 vegetation, are formed into larger, till by 
 degrees a harrier is made often against the 
 encroachments of the sea, and might as 
 often prove preventative of the calamity in 
 question. I cannot, therefore, but recom- 
 mend the trial to the inhabitants of many 
 parts of North Britain. The plant grows 
 in most places near the sea, and is known 
 to the Highlanders by the name of murah ; 
 to the English by that of bent-star, mat- 
 grass, or marram. Linnaeus calls it arnndo 
 arenaria. The Dutch call it helm. This 
 plant hath stiff and sharp-pointed leaves, 
 growing like a rush, a foot and a half long : 
 tte roots both creep and penetrate deeply 
 into their sandy beds : the stalk hears an ear 
 five or six inches long, not unlike rye ; the 
 seeds are small, brown, and roundish. By 
 good fortune, as old Gerard observes, no 
 cattle will eat or touch this vegetable, allot- 
 ted for other purposes, subservient to the 
 use of mankind.” 
 
 Sand stone, in mineralogy, is chiefly com- 
 posed of quartz in rounded grains of various 
 sizes. Sand-stones are stratified, and when 
 
 SA,N 
 
 disintegrated they form sand. We have 
 many varieties; as, 1. “ The calcareous 
 sand-stone,” which is of a green or greyish 
 colour; it is moderately hard, and gives 
 sparks when struck against steel. It effer- 
 vesces with acids: when freed from the 
 calcareous cement there remains a very 
 friable mass of fine white sand. 2. “ The 
 ferruginous sand-stone,” which is of a red- 
 dish brown : it is opaque and soft, and sel- 
 dom effervesces with acids : it readily dis- 
 integrates by exposure to the weather. 
 3. “ Grit-stone,” which rarely effervesces 
 with acids, hut gives very lively sparks 
 when struck with the steel. It is not easily 
 decomposed by exposure to the air. Sand- 
 stone is applied to many important pur- 
 poses in building; as flag-stones: and the 
 harder kinds of grit-stone are made into 
 grindstones, and on account of their infiisi- 
 hility they are employed for lining fur- 
 naces. 
 
 SANDARACH. See Resin. 
 
 Sandarach, in natural history, a very 
 beautiful native fossil, though too often con- 
 founded with the common factitious red 
 arsenic, and with the red matter formed by 
 melting the common yellow orpiment. It 
 is a pure substance, of a very even and re- 
 gular structure, is throughout of that colour 
 which our dyers term an orange-scarlet, and 
 is considerably transparent even in the 
 thickest pieces. But' though with respect 
 to colour it has the advantage of cinnabar 
 while in the mass, it is vastly inferior to it 
 when both are reduced to powder. It is 
 moderately hard, and remarkably heavy ; 
 and when exposed to a moderate heat, 
 melts and flows like oil. If set on fire it 
 burns very briskly. 
 
 It is found in Saxony and Bohemia, in 
 the copper and silver mines, and is sold to 
 the painters, who find it a very fine and > 
 valuable red ; but its virtues or qualities in 
 medicine are no more ascertained at this 
 time than those of the yellow orpiment. 
 
 SANDORICUM, in botany, a genus of 
 the Decandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : calyx five-toothed ; 
 petals five; nectary cylindrical, truncate, 
 bearing the anthers at its mouth ; drupe 
 filled with five nuts. There is only one 
 species, viz. S. indicum, a native of the Phi- 
 lippine and Molucca islands. 
 
 SANGUINARIA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Polyandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Rhoeadeae. Papaveraceas, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx two- 
 leaved; corolla eight-petalled; siliqne ovate. 
 

 
 SAN 
 
 one-celled. There is only one species, mz. 
 S. canadensis, Canadian sanguinaria, blood- 
 wort, or puccoon : a native of the northern 
 parts of America, where it grows plentifully 
 in the woods; and in the spring, before the 
 leaves of the trees come out, tlie surface of 
 the ground is in many places covered with 
 the flowers, which have some resemblance 
 to our wood anemone ; but they have short 
 naked pedicels, each supporting one flower 
 at top. Some of these flowers will have ten 
 or twelve petals, so that they appear to 
 have a double range of leaves, which has 
 occasioned their being termed double flow- 
 ers ; but this is only accidental, the same 
 roots in different years producing different 
 flowers. 
 
 SANGUISORBA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Miscellaneae, Linnasus. 
 Rosaceae, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 calyx two-leaved, inferior; corolla supe- 
 rior ; germ between the calyx and corolla. 
 There are three species with several va- 
 rieties. 
 
 SANICULA, in botany, sanicle, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of UmbellatEe, or Umbelli- 
 ferae. Essential character : umbels clus- 
 tered, subcapitate ; fruit rugged ; flowers 
 of the disk abortive. There are three 
 species. 
 
 SANTALUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Onagree, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx four-toothed ; corolla 
 four-petalled, with the petals growing on 
 the calyx, besides four glands ; berry infe- 
 rior, one-seeded. There is only one species, 
 viz. S. album, white and yellow sandal 
 wood. This tree has the appearance of a 
 myrtle, with stiff branchiate branches, joint- 
 ed ; in habit, leaves and inflorescence re- 
 sembling the privet. It is a native of many 
 parts of India. In the Circar mountains, 
 where it is wild, it is of little value, as it is 
 generally of a small stature. On the Mala- 
 bar coast it is very large, and the wood of 
 the best kind. The difference of colour 
 constitutes two kinds of sanders, both em- 
 ployed for the same purposes, and having 
 equally a bitter taste, and an aromatic smell. 
 With the powder of this wood a paste is 
 prepared, with which the Chinese, Indians, 
 Persians, Arabians, and Turks, anoint their 
 bodies. It is likewise burnt in their houses, 
 and yields a fragrant and wholesome smell. 
 The greatest quantity of this wood, to which 
 a sharp and attenuating virtue is ascribed , 
 
 SAP 
 
 remains in India. The red sanders, though 
 in less estimation, and less generally used, 
 is sent by preference into Europe^ I'his is 
 the produce of a different tree, which is 
 common on the coast of Coromandel. Some 
 travellers confound it with the wood of 
 Caliatour, which is used in dyeing. 
 
 The S. album, or white sanders, is 
 brought from the East Indies, in billets 
 about the thickness of a man’s leg, of a 
 pale-whitish colour. It is that part of the 
 yellow sanders wood which lies next the 
 bark. Great part of it, as met with in the 
 shops, has no smell or taste, nor any sensi- 
 ble quality that can recommend it to the 
 notice of the physician. 
 
 The S. "flavum, or yellow sanders, is 
 the interior part of the wood of the same 
 tree which furnishes the former, is of a pale 
 yellowish colour, of a pleasant smell, and a 
 bitterish aromatic taste, accompanied with 
 an agreeable kind of pungency. This ele- 
 gant wood might undoubtedly be applied to 
 valuable medical purposes, though at pre- 
 sent very rarely used. Distilled with water, 
 it yields a fragrant essential oil, which 
 thickens in the cold into the consistence of 
 a balsam. Digested in pure spirit, it im- 
 parts a rich yellow tincture ; which being 
 committed to distillation, the spirit arises 
 without bringing over any thing consider- 
 able of the flavour of the sanders. The re- 
 siduum contains the virtues of six times its 
 weight of the wood. 
 
 SANTOLIfiAj in botany, lavender-cot' 
 ton, a genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia 
 iEqualis class and order. Natural order of 
 Compositae Discoideae. Coryrabiferae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character ; calyx imbricate, 
 hemispherical ; down none ; receptacle 
 chaffy. There are six species, S. chamoe- 
 cyparisus, common lavender-cotton 5 grows 
 naturally in the southern parts of Europe, 
 and is much cultivated in English gardens. 
 All tlie species are ornamental plants, and 
 may be propagated by planting slips and 
 cuttings in the spring. 
 
 SAP. See Plant. 
 
 The sap of trees, chemically considered, 
 is a watery mucilaginous liqui(1,often strongly 
 saccharine, so as to yield a large quantity 
 of sugar, and to furnish a very strong fer- 
 mented liquor. 
 
 Sap, or Sapp, in the art of war, is the 
 digging deep under the earth of the glacis, 
 in order to open a covered passage into the 
 moat. It is only a deep trench, covered at 
 top with boards, hurdles, earth, sand-bags, 
 
r 
 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 urc'- 
 
 am quis 
 
 quis msdi 
 
 oci'i- 
 
 Dili 
 
 git^ tu- 
 
 tus caret 
 
 obso” 
 
 Sordi 
 
 hus ic- 
 
 cti, caret 
 
 invi- 
 
 SAP 
 
 &c. and is usually begun five or six fatlioms 
 from the saliant angle of the glacis. 
 
 SAPPHIC, in poetry, a kind of verse 
 much used by the Greeks and Latins, deno- 
 minated from the inventress Sappho. The 
 sappliic verse consists of five feet, whereof 
 the first, fourth, and fifth, are trochees, the 
 second a spondee, and the third a dactyl ; 
 as in . 
 
 5 
 
 tatent 
 leti 
 denda. 
 
 and after every three sapphic verses there 
 is generally subjoined an adonic verse, as 
 
 Sohrius aulA. 
 
 SAPINDUS, in botany, soap-berry-tree, 
 a genus of the Octandria Trigynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Trihilatae. Sa- 
 pindi, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 ibur-leaved ; petals four ; capsule fleshy, con- 
 nate, ventricose. There are thirteen species ; 
 of which we shall notice the S. saponaiia, 
 with winged leaves, which grows naturally 
 in the islands of the West Indies, where it 
 rises with a woody stalk from 20 to 30 feet 
 high, sending out many branches with wing- 
 ed leaves, composed of sever al pair of spear- 
 shaped lobes. The flowers are produced 
 in loose spikes at the end of the branches ; 
 they are small and white, so make no great 
 appearance. These are succeeded by oval 
 berries as large as middliirg cherries, some- 
 times single, at others, two, three, or four 
 are joined together; these have a sapona- 
 ceous skin or cover, which incloses a very 
 smooth roundish nut of the same form, of a 
 shining black when ripe. The skin, or pulp, 
 Vvhich surrounds the nuts, is used in America 
 to wash linen ; but it is very apt to burn 
 and destroy it if often used, being of a very 
 acrid nature. 
 
 SAPONARIA, in botany, soap-wort, a 
 genus of the Decandria Digynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Caryophyllei. 
 Caryophylleas, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter : calyx one-leafed, naked ; petals five, 
 clawed; capsule oblong, one celled. There 
 are nine species. S. officinalis, a British 
 plant, has a creeping root, so that in a short 
 time it would fill a large space of ground. 
 The stalks are above two feet high, and of a 
 purplish colour. The foot-stalks of the 
 flowers arise from the wings of the leaves 
 opposite; they sustain four, five, or more 
 purple flowers each, which have generally 
 two small leaves placed under them. Tlie 
 
 SAR 
 
 stalk is also terminated by a loose bunch of 
 flowers growing in form of an umbel ; they 
 have each a large swelling cylindrical em- 
 palement, and five broad obtuse petals, 
 which spread open, of a purple colour. 
 These are succeeded by oval capsules, with 
 one cell filled with small seeds. The decoc- 
 tion of this plant is used to cleanse, and 
 scour woollen cloths : the poor people in 
 some countries use it instead of soap for 
 washing; from which use it had its name. 
 
 SAPPHIRE. SeeCoRONDUM, where we 
 have given the analysis of the blue corun- 
 dum, or sapphire. Itis infusible without ad- 
 dition before the blow-pipe, but with borax 
 it melts with effervescence. Sapphire, and 
 oriental ruby, of which an analysis is also 
 given in the article Corundum, are next to 
 the diamond, the most valuable of precious 
 stones, and are used in the finest kind of 
 jewelry. The oriental ruby differs from the 
 sapphire in its colour : it is also softer and 
 of less specific gravity. In its geognostic 
 character, it differs also from the ruby, as 
 it occurs sometimes imbedded in corun- 
 dum, which is an inmate of primitive moun- 
 tains, while sapphire appears to be a pro- 
 duction of a later period. The violet- co- 
 loured sapphire is the oriental amethyst: 
 the yellovy, the oriental chrysolite and 
 topaz; and the green,- the oriental emerald. 
 
 SARACA, in botany, a genus of the Dia- 
 delphia Hexandria class and order, Na- 
 tural order of Lomentacem. Essential 
 character : calyx none ; corolla funnel- 
 form, four-cleft ; filaments three on each 
 side the throat; legume pedicelled. There 
 is but one species, viz. S. indica, a native of 
 the East Indies. 
 
 SARCOCOL, in chemistry, ^ gum resin, 
 supposed to be the product of the penaea 
 sarcocolla. It is brought from Persia an^l 
 Arabia, in the form of small grains : they 
 have sweet and bitterish taste, and are 
 very soluble in water. 
 
 .SARMENTACACEjE, in botany, the 
 name of the eleventh class in Linnmus’s 
 Fragments of a Natural Method, consisting 
 of plants that have climbing stems and 
 branches, which like the vine attach them- 
 selves to the bodies in^ their neighbourhood 
 for the purpose of support. 
 
 SAROTHRA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Trigynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Rotacere. Caryophylleae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx, five 
 parted ; corolla five petalled ; capsule one- 
 celled, three-valved, coloured. There is 
 but one species, viz, S. gentianoides an an- 
 
 
 
S'AS 
 
 siual plant, and a native of Virginia and 
 Pennsylvania, growing abundantly in the 
 fields, and under tlie bushes, in a dry sandy 
 ground, near the capital of the latter pro- 
 vince. 
 
 SARRACENIA in botany, side-saddle 
 flower, so named in honour of Dr, Sarrazin, 
 professor of botany, a genus of the Polyan- 
 dria Monngynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Succulentae. Essential character : 
 calyx double, three-leaved, and five-leaved ; 
 corolla, five-petalled ; capsule, five-celled, 
 with the style having a clypeate stigma. 
 There are four species, all natives of North 
 America. 
 
 SARSAPARILLA, in pharmacy, the 
 root of the rough smilax of Peru, consisting 
 of a great number of long strings hanging 
 from one head : these long roots, the only 
 parts made use of, are about the thickness 
 of a goose-cjuill, or thicker, flexible, .and 
 composed of fibres running their whole 
 length : they have a bitterish but not un- 
 grateful taste and no smell ; and as to their 
 medicinal virtues, they are sudorific and 
 attenuant, and should be given in decoc- 
 tion, or by way of diet-drink. 
 
 SASH, a mark of distinction, which in 
 the British service is generally made of 
 crimson silk for the officers, and of crimson 
 mixed with white cotton for the serjeants. 
 It is worn round the waist in most regiments; 
 in some few, particularly in the Highland 
 corps, it is thrown across the shoulder. 
 Sashes were originally invented for the con- 
 venience and ease of wounded officers, <cc. 
 by means of which, in case any of them 
 were so badly wounded as to render them 
 incapable of remaining at their posts, they 
 might be carried off with the assistance of 
 two men. They are now reduced to a very 
 spiall size, and of course unfit for the ori- 
 ghial purpose. Both the sash and gorget, 
 indeed, must be considered as mere marks 
 of distinction, to point out officers on duty. 
 In some instances they are worn together ; 
 in others, the gorget is laid aside, and the 
 sash only worn. The British cavalry tie 
 the sash on the right, the infantry on the 
 left side. The sashes for the imperial 
 army are made of crimson and gold, for 
 the Prussian army black silk and silver, the 
 Hanoverians yellow silk, the Portuguese 
 crimson silk with blue tassels. The French 
 have their sashes made of three colours, lAz, 
 white, pink, and light-blue, to corre.spond 
 with the national flag. 
 
 SASSAFRAS, in pharmacy, the wood of 
 an American tree, of the laurel-kind, im- 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SAT 
 
 ported in large straight blocks: it is ssid 
 to be warm, aperient, and corroborant ; 
 and frequently employed, with good suc- 
 cess, for purifying the blood, for which pur- 
 pose an infusion, in the way of tea, iS a very 
 pleasant drink : its oil is very fragrant, and 
 possesses most of the virtues of the wood. 
 
 SATELLITES, in astronomy, are cer- 
 tain secondary planets, moving round the 
 other planets, as the Moon does round the 
 Earth. They are so called because they al- 
 ways attend them, and make the tour about 
 the Sun together with them. The words moon 
 and satellite are sometimes used indifferent- 
 ly ; thus we say, either Jupiter’s moons, or 
 Jupiter’s satellites; but usually we distin- 
 guish, restraining the term moon to the 
 Earth’s attendant, and applying the term 
 satellite to the little moons more recently 
 discovered about Jupiter, Saturn, and the 
 Herschel planet, by he assistance of the 
 telescope, which is necessary to render them 
 visible. 
 
 The satellites move round their primary 
 planets, as their centres, by the same laws 
 as those primary ones do rouud their centre 
 the Sun ; viz. in stich manner that, in the 
 satellites of the same planet, the sqna:es of 
 the periodic times are proportional to the 
 cubes of their distances from the primary 
 planet. 
 
 Satellijes of Jupiter, are four little 
 moons, or secondary planets performing 
 their revolutions about Jupiter, as that 
 planet does about the Sun. 
 
 Simon Marius, mathematician of the 
 Elector of Brandenburg, about the end of 
 November 1609, observed three little stars 
 moving round Jupiter’s body, and proceed- 
 ing along with him ; and in January 1610, 
 he found a fourth. In January 1610, Galileo 
 also observed the same in Italy, and in the 
 same year published ha observations. These 
 satellites were also observed in the same 
 month of January 1610, by Thomas Harriot, 
 the author of a work upon algebra, and 
 who made constant observations on these 
 satellites, from that time till the 26th of 
 February 1612. 
 
 When Jupiter comes into a line between 
 any of his satellites and the Sun, the satellite 
 disappears, being then eclipsed, or involved 
 in his shadow. When the satellite goes 
 behind the body of Jupiter, with respect 
 to an observer on the Earth, it is then said 
 to be occulted, being hidden from our sight 
 by his body, whether in his shadow or not. 
 And when the satellite comes into a posi- 
 tion between Jupiter and the Sun, it casts- 
 C 
 
SATELLITES. 
 
 a shadow upon the face of that planet, 
 which we see as an obscure round spot. 
 And lastly, when the satellite comes into a 
 line between Jupiter and us, it is said to 
 transit the disc of the planet, upon which it 
 appears as a round black spot. The periods 
 or revolutions of Jupiter’s satellites, are 
 found out from their conjunctions with that 
 planet, after the same manner as those ot 
 the primary planets are discovered from 
 their opposition to the Sun. And their 
 distances from the body of Jupiter, are 
 measured by a micrometer, and estimated 
 in semi-diameters of that planet, and thence 
 in miles. The periodical times and distances 
 of these satellites, and the angles under 
 which their orbits are seen froni the Earth, 
 at its mean distance from Jupiter, are as 
 below. 
 
 Periodic Times. 
 
 Distances in 
 
 Anciles of 
 Orbit. 
 
 Semidia- 
 
 meter 
 
 Miles. 
 
 I'il8>‘2?'34" 
 
 5| 
 
 266,000 
 
 3' 55' 
 
 3 13 13 42 
 
 9 ^ 
 
 423,000 
 
 6 Id* 
 
 7 3 42 36 
 
 
 676,000 
 
 9 58 
 
 16 16 32 9 
 
 25* 
 
 1,189,000 
 
 17 30 
 
 1 
 
 The eclipses of the satellites, e.specially 
 of those of Jupiter, are of very great use 
 in astronomy. First, in determining pretty 
 exactly the distance of Jupiter from the 
 Earth. A second advantage still more con- 
 siderable, which is drawn from these 
 eclipses, is the proof which they give of the 
 progressive motion of light. It is demon- 
 strated by these eclipses, that light does not 
 come to ns in an instant, although its rno- 
 tion is extremely rapid. For if the motion 
 of light were infinite, or came to us in an in- 
 stant, it is evident that we should see the 
 commencement of an eclipse of a satellite 
 at the same moment, at whatever distance 
 we might be from it ; but, on the contrary, 
 if light move progressively, then it is as evi- 
 dent, that the further we are from a planet, 
 the later we shall be in seeing the moment 
 of its eclipse, because the light will take up 
 a longer time in arriving at us ; and so it is 
 found in fact to happen, the eclipses of these 
 satellites appearing always later and later 
 than the true computed times, as the Earth 
 removes further and further from the pla- 
 net. When Jupiter and file Earth are at 
 their nearest distance, being in conjunction 
 bothion the same side of the Sun, then the 
 eclipses are ^e?Ti to happen the soonest j 
 
 and when tlie Sun is directly between Jupi- 
 ter and the Earth, they are at their greatest 
 distance asimder, the distance being more 
 than before by the whole diameter of the 
 Earth’s annual orbit, or by double the 
 Earth’s distance from the Sun, then the 
 eclipses are seen to happen the latest of any, 
 and later than before by about a quarter 
 of an hour. Hence therefore it follows, 
 that light takes up a quarter of an hour 
 in travelling across the otbit of the Earth, 
 or nearly eight minutes in passing from the 
 Sun to the Earth ; which gives us about 12 
 millions of miles per minute, or 200,000 
 miles per second, for the velocity of light. 
 
 A discovery that was first made by M. 
 Roemer. 
 
 The third and greatest advantage derived 
 from the eclipses of the satellites, is the 
 knowledge of the longitudes of places 
 on the Earth. Suppose two observers of an 
 eclipse, the one, for example, at London, 
 the other at the Canaries ; it is certain that 
 the eclipse will appear at the same moment 
 to both observers ; but as they are situated 
 under different meridians, they count dif- 
 ferent hours, being perhaps 9 o’clock to the 
 one, when it is only 8 to the other ; by 
 which observations of the true time of the 
 eclipse, on communication, they find the 
 difference of their longitudes to be one 
 hour in time, which answers to 15 degrees 
 of longitude. 
 
 Saturn has seven secondary planets re- 
 volving about him. One of them, which 
 till lately was reckoned the fourth in order 
 from Saturn, was discovered by Huygens, 
 the 25th of March, 1655, by means of a te- 
 lescope 12 feet long ; and the first, second, 
 third, and fifth, at different times, by Cas- 
 sini, viz. the fifth in October, 1671, by a te- 
 lescope of 17 feet *, the third in December, 
 1672, by a telescope of Campani’s, 35 feet 
 long ; and the first and second in March, 
 1684, by help of Campani’s glasses, of 100 
 and 136 feet. Finally, the sixth and seventh 
 satellites were discovered by Dr. Herschel, 
 with his 40 feet reflecting telescope, viz. the 
 sixth on the 19th of August, 1787, and the 
 seventh on the 17th of September, 1788. 
 These two he has called the sixth and se- 
 venth satellites, though they are nearer to 
 the planet Saturn than any of the former 
 five, that the names or numbers of these 
 might not be mistaken or confounded, 
 with regard to former observations of 
 them. 
 
 Moreover, the great distance between 
 the fourth and fifth satellite, gave occasion 
 
SAT 
 
 to ttiiyf^ns to suspect that there might be 
 some intermediate one, or else that tlie 
 tiftli might liave some other satellite moving 
 round it, as its centre. Dr. Halley, in the 
 Philosophical Ti ansactions, gives a correc- 
 tion of the tlieory of the motions ot the 
 fourth or Huy genian satellite. Its true 
 period he makes ll"* SS’' 4l' 6". 
 
 The periodical revolutions, and distances 
 of the satellites from the body of Saturn, ex- 
 pressed in semidiameters of that planet, 
 and in miles, are as follow : 
 
 & 
 
 s 
 
 C3 
 
 <0 
 
 Periods. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Distances in 
 
 Diam. of 
 Orbit. 
 
 Semidi- 
 
 ameLers. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 1 
 
 l'‘2li>18'27" 
 
 
 170,000 
 
 l' 27'' 
 
 2 
 
 2 17 41 22 
 
 5 ^ 
 
 217,000 
 
 1 52 
 
 3 
 
 4 12 25 12 
 
 8 
 
 303,000 
 
 2 36 
 
 4 
 
 15 22 41 13 
 
 18 
 
 704,000 
 
 6 18 
 
 5 
 
 79 7 48 0 
 
 54 
 
 ■2.050,000 
 
 17 4 
 
 6 
 
 1 8 53 9 
 
 
 1,35,000 
 
 1 14 
 
 7 
 
 0 22 40 46 
 
 “*6 
 
 107,000] 
 
 0 57 
 
 The four first describe ellipses like to 
 those of the ring, and are in the same plane. 
 Their inclination to the ecliptic is from 
 30 to 31 degrees. The fifth describes an 
 orbit inclined from if to 18 degrees with the 
 orbit of Saturn ; his plane lying between 
 the ecliptic and those of the other satellites, 
 &c. Dr. Herschel observes that the fifth 
 satellite turns once round its axis exactly in 
 the time in which it revolves about the 
 planet Saturn ; in which respect it resem- 
 bles our Moon, which does the same thing. 
 And he makes the angle of its distance from 
 Saturn, at his mean distance, 17' 2 '. Phi- 
 losophical Transactions, 1792, p. 22. See 
 a long account of observations of tliese sa- 
 tellites, with tables of their mean motions, 
 by Dr. Herschel. Philosophical Transac- 
 tion, 1790. 
 
 The Herschel has six satellites, or moons, 
 that revolve about him, like those of Jupiter 
 and Saturn. These satellites were disco- 
 vered by Dr. Herschel, who gave an ac- 
 count of them in the Philosophical Trans- 
 actions. 
 
 SATIN, a glossy kind of silk stuff, the 
 warp of which is very fine, and stands out 
 so as to cover the coarser woof. Some 
 satins are quite plain, others wrought; 
 some flowered with gold pr silver, and 
 others striped, &c. The Chinese satins are 
 most valued, because of their cleaning and 
 bleaching easily, without losing any thing of 
 
 SAT 
 
 their lustre ; in other respects they are ih-* 
 ferior to those of Europe. 
 
 SATINET, a slight thin kind of satin, 
 commonly striped, and chiefly used by the 
 ladies for summer night gowns. 
 
 SATURATION, in chemistry. As there 
 are certain limits to the proponions in 
 which bodies combine together, beyond 
 which they cannot pass, these are called the 
 points of saturation ; and when two bodies, 
 in uniting together, have reached this point, 
 they are said to be saturated, or the one 
 body is said to be saturated with the other; 
 in other words, the change has taken place, 
 and a new compound is formed. AVhen, 
 for instance, a salt is dissolved in water, as 
 common salt, the water combines only with 
 a certain proportion ; and whatever quanti- 
 ty of salt is added beyond this proportion, 
 it falls to the bottom Undissolved. The rea- 
 son of this is, that the particles of the salt are 
 held together by their affinity for each 
 other ; that is, by tlie force of cohesion. 
 Now, before any combination can be ef- 
 fected between the particles of the salt 
 and the water, this force must be overcome. 
 The force of affinity, therefore, between 
 the water and the particles of salt, is greater 
 than that between the particles of salt 
 themselves, and thus they are separated 
 and dissolve in the water ; but this force of 
 affinity between the water and the salt is lb 
 mited ; and when it has arrived at its ut. 
 most limit, the action between the two bo- 
 dies ceases. The two forces which were 
 opposed to each other ; that is, the force of 
 affinity between the water and the salt on 
 the one hand, and the force of cohesion be- 
 tween the particles of the salt on the other, 
 are balanced. The water in this case is 
 said to be saturated wdth salt. 
 
 SATUREIA, in botany, savory, a gCnus 
 of the Didynamia Gymnosperraia class and 
 order. Natural order of Verticillatm. La- 
 bial*, Jussieu. Essential Character: co- 
 rolla with segments nearly equal ; stamina 
 distant. There are eight species, S. horten- 
 sis, or summer savory, is an animal plant, 
 which grows naturally in the south of 
 France and Italy, but is cultivated in this 
 country both for the kitchen and medicinal 
 use. The S. montana, or w-inter savory, a 
 perennial plant, growing naturally in the 
 south of France and Italy, but is cultivated 
 in gardens both for culinary and medicinal 
 purposes. Both kinds are propagated by 
 seeds. Summer savory is a very warm 
 pungent aromatic, and atfords in distillation 
 with water a subtile essential oil, of a 
 
SATURN. 
 
 pciietratuig smell, and very hot acrid 
 ta«te. 
 
 SATURN is a very conspicuous planet, 
 though not so brilliant as Jupiter. The 
 period of his sidereal revolution round 
 die earth is 10,759 days. He moves from 
 west to east nearly in the plane of the 
 ecliptic, and exhibits irregularities simi- 
 lar to those of Jupiter and Mars. He be- 
 comes retrograde both before and after his 
 opposition, when at the distance of about 
 109° from the Sun. His retrograde motion 
 continues about 139 days, and during its 
 continuance he describes an arc of about 6°. 
 His diameter is a maximum at his opposi- 
 tion, and bis mean apparent diameter is 18". 
 Saturn, when viewed through a good tele- 
 scope, makes a more remarkable appear- 
 ance than any of the other planets. Gali- 
 leo first discovered his uncommon shape, 
 which he thought to be like two small 
 globes, one on each side of a large one, 
 and he published his discovery in a Latin 
 sentence, the meaning of which was, that 
 he had seen him appear with three bodies, 
 though, in order to keep the discovei-y a 
 secret, the letters were transposed. Hav- 
 ing viewed him for two years, he was sur- 
 prised to see him become quite round, 
 without these appendages, and then, after 
 some time to assume them as before. ^These 
 adjoining globes were what are now called 
 the ansae of his ring, the true shape of which 
 was first discovered by Huygens, about 
 forty years after Galileo, first with a tele- 
 scope of twelve feet, and then with one of 
 twenty-three feet, which magnified objects 
 one hundred times. From the discoveries 
 made by him and otlier astronomers, it ap- 
 pears that this planet is srirrountied by a 
 broad thin ring, the edge of which reflects 
 little or none of the Sun’s light to us, but 
 the planes of the ring reflect the light in 
 the same manner that the planet itself does, 
 and if we suppose the diameter of Saturn 
 to be divided into three equal parts, the 
 diameter of tire ring is about seven of these 
 parts. The ring is detached from the body 
 of Saturn in such a manner, tliat tire dis- 
 tance between the innermost part of the 
 ring and the body is equal to its breadth. 
 Both the outward and inward rim of the 
 ling is projected into an ellipsis, more or 
 less oblong, according to the different de- 
 grees of obliquity with which it is viewed. 
 Sometimes our eye is in the plane of the 
 ring, and then it becomes invisible, either 
 because tire outward edge is not fitted to 
 reflect the Sun’s light, or more probably 
 because it is too thin to be seen at such a 
 
 distance. As the plane of this ring keeps 
 always parallel to itself, that is, its situation 
 in one part of the orbit is always parallel to 
 that in any other part, it disappears twice 
 in every revolution of the planet, that is, 
 about once in fifteen years, and lie some- 
 times appears quite round for nine months 
 together. At other times, the distance be- 
 tween the body of the planet and tire ring is 
 very perceptible, insomuch that Mr. Whis- 
 ton tells ns of Dr. Clarke’s father having 
 seen a star through the opening, and stip- 
 posed him to have been the only person 
 who ever saw a sight so rare, as the open- 
 ing, though certainly very large, appears 
 very small to us. 
 
 AVhen Saturn appeal's round, if our eye 
 be in the plane of the ring, it will appear 
 as a dark line across the middle of the pla- 
 net's disc, and if our eye he elevated above 
 the plane of the ring, a shadowy belt will 
 be visible, caused by the shadow of the 
 ring as well as by the interposition of part 
 of it between the eye and the planet. The 
 siradow of the ring is broadest when the 
 Sun is nvost elevated, but its obscure parts 
 appear broadest when oiir eye is mo.st 
 elevated above the plane of it. When 
 it appears double, the ring next the body 
 of the planet appears brightest. When 
 the ring appears of an elliptical form, the 
 parts about the ends of the largest axis are 
 called the ansce, as has been already men- 
 tioned. These, a little before and after 
 the disappearing of the ring, are of unequal 
 magnitude j the largest ansa is longer visi- 
 ble before the planet’s round phase, and 
 appears again sooner than the other. On 
 the first of October, 1714, the largest ansa 
 was on the east side, and on the twelfth on 
 the west side of the disc of the planet, which 
 makes it pr obable that the ring has a rota- 
 tion round an axis. Herschel has demon- 
 strated, that it revolves in its own plane in 
 10>' 32 ' 15.4''. The observations of tJus 
 philosopher have added greatly to our know- 
 ledge of Saturn’s ring. According to him 
 there is one single, dark, considerably broad 
 line, belt, or zone, which he has con- 
 stantly found on the north side of the ring. 
 As this dark belt is subject to no change 
 whatever, it is probably owing to some per- 
 manent construction of the surface of the 
 ring this construction cannot be owing to 
 the shadow of a chain of mountains, since 
 it is visible all round on the ring ; for there 
 could be no shade at the ends of the ring ; 
 a similar argument will apply against the 
 opinion of very extended caverns. It is 
 pretty evident tliat this dark zone is con- 
 
SAT 
 
 tained between two concentric circles, for 
 all the piienomena correepond with the pro- 
 jection of such a zone. The nature of the 
 ring Dr. Herschel thinks no less solid tlian 
 that of Saturn itself, and it is observed to 
 cast a strong shadow upon the planet The 
 light of the ring is also generally brighter 
 than that of the planet, for the ring appears 
 sufficiently bright when the telescope af- 
 fords scarcely light enough for Saturn. The 
 Doctor concludes that the edge of the ring 
 is not flat, but spherical, or spheroidical. 
 The dimensions of the ring, or of the two 
 rings with the space between them. Dr. 
 Herschel giyes as below : 
 
 Inner diameter of smaller ring 146,345 
 
 Outside diameter of ditto 184,393 
 
 Inner diameter of larger ring 190,248 
 
 Outside diameter of ditto 204,883 
 
 Breadth of the inner ring 20,000 
 
 Breadth of the outer ring 7,200 
 
 Breadth of the vacant space, 
 
 or dark zone 2,839 
 
 There have been various conjectures rela- 
 tive to the nature of this ring. Some per- 
 sons have imagined that the diameter of the 
 planet Saturn was once equal to the present 
 diameter of the outer ring, and tliat it was 
 hollow : the present body being contained 
 within the former surface, in like manner as 
 a kernel is contained within its shell ; they 
 suppose that, in consequence of some con- 
 cussion, or other cause, the outer shell all 
 fell down to the inner body, and left only 
 the ring at the greater distance from the 
 centre, as we now perceive it. This con- 
 jecture is in some measure corroborated by 
 the consideration that both the planet and 
 its ring perform their rotations about the 
 same common axis, and in very nearly the 
 same time. But from the observations of 
 Dr. Herschel, he thus concludes ; “ It does 
 not appear to me that there is sufficient 
 ground for admitting the l ing of Saturn to 
 be of a very changeable nature, and I 
 guess that its phenomena wilt hereafter be 
 so fully explained, as to reconcile all obser- 
 vations. In the meanwhile we must with- 
 hold a final judgment of its construction, 
 till we can have more observations. Its 
 division, however, into two very unequal 
 parts, can admit of no doubt.” The dia- 
 meters of Saturn are not equal : that which 
 is perpendicular to the plane of his ring ap- 
 pears less by one-eleventh than the diame- 
 ter situated in that plane. If we compare 
 this form with that of Jupiter, we have 
 reason to conclude that Saturn turns ra- 
 
 SAV 
 
 pidly round his shorter axis, and that the 
 ring moves in the plane of his equator. 
 Herschel has confirmed this opinion by 
 actual observation. He has ascertained the 
 duration of a revolution of Saturn round 
 his axis to amount to 0.428 day. Huygens 
 observed five belts upon this planet nearly 
 parallel to the equator. 
 
 SATYRIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Gynandria Diandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Orchideae. Essential charac- 
 ter : nectary serotiform, or twin-inflated 
 behind the flower. There are twenty-one 
 species. 
 
 SAUCISSE, or Sausage, in the military 
 art, a long train of powder, sewed up in a roll 
 of pitched cloth, about two inches in diame- 
 ter, serving to set fire to mines. There are 
 usually two saucisses extended from the 
 chamber of the mine to the place where the 
 engineer stands ; that in case one should 
 fail, the other may take effect. 
 
 SAUCISSON, in fortification, a mass of 
 large branches of trees bound together; 
 and differing only from a fascine, as this is 
 composed of small branches of twigs. Sau- 
 cissons are employed to cover the men, and 
 to make epaulements. 
 
 SAVILLE (Sir Henry), in biography, 
 a very learned Englishman, the second son 
 of Henry Saville, Esq. was born at Brad- 
 ley, near Halifax, in Yorkshire, November 
 the 30th, 1549. He was entered of Mer- 
 ton College, Oxford, in 1561, where he took 
 the degrees in arts, and was chosen fellow, 
 VYhen he proceeded master of arts, in 1570, 
 he read, for that degree, on the Almagest 
 of Ptolemy, which procured him the repu- 
 tation of a man eminently skilled in mathe- 
 matics, and the Greek language ; in the 
 former of which he voluntarily read a pub- 
 lic lecture in the University for some time. 
 
 In 1578, he travelled into France, and 
 other countries ; where, diligently improv- 
 ing himself in all useful learning, in lan- 
 guages, and the knowledge of the world, 
 he became a most accomplished gentleman. 
 At his return, he was made tutor in the 
 Greek tongue to Queen Elizabeth, who had 
 a great esteem and respect for him. 
 
 In 1585, he was made Warden of Mer- 
 ton College, which he governed six and 
 thirty years with great honour, and im- 
 proved it by all the means in his power. lu 
 1596, he was chosen Provost of Eton Col- 
 lege ; which he filled with many learned 
 men. James I. upon bis accession to the 
 crown of England, expressed a great re- 
 gard for him, and w'onld have preferred him 
 
SAU 
 
 SAV 
 
 either in church or state; hut Saville de- 
 clined it, and onl}' accepted the ceremony 
 of knighthood from the Ring, at Windsor, 
 in 1604. His only son, Henry, dying about 
 that time, he henceforth devoted his fortune 
 to the promoting of learning. Among other 
 tilings, in 1619, he founded, in the Univer- 
 sity of Oxford, two lectures, or professor- 
 ships, one in geomeUy, the other in astro- 
 nomy ; which he endowed with a salary of 
 1601. a year each, besides a legacy of 6001. to 
 purchase more lands for the same use. He 
 also furnished a library with mathematical 
 books, near the mathematical school, for 
 the use of his professors ; and gave 1001, to 
 the mathematical chest of his own appoint- 
 ing ; adding afterwards a legacy of 401. a 
 year to the same chest, to the University, 
 and to his professors jointly. He likewise 
 gave 1501. towards the new building of the 
 schools, beside several rare manuscripts and 
 printed books to the Bodleian Library ; 
 and a good ([uantity of Greek types to the 
 printing press at Oxford. 
 
 After a life thus spent in the encourage- 
 ment and promotion of science and litera- 
 ture ill general, he died at Eton College, 
 the 19th of February, 1622, in the seventy- 
 third year of his age, and was buried in the 
 chapel there. On this occasion the Uni- 
 versity of Oxford paid him the greatest ho- 
 nours, by having a public speech and verses 
 made in his praise, which were imblished 
 soon after in 4to. under the title of “ Ulti- 
 ma Linea Savillii.” . 
 
 As to the character of Saville, the highest 
 encomiums are bestowed upon him by all 
 the learned of his time ; by Casanbon, Mer- 
 cerus, Meihomius, Joseph Scaliger, and 
 especially the learned Bishop Montague, 
 who, in his “ Diatribae upon Selden’s His- 
 tory of Tytbes,” styles him, “ that magazine 
 of learning, whose memory shall be honour- 
 able amotigst not only the learned, but the 
 righteous for ever.” 
 
 Several noble instances of his munifi- 
 cence to the republic of letters have alrea- 
 dy been mentioned : in the account of his 
 publications many more, and even greater, 
 will appear. These are, 
 
 1. Four Books of the Histories of Corne- 
 lias Tacitus, and the Life of Agricola, w ith 
 Notes upon them, in folio ; dedicated to 
 Queen Elizabelh, 1581, 
 
 e. A View of certain Military Matters, 
 or Commentaries respecting Roman War- 
 fare. 1598. 
 
 3, Rermn Anglicarura Scriptores post 
 Bedani, &c. 1596. This is a collection of 
 
 the best writers of our English History, to 
 which he added chronological tables at the 
 end, from Julius Caesar to William the Con- 
 queror. 
 
 4. The Works of St. Chrysostom, in 
 Greek, in eight volumes, folio, 1613. This 
 is a very fine edition, and composed with 
 great cost and labour. In the preface he 
 says, “ that having himself visited, about 
 twelve years before, all the public and pri- 
 vate libraries in Britain, and copied out 
 thence whatever he thought useful to this 
 design, he then sent some learned men into 
 France, Germany, Italy, and the East, to 
 transcribe such parts as he had not already, 
 and to collate the others with the best ma- 
 misci'ipts.” At the same time he makes 
 his acknowledgements to several eminent 
 men for their assistance ; as Thnanus, Vel- 
 serus, Schottiis, Casaubon, Ducseus, Gruter, 
 Hoesehelius, &c. In the eighth volume are 
 inserted Sir Henry Saville’s own notes, with 
 those of other learned men. The whole 
 charge of this edition, including the several 
 sums paid to learned men, at home and 
 abroad, employed in finding out, transcrib- 
 ing, and collating the best mamiseiipts, is 
 said to have amounted to no less than 
 8,0001. Several editions of this work wero 
 afterwards published at Paris. 
 
 5. Ill 1618 he published a Latin work, 
 written by Thomas Bradwardin, Archbi- 
 shop of Canteibury, against Pelagias, en- 
 titled De Causa Dei contra Pelagiuni, et 
 de virtnte Causarum ; to which he prefixed 
 the Life of Bradwardin, 
 
 6. In 1621 he published a Collection of 
 his own Mathematical Lectures on Euclid’s 
 Elements ; in 4to. 
 
 7. Oratio coram Elizabetha Regina Oxo- 
 niae habita, anno 1592. Printed at Oxford 
 in 1658. 4to. 
 
 8. He translated into Latin King James’s 
 Apology for the Oath of Allegiance. He 
 also left several manuscripts behind him, 
 written by order of King Jemes ; all which 
 are in the Bodleian Library. He wrote 
 notes likewise upon the margin of many 
 books in his library, particularly Eusebius’s 
 Ecclesiastical Histoiy ; w'bich were after- 
 wards used by Valesiiia, in his edition of 
 tliat work in 1669. Four of his Letters to 
 Camden are published by Smith, among 
 Camden’s Letters. 1691- 4to. 
 
 SAUNDERS, or Sanders. See San- 
 
 TAI.UM. 
 
 SAUNDERSON (Dr. Nicholas), in 
 biography, an illustrious professor of mathe- 
 matics in the University of Cambridge, and 
 
SAUNDERSON. 
 
 a fellow of the Royal Society, was born at 
 Thurlston in Yorkshire in 1682. When 
 he was but twelve months old, he lost not 
 only his eye-sight, but his very eye-balls, 
 by the small pox ; so that he could retain 
 no more tdeas of vision than if he had been 
 born blind. At an early age, however, 
 being of very promising parts, he was sent 
 to the free school at Penniston, and there 
 laid the foundation of that knowlege of the 
 Greek and Latin languages, which he after- 
 wards improved So far, by his own applica- 
 tion to the classic authors, as to hear the 
 works of Euclid, Archimedes, and Dio- 
 phantes read in their original Greek. 
 
 Having acquired a grammatical educa- 
 tion, bis father, who w’as in the excise, in- 
 structed him in the common rules of arith- 
 metic. And here it was that his excellent 
 mathematical genius first appeared; for he 
 very soon became able, to work the com- 
 mon questions, to make very long calcula- 
 tions by the strength of his memory, and to 
 form 'new rules to himself for the better re- 
 solving of such questions as are often pro- 
 posed to learners as trials of skill. 
 
 At tlie age of eighteen, our author was 
 introduced to the acquaintance of Richard 
 West, of Underbank, Esq., a lover of mathe- 
 matics, who, observing Mr. .Saunderson’s un- 
 common capacity, took the pains to instruct 
 him in the principles of algebra, and geo- 
 metry, and gave him every encouragement 
 in his power to the prosecution of these 
 studies. Soon -after this he became 'ac- 
 quainted also with Dr. Nettleton, who 
 took the same pains w'ith him. And it was 
 to these two gentlemen that Mr. Saunderson 
 owed his first institution in the mathema- 
 tical sciences ; they furnished him with 
 books, and often read and expounded them 
 to him. But he soon surpassed his masters, 
 and became fitter to teach, than to learn 
 any thing from them. 
 
 His father, otherwise burthened with a 
 numerous family, finding a difficulty in sup- 
 porting him, his friends began to think of 
 providing both for his education and main- 
 tenance. His own inclination led him 
 strongly to Cambridge, and it was at length 
 determined he should try his fortune there, 
 not as a scholar, but as a master : or, it this 
 design should not succeed, they promised 
 themselves success in opening a school for 
 him at London. Accordingly he went to 
 Cambridge in 1707, being then twenty-five 
 years of age, and his fame in a short time 
 filled tiie Univer,sity. Newton’s Principia, 
 Optics, and Universal Arithmetic, were the 
 
 foundations of his lectures, and afforded 
 him a noble field for the display of his ge- 
 nius ; and great numbers came to hear a 
 blind man give lectures on optics, discourse 
 on tire nature of light and colours, explain 
 the theory of vision, the effect of glasses, 
 the phenomenon of the rainbow, and other 
 objects of sight. 
 
 As he instrueted youth in the principles 
 of the Newtonian philosophy, he soon be- 
 came acquainted with its incomparable au- 
 thor, though he had several years before 
 left the University; and frequently con- 
 versed with him on the most difficult parts 
 of bis works : he also hold a friendly com- 
 munication with the other eminent mathe- 
 maticians of the age, as Halley, Cotes, 
 De Moivre, &c. 
 
 Mr. Wills ton was all this time in the ma- 
 thematical professor’s chair, and read lec- 
 tures in the manner proposed by Mr. Saun- 
 derson on his settling at Cambridge ; so 
 that an attempt of tills kind looked like an 
 encroacliment on the privilege of his office ; 
 but, as a good iiatured man, and an en- 
 courager of learning ; he readily consented 
 to the application of friends made in behalf 
 of so uncommon a person. 
 
 Upon the removal of Mr. Whiston from 
 his professorship, Mr. Saunderson’s merit 
 was thought so much superior to that of any 
 other competitor, that an extraordinary 
 step was taken in his favour^ to qualify him 
 with a degree, which the statute requires ; 
 in consequence he wasahosen, in 1711, Mr. 
 Whiston’s successor in the Lucasian profes- 
 sorship of mathematics ; Sir Isaac Newton 
 interesting himself greatly in his favour. 
 His first performance, after he was seated 
 in the cliair, was an inaugural speech made 
 in very elegant Latin, and a style truly Ci- 
 ceronian; for he was very well versed in 
 the writings of Tally, who was his favourite 
 in prose, as Virgil and Horace were in 
 verse. From this time he applied himself 
 closely to the reading of lectures, and gave 
 up his whole time to his' pupils. He con- 
 tinued to reside among the gentlemen of 
 Christ College tilt the year 1723, when he 
 took a house in Cambridge, and soon after 
 married a daughter of Mr. Dickens, rector 
 of BoxwortL,, in Cambridgeshire, by whom 
 he had a son and a daughter. 
 
 In the year 1728, when King George Vi- 
 sited the university, he expressed a desire 
 of seeing so remarkable a person ; and ac- 
 cordingly our professor attended the king 
 in the senate, and by his favour was there 
 created doctor of laws. 
 
saundb:rson. 
 
 Dr. Saunderson was natiiially of a strong 
 healthy constitution ; but being too seden- 
 tary, and constantly confining himself to 
 the house, he became a valetudinarian : and 
 in the spring of the year 1739 he com- 
 plained of a numbness in his limbs, which 
 ended in a mortification in his foot, of 
 which he died the 19tb of April that year, 
 jn the 57th year of his age. 
 
 There was scarcel}- any part of the ma- 
 thematics on which Dr. Saiinderson had 
 .not composed something for the use of his 
 pupils. But he discovered no intention of 
 publishing any thing, till, by the persuasion 
 of his friends, he prepared his Elements of 
 Algebra for the press ; which, after his 
 death, were published by subscription in 
 2 vols. 4to. 1740. 
 
 He left many other writings, though none 
 perhaps prepared for the press. Among 
 these were some valuable comments on 
 Newton’s Principia, which not only ex- 
 plain the more difficult parts, but often 
 improve upon the doctrines. These are 
 published in Latin at the end of his post- 
 humous Treatise on Fluxions, a valuable 
 work, published in 8vo, 1756. His manu- 
 script lectures too, on most parts of natural 
 philosophy, might make a considerable vo- 
 lume, and prove an acceptable present to 
 the public if printed. 
 
 Dr. Saunderson, as to his charactjei') was 
 a man ot much wit and vivacity in conver- 
 sation, and esteemed an excellent compa- 
 nion. He was endued with a great regard 
 to truth; and was such an enemy to dis- 
 guise, that he thought it his duty to ^pcak bis 
 thoughts at all times with unrestrained fr ee- 
 dora. Hence his sentiments on men and 
 opinions, his friendship or disregard, were 
 expressed without reserve; a sincerity which 
 raised him many enemies. 
 
 A blind man, moying in the sphere of a 
 matheniatician, seems a phenomenon diffi- 
 cult to be accounted for, and has excited 
 the admiration of every age in which it has 
 appeared. Tully mentions it as a thing 
 scarcely credible in his own master in phi- 
 losophy, Diodotus ; that he exercised him- 
 self in it with more assiduity after he be- 
 came b)ind ; and, what he thought next to 
 impossible to be done without sight, that he 
 professed geometry, desgribing his diagrams 
 go exactly to his scholars, that they could 
 draw every line in its proper direption. St. 
 Jerome relates a still more remarkable in- 
 stance in Didymus of Alexandria, who, 
 though blind from his infancy, and there- 
 fore ignorant of the very letters, not only 
 
 learned logic, but geometry also, to a very 
 great perfection, which seems most of all 
 to recpiire sight. But, if we consider that 
 the ideas of extended quantity, which are 
 the chief objects of mathematics, may as 
 well be acquired by the sense of feeling as 
 that of sight, that a fixed and steady atten- 
 tion is the principal qualification for this 
 study, and that the blind are, by neces.sity, 
 more abstracted than others, (for which 
 reason, it is said, that Democritus put out 
 his eyes, that he might think more in- 
 tensely), we shall perhaps find reason to 
 suppose that there is no branch of science 
 so much adapted to their circumstances. 
 
 At first. Dr. Saunderson acquired most 
 of his ideas by the sense of feeding; and 
 this, as is commonly the case with the blind, 
 he enjoyed in great perfection. Yet he 
 could not, as some are said to have done, 
 distinguish colours by that sense ; for, after 
 having made repeated trials, he used to say, 
 it was pretending to impossibilities. But 
 he could with great nicety and exactness 
 observe the smallest degree of roughness, or 
 defect of polish, in a surface. Thus, in a set 
 of Roman medals, he distinguished the ge- 
 nuine from the false, though they had bc«i 
 counterfeited with such exactness as to de- 
 ceive a connoisseur who had judged from 
 the eye. By the sense of feeling also, he 
 distinguished the least variation; and he 
 has been seen in a garden, whefi observa- 
 tions have been making on the sun, to take 
 notice of every cloud tliat interrupted the 
 observation, almost as justly as they who 
 could see it. He could also tell when any 
 thing was held near his face, or when lie 
 passed by a tree at no great distance, 
 merely by the diflerent impulse of the air 
 on his face. 
 
 His ear was also equally exact. He could 
 readily distinguish the 5th part of a note, 
 By the quickness of this sense he could 
 j udge of the size of a room, and of his distance 
 fr om the wall. And if ever he walked over q 
 pavement, in courts or piazzas which re- 
 flected a sound, and was afterwards con. 
 ducted thiUier again, he could' tell in what 
 part of the walk he had stood merely by 
 the note it sounded. 
 
 Dr. Saunderson had a peculiar method of 
 performi- g arithmetical calculations, by an 
 ingenious machine and method which has 
 been called his Palpable Arithmetic, and is 
 particularly described in a piece prefixed 
 to the first volume of his Algebra. That 
 he was able to make long and intricate cal- 
 culations, both arithmetical and aigebraicaj, 
 
SAU 
 
 is a thing as certain as it is wonderful. He 
 had contrived for his own use a commo- 
 dious notation for any large numbers, which 
 he could express on liis abacus, or calculat- 
 ing table, and with which he could readily 
 perform any arithmetical operations, by the 
 sense of feeling only, for which reason it 
 was called his Palpable Aritlimetic. 
 
 His calculating table was a smooth thin 
 board, a little more than a foot square, 
 raised upon a small frame, so as to lie hol- 
 low, which board was divided into a great 
 number of little squares, by lines intersect- 
 ing one another perpendicularly, and paral- 
 lel to the sides of the table, and the parallel 
 ones only one-tenth of an inch from 'each 
 other ; so that eveiy square inch of the table 
 was thus divided into 100 little squares. At 
 every point of intersection the board was 
 perforated by small holes, capable of re- 
 ceiving a pin ; for it was by the help of pins 
 stuck up to the head through these holes, 
 that he expressed his numbers. He used 
 two sorts of pins, a large and a smaller sort ; 
 at least their heads were diiferent, and 
 might easily be distinguished by feeling. 
 Of these pins he had a large quantity in 
 two boxes, with their points cut off, which 
 always stood ready before him when he 
 calculated. The writer of that account de- 
 scribes particularly the whole process of 
 using the machine, and concludes ; “ He 
 could place and displace his pins with in- 
 credible niinbleness and facility, much to 
 the pleasure and surprise of all the be- 
 holders. He could even break off in the 
 middle of a calculation, and resume it when 
 he pleased, and could presently know the 
 condition of it, by only drawing his fingers 
 gently over the table.” 
 
 SAURURUS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Heptandria Trigynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Piperitae. Naiades, Jussieu. 
 Essential eharacter : calyx an ament with 
 one-flowered scales ; corolla none ; germs 
 four ; berries four, one seeded. There is 
 but one species; viz. S. cernuus, lizard’s tail, 
 a native of North America. 
 
 SAUVAGESIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Francois Boissier de Sauvages, 
 professor at Montpellier, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Gruinales. Essential cha- 
 racter: calyx five-leaved; corolla five- 
 petalled, fringed; nectary five-leaved, alter- 
 nate with the petals; capsule one-celled. 
 There is but one species; viz. S. erecta, a 
 native of St. Domingo, Martinico, Jamaica, 
 Surinam, and Guiana. 
 
 SAW 
 
 _ SAW, an instrument which serves to cut 
 into pieces several solid matters, as wood, 
 stone, ivory, &c. The best saws are. of 
 tempered steel ground bright and smooth: 
 those of iron are only hammer-hardened : 
 hence, the first, besides their being stiflfer, 
 are likewise found smoother than the last. 
 They are known to be well hammered by 
 the stiff bending of the blade ; and to be 
 well and evenly ground, by their bending 
 equally in a bow. The edge in which are 
 the teeth is always thicker than the back, 
 because the back is to follow the edge. The 
 teeth are cut and sharpened with a triangu- 
 lar file, the blade of the saw being first fixed 
 in a whetting block. After they have been 
 filed the teeth are set, that is, turned out of 
 the right line, that they may make the fis- 
 sure the wider, that the back may follow 
 the better. The teeth are always set ranker 
 for coarse cheap stuff than for hard and 
 fine, because the ranker the teeth are set 
 the more stuff is lost in the kerf. The saws 
 by which marble and other stones are cut 
 have no teeth: these are generally very 
 large, and are stretched out and held even 
 by a frame. The workmen who make the 
 greatest use of the saw, are the sawyers, 
 carpenters, joiners, cabinet-makers, ebo’ 
 nists, stone-cutters, carvers, sculptors, &c. 
 The lapidaries too have their saw, as well ag 
 the workers in mosaic ; but these bear little 
 resemblance to the common saw. But of 
 all mechanics, none have so many saws as 
 the joiners; the chief are as follows : the pit 
 saw, which is a large two-handed saw, used 
 to saw timber in pits; this is chiefly used 
 by the sawyers. The whip-saw, which is also 
 two-handed, used in sawing such large pieces 
 of stuff as the hand-saw will not easily reach. 
 The hand-saw, which is made for a single 
 man’s use, of which there are various kinds; 
 as the bow or frame saw, which is furnished 
 w'ith cheeks : by the twisted cords which 
 pass from the upper parts of these cheeks, 
 and tire tongue in the middle of them, the 
 upper ends are drawn closer together, and 
 the low’er set further apart. The tenon-saw, 
 which being very thin, has a back to keep 
 it from bending. The compass-saw, which 
 is very small, and its teeth usually not set : 
 its use is to cut a round, or any other com- 
 pass-kerf: hence the edge is made broad 
 and the back thin, that it may have a com- 
 pass to turn in. 
 
 The surgeons also use a saw to cut off 
 bones ; this should be very small and light, in 
 order to be managed with the greater ease 
 and freedom, the blade exceedingly fine, 
 
SAWING. 
 
 and the teeth exquisitely sharpened, to 
 make its way more gently, and yet with 
 great expedition, in cutting offlegs, arms, &c. 
 
 Saws are now generally used by butchers 
 in separating the bones of the meat; the 
 divisions by the saw are neater than those 
 by the chopper, and there is a certain saving, 
 as the chopper splinters bones, the parts of 
 which cannot be incbided in the weight. 
 
 SAWING, dividing timber, &c. by the 
 application of a saw, either by the hand or 
 mill. The mechanism of a sawing-mill may 
 be reduced to three principal things, the 
 first, that the saw be drawn up and down 
 as long as is necessary, by a motion commu- 
 nicated by water to the wheel : the second, 
 that the piece of timber to be cut into 
 boards be advanced by an uniform motion 
 to receive the strokes of the saw ; for here 
 the wood is to meet the saw, and not the 
 saw to follow the wood, therefore the mo- 
 tion of the wood and that of the saw ought 
 immediately to depend the one on the 
 other : the third, that when the saw has cut 
 through the whole length of the piece, the 
 machine stops of itself, and remains im- 
 moveable; for fear, lest having no obstacle 
 to surmount, the force of the water, or steam, 
 should torn the wheel with too great rapi- 
 dity, and break some part of the machine. 
 
 In Plate Saw-mill are drawings of a cir- 
 cular saw-mill, used by Mr. George Smart, 
 at his manufactory for hollow-made masts, 
 Westminster Bridge. Fig. 1 is an elevation 
 of the machine ; tig. 2, a plan ; and tig. 3 
 and 4, the saw' shown separately. 
 
 The machine is turned by e. horse-wheel, 
 which gives motion to a pinion on a hori- 
 zontal shaft ; a spur wheel is fixed on this 
 shaft, and turns a pinion on another hori- 
 zontal shaft, on which the wheel A, (fig. 1) 
 is fixed : this wheel is in the room over the 
 machine, and the bearings for the gudgeons 
 of the shaft are supported on the joists, B, 
 of the floor: by means of an endless strap 
 passing round this wheel, and also round a 
 pulley, N, on the spindle of the circular 
 saw, a rapid motion is given to the saw', 
 which is made of well-tempered steel plate 
 (fig. 3), with teeth on its edge : it is fixed 
 on its spindle, D, (tig. 4) by a shoulder, d, 
 against which it is held by another move- 
 able shonlder, f, pressed against the other 
 by a nut, k, on the end of the spindle which 
 is tapped into a screw to receive it. The 
 saw has a a circular hole through the mid- 
 dle, fitting tight upon the spindle, and a 
 small fillet fitting into the notch, a, (fig. 3) 
 causes them to turn together. 
 
 The ends of the spindle are pointed, and 
 that point nearest the saw works in a hole 
 made in the end of a ssrew screwed in a 
 bench, E F G H, (fig. 1 and 2) made of 
 stout planks, and well braced together; the 
 other turns in a similar screw screwed 
 through a cross beam, K, morticed between 
 two vertical beams, L L, extending from 
 the floor to the ceiling: the cross beam, K, 
 can be raised or lowered in its mortices 
 through the beams, L, by wedges put both 
 above -and below its tenons. In order to 
 adjust the plane of the saw perpendicular to 
 the plane of the bench, M M, is a long pa- 
 rallel ruler, which can be set at any distance 
 fronf the saw, and fixed by screws going 
 through circular grooves, g g, cut through 
 the bench. In using tlie machine, the rii- 
 ler, M M, is to be set the proper distance 
 from the saw of the piece of wood to be 
 cut, and as the saw turns round, a w'orkman 
 slides the end of a piece of wood to il, 
 keeping its edge against the guide, M M, 
 that it may cut straight. 
 
 When the saw requires sharpening, one 
 of the screws at the end of its spindle must 
 be turned back : the spindle and saw can 
 be then removed; and by taking off the 
 nut, k, the saw will be loose, and may be 
 fixed in a common vice to whet it, in the 
 same manner as a common saw : tlie teeth 
 of the saw are set, that is, bent out of the 
 plane of the saw', one tooth on one side, the 
 next on the other : the outsides, r, (in fig. 3) 
 of the teeth are not tiled to leave a surface 
 perpendicular to the plane of the saw, but 
 inclined to it, and in the same direction that 
 each tooth so filed is bent in the setting : by 
 this means the saw, when cutting, first takes 
 away the wood at the two sides of the kerf, 
 leaving an angular ridge in the middle of it, 
 the use of which is to keep the saw steady 
 in a right line, that it may not have so much 
 tendency to get out of the straight in any 
 place where the wood is harder at one side 
 tlian on the other. 
 
 In early periods, the trunks of trees W'ere 
 split with wedges intoi as many and as fliiii 
 pieces as possible, and if it were necessary 
 to have them still thinner, they were hewn 
 on both sides to the proper size. This 
 simple and w'asteful manner of making 
 boards has been still continued in some 
 places to the present time. Peter the 
 Great of Russia endeavoured to put a stop 
 to it, by forbidding hew n deals to be trans- 
 ported on the river Neva. The saw, how- 
 ever, though so CDiivenient and beneficial, 
 has not been able to banish eiilirely tlie 
 
SAWING. 
 
 practice of splitting timber used in build- 
 ing, or in making furniture and utensils, for 
 we do not speak here of fire-wood ; and, 
 indeed, it must be allowed that this method 
 is attended with peculiar advantages, which 
 that of sawing can never possess. The wood- 
 splitters perform their work niore expedi- 
 tiously than sawyers, and split timber is 
 much stronger than that which has been 
 sawn ; for tlie fissure follows the grain of 
 the wood, and leaves it whole ; whereas the 
 saw, which proceeds in the line chalked out 
 for it, divides the fibres, and by these means 
 lessens its cohesion and solidity. Split tim- 
 ber, indeed, turns out often crooked and 
 warped; hut in many purposes to which it 
 is applied this is not prejudicial; and these 
 faults may sometimes be amended. As the 
 fibres, however, retain their natural length 
 and direction, thin hoards, particularly, can 
 be bent much better. This is a great ad- 
 vantage in making pipe-staves, or sieve- 
 frames, which require still more art, and in 
 forming various implements of the like 
 kind. 
 
 The most beneficial and ingenious im- 
 provement of this instrument was, without 
 doubt, the invention of saw-mills, which are 
 driven either by water or by the wind. Mills 
 of the first kind were erected so early as the 
 fourth century, in Germany, on the small 
 river Roeur or Riier : for though Ansonius 
 speaks properly of water-mills for cutting 
 stone, and not timber, it cannot be doubted 
 that these were invented later than mills for 
 manufacturing deals, or that both kinds 
 were erected at the same time. The art, 
 however, of cutting marble with a saw is 
 very old. Pliny conjectures that it was in- 
 vented at Caria ;' at least he knew no build- 
 ing incnisted with marble of greater an- 
 tiquity than the palace of king Mausolus, 
 at Halicarnassus. This edifice is celebrat- 
 ed by Vitruvius for the beauty of its marble ; 
 and l^liny gives an account of the different 
 kinds of sand used for cutting it; for it is 
 the sand properly, says he, and not the 
 saw, which produces that effect. The lat- 
 ter presses down the former, and rubs it 
 against the marble ; and the coarser the 
 sand is, the longer will be the time required 
 to polish the marble which has been cut by 
 it. Stones of the soap-rock kind, which are 
 indeed softer than marble, and wliich would 
 require less force than wood, were sawn at 
 that period : but it appears that the far harder 
 glassy kinds of stone were sawn then also ; 
 for we are told of the discovery of a building 
 which was encrusted with cut agate, corne- 
 
 lian, lapis lazuli, and amethysts. We have, 
 however, found no account in any of the 
 Greek or Roman writers of a mill for sawing 
 wood ; and as the writers of modern limes, 
 speak of saw-rnills as new and uncommon, it 
 would seem that the oldest construction of 
 them has been forgotten, or that some im- 
 portant improvemeni; has made them appear 
 entirely new. 
 
 Becher, in his history of inventions, says 
 that saw-mills were invented in the 17th 
 century. In this he erred, for wlien the in- 
 fant Henry sent settlers to the island of 
 Madeira, which was discovered in 1420, 
 and caused European fruits of every kind to 
 be carried thither ; he ordered saw mills to 
 be erected also, for the purpose of sawing 
 into deals the various species Of excellent 
 timber with which the island abounded, and 
 which were afterwards transported to Por- 
 tugal. About the year 1427, the City of 
 Breslau had a saw-mill, which produced a 
 yearly rent of three marks ; and in 1490, 
 the magistrates of Erfurt purchased a forest 
 in which tlicy caused a saw-mill to be erect- 
 ed, and they rented another mill in the 
 neighbourhood besides. 
 
 Norway, which is covered with forests, 
 had the first saw-mill about the year 1530. 
 This mode of raamifacturing timber was 
 called the new art ; and because the expor- 
 tation of deals was ■ by these means in- 
 creased, that circumstance gave occasion to 
 the deal-tythe, introduced by Christian III. 
 in the year 1545. Soon after the cele- 
 brated Henry Canzau caused the first mill 
 of this kind to be built in Holstein. In 
 1552 there was a saw-mill at Joachim- 
 sthal, which, as w'e are told, belonged to 
 Jacob Gcusen, mathematician. In the year 
 1555, the bishop of Ely, ambassador from 
 Mary queen of England to the. court of 
 Rome, having seen a saw-mill in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Lyons, the writer of his tra- 
 vels thought it worthy of a particular de- 
 scription. In the sixteenth century, how, 
 ever, there were mills with different saw- 
 blades,, by which a plank could be cut into 
 several deals , at the same time. The first 
 saw-mill was erected in Holland at Saar- 
 dam, in the year 1596; and the inveiitioii 
 of it is ascribed to Cornelius Cornelissen. 
 Perhaps he was the first person wiio built a 
 saw mill at that place, which is a village of 
 great trade, and has still a great many saw- 
 mills, though the number of them is becom- 
 ing daily less ; for within the. last half cen- 
 tury a hundred have been given up. The 
 first mill of this kind in Sweden was erected 
 
SAX 
 
 ill the year 1653. At present, that king- 
 dom possesses the largest perhaps ever con- 
 structed in Europe, where a water-wheel, 
 twelve feet broad, drives at the same time 
 seventy-two saws. 
 
 In England saw-mills had at first the 
 same fate that printing' had in Tuikey, the 
 ribbon-loom in the dominions of the church, 
 and the crane at Strasburgli. When at- 
 tempts were made to introduce them, they 
 were violently opposed, because it was ap- 
 prehended- that the sawyers would be de- 
 prived by them of their means of getting a 
 subsistance. For this reason, it was found 
 necessary to abandon a saw-mill erected by 
 a Dutchman near London, in 1663,; and in 
 the year 1700, when one Houghton laid be- 
 fore the nation the advantages of such a 
 mill, he expressed his apprehension t}iat it 
 might excite the rage of the populace. 
 Wliathe dreaded was actually the case in 
 1767 or 1768, when an opulent tiraber-mer- 
 cliant, by the desire and approbation of tlie 
 Society of Arts, caused a saw- mill, driven 
 by wind, to be erected at Limehouse, un- 
 der the direction of James Stanfield, who 
 had learned, in Holland and Norway, the 
 art of constructing and managing machines 
 of that kind. A mob assembled, and pulled 
 the mill, to pieces ; but the damage was 
 made good by the nation, and some of the 
 riotei-s were punished. A new mill was 
 afterwards erected, which was suffered 
 to work without molestation, and which 
 gave occasion to the erection of others, 
 it appears, however, that this was not the 
 only mill of the kind then in Britain ; for 
 one driven also by wind had been built at 
 Leith, in Scotland, some years before. 
 
 .SAXIFRAGA, in botany, stixifrage, a 
 genus of the Decandria Digynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Succulent*. Saxi- 
 fragas, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx 
 five-parted, five-petalled ; capsule two-beak- 
 ed, one-celled, many-seeded. There are 
 fifty species ; of these we shall notice the 
 S. granulata, or white saxifrage, which grows 
 naturally in the meadows in many parts of 
 England. The roots of this plant are like 
 grains of corn, of a reddish colour with- 
 out : there is a variety of this with double 
 flowers, which is very ornamental. The 
 leaves are tongue-shaped, gathered into 
 heads, rounded at their points, and have 
 cartilaginous and sawed borders. The stalk 
 rises two feet and a half high, branching 
 out near the ground, forming a natural 
 pyramid to the top. The flowers have five 
 white wedge shaped petals, and ten stamina, 
 
 SCH 
 
 placed circularly the length of the tube, 
 terminated by roundish purple summits. 
 When these plants are strong, they produce 
 very large pyramids of flowers. S. nm- 
 brosa, commonly called London pride, or 
 none-so-pretty, grows naturally on the 
 Alps, and also in great plenty on a moun- 
 tain of Ireland, called Mangerton, in the 
 county of Kerry, in that island. The roots 
 of this are perennial. S. oppositifolia grows 
 naturally on the Alps, Pyrenees, and Hel- 
 vetian mountains : it is also found pretty 
 plentifully growing upon Ingleborongh hill, 
 in Yorkshire; Snowdon, in Wales, and 
 some other places. It is a perennial plant, 
 with stalks trailing upon the ground. The 
 flowers are produced at the end of the 
 branches, of a deep blue. 
 
 SCABIOSA, in botany, scabious, a ge- 
 nus of the Tetrandria Mouogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Aggregat*. Dip- 
 saceas, Jussieu. Essential character: ca- 
 lyx common, many-leaved ; proper double 
 superior; receptacle chaffy. There are 
 forty-three species. S. arvensis, or meadow 
 scabious, grows naturally in many places of 
 Britain. The flowers are produced upon 
 naked footstalks at the ends of the branches ; 
 they are of a purple colour, and have a 
 faint odour. S. succisa, or devil’s bit, grows 
 in woods and moist places. This has a 
 short tap-root, the end of which appears 
 as if it was bitten or cut off, whence the 
 plant has taken its name. 
 
 SCABRID.E, in botany, the name of 
 the fifty-third order in Linnseus Fragments 
 of a Natural Method, consisting of plants 
 with rough leaves. Among these are the 
 ficus and morus, which yield by incision a 
 milky juice. Another genus is the canna- 
 bis, or hemp, from the leaves of which, in 
 the East Indies, an intoxicating liquor is 
 prepared, and from the seeds is drawn an 
 oil useful for lamps. 
 
 SCJEYOLA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Campauulacea;, Jussieu. 
 Essential character: corolla one-petalled, 
 with the tube cloven longitudinally, the 
 border five-cleft and lateral ; drupe infe- 
 rior, containing one two-celled nut. There 
 are three species, natives of the East In- 
 dies. 
 
 SCH7EFFERA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Dioecia Tetrandria class and order. 
 Essential character : male, calyx four or 
 five-leaved ; corolla four-petalled, or none : 
 female, calyx four or five-parted ; corolla 
 four-parted, or none; berry two-celled ; 
 
I I'J:' 
 
 F, g . ?. 
 
 — as 
 
 1 
 
 Saw Mill 
 
 Fy.l. 
 
 Fuj - 3. 
 
 
 Fi„. t. 
 
 htvufon . Dih/tsheti i>v.Z<Mitp>uin , Jhtfvsf, Hetv (h7nt, fAf^ . 
 
 
SCALE. 
 
 seeds solitaiy. There are two species, vk. 
 S. completa, and S. lateriflorh, natives of 
 the West Indies. 
 
 SCALE, a mathematical instrument, con- 
 sisting of several lines drawn on wood, 
 brass, silver, &c. and variously divided, 
 according to the purposes it is intended to 
 serve ; whence it acquires various denomi- 
 nations, as the plain scale, diagonal scale, 
 plotting scale, Gunter’s scale, &c. See 
 Mathematicai- Instruments. 
 
 Scale, diagonal, is projected thus : first 
 draw eleven parallel lines at equal distances, 
 the whole length of which being divided 
 into a certain number of equal parts, ac- 
 cording to the length of the scale, by per- 
 pendicular parallels, let the first division be 
 again subdivided into ten equal parts, both 
 above and below; then drawing the oblique 
 lines from the first perpendicular below to 
 the first subdivision above, and from the 
 first subdivision below to the second subdi- 
 vision above, &c. the first space shall there- 
 by be exactly divided into one hundred 
 equal parts ; for as each of these subdivi- 
 sions is one tenth part of the whole first 
 space or division, so each parallel above it 
 is one tenth of such subdivision, and con- 
 sequently one hundredth part of the whole 
 first space; and if tliere be ten of the 
 larger divisions, one thousandth part of the 
 whole scale. If therefore the larger divi- 
 sions be accounted units, the first subdivi- 
 sions will be tenth parts of an unit ; and the 
 second subdivisions, marked by the diago- 
 nals on the parallels, hundredth parts of an 
 unit. Again, if the larger divisions be 
 reckoned tens, the first subdivisions will be 
 units, and the second subdivisions tenth 
 parts ; and if the larger divisions be ac- 
 counted hundredths, the first subdivisions 
 will be tens, and the second units; and 
 so on. 
 
 Scale, Gunter’s, an instrument, so called 
 from Mr. Gunter, its inventor, is gene- 
 rally made of box : there are two sorts, the 
 long Gunter and the sliding Gunter, having 
 both the same lines, but differently used, 
 the former with the compasses, the latter 
 by sliding. The lines now generally deli- 
 neated on those instruments are the fol- 
 lowing, viz. a line of numbers, of sines, 
 tangents, versed sines, sine of the rhumb, 
 tangent of the rhumb, meridional parts, and 
 equal parts ; which are constructed after 
 the following manner ; 
 
 The line of numbers is no other than the 
 logarithmic scale of proportionals, wherein 
 the distance bettyeen each division is equal 
 
 to the number of mean proportionals con- 
 tained between the two terms, in such 
 parts as the distance between 1 and 10 is 
 1000, &c. equal the logarithm of that num- 
 ber. Hence it follows, that if the number 
 of equal parts expressed by the logarithm 
 of any number be taken from the same 
 scale of equal parts, and set off from 1 on 
 the line of numbeis, the division will repre- 
 sent the number answering to that loga- 
 rithm. Thus, if you take .954, &c. (the 
 logarithms of 9) of the same parts, and set 
 it off from 1 towards 10, you will have the 
 division standing against the number 9. In 
 like manner, if you set off .903, &c. .845, 
 &c. .778, &c. (ihe logarithms of 8, 7, 6) 
 of the same equal parts from 1 towards 10 , 
 you will have the divisions answ'ering to the 
 numbers 8, 7, 6. After the same manner 
 may the whole line be constructed. 
 
 The line of numbers being thus con- 
 structed, if the numbers answering to the 
 natural sines and tangents of any arch, in 
 such parts as the radius is 10,000, &c. be 
 found upon the line of numbers, right 
 against them will stand the respective divi- 
 sions answering to the respective arches, 
 or which is the same thing, if the distance 
 between the centre and that division of the 
 line of numbers, winch expresses the num- 
 ber answering to the natuial sine or tan- 
 gent of any arch, be set off on its respec- 
 tive line from its centre towards the left 
 hand, it w’ill give the point answering to 
 the sine or tangent of that arch : thus the 
 natural sine of 30 degrees being 5,000, &c. 
 if tire distance between the centre of the 
 line of numbers (which in this case is equal 
 to 10,000, &c. equal the radius) and the 
 division, on the same line representing 
 5000, Sec. be set off from the centre, or 
 90 degrees, on the line of sines, towards 
 the left hand, it will give the point answer- 
 ing to tire sine of 30 degrees. And after 
 the same manner may tire whole line of 
 sines, tangents, and versed sines be divided. 
 
 The line of sines, tangents, and vej-sed 
 sines being thus constructed, the line sine 
 of the rhumb, and tangent of the rhumb 
 are easily divided ; for if the degrees and 
 minutes answering to the angle which every 
 rhumb makes with the meridian, be trans- 
 ferred from its respective line to that which 
 is to be divided, we shall have the several 
 points required ; thus if the distance be- 
 tween the radius or centre, and sine of 45 
 degrees equals the fourth rhumb, be set off 
 upon the line sine of the rhumb, we shall 
 have the. point answering to the sine of the 
 
SCA 
 
 fourth rhumb ; and after the same manner 
 may both these lines be constructed. The 
 line of meridional parts is constructed from 
 the table of meridional parts, in the same 
 manner as the line ot numbers is from the 
 logarithms. 
 
 The lines being thus constructed, all pro- 
 blems relating to arithmetic, trigonometry, 
 and their depending sciences, may be solved 
 by the extent of the compasses only ; and, 
 as all questions are reducible to propor- 
 tions, the general rule is, to extend the 
 compasses from the first term to the se- 
 cond, and the same extent of the compasses 
 ■will reach from the third to the fourth; 
 which fourth term must be so continued as 
 to be the tiring required, which a little 
 practice will render easy. 
 
 Scale, scala, in music, is a denomination 
 given to the arrangement of the six sylla- 
 bles invented by Guido Aretine, ut, re, mi, 
 fa, sol, la, called also gamut. It bears 
 the name scale (j. d, ladder) becarrse it 
 represents a kind of ladder, by means 
 whereof, the voice rises to acute, or de- 
 scends to grave ; each of six syllables be- 
 ing, as it were, one step of the ladder. 
 Scale is also used for a series of sounds ris- 
 ing or falling towards acuteness or gravity, 
 from any given pitch of tune, to the great- 
 estdistance that is fit or practicable, through 
 such intermediate degrees as make the suc- 
 cession most agreeable and perfect, and in 
 which we have all the harmonical intervals 
 most commodiously divided. 
 
 Scales offish, generally possess a sil- 
 very whiteness, and are composed of dif- 
 ferent lamina;. In many of their properties 
 they resemble horn. By long boiling in wa- 
 ter they become soft, and when they are 
 kept for some hours in nitric acid, they are 
 converted into a transparent membranous 
 substance. By saturating the acid with 
 ammonia, a precipitate is formed, which is 
 phosphate of lime. The constituent parts 
 of scales, therefore, are membrane and 
 phosphate of lime. 
 
 SCALENE, or Scalenous triangle, 
 in geometry, a triangle whose sides and 
 angles are unequal. 
 
 SCAMMONY, in the Materia Medica, 
 is a concreted vegetable juice of a plant of 
 the same name, partly of the resin and 
 partly of the gum-kind, of which there are 
 two sorts, distinguished by the names of the 
 places from whence they are brought. The 
 Aleppo scammony is of a spongy texture, 
 light and friable; it is of a faint disagreeable 
 smell, and its taste is bitterish, very nause- 
 
 SCA 
 
 oils, and acrimonious. The Smyrna scara- 
 mony is considerably hard and heavy, of a 
 black colour, and of a inuch stronger smell 
 and taste than the former, otherwise it much 
 resembles it. 
 
 SCANDALUM magnatuin, is the spe- 
 cial name of a statute, and also of a wrong 
 done to any high personage of the land, as 
 prelates, dukes, marquisses, earls, barons, 
 and other nobles ; and also the chancellor, 
 treasurer, clerk of the privy seal, steward 
 of the house, justice of one bench or other, 
 and other great officers of the realm, by 
 false news, or horrible, or false, messages, 
 whereby debates and discord, between 
 them and the commons, or any scandal to 
 their persons might arise. 2 Richard II. c. 5. 
 This statute has given name to a writ, 
 granted to recover damages thereupon. 
 
 It i.s now clearly agreed, that though 
 there be no express words in the statute 
 which give an action, yet the party injured 
 may maintain one on this principle of law, 
 that when a statute prohibits the doing of a 
 thing, which if done might be prejudicial to 
 another, in such case he may have an action 
 on that very statute for his damages. 
 
 SCANDIX, in botany, chervil, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Umbellatae or Umbelli- 
 feraj. Essential character : florets of the 
 disc most commonly male ; corolla radiate ; 
 petals emarginate ; fruit awl shaped. There 
 are eleven species. The most remarkable 
 is S. odorata with angular furrowed seeds. 
 It is a native of Germany ; and has a very 
 thick perennial root, composed of many 
 fibres, of a sweet aromatic taste, like ani- 
 seed, from which come forth many large 
 leaves that branch out somewhat like 
 those of fern, whence it is named sweet 
 fern. 
 
 SC.ANNING, in poetry, the measuring 
 of a verse by feet, in order to see whether 
 or no the quantities be duly observed. 
 
 The term is chiefly used in regard to the 
 Greek and Latin verses. Thus an hexame- 
 ter verse is scanned, by resolving it into six 
 feet ; a pentameter, by resolving it into five 
 feet, &c. 
 
 SCANTLING,in building, a measure, or 
 standard by which the dimensions of things 
 are to be determined. The term is parti- 
 cularly applied to the dimensions of any 
 piece of timber, witli regard to its breadth 
 and thickness. 
 
 SCAPEMENT, a general term for the 
 manner of communicating the impulse of 
 the wheels to the pendulum of a clock. 
 
SCA 
 
 Common scapements consist of the swing 
 wheel and pallets only. See Horology, 
 &c. 
 
 SCAPOLITE, in mineralogy, a species 
 of the Flint genus, is of a greyish wliite co- 
 lour, passing into greenish grey j it occurs 
 massive, but most commonly crystallized in 
 long, thin, often acicular prisms. Externally 
 it is glistening ; internally it is shining and 
 glistening ; its lustre is between resinous 
 and pearly. It is brittle and frangible. 
 Specific gravity about 3.7. Before the blow- 
 pipe it intumesces, and melts into shining 
 white enamel. It is found in the iron-stone 
 mines in Norway. Its crystals are some- 
 times mi.xed with mica, calc-spar, and fel- 
 spar. It is composed of 
 
 Silica 48 
 
 Alumina 30 
 
 Lime 14 
 
 Oxide of iron t 
 
 V’fater 2 
 
 oT 
 
 Loss 5 
 
 too 
 
 SCARABA2US, in natural history, the 
 beetle, a genus of insects of the order Co- 
 leoptera. Generic character ; antenn® cla- 
 vate, the club lamellate ; feelers four ; fore- 
 shanks generally toothed. In this genus 
 there are several hundred species, in four 
 divisions, which are distinguished by the 
 form of their feelers. 
 
 S. Hercules, or Hercules beetle, is the 
 most remarkable species, as well injsize as 
 in beauty. It is five or six inches long ; the 
 wing-shells are of a smooth surface, of a 
 bluish-grey colour, marked with round, 
 deep- black spots of different sizes 5 . from the 
 upper part of the thorax proceeds a horn of 
 great length, in proportion to the body ; it 
 is sharp at the tip, and is furnished through- 
 out its whole length with a fine, short, vel- 
 vet-like pile, of a brownish-orange colour ; 
 from the front of the head also proceeds a 
 strong horn, like the other, but not furnish- 
 ed with any pile. This insect is found in 
 several parts of South America, where great 
 numbers are said to be sometimes seen on 
 the mamraee-tree, rasping off the rind of 
 the slender branches, by working nimbly 
 round tliem with the horns, till they cause 
 the juice to flow, which they drink to intox- 
 ication, and in this state fall senseless from 
 the tree. This fact has been controverted 
 by the learned Fabricius. 
 
 In this country, the S. raelolontha, or 
 
 SCA 
 
 cock-chaffer, is very common. The larva 
 inhabits ploughed lands, and feeding on the 
 roots of corn ; and the complete insect 
 makes its appearance during the middle 
 and the decline of summer. This insect 
 sometimes appears in such prodigious num- 
 bers, as almost to str ip the trees of their fo* 
 liage, and to produce mischiefs nearly ap- 
 proaching to those of the locust-tribe ; they 
 are thus described in the “ Philosophical 
 Transactions ’’ for the year 1697, by Mr. 
 Molineux. These insects were first noticed 
 in this kingdom in 1688. They appeared 
 on the south-west coast of Galway, brought 
 thither by a south-west wind, one of the 
 most common, I might almost say, trade- 
 winds, of this country. From hence they 
 penetrated into the inland parts towards 
 Heddford, about twelve miles north of the 
 town of Galway : liere and there in the ad- 
 jacent country, multitudes of them appear- 
 ed among the trees and hedges in the day- 
 time, hanging by the boughs in clusters, 
 like bees when they swarm. In this pos- 
 ture they continued, with little or no mo- 
 tion, during the heat of the sun; but, to- 
 wards evening or sun-set, they would all dis- 
 perse and fly about with a strange hum- 
 ming noise, like the beating of distant 
 drums, and in such vast numbers, that they 
 darkened the air for the space of two or 
 three miles square. Persons travelling on 
 the roads, or abroad in the fields, found it 
 very uneasy to make tlieir way through 
 them, they would so beat and knock them- 
 selves against their faces in their flight, and 
 with such a force as to make the place 
 smart, and leave a slight mark behind them. 
 In a short time after their coming, they had 
 so entirely eat up and destroyed all the leaves 
 of the trees for some miles round, that the 
 whole country, though in the middle of sum- 
 mer, was left as bare as in the depth of win- 
 ter ; and the noise they made in gnawing 
 the leaves, made a sound much resembling 
 the sawing of timber. They also came in- 
 to the gardens and destroyed the buds, 
 blossoms, and leaves of all the fruit-trees 
 so that they were left perfectly naked ; nay 
 many that were more delicate than the rest, 
 lost their sap as w’ell as leaves, and quite 
 withered away, so that they never recover- 
 ed again. Their multitudes spread so ex- 
 ceedingly, that they infested houses, and 
 became extremely offensive and trouble- 
 some. Their numerous young, hatched from 
 the eggs which they had lodged under 
 ground, near the surface of the earth, did 
 still more barm in that close retirement 
 
SCA 
 
 than all the flying swarms of their parents 
 had done abroad; for tliis destructive 
 brood, lying under ground, eat up the roots 
 of corn and grass, and thus consumed the 
 support both of man and beast. This plague 
 was happily checked several ways. High 
 winds, and wet inisling weather, destroyed 
 many millions of them in a day ; and wiien 
 this constitution of the air prevailed, they 
 were so enfeebled that they would let go 
 their hold, and drop to the ground from the 
 branches, and so little a fall as this was suf- 
 ficient quite to disable, and sometimes per- 
 fectly kill them. Nay, it w'as observable, 
 that even when they were most vigorous, a 
 shght blow would for some time stun them, 
 if not deprive them of life. During these 
 unfavourable seasons of the weather, the 
 swine and poultry of the countiy would 
 watch under the trees for their falling, and 
 feed and fatten upon them ; and even the 
 poorer sort of the country people, the coun- 
 try then labouring under a scarcity of pro- 
 vision, had a way of dressing them, and 
 lived upon them as food. In a little time 
 it was found, that smoke was another thing 
 very offensive to them, and by burning 
 heath, fern, &c. the gardens were secured, 
 or if the insects had already entered, they 
 were thus driven out again. Towards the 
 latter end of summer, they returned of 
 themselves, and so totally disappeared, that 
 in a few days you could not see one left. 
 A year or two ago, all along the south-west 
 coast of the county of Galway, for some 
 miles together, there were found dead on 
 the shore such infinite multitudes of them, 
 and in such vast heaps, that, by a moderate 
 estimate, it was computed there could not 
 be less than forty or fifty horse-loads in all; 
 which was a new colony, or a supernume- 
 rary swarm, from the same place whence 
 the first stock came, in 1688 , driven by the 
 wind from their native land, which I con- 
 clude to be Normandy, or Britany, in 
 France, it being a country much infested 
 with this insect, and from whence England 
 heretofore has been pestered in a similar 
 manner, with swarms of this vermin ; but 
 these, meeting with a contrary wind before 
 they could land, were stopped, and, tired 
 with the voyage, were all driven into the 
 sea, which, by the motion of its waves and 
 tides, cast their floating bodies in heaps on 
 the shore. It is observed, that they sel- 
 dom keep above a year together in a place, 
 and then' usual stages, or marches, are com- 
 puted to be about six miles iu a year. Hi- 
 therto their progress has been westerly, fol- 
 
 SCA 
 
 lowing the course of that wind w'hich blows 
 most commonly in this country.” 
 
 The larva of this insect is eagerly sought 
 after aud devoured by swine, bats, crows, 
 and poultry : it is said to be two or three 
 years in passing from its first form into that 
 of the perfect insect. The eggs are laid in 
 small detached heaps, beneath the surface 
 of some clod, and the young, when first 
 hatched, are scarcely more than the eighth 
 ot an inch in length, gradually advancing in 
 their growth, and occasionally shifting their 
 skins, till they arrive at the length of nearly 
 two inches. At this period they begin to 
 prepare for their change into a chrysalis or 
 pupa, selecting for the purpose some small 
 clod of earth, in which they form a cavity, 
 and after a certain time, divest themselves 
 of their last skin, and immediately appear 
 in the pupa state ; in this they continue till 
 the succeeding summer, when the beetle 
 emerges from its retirement, and commits 
 its depredations on the leaves of trees, 
 breeds, and deposits its eggs in a favourable 
 situation, after which its life is of very short 
 duration. If the larva appear in autumn in 
 considerable quantities, they are said to 
 prognosticate epidemic disorders. 
 
 A species of great beauty is the S. aura- 
 tus, or golden beetle, about the size of the 
 common or black garden beetle ; the co- 
 lour is most brilliant, varnished, aud of a 
 golden-green. This is a fine object for the 
 magnifying glass. It is not very uncommon 
 during the hottest parts of summer, fre- 
 quenting various plants and flowers ; its lar- 
 va is commonly found in the hollows of old 
 trees, or among the loose dry soil at then- 
 roots, and sometimes in the earth of ant- 
 hills. 
 
 Mr. Donovan has described,, among his 
 English insects, the S. stercorariiis, or clock- 
 beetle, which flies about in an evening, in a 
 circular direction, with a loud buzzing 
 noise, and is said to foretel a fine day. It 
 was consecrated by the Egyptians to Are 
 sun ; is infested with the acariis and ichneu- 
 mon ; the body is often coloured with a 
 bluish or greenish gloss, sometimes brassy 
 beneath ; shells frequently dull, rufous. 
 
 SCARIFICATION, in surgery, the ope- 
 ration of making several incisions in the 
 skin by means of lancets, or other instru- 
 ments, particularly the cupping instru- 
 ment. 
 
 SCARP, iu fortification, is the interior 
 talus, or slope of the ditch next the place, 
 at the foot of the rampart. 
 
 Scarp, in heraldry, the scarf which raili- 
 
SCI^ 
 
 lary comtnanders wear for ornament. It is 
 borne somewhat like a battoon sinister, but 
 is broader than it, and is continued out to 
 the edges of the field ; whereas the battoon 
 is cut oflF at each end. 
 
 SCARUS, in natural history, a genus of 
 fishes of the order Thoracici. Generic cha- 
 racter : instead of teeth, strong bony pro- 
 ces.ses, crenated at the edges ; gill-mem- 
 brane five-rayed ; lateral line mostly branch- 
 ed. There aie eight species ; S. fivulatus, 
 is found in the Red Sea, about the length 
 of three feet. It feeds on herbs, and is 
 used for food; but any puncture, or lacera- 
 tion, by the dorsal spine of this fish is said 
 to be attended with extraordinary pain and 
 inflammation. The other species are mostly 
 inhabitants of the same sea. 
 
 SCAVAGE, a toll or custom anciently 
 exacted by mayors, sheriffs, and bailiffs, of 
 cities and towns-corporate, and of merchant- 
 strangers, for wares exposed and offered to 
 sale within their liberties ; which was pro- 
 hibited by 19 Henry VII. But tlie City of 
 London still retains this custom. 
 
 SCENOGRAPHY, in perspective, the 
 represep^tion of a body on a perspective 
 plane; or, a description thereof in. all its 
 dimensions, such as it appears to the eye. 
 The ichnography of a building, &c. repre- 
 sents its plan, or ground-work ; the ortho- 
 graphy is a view of the front, or one of its 
 -sides ; and the scenography is a view of the 
 whole building, front, sides, height, and all, 
 raised on'the geometrical plan. 
 
 SCEPTRE, in astronomy, one of the six 
 new constellations of the southern hemis- 
 phere consisting of seventeen stars. 
 
 SCHAALSTONE, in mineralogy, a spe- 
 cies of the Calc genus, is of a greyish white 
 colour, with varieties: it occurs massive, 
 and the lustre of its principal fracture is 
 shining and nearly pearly. It is translucent, 
 brittle, easily frangible, and not very heavy. 
 
 It has hitherto been found only in the Ban- 
 nat of Temeswar, and is accompanied by 
 ores of copper. It is composed of lime and 
 silica. 
 
 SCHAUM earth, or Foaming earth, in 
 mineralogy, a species of the Calc genus, is 
 of a very light yellowish, nearly silver white 
 colour, approaching sometimes to greyish- 
 white. It occurs massive and disseminated, 
 sometimes loose and composed of fine scaly 
 particles, or intermediate between friable 
 and loose. Its lustre is between shining 
 and glistening. It is soft, friable, fine, but 
 not greasy. With acids it effervesces and is 
 dissolved in them. By analysis it is found 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SCH 
 
 to be composed of lime and carbonic acid. 
 It is nearly allied to slate-spar, and is found 
 in the forest of Thuringia, also in the north 
 of Ireland. 
 
 SCHEFFLERA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Scheffer, physician and botanist 
 at Dantzic, a genus of the Pentandria De- 
 cagynia class and order. Essential charac- 
 ter : calyx five-toothed ; corolla five-petal- 
 led ; capsule eight or ten celled ; seeds soli- 
 tary, semicircular. There is only one spe- 
 cies, viz. S. digitata, a native of New Zea- 
 land. 
 
 SCHEME, a draught or representation 
 of any astronomical or geometrical figure, 
 or problem, by lines sensible to tlie eye ; or 
 of the celestial bodies in their proper places 
 for any given moment. It is otherwise call- 
 ed a diagram, r 
 
 SCHEUCHZERIA, in botany, so named 
 in memory of John Scheuchzer, professor 
 of physic at Zurich, a genus of the Hex- 
 andria Trigynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Tripetaloidese. Junci, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx six-parted ; co- 
 rolla none ; styles none ; capsule three, in- 
 flated, one-seeded. There is but one spe- 
 cies, viz. S. palustris, a native of the North 
 of Europe. 
 
 SCHIEFER spar, one of the species of 
 carbonate of lime. It is of a grey colour 
 passing to red, and even in some specimens 
 to green. It is found massive ; the texture 
 is foliated; it is brittle; feels unctuous; 
 and may be scratched with the nail. Spe- 
 cific gravity 2.7. It is composed of carbo- 
 nate of lime, w'ith some silica, and oxide of 
 iron. 
 
 SCHILLER stone, in mineralogy, a spe- 
 cies of the Talc genus, of an olive green : 
 usually disseminated and massive, probably 
 also crystallized. Lustre shining, passing 
 into semi-metallic : fracture perfectly foliate. 
 Soft, slightly brittle, easily frangible, and 
 not particularly heavy. It occurs imbedded 
 in serpentine; and is frequently accompanied 
 with mica. It is found in Saxony, Corn- 
 wall, and Scotland. 
 
 SCHINUS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Dioecia Decandria class and order. Natural 
 order of Dumosm. Terebintace®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx five-parted ; pe- 
 tals five: female, berry three-celled. There 
 are two species, viz. S. molle, Peruvian mas- 
 tich tree,and S.areira, Brasilian mas tich tree. 
 
 SCHISTUS, in mineralogy, a name given 
 to several different kinds of stones, but 
 more especially to some of the argillaceous 
 kind ; as, i. The bluish purple schistus, 
 
SCH 
 
 SCH 
 
 S. tegulans, or common roof-slate; this IS so peroidese, Jussieu. Essential character: 
 soft that it may be slightly scraped with the glumes chaffy, heaped, the outer ones bar- 
 nail, and is of a very brittle lameliated tex- ren ; corolla none ; seed one, roundish 
 
 ture: of the specific gravity of 2.8. It is 
 fusible per se in a strong heat, and runs into 
 a black scoria. By a chemical analysis it 
 
 is found to consist of 
 
 Argillaceous earth 26 
 
 Silex 46 
 
 Magnesia 8 
 
 Lime 4 
 
 Iron 14 
 
 98 
 
 The dark blue slate, or S. seriptorius, con- 
 tains more magnesia and less iron than the 
 common purple scliistus, and effervesces 
 more briskly with acids. Its specific gra- 
 vity is 3.7. 2. The pyritaceous schistus is 
 
 of a grey colour, brown, blue, or black ; and' 
 capable of more or less decomposition by 
 exposure to the air, according to the quan- 
 tity of pyritons matter it contains, and the 
 state of the iron in it. The aluminous sehis- 
 tus belongs to this species. 3. The bitu- 
 minous schistus is generally black, and of a 
 lameliated texture, of various degrees of 
 hardness, not giving fire with steel, but emit- 
 ting a sti ong smell when heated, and some- 
 times witliout being heated. 
 
 SCHMELZSTEIN, in mineralogy, a sub- 
 stance hitherto only found on the Pyrenees, 
 where it is imbedded in steatite: it is of a 
 greyish-white, passing through the different 
 shades to rose red ; it is shining, and its 
 lustre is vitreous ; it is easily fiangible. 
 Specific gravity 2.6- It swells before the 
 blow-pipe. The constituent parts are 
 
 Silica 60 
 
 Alumina 24 
 
 Calcareous earth 10 
 
 Water 2 
 
 Loss 4 
 
 WO 
 
 SCHMIDELIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Casimir Christopher Schmidel, 
 professor of botany at Erlang, a genus of 
 the Octandria Digynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Sapindi, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx two-leaved ; ,corolla four- 
 petalled j germs pedieelled, longer than 
 the flower. There is only one species, 
 viz. S.racemosa, a native of the East Indies. 
 
 SCHOENUS, in botany, bog rush, a ge- 
 nus of the Triandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Calamariie. Cy- 
 
 among the glumes. There are forty-one 
 species. 
 
 SCHOEPFIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Johan David Schoepf, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Aggregate. Caprifolia, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx dou- 
 ble, outer bifid, inferior, inner superior, 
 quite entire; corolla bell-shaped; stigma 
 capitate ; drupe one-seeded. There is but- 
 one species, viz. S. Americana, a native of 
 Santa Cruz and Montserrat. 
 
 SCHOLIAST, or Commentator, a 
 grammarian, who writes scholia, that is, 
 notes, glosses, &c. upon ancient authors, 
 wiio have written in the learned languages. 
 See the next article. 
 
 SCHOLIUM, a note, annotation, or re- 
 mark, occasionally made on some passage, 
 proposition, or the like. This term is much 
 used in geometry, and other parts of ma- 
 thematics, where, after demonstrating a. 
 proposition, it is customary to point out- 
 how it might be done some other way, or to 
 give some advice, or precaution, in order 
 to prevent mistakes, or add some particu- 
 lar use, or application thereof. 
 
 SCHOKL, in mineralogy, a species of 
 the Flint genus; which is divided by Werner 
 into two sub-species, viz. the common schorl 
 and the tourmaline. The common schorl 
 is black. It occurs often massive and dis- 
 seminated, seldom in rolled pieces, and 
 frequently crystallized. The crystals are 
 mostly acicular ; fragments, when broken, 
 indeterminably angular ; it very rarely pre- 
 sents coarse and small grained distinct con- 
 cretion ; sometimes it occurs in very thin, 
 and but rarely in thick straight and prismatic 
 distinct concretions.- It it opaque, and but 
 little translucent on the edges, when it 
 passes to the tourmaline. It gives a grey- 
 streak ; is hard, and very easily frangible. 
 Specific gravity from 3.09 to 3.21. It melts 
 before the blow-pipe, without addition, into 
 a blackish slag. Melted with borax, it 
 forms a greenish coloured glass. It is com- 
 
 posed of 
 
 Silica i 33.33 
 
 Alumina 40.83 
 
 Iron 20.41- 
 
 Manganese.... 3.33 
 
 97.90 
 
 Loss.. 2.10 
 
 100 
 
SCH 
 
 By heatinjjf it exhibits positive electricity at 
 one end, and negative at tire other : as it 
 cools, these electricities are reversed. It 
 occurs in primitive rocks, cliiefly in quartz 
 and granite ; with the former, it constitutes 
 a peculiar mountain rock. It is found on 
 many parts of the Continent, and in Scot- 
 land. It differs from tourmaline in colour, 
 degree of lustre, fracture, transparency, 
 and distinct concretions ; also in geonostic 
 situation ; tourmaline occurs almost always 
 imbedded, and in single crystals ; but schorl 
 is aggregated, and occurs in beds. 
 
 Tourmaline, called also electricus tnrma- 
 lin, is of a green or brown colour, passing 
 into others even to the indigo blue. The 
 colours are mostly dark. It occurs very 
 seldom massive, oftener in rolled pieces, 
 but most frequently crystallized. The crys- 
 tals are generally three sided prisms ; tliey 
 are usually imbedded ; the internal lustre is 
 splendent and vitreous. It is hard and 
 easily frangible. Specific gravity from 3.08 
 to 3.36. Before the blowpipe it melts 
 into a greyish-white vesicular enamel. It 
 was found in Ceylon and the Brazils in the 
 16th century; and since that in Madagascar 
 and Ava, in many parts of the European 
 continent, and in Scotland. Two speci- 
 mens have been analysed by Bergman and 
 Vanquelin, the former was brought from 
 Ceylon, the latter from Brazil. 
 
 Tourmaline of Ceylon. Of Brazil, 
 
 Silica 
 
 37.0 ... 
 
 ... 40.0 
 
 Alumina 
 
 39.0 ... 
 
 
 Lime... 
 
 , 15.0 ... 
 
 ... 3.84 
 
 Oxide of iron 
 
 . 9.0 ... 
 
 .. 12.50 
 
 manganese. 
 
 
 
 100.8 97.34 
 
 Loss 2. 66 
 
 100 
 
 Tourmaline has been long celebrated for 
 its electrical effects, which are exhibited 
 by friction, and also by heating; but if it is 
 made very hot, as beyond 200“ of Fahren- 
 heit, it is deprived of its electrical proper- 
 ties. The more transparent the tourma- 
 line the stronger its electrical properties. 
 It is sometimes cut and polished, and worn 
 as a jewel ; hut on account of its want of 
 transparency it is not very highly esteemed. 
 The green coloured tourmaline has been 
 described as the emerald ; the blue, as the 
 sapphire ; and the crimson-red variety first 
 found in Siberia, and since in Ava and Cey- 
 
 SCI 
 
 Ion, has been called the daurite, siberite, 
 and rubellite. Mr. Greville is in possession 
 of the most magnificent specimen of the 
 red variety, it is valued on account of its 
 beauty and rarity at lOOOt. 
 
 SCHOTIA, in botany, so named from 
 Richard Vander Schot, a genus of the De- 
 candria Monogynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Lomentacea:. Leguminosae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 cleft ; petals five, inserted into the calyx, 
 closed by the sides lying over each other ; 
 legume pedicelled. There is but one spe- 
 cies, viz. S. speciosa, lentiscus-leaved scho- 
 tia. It is a native of Senegal and the Cape 
 of Good Hope. 
 
 SCHRADERA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Henr. Adolph. Schrader, a genus 
 of the Hexandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Essential character : calyx a superior 
 rim, quite entire; corolla five or six-cleft; 
 stigmas two; berry one-celled, many-seeded. 
 There are two species, viz. S. capitata and 
 S. cephalotes. 
 
 SCHREBERA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Diandria Monogynia class and order. Es- 
 sential character : calyx two-lipped ; co- 
 rolla from five to seven-cleft ; capsule pear- 
 shaped, two-celled, two-valved ; seeds from 
 eight to ten, membranaceous winged. There 
 is but one species, viz. S. swietenioides. 
 
 SCHIVALBEA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Schwalbe, a physician, a genus of 
 the Didynamia Angiospermia class and or-, 
 der. Natural order of Personat^p. Schro- 
 phulariae, Jussieu. Essential character : ca- 
 lyx four-cleft, the upper lobe very small ; 
 the lowest very large and emarginate. There 
 is but one species, uiz. S. Americana. 
 
 SCHWENKFELDIA, in botany, so 
 named in memory of Caspar Schenckfelt, 
 a Silesian physician, a genus of the Pentan- 
 dria Monogynia class and order. Natural 
 /)rder of Rubiaceas. Essential character : 
 involucre four-leaved ; corolla funnel-form ; 
 Stigmas five ; berry five-celled, many-seeded. 
 There are three species. 
 
 SCHWENKIA, in botany, so named 
 from Martin Welhelm Schwencke, professor 
 of botany at the Hague, a genus of the Di- 
 andria Monogynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Luridae. Scrophulari®, Jussieu. 
 Essential- character : corolla almost equal, 
 with the throat plaited and glandular ; sta- 
 mens three, barren; capsule two-celled, 
 many-seeded. There is only one species, 
 viz. S. Americana, Guinea Schwenkia. 
 
 SCI-fflNA, in natural history, a genus of 
 D 2 
 
fishes of the order Thoracici. Geneiic 
 character: head covered with scales; gill- 
 membrane generally with about six rays ; 
 two dorsal fins placed in a furrow, into 
 which they are often withdrawn. There 
 are twenty nine species, the principal of 
 which is the S. cirrosa or bearded-scieena, 
 which inhabits the European and American 
 seas, and is from one to two feet in length. 
 It was known to the ancients and esteemed 
 by them for the table. It is of a pale yellow 
 colour, striped longitudinally with dusky- 
 blue. Its tail is slightly lunated, and it 
 has under its chin a short fleshy beard. 
 
 SCIAGRAPHY, the profile or vertical 
 section of a building used to show the inside 
 of it. Tile same term is used in astronomy 
 for the art of finding the hour of the day, or 
 night, by the shadow of the sun, moon, 
 stars, &c. 
 
 SCIENCE, in philosophy, denotes any 
 doctrine deduced from self evident and cer- 
 tain principles, by a regular demonstration. 
 Sciences may be properly divided as fob 
 lows ; 1. The knowledge of things, tlreir 
 constitutions, properties, and operations ; 
 this, in a little more enlarged sense of the 
 word, may be called tfua-m, or natural phi- 
 losophy ; the end of which is speculative 
 truth. 2. The skill of rightly applying 
 these powers, v^axlixn ; the most consi- 
 derable under this head is ethics, which is 
 the seeking out those rules and measures of 
 human actions that lead to happiness, and 
 the means to practise them ; and the next 
 is mechanics, or the application of the 
 powers of natural agents to the uses of life. 
 See Philosophy, moral, S. The doctrine 
 of signs, irtifxiMTixv ; the most usual of which 
 being words, it is aptly enough termed 
 logic. See Logic. 
 
 This, says Mr. Locke, seems to be the 
 most general, as well as natural, division 
 of the objects of our understanding. For 
 a man can employ his thoughts about 
 nothing but either the contemplation of 
 things themselves for the discovery of truth ; 
 or about the things in his own power, which 
 are his actions, for the attainment of his own 
 ends ; or the signs the mind makes use of, 
 both in the one and the other, and the 
 right ordering of them for its clearer under- 
 standing, All which three, viz. things, as 
 they are in themselves knowable ; actions, 
 as they depend on us in order to happiness ; 
 and the right use of signs, in order to knovy- 
 ledge, being foto crelo different, they seem 
 to be the three great provinces of the intel- 
 
 lectual world, wholly separate and distinef 
 one from another. 
 
 SCILLA, in botany, squill, a genus of the 
 Hexandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Coronariae. Asphodeli, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : corolla six-pe- 
 talled, spreading, deciduous ; filaments fili- 
 form. There are twenty-two species. The 
 most remarkable is S. maritima or sea onion, 
 whose roots are used in medicine. Of this 
 there are two sorts, one with a red, and tlie 
 other with a white root : which are Slip-' 
 posed to be accidental varieties, but the 
 white are generally preferred for medicinal 
 use. The roots are large, somewhat oval- 
 shaped, composed of many coats lying over 
 each other like onions ; and at the bottom 
 come out several fibres. From the middle 
 of the root rise several shining leaves, which 
 continue green all the winter, and decay in 
 the spring. Then the flower-stalk cornea 
 out, which rises two feet high, and is naked 
 half-way, terminating in a pyramidal thyrse 
 of flowers, which are white, composed of six 
 petals, and spread open like the points of a 
 star. This grows naturally om the sea- 
 shores, and in the ditches where the salt 
 water naturally flows with the tide, in most 
 of the warm parts of Europe, so cannot be 
 propagated in gardens ; the frost in winter 
 always destroying the roots, and for want of 
 salt water they do not thrive in .summer. The 
 root is very nauseous to the taste, intensely 
 bitter, and so acrimonious that it ulcerates 
 the skin if much handled. 
 
 SCIOPTIC, or ScioPTRic ball, a sphere, 
 or globe of wood, with a circular hole or per- 
 foration, wherein a lens is placed. It is so 
 fitted that, like the eye of an animal, it may 
 be turned round every way, to be used 
 in making experiments of the darkened 
 room. 
 
 SCIRPUS, in botany, club rush, a genus 
 of the Triandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Calamariae. Cy- 
 peroidese, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 glumes chaffy, imbiicate every way ; co- 
 rolla none ; seed one, beardless. There are 
 sixty- nine species. 
 
 SCIRE /acias, is a judicial writ, and pro- 
 perly lies after a year and a day after judg- 
 ment given ; whereby the sheriff is com- 
 manded to summon or give notice to the de- 
 fendant, that he appear and show cause 
 why the plaintiff should not have execution. 
 A scire facias, is deemed a judicial writ, 
 and founded on some matter of record, a$ 
 
SCI 
 
 judgment, recognizances, and letters pa- 
 tent, on which it lies to enforce the execu- 
 tion of tliem, or to vacate or set them 
 aside ; and if execution is not taken out 
 within a year, it is necessary to revive the 
 judgment by scire facias. But if execution 
 has issued within that time, a further lyrit of 
 execution may be hadwithoHt a.seire facias. 
 This writ is so far in nature of an original, 
 that the defendant may plead to it, and it is 
 in that respect considered as an action. 
 Wherefore a release of all actions, or a re- 
 lease of all executions, is a good bar to a 
 scire facias. 
 
 SCIRRHUS, , in surgery and medicine, a 
 hard tumour of any part of the body, void 
 of pain, arising from the inspissation and 
 induration of the fluids contained in a gland, 
 though it may appear in any other part, es- 
 pecially in the fat, being one of the ways 
 wherein an inflammation terminates. See 
 Surgery. 
 
 SCITAMINEjE, m botany, the name of 
 the eighth order in Linnaeus’s^ Fragments of 
 ,a Natural Method, consisting of beautiful 
 exotic plants, some of which, as the banana, 
 furnish exquisite fruits, and others have a 
 fine aromatic scent ; among these are the 
 amomum or ginger; the canna, Indian 
 flowering reed ; and musa, tlie banana, or 
 plantain tree. The plants of this order are 
 all natives of very warm countries ; they 
 grow to great heights, but they are only pe- 
 rennial at the roots, borne of these plants 
 are cultivated in high perfection at the bo- 
 tanical garden at Liverpool. 
 
 SCIURIS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Diandria Monogynia class and order. Es- 
 sential character ; corolla unequal, with 
 the upper lip trifid, the lower bifid and 
 shorter ; stamina five, but three barren, 
 capsule five, united, one celled, one seeded. 
 There is only one species, viz. S. aromatica, 
 found in the wood of Guiana. 
 
 SCIURUS, the squirrel, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of Mammalia, of the order 
 Glires. Generic character : two fore-teeth 
 in the upper-jaw wedge-formed, in the 
 lower sharp ; five grinders in each side of 
 the upper-jaw, and four in each in the 
 lower ; clavicles in the skeleton ; tail spread- 
 ing towards each side ; long whiskers. 
 These animals live principally on seeds and 
 fruits. They are extremely active and nim- 
 ble, climbing trees with great rapidity, and 
 bounding from one to another with a spring 
 truly astonishing. Some are supplied with 
 membranes, which enable them to extend 
 this leap into something approximating to a 
 short flight. Some are subterraneous, and 
 
 SCI 
 
 others build in trees. They are sprightly, 
 elegant, and interesting. 
 
 S. maximus, or the great squirrel, is the 
 largest known species, being equal in. size 
 to a cat. It is found in the East Indies, 
 where it pierces the cocoa for the sake of 
 the liquor, to which it is extremely attach- 
 ed. It is easily tamed. 
 
 S. vrdgaris, or the common squirrel, 
 abounds almost throughout Europe, and in 
 the temperate climates of Asia. Its length 
 is about seven inches to the tail, which mea- 
 sures about eight. During the summer's 
 day, it generally remains in its nest, ap- 
 pearing to be annoyed by the heat ; but at 
 night it is full of alertness and vivacity, and 
 devoted to excursion and repast. It con- 
 structs its nest generally in the fork of two 
 branches of trees, and with particular pre- 
 caution, with respect to dryness, warmth, 
 and cleanliness. The young are produced 
 sometimes about the beginning of summer, 
 in general, about the middle of it, and are 
 three or four in number. Its food consists 
 of various nuts and fruits, of which it stores 
 considerable quantities for its winter con- 
 sumption ; it is fond also of certain species 
 of fungi, Jn confinement it will take a vast 
 variety of vegetable substances ; but ap- 
 pears to prefer sugar to every other nourishr 
 ment. See Mammalia, Plate XVIII. fig. i, 
 
 S. cinereus, or the grey squirrel, is pecu- 
 liar to North America, and is about the 
 size of a half grown rabbit. It resembles 
 the former in its shape and manners. These 
 animals have occasionally committed ex- 
 treme ravages in some of the states of 
 North America, in the cultivated lands; 
 and to reduce their numbers, the legisla- 
 ture proclaimed a reward for their destruc- 
 tion. In tlje year 1750, a sum of no less 
 than eight thousand pounds was distributed 
 in premiums, to persons who had been en« 
 gaged in killing them, and who must have 
 destroyed between six and seven hundred 
 thousand. It is not easily destroyed by 
 the gun, on account of the perpetual veisa- 
 tility of its movements, andsome of the best 
 marksmen are often baffled by this extreme 
 agility. It is easily familiarized, and ap- 
 pears susceptible of affection and gratitude 
 to its benefactors. 
 
 The S. variegatus, or varied squirrel, is 
 nearly twice the size of the last, and differs 
 also in habits, as it resides in holes under 
 the roots of trees, where it produces its 
 young, and, like the rest of the genus, accu- 
 mulates its stores. It is a native of Mexico. 
 
 S. striatus, or the striped squirrel, is mef 
 with in the north of Asia and America, is 
 
SCI 
 
 subterraneous in its habitation, like the last, 
 and is also addicted to hoarding, for winter, 
 nuts and grain. It is distinguished, how- 
 ever, from every other species, by being 
 provided with bags or pouches attached to 
 its cheeks, in which, for the convenience of 
 carriage, it can deposit large quantities of 
 food, to take home w'ith it after having 
 swallowed a full meal. These squirrels 
 abound in Siberia, amidst the woods of ma- 
 ple and fir, at the roots of which they make 
 their burrows. They never mount trees, 
 but when they have no other means of escape 
 from an enemy, yet then they climb them 
 with great celerity. They are very discri- 
 minating in their selection of food, and 
 have been seen frequently to exchange car- 
 goes contained in their pouches, for a spe- 
 cies of food which they casually and unex- 
 pectedly met with, and which they happen- 
 ed to prefer to the former. They retain 
 in captivity much of their native wildness, 
 and appear to evince no feelings of regard 
 to their protectors. 
 
 S. volans, or tlie common flying squirrel, 
 is the only one of that description in Eu- 
 rope, and is found there only in the coldest 
 climates. In the north of Asia it occurs 
 more frequently. Its colour above is a white 
 grey, and beneath a perfect white. It is 
 about six inches in length to the tail. It 
 resides generally in hollow trees near the 
 top, is solitary in its habits, associating even 
 in pairs only in the spring. It feeds princi- 
 pally on the catkins of the birch, and in 
 winter secludes itself ifl its nest, occasion- 
 ally quitting it in fine weather. By means 
 of an expansile furry membrane-'i-feaching 
 from the ford feet to the hind ones, these 
 animals are enabled to spring or fly to the 
 distance of thirty or forty yards. Climbing 
 bearlv to the top of one tree, it directs its 
 movements always downwards, and by 
 spreading this membrane as widely as pos- 
 sible, with its fore feet extremely distant 
 from each other, presents such a surface to 
 the air beneath as gives it considerable 
 buoyancy, and converts its elastic bounds 
 into a species of flight. The membrane is 
 also highly serviceable in cherishing the 
 young ones, which are produced usually in 
 May, and about three at a birth. See Mam- 
 malia, Plate XVIII. fig. 4. 
 
 S. petaurista, or the sailing squirrel, is an 
 inhabitant of Java and the Indian islands, 
 and can spring to an immense distance from 
 tree to tree, by means of a membrane simi- 
 lar to that of the preceding, which is ex- 
 tremely thin in the middle, and thicker to- 
 
 sco 
 
 wards the extremities. Tliis is the largest 
 of all tlie flying squirrels, and is eighteen 
 inches long, exclusively of the tail. For 
 the Barbary squirrel and the black squirrel 
 see Blammalia, Plate XVIII. fig- 2. and 3. 
 
 SCLERANTHUS, in botany, kmwel, a 
 genus of the Decandria Digynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Caryophillei Por- 
 tulace®, Jussieu. Essential character : ca- 
 lyx one-leafed, inferior ; corolla none ; seeds 
 two inclosed in the calyx. There are three 
 species. 
 
 SCLERIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Blonoecia Triandria class and order. Es- 
 sential character : male, calyx glume from 
 two to six-valved, many-flowered, awnless : 
 female, calyx from two to six-valved, one- 
 flowered, awnless ; stigmas one to three ; 
 seed nut subglobular, somewhat honey, 
 coloured. There are nine species. 
 
 ^CLEROCARPUS, in botany, a genus 
 of the Syngenesia Polygamia Frustranea 
 class and order. Natural order of Dis- 
 coideae. Corymbiferre, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx six-leaved, three exterior 
 larger, like the leaves, three interior 
 smaller, like scales, alternate ; pappus none ; 
 receptacle chaffy. There is only one spe- 
 cies, viz. S. Africanus, a native of the Cape 
 of Good Hope. 
 
 SCLEROTICA, in anatomy, one of the 
 ffinics, or coats of the eye ; it is hard, 
 opaque, and extended from the cornea to 
 the optic nerve ; its forepart is transparent, 
 and called the cornea. 
 
 SCOLEX, in natural history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Intestina class and order : 
 body gelatinous, variously shaped, broadish 
 on the fore-part and pointed behind ; some- 
 times linear and long, sometimes wrinkled 
 and short, round, flexuous, or depressed ; 
 head protrusile and retractile. Two species 
 only are mentioned, viz. the pleuronectidis 
 and lophii ; the former is found in the intes- 
 tinal mucus of the turbot, sole, plaise, 
 gwiniard, and the lump fish, seldom visible 
 to the naked eye. The other, as its name 
 denotes, is discovered in the intestinal 
 mucus of the lophius piscatorius ; the 
 body is minute, and hardly visible to the 
 naked eye. 
 
 SCOLIA, in natural history, a genns of 
 insects of the order Hymenoptera : mouth 
 with a curved sharp mandible, crenate 
 within; jaw compressed, projecting, entire 
 and horny ; tongue inflected, trifid, very 
 short ; lip projecting, membranaceous at the 
 tip and entire-; four feelers equal and fili- 
 
SCOLOPAX. 
 
 form, in the middle of the lip ; antenna 
 thick, filiform, the first joint longer. There 
 are about twenty species. 
 
 SCOLOPAX, the curlew, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Gralla?. 
 -Generic character ; the bill long and incur- 
 • vated ; face covered with feathers ; nostrils 
 linear and longitudinal, near the base ; 
 tongue short and sharp-pointed ; toes con- 
 nected by a membrane to the first point. 
 There are fifty species, of which the follow- 
 ing are the chief: S. arquata, or the com- 
 mon curlew, is generally about two feet 
 long, and is to be met with in England 
 throughout the year, either on thexoasts or 
 near the mountains. Slugs and worms, 
 which its bill extracts from the ground in 
 the morning and the evening, constitute its 
 inland subsistence ; and when on the shores 
 of the sea it feeds on marine apimals. These 
 birds are often observed iu large flocks, 
 and are used by many for food. Those 
 -killed on the coasts, however, are rank and 
 fishy. , 
 
 S. rusticola, or the woodcock. These 
 birds are about fourteen inches in length. 
 They are migratory in this country, and 
 supposed to proceed from Sweden. They 
 arrive about the beginning of October, but 
 have never been observed on their first 
 reaching land, and are supposed always to 
 effect this by night or in misty weather. 
 When first seen they are extremely weak 
 and exhausted, and have sometimes scarcely 
 retained strength enough to fly to a very 
 short distance, having been destroyed in 
 numbers by a stick only. Before the 
 rigours of winter set in, they reside in 
 moory and mountainous districts; but in the 
 extreme cold they change their haunts for 
 such as are lower and warmer, and frequent 
 particularly warm springs in glens and dells, 
 covered with sheltering trees and brush- 
 wood. They occasionally breed in this 
 country, some few instances of this having 
 been unquestionably authenticated ; but, 
 with such very extr<tordinary exceptions, 
 woodcocks collect together about the mid- 
 dle of March to return to their native coun- 
 try. They are often, however, like other 
 voyagers detained by unfavourable winds, 
 and in sucli circumstances sportsmen find 
 them in considerable numbere, and destroy 
 them with unmerciful eagerness. The 
 woodcock is more remarkable for stupidity 
 than intelligence, and is easily taken in 
 traps and sprynges, which are placed for it 
 near tepid springs, in passages artificially 
 fnaiiaged, as tins bird never atteippts tu 
 
 overcome obstacles in its w-ay, even by 
 leaping only off a small stone. It is, from this 
 indolent tendency, decoyed into the direction 
 which, however smooth and pleasant at 
 first, terminates in ruin. Its flesh is highly 
 valued, but is considered as affording its 
 full relish, only when the bird is dressed 
 entirely undrawn, in which state with more 
 epicurism tlian delicacy, it is generally 
 eaten. See Aves, Plate XIII. fig. o- 
 S. galiinago, or the snipe, weighs about 
 four ounces, is about twelve inches long, 
 and to be found in nearly every country of 
 the world. Its food consists of worms and 
 insects, which it seeks near smallxtreamlets’ 
 and iu general in wet grounds. It eats 
 also slugs. It is a bii'd of extreme caution 
 and vigilance, and the sight of the sportsman 
 or tlie dog impels it to immediate conceal- 
 ment amidst the dry herbage of its haunts, 
 from w'hich the resemblance of colour 
 renders it almost impossible to discriminate 
 it. On the approach of the enemy it bursts 
 •from its shelter with such uncommon va- 
 I'iety of direction and velocity of motion, as 
 renders its destiwction %y the -gun one of 
 the greatest atchievements of the sports- 
 man’s art. Snipes are sometimes approached 
 nearly, by the accurate imitation of their 
 sounds and shot upon the ground, and they 
 are often taken by snares, like the wood- 
 cock. The flavour and the preparation of 
 them are also similar. They are in this coun- 
 try migratory, but cases have occurred of 
 their breeding in it. 
 
 S. aegoceplialus, or the common godwit, 
 is of the weight of twelve ounces, and ranks 
 in the highest order of delicacies. It is 
 found in almost eveiy country, and in the 
 marshy grounds of Lincolnshire and Cam- 
 bridgeshire is particularly abundant, feeding 
 ■on insects and small worms, btit approaches 
 the sea shore on the advance of the rigours 
 of winter. These birds, in several parts of 
 the country, are caught in nets, into which 
 they are deluded by representations of 
 bh'ds of their own species, made of wood 
 and painted with some correctness of re- 
 semblance. After they are taken they are 
 by some fattened for sale with great facility 
 and success. 
 
 S. calidris, or redshank, is not uncom- 
 mon in this island, and particularly to ware’s 
 the south. It breeds in the marshes, and 
 is remarkable for flying in a direction com- 
 pletely irregular round' its nest, by which it 
 is very frequently discovered. Its length 
 is twelve inches. For the redshank see 
 Ayes, Plate XIII. fig. 6. 
 
SCO 
 
 SCOLOPENDRA, in natural history, 
 centipede, a genus of insects of the order 
 Aptera. Antennae setaceous ; two feelers 
 filiform, united between the jaws ; lip 
 toothed and cleft ; body long, depressed, 
 consisting of numerous transverse segments : 
 legs numerous, as many on each side as 
 there are segments of the body. There are 
 thirteen species, found in almost all parts Of 
 the world ; they live in decayed wood, or 
 nnder stones, and some of them in fresh 
 and salt water : they prey on other insects. 
 The larger species are found only in the 
 hotter regions of the globe j they are in- 
 sects of a terrific appearance, and possess 
 the power of inflicting severe pain and in- 
 flammation by their bite. 
 
 S. morsitans is a native of Asia, Africa, 
 and South America. It is eight or ten 
 inches long, of a yellowish brown ; the head 
 is armed on each side with a very large 
 curved fang, of a strong or horny nature ; 
 these fangs are furnished on the inside, near 
 the tip, with an oblong slit, through whicli, 
 during the act of wounding, an acrimonous 
 or poisonous fluid, is discharged : the eyes 
 are numerous on each side the head, and 
 are placed in a small oval groupe ; it has 
 twenty legs on each side the body. 
 
 S. electrica has seventy legs on eachside ; 
 its body is linear ; it inhabits many parts of 
 Europe, in decayed wood, and shines in the 
 dark ; the body is very flat and tawny, with 
 a black line down the back. The motions 
 of this insect are tortuous and undulatory, 
 seldom continuing long in the same direc- 
 tion. It is possessed of a high degree of 
 phosphoric splendor, which, however, seems 
 to be only exerted when the animal is 
 pressed or suddenly disturbed, when it dif- 
 fuses a beautiful light, so powerful as not 
 to be obliterated by that of two candles on 
 the same table. It is very tenacious of 
 life, and will endure long in the closest 
 confinement without food. 
 
 S. forficata is a very common insect found 
 frequently under stones and flower pots j it 
 has a very swift motion, and is furnished 
 ■with fifteen legs on each side ; it is of a 
 dhesnnt colour, and is about an inch and a 
 half long. 
 
 SCOLOPIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Icosandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character: calyx inferior, three 
 or four-parted; corolla three or four-pe- 
 talled ; berry crowned with the style, one- 
 celled, six seeded ; seeds arilled. There is 
 only one species, viz. S. pusilla, a native of 
 Ceylon, where it is called khatu kurundn, 
 or thorny cinnamon. 
 
 SCO 
 
 SCOLOSANTHUS, in botany, a genus 
 of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Luridae. Rubia- 
 cesB, Jussieu. Essential character; calyx 
 four-cleft ; corolla tubular, with a revolute 
 border ; drupe one-seeded. There is but 
 one species, viz. S. versicolor; this small 
 shrub was discovered in the island of Santa 
 Cruz, by Ryan. 
 
 SCOLYMUS, in botany, golden thistle, 
 a genus of the Syngeriesia Polygamia iEqua- 
 lis class and order. Natinal order of Com- 
 posit® Semifiosculos®. Cichorace®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character ; calyx imbricate, 
 spiny ; pappus none ; receptacle chaffy. 
 There are three species, natives of the 
 South of Europe. 
 
 SCOMBER, the mackarel, in natural 
 history, a genus of fishes of the order Tho- 
 racici. Generic character : head compressed, 
 smooth; gill membrane with seven rays; 
 body smooth, oblong ; lateral line carinate 
 behind ; small fins, generally, both above 
 and below, near the tail. There are twenty- 
 one species, of which we shall notice the 
 following : 
 
 S. scomber, or the 7;omr.ion mackarel. 
 This is one of the most beautiful qf fishes, 
 and inhabits both the European and Ame- 
 rican seas. It is said by many to reside in 
 winter near the North Pole, and as the 
 spring advances, to move in immense shoals 
 in a southerly direction, traversing a vast 
 space in a short period, and proceeding 
 nearly in a similar line of movement with 
 that attributed to the herring, from the 
 same extremities of the north. Some of 
 the most eminent naturalists, however, have 
 entertained doubts of these extensive voy- 
 ages in both cases, and it is imagined by 
 such that tliese fishes take up their resi- 
 dence during the rigour of winter, in the 
 muddy or gravelly bottoms near the coasts 
 where they abound so numerously in the 
 spring. Shaw relates, that M. Pleville de 
 Peley saw the bottoms near the coasts of 
 -Hudson’s Bay, for a long space together, 
 bristled with the tails of mackarel, all their 
 qther parts being imbedded in the gravel 
 or mud. The mackarel is a fish highly ad- 
 mired, both for its beauty and excellence, 
 and has in every age attracted particular 
 notice and partiality from both these cir- 
 cumstances. The Romans prepared from 
 it a condiment or essence for the table, 
 which was in the highest estimation. The' 
 general length of this fish is fifteen inches, 
 but specimens far larger have been occasi- 
 onally met with. 
 
 S. thynnus, or the tunny, is sometimei| 
 
SCO 
 
 ten feet long, and on the Scotch coast one 
 was taken which weighed four hundred and 
 sixty pounds. In the Indian ocean it is 
 said to exceed even this enormous size. It 
 is recorded by Pliny, who was sufficiently 
 attached to the marvellous, that the fleet of 
 Alexander met with no slight obstruction 
 from a host of tunnies, which it required 
 considerable manoeuvering to break through. 
 These fishes are not particularly admired 
 for food in this country, in which, indeed, 
 they are rarely seen, approaching the Bri- 
 tish coast only in straggling parties, or ra- 
 ther as solitary individuals. By the an- 
 cients, fisheries were established for taking 
 and preserving them on the coasts of the 
 Mediterranean, in which sea they particu- 
 larly abound, and there are at present on 
 the same coasts very extensive establish- 
 ments for this purpose. Indeed to the 
 inhabitants on those shores the movements 
 of tunny are watched and expected with as 
 much eagerness as those of the herring or 
 mackarel, in the north. The small fishes 
 are generally carried fresh to market, and 
 the large ones are cut up into pieces of a 
 particular size, and preserved in salt in bar- 
 rels. The tunny is a very voracious fish, 
 and a great persecutor of the common 
 mackarel. 
 
 SCONCE, in fortification, a small 
 field-fort, built for the defence of some 
 pass. 
 
 SCOPARIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Personatae. Scrophularia, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx four- 
 parted ; corolla four-parted, wheel-shaped ; 
 capsule one-celled, two valved, many-seed- 
 ed. There are three species. 
 
 SCOPOLIA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, profes- 
 sor of chemistry and botany at Pavia, a ge- 
 nus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Essential character : calyx five- 
 cleft ; nectary none ; stigma capitate ; cap- 
 sule berried, five-celled ; seeds solitary. 
 There are two species, viz. S. aculeata and 
 S. inerrais. 
 
 SCOPUS, the umbre, in natural history, 
 a genus of birds of the order Grallae. Ge- 
 neric character : bill long, thick, com- 
 pressed, a little hooked; nostrils linear, 
 oblique ; feet four-toed, cleft. The only 
 species, the umbretta, or tufted umbre, is 
 about as large as a crow, and twenty inches 
 in length ; its bill three inches and a half 
 Jong ; its body of a uniform brown colour, 
 whence it derives its qaine. It is supposed 
 
 SCO 
 
 to be a native of the Cape of Good Hope, 
 but no circumstances of interest have been 
 detailed by travellers of its residence, ha- 
 bits, and manners. 
 
 SCORPjENA, in natural history, a ge- 
 nus of fishes of the order Thoracici, Gene- 
 ric character : the head large, aculeated, 
 cirrhose, obtuse, without scales ; somewhat 
 compressed ; eyes near each other ; teeth 
 in the jaws, palate, and throat; gill mem- 
 brane, seven rayed ; body thick and fleshy ; 
 dorsal fin single, long, with the rays of the 
 fore part spinous. There are nine species 
 enumerated by Gmelin, and fourteen by 
 Shaw. We shall notice only the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 S. porcus, or the porcine scorpsena, is 
 about fourteen inches long, and an inhabi- 
 tant of various parts of the Mediterranean, 
 in considerable numbers. It lies near the 
 shores under the stones, apparently in am- 
 bush for its prey, which consists particularly 
 of small fishes and sea insects. It eats also 
 sea weeds. The rays of its dorsal fin are 
 furnished with strong spines, with which 
 it often inflicts painful, if not dangerous 
 wounds. 
 
 S. horrida, is found in the Indian seas, 
 and is about thirteen inches long. The 
 head and body, the pectoral and the dorsal 
 fins, are covered with numerous abrupt cirri 
 or beards ; all the fins are supplied, on the 
 fore part, with strong rays, and those of the 
 dorsal extend almost completely along the 
 back. ‘In various other particulars of its 
 form it is singularly uncouth, and altogether 
 presents one of the most repulsive objects 
 which can meet the eye. 
 
 SCORPIO, in natural history, a genus 
 of insects of the order Aptera. Generic 
 character : eight legs, besides two claspers, 
 or hands, seated on the fore-part of the 
 head ; eight eyes, three placed on each side 
 of the thorax, and two on the back ; two 
 feelers projecting cheliform ; the lip is bifid, 
 and the tail long, jointed, and terminated 
 by a sharp, crooked sting ; on the under- 
 side, between the breast and abdomen, are 
 two instruments resembling a comb. There 
 are ten species, all of which are armed with 
 a slightly pungent sting ; and in hot climates 
 some of them are highly dangerous: they 
 prey upon worms, spiders, flies, &c. and 
 even on one another. S. afer, or great Afri- 
 can scorpion, is the largest and by far the 
 most formidable of the whole genus : it is 
 held in great dread by the inhabitants: its 
 poison is evacuated through two very small 
 oblong foramina, situated on each side the 
 
SCO 
 
 tip of the sling. Scorpions are viviparous 
 insects, producing a very considerable num- 
 ber of young at once : these are at first en- 
 tirely white, but acquire their dusky colour 
 in the space of a few days: they aie ob- 
 ;Served to cast their skin from time to time, 
 in the manner of spiders : the larva and pu- 
 pa are eight-footed, nimble, aud resembling 
 the perfect insect. 
 
 Scorpion, scorpio, in astronomy, the 
 eighth sign of the zodiac, denoted by the 
 character Hi. The stars in the constellation 
 Scorpio, in Ptolemy’s catalogue, are 20 ; in 
 Tycho’s 10 ; and in Mr. Flamsteed’s 49. 
 
 Scorpion, in the ancient art of war, an 
 engine chiefly used in the defence of the 
 walls of fortified places, by throwing ar- 
 rows, fire-balls, or great stones. 
 
 SCORPIURUS, in botany, caterpillar, 
 a genus of the Diadelphia Decandria class 
 aud order. Natural order of Papilionaceas 
 or Leguininosae. Essential character: le- 
 gume divided by isthmuses, or transverse 
 partitions, revolute cylindrical. There are 
 four species, all natives of the south of 
 Europe. ' 
 
 SCORSONERA, in botany, viper’s grass, 
 a genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia jEqua- 
 lis class and order. Natural order of Com- 
 positae Semifloscnlos®. Cichoraceae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx imbricate 
 ■with scales, scariose at the edge; pappus 
 feathered, sessile ; receptacle naked. There 
 are nineteen species. 
 
 SCOT, a customary contribution laid 
 upon all subjects according to their abilities. 
 Whoever were assessed to any contribution, 
 though not by equal portions, were said to 
 pay scot :ind lot. 
 
 SCOTLAND. By 5 Anne, c. 8, the 
 anion of England and Scotland was effected, 
 and the tw'enty-five articles of union, agreed 
 to by the parliaments of both nations, were 
 ratified and confirmed as follows : viz. the 
 succession to the monarchy of Qreat Britain 
 shall be the same as vvas before settled with 
 pgard to that of England. The united 
 kingdoms shall be represented by one par- 
 liament. There shall be a communication 
 of all rights and privileges betryeen the 
 subjects of both kingdoms, except w’here it 
 is otherwise agreed. When England raises 
 2,000,0001. by land-tax, Scotland shall raise 
 48,0001. The standards of the coin, of 
 weights, and measures, shall be reduced to 
 those of England thiougliout the united 
 kingdoms. The laws relating to trade, 
 customs, and the excise, shall be the same 
 in Scotland as in England. But all the 
 
 SCO 
 
 other laws of Scotland shall remain in 
 force, though alterable by the Parliament 
 of Great Britain; and, particularly, laws 
 relating te public policy are alterable at 
 the discretion of Parliament. Laws relat- 
 ing to private right are not to be altered, 
 but for the evident utility of the people of 
 Scotland. Sixteen peers are to be chosen 
 to represent the peerage of Scotland in 
 Parliament, and forty-five members to sit 
 in the House of Commons. The sixteen 
 peers of Scotland shall have all privileges of 
 Parliament, and all peers of Scotland shall 
 be peers of Great Britain, ranking next 
 after those of the same degree at the time 
 of the union, and shall have all privileges of 
 peers, except sitting in the House of Lords, 
 and voting on the trial of a peer. 
 
 It was formerly resolved by the House of 
 Lords, that a peer of Scotland, claiming and - 
 having a right to sit in the British House of 
 Peers, had no right to vote in the election 
 of the sixteen Scotch peers ; and that if any 
 of the sixteen Scotch peers are created 
 peers of Great Britain, they thereby cease 
 to sit as representatives of the Scotch peer- 
 age, and new Scotch peers must be elected 
 in their room. 
 
 SCOTOGRAPH, an instrument to en- 
 able a person to write in the dark, invented 
 by Mr, John Isaac Hawkins, and included 
 in a patent taken out by him in 1803 for 
 several other inventions relating to the gra- 
 phic art. 
 
 Plate Scotograph explains the construc- 
 tion of this instrument. Fig. I is a plan of 
 it ; fig. 2, 3, and 4, parts ; and fig. 5, a per- 
 spective view of the whole put together. 
 A B D E is a small box, covered with mo- 
 rocco leather, to be carried in the pocket : 
 its lid, F G, is made in two pieces, joined 
 together by hinges in the middle, so as to 
 turn back, as shown in fig. 5, and is kept 
 shut by a small spring catch, a a, (fig. 1 ) 
 is a small brass shelf, fixed along one side of 
 the box, at about one-half of its depth from 
 the bottom, it is also seen in the end section 
 (fig. 4.) b (t ef, is a small pentagraph made 
 of brass ; one end of tlie rod, b, is jointed to 
 a small hinge, g, by which its motion allows 
 the whole pentagraph to be lifted up ; the 
 other end of the rod, b, is jointed to the rod 
 f, and the small handle, h, or pencil, which 
 the writer liolds in his hand when in use, is 
 attached to the other end by an universal 
 joint, which allows it to rhove in any direc- 
 tion, to imitate as much as possible the mo- 
 tion of a pen : e and d are the other two 
 bars, completing the pentagraph ; i is the 
 

 
 SCO 
 
 point which forms the letters ; is screwed 
 into the bar d; FG is a piece of wood 
 glued to the bottom of the box, with a small 
 piece of ivory fastened upon the top of it, 
 to support the paper while it is written up- 
 on : the surface of this ivory is about the 
 same height as the brass shelf, a a, as is seen 
 in the section fig. 4 : H and I are two small 
 rollers, (one of which is shown separately in 
 fig. 2) on which the paper is rolled ; it is 
 fastened to thejn at both ends, by a small 
 brass lever, fc, (fig. 2) which shuts down in 
 a groove made in the roller: when the pa- 
 per is put under this lever, and shut down, 
 it is held fast, and by turning the roll is 
 wound upon it : I w are tw'O small milled 
 heads, one on each roll, to turn them ; at 
 one end of the roll, I, a small rachet wheel, 
 t, of six teeth, is fixed ; it is turned round 
 by a click, fc, (tig. 4) jointed to a small lever, 
 1, which is thrown up by a spring, w. n 
 (fig. 1 ) is a piece of brass plate screwed to 
 the side of the box : it is shown separately 
 in fig. 3, and has two branches, to receive 
 the pivots of the two rollers, HI; these 
 arms are elastic, and press against the ends 
 of the rollers, and causes them to turn rather 
 stiffly, so that they will not be liable to be 
 moved by the elasticity of the paper which 
 is rolled upon them. The pentagraph is of 
 the common kind: the three points, gi, 
 and the end of A, being all in one line, as 
 explained in the article Pentagraph : the 
 point i, which forms the letteis, is a short 
 piece of silver wire, screwed into the bar d, 
 and pointed at the end to make this mark : 
 the paper is rubbed over with whiting, or 
 chalk ; and when at any time the point is 
 worn away, it may be renewed by screwing 
 it through the bar a little further: the point 
 is always made to project so far, that when 
 the blunt point at the end of the pencil, h, 
 rests upon the brass shelf, a a, the penta- 
 graph will be set a little upon the strain, 
 and by that means press upon the paper 
 with a proper degree of force to write 
 legibly.' In using the machine, the lid, 
 F G, is to be half shut, as shown in fig. 5, 
 and finis form a support for the hand while 
 writing ; the pencil, h, is held in the hand, 
 and pressed down to touch the brass shelf, 
 a a, and used in the same manner as a com- 
 mon pen or pencil, taking care to always 
 begin at the end of the shelf; the side of 
 the box, and a small ledge upon the edge of 
 the shelf, limits the height of the letters. 
 When the pencil arrives at the end of the 
 shelf, it is to be brought back again, and 
 the end of it is to be placed upon the 
 
 SCR 
 
 end of the lever, I, and forced down the 
 click, k, then takes into one of the teeth of 
 the wheel, t, and turns it round one tooth ; 
 the pressure is then to be removed, and the 
 spring, m, lifts up the lever, I, just the pro- 
 per height to catch the next tooth of the 
 wheel, as is shown in fig. 4 : this operation 
 moves the paper forward just the proper 
 space to write another line. One of the 
 rises of the pentagraph is to reduce the 
 writing to half the sjze that it is made on 
 the brass shelf, whereby double the number 
 of lines are contained on a slip of paper that 
 would be if written the full size, and the 
 lines are but half the length, so that room is 
 left at the ends of the rollers for the rachet 
 wheel and milled nuts. The rollers will 
 hold a slip of thin paper twenty inches long, 
 and contain 100 lines, each of two inches 
 long : this will contain a considerable quan- 
 tity of information, and when it is all writ- 
 ten, and rolled upon the roll, I, the lever, 
 k, (fig. 2) of the other roller will be ex- 
 posed to view ; then the pentagraph is to 
 be lifted up upon its hinge, g-, and the lever 
 raised up by putting the nail under the end 
 of it: this releases one end of the paper; 
 and by pulling it the other roll will be un- 
 W'ound ; and when the small lever of that 
 roller is taken upj the paper will be quite 
 loose ; another piece will be fixed with 
 equal ease, by first fixing it to the roll H, 
 and rolling it upon it, and then fastening it 
 to the other. If at any time any particu- 
 lar line of the writing is wanted, it will be 
 easily brought into view, by turning the 
 rollers by their nuts, I, m. 
 
 This instrument would be particularly 
 useful to persons who have occasion to make 
 memorandums while oi) horseback, or tra- 
 velling in a coach, as any degree ofpressure 
 may be given upon the brass shelf while 
 writing, so as to avoid being disturbed by 
 the most violent shocks, which cannot be 
 dpne upon common paper for fear of break- 
 ing the pencil point, or of piercing the 
 paper by it. Its use to blind people wlw 
 have learned to write is very obvious. 
 
 SCRATCH, in the language of the salt- 
 workers of our country, the name of a cal- 
 careous, earthy, or stony substance, which 
 separates from sea-water in boiling it for 
 salt. This forms a thick crust, in a few days, 
 on the sides and bottoms of the pans, which 
 they are forced to be at the pains of taking- 
 off once in a week, or ten days, otherwise 
 the pans burn away and are destroyed. 
 
 SCREW, one of the five mechanical 
 powers. See Mechanics. 
 
 
 f • J 
 
scy 
 
 SCRIBING, in joinery, &c. is a term 
 used when one yde of a piece of stuff is to 
 be fitted to another that is irregular. In 
 order to make these join close all the way, 
 they scribe it ; that is, they lay the piece 
 to be scribed close to the other they intend 
 to scribe it to, and opening their compasses 
 to the widest distance these two pieces 
 stand from each otlier, they bear the point 
 of one of the legs against the side they in- 
 tend to scribe to, and with the other point 
 draw a line on the stuff to be scribed. Thus 
 they form a line on the irregular piece pa- 
 rallel to the edge of the regular one ; and 
 if the stuff be cut exactly to the line, when 
 these pieces are put together they will seem 
 a joint. 
 
 SCROPHULARIA, in botany, figwort, 
 a genus of the Didynamia Angiospermia 
 class and order. Natural order of Perso- 
 nate. Scrophularioe, Jussieu. Essential 
 character: calix five-cleft; corolla subglo- 
 bular, resupine ; capsule two celled. There 
 are twenty-two species. 
 
 SCROTUM. See Anatomy. 
 
 SCROWLS, or Scrolls, in architec- 
 ture, the same with volutes. 
 
 SCRUPLE, a weight equal to the third 
 part of a dram, or to twenty grains. Among 
 goldsmiths it is equal to twenty-four grains. 
 
 SCUDDING, in naval affairs, is the 
 movement by which a ship is carried preci- 
 pitately before a tempest, and is either per- 
 formed with a sail extended on her fore- 
 mast ; or, if the storm is excessive, without 
 any sail, which is then called scudding un- 
 der bare poles. In sloops and schooners, 
 and other small vessels, the sail employed 
 for this purpose is called the square-sail. 
 In larger ships it is the fore-sail. 
 
 SCULPTURE. It is beyond human re- 
 search to ascertain when this art was first 
 practised, and by what nation. We may, 
 however, safely conjecture that it was al- 
 most one of the original propensities of 
 man, and may be said to have been bom 
 with him in every climate. This will still ap- 
 pear in the ardent and irresistible implnse of 
 youth to make representations of objects 
 in wood, and the attempts of savages to 
 embody their conceptions of their idols. If a 
 command from the Author of our being 
 was necessary to prevent the ancient Israel- 
 ites from making graven images, it may be 
 naturally inferred that the inhabitants of the 
 rest of the earth possessed similar propen- 
 sities. The descriptions of the scriptures 
 demonstrate that the art had been brought 
 to great perfection at the period of which 
 
 scu 
 
 they treat ; but they could not be so parff. 
 cular as to enable us to judge whether their 
 excellence approached the remains we pos- 
 sess derived from other sources. 
 
 To proceed methodically on this subject, 
 it becomes necessary to make a distinction 
 between carving and sculpture ; the former 
 belonging exclusively to wood, and thelatter 
 to stone. It is extremely probable that 
 every essay at imitating animated objects 
 was in each nation made in wood originally, 
 and it is vain to suppose the tools were any 
 other at first than the sharp edges of broken 
 stones or flints ; a visit to the British Mu- 
 seum will afford the curious spectator a 
 competent idea of what the nearest descend- 
 ants' of Adam accomplished in the art of 
 carving with instruments of tiie above de- 
 scription in the figures of the South sea idols. 
 The least enlightened nations possess in- 
 dividuals of superior observation, who see 
 the defects of their neighbours, and by in- 
 struction or ridicule produce an attempt at 
 reformation; this has evidently been the 
 case amongst the Egyptians and Greeks, 
 who of all the people of antiquity made 
 the earliest and greatest progress in the art 
 of sculpture. If the former commenced their 
 imitation of nature in wood, it is probable 
 they soon discovered that it was incapable 
 of a durability commensurate with their 
 wishes, they therefore adopted a close grain- 
 ed and beautiful granite, which not only re- 
 quired tools of iron, but those of the most 
 perfectly tempered steel, to cut it ; and with 
 such they have left us at this very distant 
 time vast numbers of excavated figures, as 
 complete and as little injured as if executed 
 within our own memory. 
 
 In examining the various sculptures of 
 the Egyptians, we find that a general cha- 
 racter prevails throughout their outlines, 
 which demonstrate that the sculptors were 
 natives of Egypt, and that they rigidly 
 copied the expression and character of their 
 coimtrymen. Had the persons employed in 
 decorating ihe numerous magnificent works, 
 the ruins of which still surprise the spectator, 
 been invited from other countries, a variation 
 of style in the drawing would have been 
 readily discovered. The circumstance of 
 their figures, both male and female, strongly 
 resembling each other in every instance, 
 proves that this people were not deficient 
 in genius ; and their spirited imitations of 
 animals adds to our conviction, that had 
 nature been more kind to the Egyptian in 
 their forms and features, their sculptors were 
 fully competent to give an accurate repre- 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 seDtation of personal grace. Their limited 
 and absurd ideas of religion were a decided 
 bar to improvement, and led them to debase 
 rather than improve the human form ; hence 
 we sometimes find the beads of animals at- 
 tached to the bodies of men, and the ridicu- 
 lous imputed acts of {heir idols are repre- 
 sented in strange unnatural positions, and 
 those frequently repeated ; hence the idea 
 of grouping their figures was decidedly 
 banisl^ed, except in a few cases, when the 
 same outline occurs to the depth of four 
 and five persons, each performing the same 
 act, with the uniformity of a set of recruits, 
 under the care of a drilling serjeant. 
 
 Hie errors of the Egyptians on this head 
 cannot be more forcibly illustrated than by 
 mentioning their manner of expressing a 
 general punishment ; a gigantic figure wields 
 a weapon with one hand, and with the other 
 grasps the hair of a group of kneeling 
 figures, placed in a circle, with three ranges 
 of heads appearing above each other, the 
 hands, knees, bodies, and profiles exactly 
 parallel. A second mistake in their sculpture 
 was the disproportion of their figures to the 
 object decorated with them, as it frequently 
 happens that the same building contains hie- 
 roglyphics not three inches in length, which 
 in another part of the structure are extend- 
 ed to several feet ; indeed^ all their produc- 
 tions in this art were a compound of little- 
 ness and vastness. Thus the temple of A^ol- 
 linopolis Magna, atEtfu, has its side covered 
 with figures half the height of the building, 
 and the front with others not a sixth part 
 of their size. 
 
 Very few of the detached figures or sta- 
 tues sculptured by the Egyptians deserve 
 notice, otherwise than as objects of curio- 
 sity ; indeed to examine them critically 
 would be mere waste of time, as they are 
 too frequently wilfully distorted to suit my- 
 thological conceptions : it is therefore im- 
 possible to select a subject deserving of 
 examination, by which to judge of their 
 skill in delineating the swells of the mus- 
 cles in various positions. Denon has given 
 several valuable specimens of their remains, 
 amongst vrhich are a species of caryatides, 
 or naked figures, standing erect with their 
 arms crossed on their breasts : these, how- 
 ever, are very little calculated to raise our 
 opinion of the merit of the artists who 
 made them j and, indeed, the only instances 
 we recollect of correctness and propriety, 
 are the sphinx, and the enormous clenched 
 hand, now in the British Museum. Of the 
 Ibrmer, Denon speaks ^with enthusiasm : 
 
 “ I had only time to view the sphinx, 
 which deserves to be drawn with a more 
 scrupulous attention than has ever yet been 
 bestowed upon it. Though its proportions 
 are colossal, the outline is pure and graceful ; 
 the expression of the head is mild, gracious, 
 and tranquil j the character is African ; but 
 the mouth, the lips of which are thick, has 
 a softness and delicacy of execution truly 
 admirable ; it seems real life and flesh. Art 
 must have been at a high pitch when this 
 monument was executed ; for, if the head 
 wants what is called style, that is to say, 
 the straight and bold lines which give ex- 
 pression to the figures under which the 
 Greeks have designated their deities, yet 
 sufficient justice has been rendered to the 
 fine simplicity and character of nature 
 which is displayed in this figure.” 
 
 These observations corroborate what we 
 have already advanced of the capability of 
 the Egyptians to executCvhad their concep- 
 tions been equally correct ; but as those 
 were limited, their genius for excellent 
 sculpture can only be collected from de- 
 tached objects, where a ray has accidently 
 emanated, and meeting with apathy from 
 the public, perhaps another has never been 
 excited in the mind of the artist ; hence it is 
 that we must look for elegance in their re- 
 presentations of animals, foliage, and flowers, 
 which being admired by all, and not sub- 
 ject to the changes and varieties exhibited 
 in the human frame and countenance, are 
 more readily copied. In this part of our 
 pursuit we are again assisted by Denon, 
 who has presented us with many traces of 
 simplicity in the capitals of their pillars, 
 some of which are of about the same degree 
 of excellence with the best specimens of 
 Saxon sculpture, and in some cases strongly 
 remind us of the works of that people ; and 
 it may be worthy of observation, that the 
 shape of the Egyptian capital differs very 
 little from those invented by the Greeks : 
 one in particular might be supposed to be 
 the work of the latter, as it is surrounded 
 by a range of beautiful full-grown leaves of 
 the palm, disposed as the acanthus leaf after- 
 wards was ; anotherformed of a collection of 
 palm stalks, before the branches and leaves 
 are fully developed, shows that a very little 
 taste, added to the disposition, would have 
 raised the reputation of Egyptian sculpture 
 to a level with that of their more polished 
 imitators, as there can be no doubt that 
 they have afforded hints to the Greeks. 
 The frieze of the great temple at Tentyra, 
 also shows that the ideas of the Egyptians, 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 when confined to objects intended merely 
 for ornament, approached very near perfec- 
 tion; in this instance, the sculptures of the 
 wings of birds, variously and tastefully dis- 
 posed, deserve the approbation of the en- 
 lightened observer. 
 
 We must now turn our attention to the 
 acknowledged masters of the sublime art 
 of sculpture, the ancient Greeks, to whom 
 every nation of the earth still pays willing 
 homage, and front whose matchless works 
 each sculptor is happy to concentrate and 
 improve his observations on the human 
 figure, piresented by them to his contempla- 
 tion in its most graceful perfection. Such, 
 indeed, has been the excellence and cor- 
 rectness of their imitations of nature, and 
 ‘ the refined elegance of their taste, that many 
 Uges have elapsed, not one of which have af- 
 forded a single instance of improvement, 
 even in the disposition of their scrolls, or 
 other fanciful ornaments. 
 
 As modelling figures in earth has been a 
 practice for ages, previous to their sculpture 
 in stone, it may be supposed that this was 
 the original method of making isolated re- 
 semblances of men ; indeed, the facility with 
 which alterations and improvements might 
 be accomplished, seems to point out the 
 propriety of using that material before the 
 art of cutting stone was invented. Calis- 
 thenes, who was an Athenian, made a num- 
 ber of models, w’ith which he adorned his 
 residence ; but it is of the sculptor, and not 
 the modeller, that we are to treat at pre- 
 sent. Of the latter, we might mention a very 
 considerable number, whose names have 
 reached us with their works, were they 
 necessary, and yet compared with the statues 
 distributed in every part of Europe, they 
 •are a very inconsiderable portion of the 
 eminent men who have flourished in the 
 different states of Greece. When we con- 
 template the beautiful specimens of their 
 ■consummate art, w'e are at a loss which most 
 to admire, the softness and delicacy given to 
 the marble, or the exquisite skill demon, 
 strated in every feature and muscle, which 
 could only have been acquired by the most 
 attentive observation of living subjects 
 ' placed in each natural and easy attitude. 
 Had not the people generally admired and 
 respected the arts, so great a degrees of per- 
 fection would never have been attained, 
 for the operation of producing a fine figure 
 requires a mind at ease, and the means of 
 .subsistence beyond the mere wants of the 
 day ; it is therefore extremely probable that 
 tliose who employed statuaries to perpe- 
 
 tuate the memory of great men, and t« 
 honour their gods with tlieir representations 
 as votives to the numerous temples, made 
 liberal remuneration, and it Is to be hoped 
 equal to the merit of the work. 
 
 The Romans were fully sensible of the 
 superior excellence of the Greeks in sculp- 
 ture, and although we cannot approve of 
 their motives in plundering them of their 
 best works, yet we involuntarily feel satis- 
 fied that it is through their rapacity that 
 we now possess those fascinating models 
 for imitation, which has formed the taste of 
 the Italian sculptors, and excited that emu- 
 lation which enabled artists to rouze the 
 public mind to a state of enthusiasm suffi- 
 ciently powerful to crowd churches and 
 palaces with mementos of the great and 
 the good. Besides this superior branch of 
 the art, we are not less indebted to the 
 ancient Grecians for the invention and dis- 
 tribution of the most refined taste in the in- 
 ferior parts of sculpture : under this head 
 we )ieed only remind the reader of the 
 grand conceptions distributed from the base 
 to the summit of Grecian buildings, in reliefs 
 of various rich ornaments. 
 
 It appears almost superfluous to mention 
 the LaocOon, the Venus di Medicis, the 
 Apollo Belviddre, the Meleager, the Anti- 
 nous, the Niobe, &c. &c. of tlie Grecian 
 school, as efforts never to be exceeded, or 
 perhaps equalled. How does this fact ex- 
 alt the character of the people thus fa- 
 voured, and how does it humble the pride 
 of the moderns ! And yet the knowledge of 
 infinite superiority attached to them should 
 not depress the efforts of the student, but 
 rather rouze him to increased exertion ; at 
 all events recollecting, that Phidias, Praxi- 
 telies, Agesander, Polydore, and Atheno- 
 dorus studied models far beyond the reach 
 of perfect imitation, even the animated hn- 
 man form. 
 
 Our limits will not permit us to enlarge, 
 ox enter into an inquiry as to the compa- 
 rative merits of the different modern schools 
 of Europe, of which Italy bears away the 
 unrivalled palm through several concurrent 
 circumstances, and of tliose it is imme- 
 diately obvious, that piety and superstition 
 ar’e the principal; the legends of their 
 saints produce an incredible variety for 
 illustrating the violent emotions of the soul 
 in ardent devotion and the pangs of mar- 
 tyrdom, and it cannot be disputed, that 
 they have in many instances very nearly 
 approached the expression and excellence 
 of their masters; of those Michael Angelo 
 
 
SCULPTURE. 
 
 Buonaroti lias been honoured by his coun- 
 trymen with the title of divine, nor was 
 Bernini much less deserving of tliis honour. 
 
 The French, altliough favoured with a 
 climate little inferior to that of Italy, and 
 situated upon its borders, have less distin- 
 guished themselves in sculpture than might 
 have been expected, but the national cha- 
 racter is too volatile for the productions of 
 tedious and incessant exertion, absolutely 
 necessary in tlie sculptor ; hence it is that 
 very few French names are celebrated as 
 statuaries. It would, however, be unjust not 
 to mention Roubiliac, who honoured Eng- 
 land with his w’orks, which deserve every 
 praise for just conception, and perhaps 
 there is no modern instance of more beau- 
 tiful contrast than in his monument to the 
 memory of Lady Nightingale in M''estmin- 
 »ter Abbey, on which the lifeless figure of 
 the dying lady, and the eiger and terrified 
 husband, have and ever will be greatly ad- 
 mired. The skeleton wrapped in sepul- 
 chral drapery, aiming a dart at the breast 
 of the female, needs no other encomium 
 than that of the celebrated anatomist John 
 Hunter, who pronounced it a most perfect 
 representation. Francois Girardon should 
 also be mentioned as doing honour to the 
 French nation by his numerous works, and 
 by none more than his tomb of Cardinal 
 Richlieu, originally placed in the college of 
 the Sorbonne at Paris. 
 
 The Germans and Dutch have distin- 
 guished themselves greatly in painting, but 
 taking the snbject in an enlarged point of 
 view, they have done next to nothing in 
 sculpture ; neither has the Spanish nation 
 any very strong claim to distinction on this 
 head. The sculpture of Great Britain is 
 almost entirely confined to the interiors and 
 exteriors of churches, and the statues which 
 adorn them, are all, without exception, an- 
 cient ; when the religion of our ancestors 
 was tlie .“ame as that of the greatest part of 
 the continent of Europe,, tliey gave large 
 sums for the production of shrines and saints 
 without number, but they seem to have had 
 no idea of encouraging the noblest part 
 of the art, by selecting men of superior ge- 
 nius, and employing them on groups or 
 single figures in white marble, the only sub- 
 stance calculated to give due effect to the 
 skill of the statuary ; this parsimonious con- 
 duct, and probably very iadifterent re- 
 wards, w'as the cause that all our old sta- 
 tues are made of coai’se and perishable 
 stone, and that they are in truth little bet- 
 ter than copies of each o ther, wliich circum- 
 
 stance may be partly accounted for ; besides, 
 by the situations they occupied on the walls 
 of sacred edifices, and their being invariably 
 placed in niches, and those in the pointed 
 style of artichecture, whence it became a 
 matter of necessity to introduce but one 
 figure, and that in an upright position ; yet 
 under alt these disadvantages, a competent 
 judge may discover in the majority of the 
 works of our ancient sculptors a freedom 
 and correctness that would, wdth due en- 
 co;iragement, have produced works little, 
 if at all, inferior to those of the Italian 
 school. If we examine the turns or lines of 
 the faces of the kings and saints, scattered 
 over the surfaces of our cathedrals and some 
 parish churches, it will be found that the 
 artists who made them were capable of 
 expre.'isnig dignity and piety, and their dra- 
 pery is generally correspondent to the posi- 
 tion of the limbs, and in large graceful folds. 
 The admirer of tliis art cannot fail of being 
 highly gratified by tracing the progress of 
 English sculpture in that vast field for ob- 
 servation, Westminster Abbey; where, in 
 the cloisters, they will find the rude figures 
 of abbots coeval with the time of William 
 of Normandy, from which period down to 
 the present moment there is almost an an- 
 nual succession of figures ornamental and 
 monumental. 
 
 The Abbey having been partly rebuilt by 
 Henry HI. the stnictiire was continued as 
 the abbots could obtain the means, conse- 
 quently there is an actual gradation in the 
 excellence of the sculpture down to the- 
 reign of Henry VII. The latter monarch 
 determined to excel all his predecessors, 
 and his chapel, or burial-place, is one blaze 
 of rich decoration in every possible direc- 
 tion. Having thus directed the attention 
 of the reader to the place where a perfect 
 knowledge of this subject may be obtained, 
 we shall proceed to notice another branch- 
 of the art, which has been continued in- 
 Great Britain from the time of the refor- 
 mation, at which period sculpture received 
 its fiat as far as relates to the use of it for 
 pious purposes. We know but little of the- 
 statues which were placed about the altars 
 and shrines of old times in this country, 
 as they were destroyed without mercy, but 
 vast numbers of tombs remain uninjured in 
 every county ; in speaking of those, we must 
 premise that very little opirortuiiity was 
 given the artist to expand aud im|)rove his 
 ideas, as a slavish custom prevailed of plac- 
 ing all the statues on them in a posture, of all 
 others, the most rigid and ungraceful, wirich 
 
was on their backs^ and with the hands 
 joined in prayer : under this obvious disad- 
 vantage our ancient sculptors contrived to 
 make many excellent and interesting figures 
 in beautiful transparent alabaster, although 
 almost all the males are represented in ar- 
 mour. As the effigies of persons were fre- 
 quently accompanied by that of their con- 
 sort, more scope for genius and variety pre- 
 vailed in the latter, and consequently we 
 find females in the habits of their times, 
 and represented in the rich ornaments of 
 the sex, and making due allowance for the 
 stiffness of their cumbent position, the dra- 
 pery is frequently placed in true and well 
 conceived folds ; as to expression in the 
 features beyond a mere state of quiet, as it 
 would not have been proper, it is not to 
 be discovered in any instance. Some of 
 the tombs under consideration are divided 
 into compartments, in each of which small 
 bas reliefs are introduced of the children 
 of the deceased, or monks or nuns telling 
 their beads; these are frequently well exe- 
 cuted, and so far so as to make us wish the 
 artist had been indulged to the full extent 
 of his abilities. 
 
 It appears, upon an attentive compari- 
 son, that the figures, executed between the 
 reigns of Henry III. and Henry VII. are 
 infinitely superior to those placed on tombs 
 during and after the time of Henry VIII. as 
 in his, and the two preceding reigns, the 
 effigies were generally exhibited either 
 kneeling at prayer, or cumbent, in a most 
 miserable taste indeed, which was made 
 still more disgusting by the custom of paint- 
 ing and gilding the drapery. In the period 
 of the interregnum, nothing was done in the 
 art of sculpture, as, unfortunately, the era 
 alluded to completed the destruction begun 
 at the reformation, by the application of a 
 blind principle of dislike, which prevented 
 the preservation of the statues of saints, not 
 as objects to excite devotion, but as the 
 only mementos that existed that the art 
 had ever been encouraged in England. 
 
 As might have been anticipated, sculp- 
 ture sunk into a state of total neglect, if 
 not of contempt; but, after the restoration, 
 the ancient habits of the people recurring, 
 statues of the dethroned king, and of his son 
 and successor, were erected in every di- 
 rection, and in some instances they are 
 tolerable figures; but the monumental of 
 the same date are wretched indeed, as they 
 are clad in Roman armour, and their heads 
 and shoulders sustain enormous wigs. En- 
 couragement increasing, the art began to 
 
 foHze from its torpid state, and at lengtfi 
 Cibber flourished, to whom we are indebted 
 for many very excellent statues, and some 
 rich embellishments at St. Paul’s cathedral. 
 Without invidiously mentioning names and 
 making comparisons, it would be impossible 
 to enter more fully into the progress of sculp- 
 ture since the date just mentioned ; we shall 
 therefore merely say, that numerous proofs 
 exist that the modern English possess a ge- 
 nius for sculpture equal to the inhabitants 
 of any nation, but unfortunately it seems to 
 be nearly confined to the execution of mo- 
 numents, on which a routine of genii, an- 
 cient gods and goddesses, and virtues, are 
 constantly introduced, to the total extinc- 
 tion of taste, as they must each possess their 
 attributes to point out their names. 
 
 Little need be said of the mechanical 
 part of this art, as various chissels, a mallet, 
 compasses, and materials for polishing mar- 
 ble, are all that is required ; the essential is 
 seated in the mind, and as Roubiliac used 
 to say, “ the figure is in the substance of the 
 marble, I only extricate it from the enclo- 
 sure, or pick it out.” 
 
 SCUTAGE, was anciently a tax imposed 
 on such as held lands, &c. by knight’s ser- 
 vice, towards furnishing the King’s army : 
 hence scutagio habendo was a writ that 
 lay for the king, or other lord, against te- 
 nants holding by .knight’s service, to serve 
 in person, or send a sufficient man in their 
 room, or pay a certain sum, &c. 
 
 SCUTELLARIA, in botany, skull cap, n 
 genus of the Didynamia Gymnospermia 
 class and order. Natural order of Verticil- 
 lat®. Labiatae, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter : calyx with an entire mouth, after flow- 
 ering closed by a lid. There are sixteen 
 species ; these are all perennial plants, 
 chiefly herbaceous, with square stalks, and 
 opposite leaves ; the flowers are either soli* 
 tary, axillary, and naked, or else in termi- 
 nating bracted spikes, with one bracte, or 
 floral leaf to each flower ; they are chiefly 
 natives of the South of Europe. 
 
 SCUTTLES, in a ship, square holes cut 
 in the deck, big enough to let in the body 
 of a man, serving to let people down into 
 any room below upon occasion, or from 
 one deck to another. Thqy are generally 
 before the main-mast, before the knight in 
 the forecastle ; in the gun-room, to go down 
 to the stern-sheets ; in the round-house, to 
 go down into the captain’s cabin, when 
 forced by the enemy in a fight aloft. There 
 are also .some smaller scuttles, which have 
 gratings over them : and all of them have 
 
SEA 
 
 covers, that people may not fall down 
 through them in the night. Scuttle is also 
 h name given to those little win'dows and 
 long holes which are cut out in cabins, to 
 let in light., 
 
 SCYLLiEA, in natural history, a genus 
 of the Vermes Mollusca class and order. 
 Body compressed, and grooved along the 
 back ; mouth consists of a terminal tooth- 
 less aperture ; tentacula, or arms, three oh 
 each side, and placed beneath. Two spe- 
 cies are noticed, tiz. the Pelagica and Gom- 
 pbodensis. 
 
 SCYTHROPS, the Channel-Ull^m natural 
 history ; a genus of birds of the order Picae. 
 Generic character : the bill large, convex, 
 cultratcd, furrowed at the sides, hooked at 
 the tip ; nostrils round, naked at the base 
 of the bill ; tongue cartilaginous, split at 
 the point ; toes two before, and two be- 
 hind ; tail of ten feathers. Of this genus 
 only one species is known. This is an in- 
 habitant of New South Wales, and is gene- 
 rally designated as the New South Wales 
 Channel-bird. Its size is that of a crow; 
 but its length is considerably greater, mea- 
 suring two feet seven inches. It is seldom 
 seen, excepting in the morning and even- 
 ing, generally in pairs, sometimes in very 
 small docks; its noise resembles the scream- 
 ing sound of alarm uttered by poultry in 
 danger. It is migratory, and supposed to 
 feed on the seeds of trees, on fruits, and the 
 exuviae of beetles. The tail is sometimes 
 Unfolded like a fan, both during the flight 
 and sitting of the bird, and gives it an in- 
 teresting and dignified appearance. It ap- 
 pears not to be easily tameable ; but of the 
 nature, manners, and habits of this bird, 
 little is at present ascertained. 
 
 SE.4, is frequently used for that vast 
 tract of water encompassing the whole 
 earth ; but is more properly a part or divi- 
 sion of these waters, and is better defined a 
 lesser assemblage of water, which lies before, 
 and washeth the coasts of, some particular 
 countries, from whence it is generally de- 
 nominated, as the Irish Sea, the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea, the Arabian Sea, &c. 
 
 What proportion the superficies of the 
 sea bears to that of the land, is not pre- 
 cisely knowh, though it is said to be some- 
 what more than tv^b-thirds. As the waters 
 Of the earth must necessarily rise to the 
 surface thereof, as being specifically lighter 
 than the earth, it was necessary there 
 should be large cavities therein, for recep- 
 tacles to contain them, otherwise they 
 would have overspread all the superficies 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SEA 
 
 of the earth, and so have rendered it utterly 
 uninhabitable for terrestrial animals; for 
 ^the centre of the earth being the common 
 centre of gravity, and the nature of fluids 
 being such, that they equally yield to equal 
 powers ; and the power of attraction being 
 every where equal at equal distances froni 
 the centre, it follows, that the superficial 
 parts of the water will every where con- 
 form themselves to an equidistant situation 
 from the centre, and, consequently, will 
 form the siirface of a sphere, so far as they 
 extend. Hence, that the sea seems higher 
 than the earth or land, results from the fal- 
 lacy of vision, whereby all Objects, and the 
 parts of land as well as sea, the further 
 they are off from us, the higher they ap- 
 pear ; the reason of all which is plain from 
 optics ; for it is well known, that the denser 
 any medium is, through \vhich vfe behold 
 objects, the greater is the refraction ; or the 
 more their images appear above the hori- 
 zontal level ; also the greater quantity of 
 the medium the rays pass through, the more 
 will they bC bent from their first direction ; 
 on both these accounts, the appearances of 
 things remote, and on the sea, will be some- 
 what above the horizon, and the more so' 
 as they are the more remote. 
 
 With regard to the depth of profundity 
 of the sea, Varenius affirms, that it is iri 
 some places unfathomable, and in other 
 places very various, being in certain places 
 joj h im> lio) 2,%, 4i English miles, in other 
 places deeper, and much less in bays than 
 in oceans. In general, the depths of the 
 sea bear a great analogy to the height of 
 mountains on the land, so' far as is hitheftb 
 discovered : and it is a general rule among 
 sailors, and is found to hold true in inany 
 instances, that the more the shores of any 
 place dre steep and high, forming perpendi- 
 cular cliffs, the deeper the sea is below, 
 and that, bn the contrary, level shores de- 
 note shallow seas. Thus the deepest part 
 of the Mediterranean is generally allowed 
 to be under the height of Malta. And the 
 observation of the strata of earth and other 
 fossils, on and near the shores, may serve tb 
 form a good judgment as to the materials 
 to be found in its bottom. For the Veins of 
 salt and of bitumen doubtless run on the 
 same, and in the same order, as we see 
 them at land ; and the strata of rocks that 
 serve to support the earth of hills and ele- 
 vated places on Shore, serve also, in the same 
 continued chain, to support the immense 
 quantity of water in the bason of the sea. 
 
 The coral fisheries have given bccasibn 
 E 
 
to observe that there are many, and those 
 very large caverns or hollows in the bottom 
 of the sea, especially where it is rocky ; and 
 that the like caverns are sometimes found 
 in the perpendicular rocks which form tire 
 steep sides of those fisheries. These ca- 
 verns are often of great depth, as well as 
 extent, and have sometimes wide mouths, 
 and sometimes only narrow entrances into 
 large and spacious hollows. 
 
 The bottom of the sea is covered with a 
 variety of matters, such as could not be 
 imagjned by any but those who have exam- 
 ined into it, especially in deep water, where 
 the surface only is disturbed by tides and 
 storms, the lower part, and consequently 
 its bed at the bottom, remaining for ages, 
 perhaps, undisturbed. The soundings, when 
 the plummet first touches the ground, on 
 approaching the shores, giye some idea of 
 this. The bottom of the plummet is hol- 
 lowed, and in that hollow there is placed a 
 lump of tallow ; which, being the part that 
 first touches the ground, the soft nature of 
 the fat receives into it some part of those 
 substances which it meets with at the bot- 
 tom : this matter, thus brought up, is some- 
 times pure sand, sometimes a kind of sand 
 made of the fragment of shells, beaten to a 
 sort of powder, sometimes it is made of a 
 like powder of the several sorts of corals, 
 and sometimes it is composed of fragments 
 ofrocks ; but beside theseappearances, which 
 are natural enough, and are what might well 
 be expected, it brings up substances which 
 are of the most beautiful colours. 
 
 Dr. Donati, in an Italian work, contain- 
 ing an essay towards a natural history of 
 the Adriatic Sea, has related many curious 
 observations on this subject ; having care- 
 fully examined the soil and productions of 
 the various countries that surround the 
 Adriatic Sea, and compared them with 
 those which he took up from the bottom of 
 the sea, he found that there is very little dif- 
 ference between the former and the latter. 
 At the bottom of the water there are moun- 
 tains, plains, vallies and caverns, similar to 
 those upon land. The soil consist* of dif- 
 erent strata, placed one upon another, and 
 mostly parallel and correspondent to those 
 of the rocks, islands, and neighbouring- con- 
 tinents. They contain stones of different 
 sorts, minerals, metals, various putrified 
 bodies, pumice stones, and lavas formed by 
 volcanos. 
 
 One of the objects which most excited 
 his attention, was a crust, which he disco- 
 vered under the water, composed of crusta- 
 
 ceous and testaceous bodies, and beds of 
 polypes of different kinds, confusedly blend- 
 ed witlr earth, sand, and gravel ; the differ- 
 ent marine bodies which form this crust, 
 are found at the depth of a foot or more, 
 entirely petrified and reduced into marble j 
 these, he supposes, are naturally placed un- 
 der the sea when it covers them, and not 
 by means of volcanos and earthquakes, as 
 some have conjectured. On this account 
 he imagines, that the bottom of the sea is 
 constantly rising higher and higher, with 
 which other obvious causes of increase con- 
 cur ; and from this rising of the bottom of 
 the sea, that of its leyel or surface naturally 
 results; in proof of which, this writer re- 
 cites a great number of facts. 
 
 M. Dassie has been at great pains to 
 prove, that the sea has a general motion, in- 
 dependently of winds and tides, and of more 
 consequence in navigation than is generally 
 supposed. He affirms, that this rhotion is 
 from east to west, inclining towards the 
 north, when the sun has passed the equi- 
 noctial northward, and that during the time 
 the sun is in the northern signs; but the 
 contrary way after the sun has passed the 
 said equinoctial southward: adding, that 
 when this general motion is changed, the 
 diurnal flux is changed also ; whence it hap- 
 pens, that in several places the tides come 
 in, during one part of the year, and go out 
 during the other, as on the coasts of Nor- 
 way, in the Indies at Goa, Cochinchina, 
 &c, where, while the sun is in the summer 
 signs, the sea runs to the shore ; and when 
 in the winter signs runs from it. On the 
 most southern coasts of Tonquin and China, 
 for the six summer months, the diurnal course 
 runs from the north with the ocean ; but the 
 sun having re-passed the line toward the 
 south, the course declines also southward. 
 
 There are two principal reasons why the 
 sea does not increase by means of rivers, 
 &c. falling every where into it. The first 
 is, because waters return from the sea 
 by subterranean cavities and aqueducts, 
 through various parts of the earth. Se- 
 condly, because the quantity of vapours 
 raised from the sea, and falling on the land, 
 only cause a circulation, but no increase of 
 water. It has been found, by calculation, 
 that in a summer’s day there may be raised 
 in vapours, from the Mediterranean Sea, 
 5,280,000,000 tuns of water ; and yet this 
 sea receivelh not, from all its nine great ri- 
 vers, above 1,827,000,000 tuns per day, 
 which is but a third part of what is exhaust- 
 ed in vapours. 
 
SEA.> 
 
 Tlie ascent of the sea-water, for the for- 
 mation of springs, by a subterranean circu- 
 lation of its water to their sources, has 
 been a great objection with many, against 
 the system of their being formed of tlie sea j 
 but Dr. Plot has observed, that tlierc are 
 many ways by, which the water may as- 
 cend above its .own level : 1. By the means 
 of subterranean heats. 2. By filtration. 
 
 3 . By the unequal height of several seas. 
 
 4. By the distance of the centre of magni- 
 tude from the centre of gravity, in the ter- 
 raqueous globe : the superficies of the Pa- 
 cific Sea is said to be further, from the cen- 
 tre of gravity, than the top of the highest 
 hill on the adverse part of the globe. And, 
 
 5. By the help of storms. The sea-water 
 actually ascends above its own level, com- 
 ing into wells whose bottoms lie higher 
 than the surface of the sea at high-water 
 mark. 
 
 Witli regard to the saltness of the sea- 
 water, it is very rationally Judged to arise 
 from great multitudes both of mines and 
 mountains of salt, dispersed here and there 
 in the depths of theti^ea. The salt being 
 continually diluted and. dissolved by the 
 water, the' sea becomes impregnated with 
 its particles throughout ; and for this rea- 
 son the saltness of the sea can never be di- 
 minished. Dr. Halley supposes, that it is 
 probable the greatest part of the sea-salt, 
 and of all salt lakes, as the Caspian Sea, the 
 Dead Sea, the Lake of' Mexico, and the 
 Titicaca, in Peru, is derived from the wa- 
 ter of the rivers which they receive ; and 
 since this sort of lakes has no exit or dis- 
 charge, but by the exhalation of vapours ; 
 and also since these vapours are- entirely 
 fresh, or devoid of such particles, it is cer- 
 tain, that the saltness of the sea and such 
 lakes must, from time to time, increase, and 
 therefore, the saltness at this time is greater 
 than at any time heretofore. He further 
 adds, that if, by experiments made in dif- 
 ferent ages, we could find the different 
 quantity of salt, which the same quantity 
 of water (taken up in the same place, and 
 in all other the same circumstances) would 
 afford, it would be easy from thence, by 
 rules of proportion, to find the age of the 
 world very nearly, or the time wherein it 
 has been acquiring its present saltness. 
 
 The Bishop of Landaff has recommended 
 a most simple and easy mode of ascertain- 
 ing the saltness of the sea in any latitude : 
 we insert it in his own words. 
 
 “ As it is not every person who can make 
 himself expert in the use of the common 
 
 means of estimating the quantity of salt cort. 
 tained in sea- water, I will mention a method 
 of doing it which is so easy and simple, that 
 every common sailor may understand and 
 practise it, and which, from the trials I 
 have made of it, seems to be as exact a 
 method as any that has yet been thought 
 of. Take a clean towel, or any other piece 
 of cloth, dry it well in the sun, or before 
 the fire, then weigh it accurately, and note 
 down its weight ; dip it in the sea water, 
 and when taken out, wring it a little till it 
 will not drip, when hung up to dry ; weigh 
 it in this wet state, then dry it either in the 
 sun, or at the fire, and, when it is perfectly 
 dry, weigh it again. The excess of the 
 weight of the wetted cloth above its origi- 
 nal weight, is the weight of the sea-water 
 imbibed by the cloth ; and the excess of 
 the weight of the cloth after being dried, 
 above its original weight, is the weight of 
 the salt retained by the cloth ; and by com- 
 paring this weight with the weight of the 
 sea-water imbibed by the cloth, we obtain 
 the proportion of salt contained in that spe- 
 cies of sea-water. 
 
 “ Whoever undertakes to ascertain the 
 quantity of salt contained in sea water, ei- 
 ther by this or any other method, would do 
 well to observe the state of tlie weatlier 
 preceding the time when the sea-water is 
 taken out of the sea, for the quantity of 
 salt contained in the water near the surface 
 may be influenced both by the antecedent 
 moisture and the antecedent heat of the at- 
 mosphere.’’ 
 
 Whether the sea is salter or not at dif- 
 ferent depths, has not yet been properly 
 ascertained ; but that its temperature varies 
 considerably in proportion to the depth, w e 
 have decisive proof.' 
 
 “ With respect to the temperature,” says 
 Bishop Watson, “ of the sea at different 
 depths, it seems reasonable enough to sup- 
 pose, that in summer time it will be hot- 
 ter at the surface than at any considerable 
 depth below it, and that in winter it will be 
 colder. 
 
 “ Mr. Wales describes the instrument he 
 made use of for trying the temperature of 
 the sea at different depths, in the following 
 terms : ‘ The apparatus for trying the sea- 
 water at different depths consisted of a 
 square wooden tube of about eighteen 
 inches long, and three inches square exter- 
 nally. It was fitted with a valve at the 
 bottom, and another at the top, and had a 
 contrivance for suspending the thermome- 
 ter exactly in the middle of it. When it 
 E 2 
 
SEA. 
 
 used it was fastened to the deep sea- 
 line, just above the lead, so that all the 
 way as it descended, the water had a free 
 passage through it, by means of the valves 
 which were then both open ; but the instant 
 it began to be drawn iip, both the valves 
 closed by the pressure of the water, and of 
 course the thermometer was brought up in 
 a body of water of the same temperature 
 with that it was let down to.’ With this 
 instrument, which is much the same with 
 one formerly described by Mr. Boyle; in 
 his observations about the saltness of the 
 sea, water was fetched up from different 
 depths, and its temperature accurately no- 
 ticed, in different seasons and latitudes. 
 
 “ August 27, 1772; south latitude 24“ 
 40'. The heat of the air was 72j, of the 
 vvater at the surface 70, of water tfom the 
 depth of 80 fathoms 68. 
 
 “ December 27, 1772, south latitude 58“ 
 2l'. Tlie heat of the air was 31, of the wa- 
 ter at the surface 32, of water from the 
 depth of 160 fathoms 33|. 
 
 “ In the voyage to the high northern lati- 
 tudes before mentioned; tliey made use of 
 a bottle to bring up water from the bottom, 
 which is thus described : ‘ The bottle had a 
 coating of wool, three inches thick, which 
 was wrapped up in an oiled skin, and let 
 into a leather purSe, and the whole inclosed 
 in a well-pitched canvas bag, firmly tied to 
 the mouth of the bottle, so that not a drop 
 of water could penetrate to its surface. A 
 bit of lead shaped like a cone, with its base 
 downwards, and a cord fixed to its small 
 end, was put into the bottle ; and a piece 
 of valve leather, with half a dozen Slips of 
 thin bladder, were strung on the cord, 
 which, when pulled, effectually corked the 
 bottle on the inside.’ We have here put 
 down two of the experiments, which were 
 made during that voyage. 
 
 “ August 4, 1773, north latitude 80“ 30'. 
 The heat of the air was 32, of the water af 
 the surface 36, of water fetched up from 
 the depth of 60 fathoms under the ice, 39. 
 
 “ September 4, 1773, north latitude 65“. 
 The heat of the air was 66^, of the water at 
 the surface 55; of water from the depth of 
 683 fathoms, 40. 
 
 “ It appears from all theSe experiments 
 that, when the atmosphere was hotter than 
 the surface of the sea, the superficial water 
 was hotter than that at a great depth; and 
 when the atmosphere was colder than the 
 surface of the sea, it is evident that the su- 
 perficial water was somewhat colder than at 
 a considerable distance below it.” 
 
 Sea-water may be rendered fresh by 
 freezing, which excludes or precipitates the 
 saline .particles ; or by distillation, which 
 leaves the salt in a mass at the bottom of the 
 vessel. Upon these principles, a mode of 
 obtaining a supply of fresh water at sea was 
 recommended some years ago to the Admi- 
 ralty, by Dr. Irving. It consisted in only 
 adapting a tin tube of suitable dimensions 
 to the lid of the common ship’s kettle, and 
 condensing the steam in a hogshead which 
 served as a receiver. By this mode a sup- 
 ply of twenty-five gallons of fresh water per 
 hour might be obtained from the kettle of 
 One of our ships of war. 
 
 The saline taste of sea-water, is chiefly 
 derived from common salt which it holds in 
 solution. Sea-water is also distinguished 
 by a nauseous bitter taste, which is ascribed 
 to the animal and vegetable matters which 
 are floating in it. This taste has been com 
 sidered as in some measure foreign to it, 
 for it is only found in the water on the sur- 
 face of the ocean, or near the shores. 
 Sea-water, taken up at considerable depths, 
 contains only saline matters. The specific 
 gravity of sea-water varies from 1.027 to 
 1.028. Its greater density is owing to the 
 salts which are dissolved in it ; and to this 
 impregnation also it is owing, that it is not 
 frozen till the temperature is reduced nearly 
 to 28“. The salts which are chiefly found 
 in sea-water, are muriate of soda, or com- 
 mon salt, muriate of magnesia, sulphate of 
 magnesia, sulphate of lime and soda. The 
 quantity of saline ingredients in the waters 
 of the ocean varies from ^ to Jj part Mr. 
 Kirwan makes the average quantity about 
 ^ of its whole weight. The quantity of 
 saline contents of water, taken up by Lord 
 Mulgrave at the back of Yarmouth Sands, 
 in latitude 53“, amounted nearly to ^ ; 
 while Bergman found the water taken up 
 in the latitude of the Canaries, to contain 
 about ^ of its weight of saline matter. 
 These quantities, however, vary even in the 
 same latitude, during rainy and dry seasons, 
 near the land, or the mouths of great ri- 
 vers. Tiie difference of latitude does not 
 seem to make any considerable difference 
 in the proportion of saline matter. In lati- 
 tude 80“ north, sixty fathom.s under ice, 
 sea-water taken up by Lord Mulgfave, 
 yielded about ^ ; in latitude 74°, nearly the 
 same ; and in latitude 60“, Pages ob- 
 tained four per cent, from water taken up 
 in latitude 81“, and the same quantity of 
 saline matter from water taken up in lati- 
 tudes 45“ and 39“ north. In southern lati- 
 
SEA, 
 
 tudes the proportisn was still greater; he 
 found it to contain the following proportions : 
 In the Mediterranean the proportion is said 
 to be still greater; but the Euxine and 
 Caspian seas are found to be less salt 
 than the ocean. This is also the case with 
 the Baltic. If the saline matters of the 
 waters of the ocean did not consist of dif- 
 ferent kinds, the proportion of salts which 
 it contains might be ascertained by the spe- 
 cific gravity. The experiments of Mr, 
 Wilcke show that the proportion of saline 
 matter in the Baltic is less than that of the 
 ocean : and that it is salter during the pre- 
 valence of a westerly Wind, by which the 
 water is driven from the ocean, than during 
 an easterly wind. The proportions of the 
 different salts in an analysis, by Bergman, 
 ;^re the following : 
 
 Muriate of soda 30.911 
 
 Muriate of magnesia 6.222 
 
 Sulphate of linie 1.000 
 
 38.133 
 
 In 1,000 parts of water taken up near 
 Dieppe, Lavoisier found the following salts : 
 
 Muriate of soda 1.375 
 
 Muriate of lime and magnesia ... 256 
 
 Muriate of magnesia 156 
 
 Lime 87 
 
 Sulphate of soda aud magnesia .. 84 
 
 1958 
 
 The luminousness of the sea is a pheno- 
 menon that has been noticed hy many nau- 
 tical and philosophical writers. Mr. Boyle 
 ascribes it to some cosmical law or custom 
 pf the terrestrial globe, or at least of the 
 planetary vortex. 
 
 The Abbe Nollet was long of opinion, 
 that the light of the sea proceeded from 
 electricity ; and others have had recourse 
 to the same principle, and shown that the 
 luminous points in the surface of the sea are 
 produced merely by friction. 
 
 There are, however, two other hypothe- 
 *es, which have more generally divided be- 
 tween them the solution of this phenome- 
 non ; the one of these ascribes it to the 
 shining of luminous insects or animalcu- 
 les, and the other to the tight proceeding 
 from the putrefaction of animal substances. 
 The Abbe Nollet, who at first considered 
 this luminousness as an electrical pheno- 
 menon, having had an opportunity of ob- 
 serving the circumstances of it, when he 
 
 was at Venice in 1749, relinquished his for- 
 mer opinion, and concluded that it was 
 occasioned either by the luminous aspect, 
 or by some liquor or effluvia of an insect 
 which he particularly describes, though he 
 does not altogether exclude other causes, 
 and especially the spawn or fry of fish. A 
 similar conjecture is proposed by a corres- 
 pondent of Dr. Franklin, in a letter read at 
 the Royal Society in 1756 ; the writer of 
 which apprehends, that this appearance 
 may be caused by a great number of little 
 animals, floating on the surface of the sea. 
 And Mr. Forster, in his account of a voy- 
 age round the world with Captain Cook, 
 describes this phenomenon as a kind of 
 blaze of the sea; and having attentively 
 examined some of the shining water, ex- 
 presses his conviction that the appearance 
 was occasioned by innumerable minute 
 animals of a round shape, moving through 
 the water in all directions, which show se- 
 parately as so many luminous sparks when 
 taken up on the hand : he imagines that 
 these small gelatinous luminous specks may 
 be the young fry of certain species of some 
 medusae or blubber. And M, Dagelat and 
 M. Rigaud observed several times, and in 
 different parts of the ocean, such luminous 
 appearances by vast masses of different 
 animalcules ; and a few days after, the sea 
 was covered, near the coasts, witli whole 
 banks of small fish in innumerable multi- 
 tudes, which they supposed had proceeded 
 from the shining animalcules. 
 
 But M. le Roi, after giving much atten- 
 tention to this phenomenon, concludes, that 
 it is not occasioned by any shining insects, 
 especially as, after carefully examining 
 with a microscope some of the luminous 
 points, he found them to have no appear- 
 ance of an animal ; and he also found 
 that the mixture of a little spirits of wine 
 with water Just drawn from the sea, would 
 give the appearance of a great number of 
 little sparks, which would continue visible 
 longer than those in the ocean : the same 
 effect was produced by all the acids, and 
 various other liqours. M. le Roi is far from 
 asserting that there are no luminous insects 
 in the sea ; for he allows that several gen- 
 tlemen have found them ; but he is satisfied 
 that the sea is luminous chiefly on some 
 other account, though he does not so much 
 as offer a conjecture with respect to the 
 true cause, 
 
 Other authors, equally dissatisfied with 
 the hypothesis of luminous insects, for ex- 
 plaining the phenomenon which is the sub- 
 
 t 
 
 ! 
 
 I 
 
•SEA 
 
 ject of this article, have ascribed it to some 
 substance of the phosphoric kind, arising 
 from putrefaction. 
 
 Sea, in law : The sea shall be open to all 
 merchants. Tlie main sea beneath the low 
 water mark, and round England, is part of 
 England j and the admiralty has jurisdiction 
 there. 
 
 SEAMEN, such as are reserved to serve 
 the King, or other persons, it sea, who may 
 not depart without license, &c. Seamen 
 fighting, quarreling, or makmg any dis- 
 turbance, may be punished by the com- 
 missioners of the navy, with fine and impri- 
 sonment. Registered seamen are exempted 
 from serving in any parish office, &c. and are 
 allowed bounty money besides their pay. 
 By the law of merchants, the seamen of a 
 vessel are accountable to the master or 
 commander, and the master to the owners, 
 and the owners to the merchants, for da- 
 mage sustained either by negligence or 
 otherwise. Where a seaman is hired for a 
 voyage, and he deserts it before it is ended, 
 fie shall lose his wages ; and in case a ship 
 be lost by a tempest, or in a storm, the sea- 
 jnen lose their wages, as w'ell as the owners 
 their freight. 
 
 Seamen, inlaw: by variousstatutes, sailors 
 having served the King for a limited time, 
 are free to use any trade or profession, in 
 any town of the kingdom. By 2 George II. 
 c. 36, made perpetually by 2 George III. 
 c. 31, no master of any vessel shall carry to 
 sea any seaman, his own apprentice except- 
 ed, w'ithout first entering into an agreement 
 with such seaman for his wages ; such 
 agreement to be made in writing, and to 
 declare what wages such seaman is to re- 
 ceive during the whole of the voyage, or for 
 such time as shall be therein agreed upon ; 
 and such agreement shall also express the 
 voyage for which such seaman was shipped 
 to perform the same, under a penalty of 
 101. for each mariner carried to sea w’itliout 
 such agreement, to be forfeited by the mas- 
 ter to the use of Greenwich Hospital. This 
 agreement is to be signed by each mariner 
 within three days after entering on board 
 such ship, and is, when executed, binding 
 on a’ parties. 
 
 .AL, a puncheon, or piece of metal, or 
 otLcr matter, usually either ropnd or oval, 
 whereon are engraven the arms, device, &c. 
 of some prince, state, community, magis- 
 trate, or private person, often with a legend 
 or suscription, the impression of whereof in 
 wax, serves to make acts, instruments, &c. 
 authentic. 
 
 SEE 
 
 Before the time of William the Con- 
 queror, the makers of all deeds only sub- 
 scribed their names, adding the sign of the 
 cross, and a great number of witnesses; but 
 that monarch and the nobility used seals 
 with their arms on them, which example 
 was afterwards followed by others. The 
 colour of the wax wJierewith this King’s 
 grants were sealed was usually green, to sig- 
 nify that the act continued fresh for ever, 
 and of force. A seal is absolutely necessary 
 in respect of deeds, because the sealing of 
 them makes persons parties thereto, and 
 without being sealed, they are void in law. 
 
 SEALER, an officer in chancery ap- 
 pointed by the Lord Chancellor, or Keeper 
 of the great seal, to seal tlie writs and in- 
 struments there made in his presence. 
 
 SEAMS of a ship, are places where her 
 planks meet and join together. There is 
 also a kind of peculiar seam in the sowing 
 of sails, which they call monk-seam ; the 
 other seam of a sail is the round-seam, so 
 called from its being round like the com- 
 mon seams. 
 
 SEARCHER. See Alnager. Searcher 
 is also an officer of the customs, whose 
 business is to search and examine all ships 
 outward bound, to see whether they have 
 any prohibited or unaccustomed goods on 
 board, 
 
 SEAR cloth, or Cere cloth, in surgery, a 
 form of external remedy somewhat harder 
 than an unguent, yet softer flian an em- 
 plaster, though it is frequently used both 
 for the one and the other. The sear-cloth 
 is always supposed to have w’ax in its com- 
 position, which distinguishes and even deno- 
 minates it. In effect, when a liniment or 
 unguent has wax enough in it, it does not 
 differ from a sear-cloth. 
 
 SEBACIC acid, the acid of fat. The 
 penetrating fumes which are exhaled from 
 melted tallow, and which affect the eyes, 
 the nostrils, and even the lungs, had been 
 long ago observed. Little attention, how- 
 ever, was paid to their nature and proper- 
 ties. In 1754 appeared a dissertation by 
 ' M. Seguer, on the acid of animal fat, which 
 contained a number of well-conducted ex- 
 periments. Crell endeavoured to improve 
 the process for the separation and purifica- 
 tion of this acid, and to ascertain thp pro- 
 perties of its combinations. These were 
 published in the Philosophical Transactions 
 for the years 1780 and 1782. But it ap- 
 pears, that the acid obtained by those who 
 first treated of the subj,ect, was either the 
 acetic acid, pr some acid different from the 
 
SEC 
 
 sebacic, the properties of which are quite 
 distinct from those which had been for- 
 merly described. The process by which 
 Thenard obtained the sebacic acid is the 
 following. He distilled a quantity of hogs- 
 lard, and washed the product several times 
 with hot water. He then dropped into it 
 acetate of lead ; there was formed a flakey 
 precipitate, which was collected and dried, 
 put into a retort with sulphuric acid, and 
 heated. The liquor in the receiver had no 
 acid character ; but there appeared in the 
 retort a melted matter analogous to fat. 
 This is carefully separated ; and after being 
 washed, is boiled with w'ater. By the 
 action of heat the whole is dissolved by the 
 water, and when it cools, crystals in the 
 shape of needles are deposited. These are 
 the sebacic acid which has the following 
 properties. It has no smell, a slight acid 
 taste, and reddens strongly the tincture of 
 turnsole. When heated it melts like tallow. 
 It is much more soluble in warm than in 
 cold water. Alcohol dissolves it in large 
 quantities. Boiling water saturated with 
 this acid forms a solid mass on cooling. It 
 crystallizes in small needles, but with certain 
 precautions may be obtained in the form of 
 long, large, and very brilliant plates. It pre- 
 cipitates the acetate and nitrate of mercury 
 and lead, and nitrate of silver ; it neutralizes 
 tlie alkalies, and forms with them soluble 
 salts. 
 
 SEBATES, in chemistry, salts formed of 
 the sebacic acids, and alkalies, earths, &c. ; 
 they are soluble in water. 
 
 SECALE, in botany, rye, a genus of the 
 Triandria Digynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Gramina or Grasses. Essential 
 character ; calyx opposite, two-valved, 
 two-flowergd, solitary. There are four 
 species, viz. the villosum, orientale, creti- 
 cum, and cercale. S. villosum, or wood rye- 
 grass, is distinguished by a calyx with 
 wedge-shaped scales, and by the fringe of 
 the glume being woolly. The glumes of the 
 S, orientale are shaggy, and the scales of the 
 calyx are shaped like an awl. The glumes 
 of the S. cretichm are fringed on the outside. 
 The S. cereale, or common rye, has glumes 
 with rough fringes. It is a native of the 
 island of Candia, was introduced into Eng- 
 land many ages ago, and is the only species 
 of rye cultivated in this kingdom, There 
 are, however, two varieties, the winter and 
 spring rye. The winter rye, which is 
 larger in the grain than the spring rye, is 
 sown in autumn at the same time with 
 wheat, and sometimes mixed with it j but 
 
 SEC 
 
 as the rye ripens sooner than the wheat, 
 this method must be very exceptionable. 
 The spring rye is sown along with oats, and 
 usually ripens as soon as the winter rye ; 
 but the grain produced is lighter, and it is 
 therefore seldom sown except where the 
 autumnal crop has failed. Rye is com- 
 monly sown on poor, dry, limestone, or 
 sandy soils, where wheat will not thrive. By 
 continuing to sow it on such a soil for two 
 or three years, it will at length ripen a 
 month earlier than that which has been 
 raised for years on strong cold ground. 
 
 ■SECANT, in geometry, is a line that 
 cuts another, or divides it into two parts. 
 
 In trigonometry, the secant denotes a 
 right line drawn from the centre of a circle, 
 which cutting the circumference, proceeds 
 till it meets with a tangent to the same circle. 
 
 SECHIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monoecia Syngenesia class and order. Na- 
 tural order ofEuphorbiae, Jussieu, Essential 
 character : calyx half, five-cleft ; corolla 
 five-cleft, with ten hollows in the upper 
 part of the tube ; nectary : male, filaments 
 five, connected : female, stigma very large, 
 peltate reflexed, five-cleft ; pericarpium 
 large, ovate, turbinate, one-seeded. There 
 is only one species, viz. S. edule, the chocho 
 vine. It is a native of the West Indies ; 
 flowering and fruiting in December. 
 
 SECOND, in geometry, chronology, &c. 
 the sixtieth part of a prime or minute; 
 whether of a degree, or of an hour ; it is 
 denoted by two small accents, thus ("). 
 
 SECRETARY, an officer who by his 
 master’s orders writes letters, dispatches, 
 and other instruments, which he renders 
 authentic by his signet. Of these there are 
 several kinds; as, 1. Secretaries of State, 
 who are officers that have under their ma- 
 nagement and direction the most important 
 affairs of the kingdom, and are obliged 
 constantly to attend on the King: they re- 
 ceive and dispatch whatever comes to their 
 hands, either from the crown, the church, 
 the army, private grants, pardons, dispen. 
 sations, &c. as likewise petitions to the so- 
 vereign, which, when read, are returned to 
 them ; all which they dispatch according to 
 the King’s direction. They have authority to 
 commit persons for treason and other of- 
 fences against the state, as conservators of 
 the peace, at common law, or as justices 
 of the peace throughout the kingdom. They 
 are members of the Privy Council, w’hich 
 is seldom or never held without one of them 
 being present ; and as to the business and 
 correspondence in all parts of this kingdom, 
 
SEC 
 
 is managed by either of the secretaries, 
 without any distinction ; but with respect 
 to foreign affairs the business is divided into 
 two provinces or departments, tlie southern 
 and the northern, comprehending all the 
 kingdoms and states that have any inter- 
 course with Great Britain ; each secretary 
 receiving all letters and addresses from, and 
 making all dispatches to, the several princes 
 and states comprehended in his province. 
 2. Secretary of an Embassy, a person at- 
 tending an ernbassadorfor vypting dispatches 
 relating to the negociation. There is a great 
 difference between the secretary of an em- 
 bassy, and the embassador’s secretary ; the 
 last being a domestic or menial of the em- 
 bassador, and the first a servant or minister 
 of tlie prince. 3. The Secretary of War, 
 an officer of the ^ar Office, who has tvvo 
 chief clerks under him, the last of which is 
 the secretary’s messenger. There are also 
 secretaries in most of the other offices. 
 
 SECRETION. In the course of the 
 circulation the blood is conveyed to certain 
 organs named glands, and is there entirely 
 phanged in its chemical composition, so as 
 to form various products not pre-existing in 
 the mass of blood, and which form some of 
 the most important varieties of animal mat- 
 ter. See Physiolqgy. 
 
 SECTION, in geometry, denotes a side 
 or surface appearing of a body or figure cut 
 by another ; or the place where lines, planes, 
 &c. cut each other. The common section 
 of two planes is always a right line ; being 
 the line supposed to be drawn on one 
 plane by the section of the othep, or by ifs 
 entrance into it. 
 
 Section of a building, in architecture, 
 is the same with its profile ; or a delinea- 
 tion of its heights and depths raised on a 
 plane, as if the fabric was cut asunder to 
 discover its inside. 
 
 SECTOR, in geometry, is a part of ^ 
 circle, comprehended between two radij 
 and the arch; or it is a m'xed triangle, 
 formed by two radu and- the arch of a 
 circle. 
 
 Sectoh is also a mathematical instru- 
 ment, of great use in finding the proportion 
 between quantities of the same kind, as be- 
 tween lines and lines, surfaces and surfaces, 
 &c. for which reason the French call it thp 
 compass of proportion. 
 
 The great advantage of the sector above 
 common scales, &c. is, that it is adapted to 
 all radii, and all scales. For, by the line of 
 chords, sines, tapgents, &c. on the sector, 
 we have fines of chords, sines, tangents. 
 
 SEE 
 
 &c. adapted to any radius between the length 
 and breadth of the sector, when opened. 
 The sector is founded on the fourth propo- 
 sition of the sixth book of Euclid, where it 
 is demonstrated, that similar triangles have 
 their homologous sides proportional. See 
 Mathematical Instruments. 
 
 SECUNDINES, after birth, in anatomy, 
 the several coats or membranes wherein 
 the foetus is wrapped up in the mother’s 
 womb, as the chorion qnd amnios, with the 
 placenta, &c. See Midwifery. 
 
 SECURIDAGA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Diadelphia Octandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Papilionaceae, or Legumi- 
 nos®. Essential character : calyx three- 
 leaved ; corolla papilionaceous, with the 
 standard tWO-leaved within the wings; le- 
 gume ovate, oue-celled, one-seeded, ending 
 in a ligulate wing. There are three spe- 
 cies. 
 
 SEDUM, in botany, stonecrop, a genus 
 of the Decandria Pentagynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Succulent®. Seni- 
 perviv®, Jussieu. Essential character : ca- 
 lyx five-cleft; corolla five -pe tailed ; scales 
 nectariferous, five, at the base of the germ • 
 capsules five. There are thirty species, all 
 of which are hardy, herbaceous, succulent 
 perennials, durable in root, but mostly an- 
 imal in stalk, &c. which, rising in spring,- 
 flower in June, July, and August, in dif- 
 ferent sorts ; the flowers consisting univer- 
 sally of five spreading petals, generally 
 crowning the stalks numerously in corym- 
 bose and cymose bunches and spikes, ap- 
 pearing tolerably conspicuous, and are suc- 
 ceeded by plenty of seeds in autumn, by 
 which they may be propagated, also abun- 
 dantly by parting the roots, and by sfips 
 or cuttings of the stalks in summer; in all 
 of which methods they readily grow, and 
 spread very fast into tufted bunches : being 
 all of succulent growth, they consequently 
 delight most in dry soils, or in any dry rub- 
 bishy earth. As flowering plants, they are 
 mostly employed to embellish rock-work, 
 ruins, and the like places ; planting either 
 the roots of cuttings of the shoots in a little 
 mud or any moist soil at first, placing it in 
 the crevices, where they will soon root and 
 fix themselves, and spread about very agree- 
 ably. 
 
 SEED, in botany, the essence of the 
 fruit of every vegetable. LimiEeus deno- 
 minates it to be a deciduous part pf the 
 plant, containing the rudiments qf the new 
 vegetable, amd fertilized by the sprinkling 
 of the male ^ ust. Plants are furnished with 
 
 
SEG 
 
 fine seed as the sea-pink ; or two as in um- 
 belleferous plants; or three as in the spurge : 
 or many as in the ranunculus, &c. The 
 shape, structure, and sides of seeds are va- 
 rious. Linnaeus denominates seeds the 
 eggs of plants ; and the fecundity of plants 
 is often astonishing : there are 4,000 seeds 
 in a single sun-flower; more than 30,000 
 in a poppy ; and in a single tobacco plant 
 360,000 have been enumerated. The an- 
 nual produce of a single stalk of spleen- 
 worth has been estimated to be a million 
 of seeds. Plants are disseminated in va- 
 rious methods : some are carried along by 
 rivers and torrents many hundred miles 
 from their native soil, and cast upon a very 
 different climate, to which, however, by de- 
 grees they render themselves familar. Some 
 are formed by wings to be borne before 
 the wind to distant places. Birds, squir- 
 rels, &c. swallow seeds, and void them 
 whole and fit for vegetation, and thus dis- 
 seminate them. There are others that dis- 
 perse themselves by an elastic force, that 
 resides either in the “ calyx”; as in oats and 
 the ferns: in their “pappus”, as in the 
 “ centaurea crupina”, or in their capsule, as 
 in the geranium. 
 
 Seed. See Semen. 
 
 SEGMENT of a circle, in geometiy-, that 
 part of the circle contained between a 
 chord and an arch of the same circle. 
 
 Segment of a sphere, is a part of a sphere 
 terminated by a portion of its surface, and 
 a plane which cuts it off, passing sopiewhere 
 out of the centre; being more properly 
 called the section of a sphere. The base 
 of such a segment, it is evident, is always a 
 circle. And the convex surfaces of different 
 segments, are to each other as their alti- 
 ’ tudes, or vqrsed sines. And as the whole 
 convex surface of the sphere is equal to 
 four of its great circles, or four circles of 
 the same diameter; so the surface of any 
 segment is equal to four circles on a dia- 
 meter equal to the chord of half the arc of 
 the segment. So that if d denotes the dia- 
 meter of the sphere, or the chord of half 
 the circumference, and c the chord of half 
 the arc of any other segment, also a the 
 altitude or versed sine of the same ; then, 
 
 S.Ulfid^ is the surface of the whole 
 sphere, and 
 
 3.1416c*, or 3 . 141 6d, the surface of the 
 segment. 
 
 For the solid content of a segment, there 
 are two rules usually given; viz. 1. To 
 three times the square of the radius of its 
 
 SEL 
 
 base, add the square of its height ; multiply 
 the sum by the height, and the product by 
 .5236. Or, 2dly, From three times the 
 diameter of the sphere, subtract twice the 
 height of thefrustrum; multiply the remain- 
 der by the square of the height, and the pro- 
 duct by ..6236. 
 
 SEGUIERIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Jean Franqois Seguier, a genus 
 of the Polyandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Essential character: calyx, five- 
 leaved; corolla none; capsule, one-seeded, 
 terminated by a large wing, having small 
 lateral ones. There are two species, viz, 
 S. Americana and S. Asiatica. 
 
 SEISIN, is two-fold, seisin in law, and 
 seisin in fact. Seisin in fact, is when an 
 actual possession is taken; seisin in law, 
 when something is done, which the law ac- 
 counts a seisin. See Estate, Fee, &c. 
 
 SELAGO, in botany, a genus of the Didy- 
 namia Gymnospermia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Aggregatae. Vitices, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : catyx, five-cleft ; co- 
 rolla, tube capillary, border almost equal ; 
 seed one or two. There are twenty species. 
 These plants are herbaceous or shrubby; 
 all natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 Leaves alternate; flowers in most pf the 
 .species, allied to those of eranthemum and 
 verbena, irregular, tubular, in alternate 
 terminating spikes, which are simple or 
 manifold; in a few, the flowers are regular, 
 with a short two seeded tube, in a sort of 
 terminating corymb. 
 
 SELENITE, in mineralogy, a species 
 of the Calc genus, is of a snow white colour, 
 passing into different shades of grey. It 
 is most generally massive, and not unfre- 
 quently crystallized; the crystals are sel- 
 dom large; internally, its lustre shining and 
 splendent. The fracture is perfectly foliat- 
 ed. It is transparent, soft, and not par- 
 ticularly frangible ; specific gravity 2.3 ; it 
 is composed of lime, sulphuric acid, and 
 water, and is found in Germany, France, 
 and England. On account of its great 
 purity it is employed in taking the most 
 delicate impressions : it is also used for 
 crayons, and when burnt and phwdered, 
 it 'is used for cleansing silver. It is tlie same 
 with Gypsum, under which word will be 
 found some other particulars relating to it. 
 
 SELEUCIDAi:, in chronology. JErvi of 
 the Seleucidae, or the Syro-Macedonian mra, 
 is a computation of time, commencing from 
 the establishment of the Seleucidae, a race 
 of Greek kings, who reigned as successors 
 of Alexander the Great, in Syria, as the 
 
SEM 
 
 Ptolemies did in Egypt. This jera we find 
 expressed in the book of the Maccabees, 
 and on a great number of Greek medals, 
 struck by the cities of Syria, &c. The rab- 
 bins call it the sera of contracts ; and the 
 Arabs therik dilkarnain, that is, the sera of 
 the two horns. According to the best ac- 
 counts, the first year of this sera fells in the 
 year 311 before Christ, being twelve years 
 after Alexander’s death. 
 
 SELINUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Digynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Umbellatae or Umbelliferse. 
 Essential character : petals, cordate, equal ; 
 involucre, reflex; fruit oval, oblong, com- 
 pressed, flat, striated in the middle. There 
 are nine species. 
 
 SELL, in building, is of two kinds, viz. 
 ground-sell, which denotes the lowest piece 
 of timber in a timber building, and that on 
 which the whole superstructure is raised ; 
 and the window-sell, is the bottom piece 
 in a window-frame. 
 
 SEMECARPUS, in botany, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Essential character: calyx inferior, five- 
 cleft ; corolla, five petalled ; nut, kidney- 
 form, inserted into a large fleshy, flattened 
 receptacle. There is but one species, viz. 
 S. anacardium, marking nut tree. It is a 
 native of all the mountainous parts of India, 
 flowering in July and August. 
 
 SEMEN. See Physiology. Semen 
 is secreted in the testes of male animals ; 
 but when it is qected it is composed of 
 two substances; the one is fluid and milky, 
 and the other of a thick mucilaginous con- 
 sistence, in which appear a great number 
 of white silky filaments, especially if it 
 be agitated in, cold water. It has a dis- 
 agreeable odour, and an acrid irritating 
 taste. The specific gravity varies consider- • 
 ably, but is always greater than that of 
 water. When it is rubbed in a mortar, it 
 froths up, and acquires the consistence of 
 pomatum from the air with which it mixes. 
 It converts the flowers of violets, to a green 
 colour, and it precipitates the calcareous 
 and metallic salts, which shows, that it 
 contains an uncombined alkali. The thick ' 
 part of tlie semen as it cools, becomes 
 transparent, and assumes a greater degree 
 of consistence ; but it afterwards becomes 
 entirely liquid, even -without absorbing 
 moisture from air. If semen be exposed 
 to the air after it has become liquid at the 
 temperature of sixty degrees, it becomes 
 covered with a transparent pellicle, and at 
 the end of three or four days deposits fine 
 
 SEM 
 
 transparent crystals of a line in lengtii 
 crossing each other like radii from a centre! 
 When they are magnified, they appear to 
 be four-sided prisms terminated by long 
 four-sided pyramids^ When semen is ex- 
 posed to a warm air, in considerable quan- 
 tity, it is decomposed ; it assumes the colour 
 of the yolk of egg, and becomes acid, either 
 by absorbing the oxygen from the atmos- 
 phere, or by a different combination and 
 arrangement of its own constituent prin- 
 ciples. Heat accelerates the liquefaction 
 of semen; and when it has undergone tl)is 
 change it is no longer susceptible of coagu- 
 lation. It is decomposed by the applica- 
 tion of strong heat. Water is first sepa- 
 rated ; it then blackens, swells up, and 
 emits yellow fumes, having an empyreu- 
 matic, ammoniacal odour. Alight coal re- 
 mains behind, which burns readily to white 
 ashes. 
 
 The acids readily dissolve semen, and 
 this solution is not decomposed by the al- 
 kalies ; nor indeed is the alkidine solution 
 of semen decomposed by the acids. M'^ine, 
 cider, and urine, also dissolve semen, but 
 it is in consequence of the acid which is 
 combined with these liquids. The crystals 
 which form in semen by spontaneous eva- 
 poration in the open air, and which are en- 
 tangled in the viscid matter, may be sepa- 
 rated by adding water. 
 
 These crystals have neither smell nor 
 taste. They melt under the blow-pipe into 
 a white opaque globule, which is surrounded 
 with a yellowish flame. This salt is insolu- 
 ble in water, and is not acted on by the 
 alkalies; but is soluble in the mineral acids 
 without effervescence, from which solutions,; 
 lime water, the alkalies, and oxalic acid 
 throw down a precipitate. The component 
 parts of semen are found to be 
 
 Water go 
 
 Mucilage o 
 
 Soda 1 
 
 Phosphate of lime 3 
 
 100 
 
 SEMICIRCLE, in geometry, half a cir- 
 cle, or that figure comprehended between 
 the diameter of a circle and half the circum- 
 ference. - 
 
 SEMICOLON, in grammar, one of the 
 points or stops used to distinguish the seve- 
 ral members of sentences from each other. 
 See Punctuation. 
 
 SEMICUBICAL paraliola, in the higher 
 geometry, a curve of the second order^ 
 

 ' »«?»// -> • • 
 
 SEM 
 
 wherein the cubes of the ordinates are as 
 the squares of the abscisses. Its equation 
 is axx — y^. 
 
 The area of the space A P M (Plate XIV. 
 Miscel. fig, 1), is = ]| scy = -^ AP x 
 PM, or A of the circumscribing rectangle. 
 The content of the solid generated by the 
 revolution of the space A P M about the 
 axis A P, is 1 p .r = .7854 A P X P or 
 a of the circumscribing cylinder. And a 
 circle equal to the surface of that solid may 
 be found from the quadrature of an hyper- 
 bolic spaCjC. Also the length of any arc, 
 AM, of the curve may be easily obtained 
 from the quadrature of a space contained 
 under part of the curve of the common 
 parabola, two semi-ordinates to the axis, and 
 the part of the axis contained between 
 them. This curve may be described by a 
 continued motion, viz. by fastening the 
 angle of a square in the vertex of a com- 
 mon parabola ; and then carrying the inter- 
 section of one side of this square and a long 
 ruler (which ruler always moves perpen- 
 dicular to the axis of the parabola) along 
 the curve of that parabola. For the inter- 
 section of the ruler, and the other side of 
 the square will describe a semicubical para- 
 bola. Maclaurin performs this without a 
 common parabola, in his Geometria Or- 
 ganica. 
 
 SEMIDIA METER, half the diameter, or 
 a right line drawn from the centre of a cir- 
 cle, or sphere, to its circumference j being 
 the same with what is otherwise called the 
 radius. The distances, diameters, &e. of 
 the heavenly bodies, are usually estimated, 
 by astronomers, in semidiameters of the 
 earth ; and the distances of the secondary 
 planets from their respective primary ones, 
 by semidiameters of the body of the pri- 
 mary planet. 
 
 Suppose the semidiameter of the Earth 
 to be unity, then the measures of the Sun 
 and planets will be, as follow : The semi- 
 diameter of 
 
 The Earth 1 
 
 The Sun 111-25 
 
 The Moon 0.27 
 
 Mercury 0.38 
 
 Venus 1-15 
 
 Mars...,,,.. 0.65 
 
 Jupiter 11.81 
 
 Saturn 9-77 
 
 Herschel 4.32 
 
 SEMIPARABOLA, in geometry, a curve 
 defined by the- equation ax”' ~ ' =!/”’; 
 as a =: y’, and a a’ = y'*. In semipara- 
 
 SEN 
 
 bolas, = ^ 
 
 2 ™ — ^ ; or the powers of the semiordinates 
 are, as the powers of the semiabscisses 
 one degree lower ; for instance, in cubical 
 semiparabolas the cubes of the ordinates 
 are as the squares of the abscisses ; that is, 
 y^ ; :: x^ 2 ^- 
 
 SEMPERVIVUM, in botany, houseleek, 
 a genus of tlie Dodecandria Polygynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Succuleniae. 
 Sempervivae, J nssieu. Essential character : 
 calyx twelve-parted; petals twelve;, cap- 
 sule twelve, many-seeded. There are four- 
 teen species. 
 
 SENECIO, in botany, groundsel, a ge- 
 nus of the Syngenesis. Polygamia Super- 
 flua class and order. Natural order of 
 Composite Discoide®. Corymbifer®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: calyx cylindri- 
 cal, calycled, with the scales mortified at 
 the tip; down simple; receptacle naked. 
 There are seventy-five species. 
 
 SENSATION. The brain is a soft pulpy 
 mass, of a whitish colour on the inside, oc- 
 cupying all the cavity of the skull. Minute 
 differences are observable in the substance 
 of the brain in different parts of it, but it is 
 unnecessary to enter upon a statement of 
 them here. (See Anatomy.) The spinal 
 marrow is the continuation of the lowest 
 part of the brain, which passes through the 
 great opening of the skull down the hollow 
 of the back bone. The substance con- 
 tained in the hollow of the back bone is 
 the same with that in the cavities of the 
 skull; and it is sometimes convenient to 
 comprehend both the portions under the 
 same general name of brain. From the 
 brain proceeds the nerves, which at first 
 are fine fibres of the same substance with 
 the brain : these fibres meet and form soft 
 white pulpy cords, which afterwards spread 
 themselves over various parts of the body, 
 by splitting into innumerable and exceed- 
 ingly minute branches. Anatomists count 
 forty pairs of nerves, (for they come off in 
 pairs, though they afterwards separate), and 
 of those nine or ten only come from the 
 brain at the bottom of the skull, and the 
 rest from the spinal marrow. Those from 
 the brain are distributed to various parts 
 of the head ; those from the spinal marrow 
 are distributed over the trunk and extremi- 
 ties. The external organs of sense, the 
 nerves, and the brain, are the organs of 
 sensation. All, as we are at present consti- 
 tuted, are necessary to sensation. If the 
 external organ is destroyed no sensation 
 can be produced : where there areno nerve.s 
 
SENSATION, 
 
 there is no sensation : where the nervous 
 branches are most numerous, there is most 
 sensation : if the nerve be destroyed, sen- 
 sation cannot be produced from those parts 
 to which the nerve belongs which are fur- 
 ther from the brain than the injured parts. 
 The brain is the ultimate organ of sensa- 
 tion of which we have any knowledge. All 
 the nerves terminate in the brain. If the 
 brain is compressed, sensation is suspended. 
 If the brain is considerably injured, sen- 
 sation ceases.' — So also, there is considera- 
 ble reason to believe that tlie brain is the 
 immediate organ of ideas. If the brain is 
 ^ diseased, many of the phenomena of thought 
 are altogether changed j if the brain is com- 
 pressed, thought is suspended ; if the brain 
 is injured, ideas cease.— So also, the brain 
 appears to be the ultimate organ of all mo- 
 tions which are not produced by the imme- 
 diate action of external objects upon the 
 muscles. The muscles are the immediate 
 organs of motion. The muscles consist of 
 fleshy substances, and sometimes of tendon. 
 The tendons fasten the muscles to the 
 bones ; and the fleshy part by its contrac- 
 tions produces the motions of the bones. 
 Into the fleshy parts of the muscles nume- 
 rous nerves enter ; they are diffused over 
 its surface and within its substance. These 
 nerves, as before mentioned, terminate in 
 the brain either of the head or back. They 
 are the intermediate organs of voluntary 
 motion between the brain and the muscles. 
 
 If a nerve be compressed or punctured, 
 motion is produced in the muscle over 
 which that nerve is distributed. If a por- 
 tion of a nerve be cnt or otherwise de- 
 stroyed, voluntary motion can no longer 
 be produced in that muscle over which it 
 was distributed. If the brain be touched 
 with any instrument, or caustic applied to 
 it, the muscular system undergoes the most 
 violent contortions. If the spinal marrow 
 be pierced with a probe, all the muscles of 
 the trunk and limbs undergo violent con- 
 tortions, particularly those of the back. 
 
 If the brain be compressed, the whole body 
 becomes paralysed, and the power of volun- 
 tary motion is suspended. If the spinal 
 marrow be compressed, the power of vo- 
 bnitary motion is suspended in those mus- 
 cles which receive their nerves from the 
 back. If the brain is considerably injured, 
 all power of voluntary motion ceases. 
 
 The external organs of sense are usually 
 classed under five heads, those of sight, of 
 hearing, of feeling, of smell, and of taste. 
 The sense of feeling might probably be di- 
 
 vided with convenience into two or three, 
 because the classes of sensations, which are’ 
 referred to this sense, differ considerably in 
 themselves, and in the external causes pro- 
 ducing them. But the common arrange- 
 ment is sufficient for our purpose. 
 
 By the law of association many ideas 
 received directly from sensible objects, 
 through the medium of different senses, be- 
 come connected, and at last blended toge- 
 ther, so as to form one very complex, though 
 apparently uncompounded, idea ; and this 
 complex idea is often recalled to the mind 
 by a corresponding sensation, and, by associ- 
 ation, becomes so connected with that sen- 
 sation, that the complex idea itself is oftep 
 mistaken for a part of the sensation. For in- 
 stance, the sensation produced by the im- 
 pression made by a globe, on the sense of 
 sight, is, as can be proved, nothing more than 
 that produced by a circle, with certain varia- 
 tions of light and shade j yet, immediately on 
 the sensation being perceived, the ideas of its 
 solidity, of its hardness, its magnitude, and of 
 its being something external to one’s-self, (all 
 of which have been derived from the sense 
 of touch, in connection with this object or 
 others in some respect similar), immedi- 
 ately rise up in the mind in one blended 
 form ; by their complete coalescence they 
 appear to be one, and by their immediate 
 and constant connection with the sensation, 
 they appear to the mind as a part of the 
 sensation. Indeed, there are comparatively 
 few people who ever think that the sensa- 
 tion derived from the sight is nothing more 
 than that derived from a minute picture de- 
 lineated on the back part of the eye called 
 the retina. Things appear to us, at one 
 glance of the sight, to be solid or flat, to be 
 near or distant, to be large or small, to be 
 conjoined with other things, or separate 
 from them, to be parts of our own frame 
 or external to it, &c. and all this we appear 
 to learn by the sight alone : but the fact is, 
 that all these ideas are derived from another 
 sense at varions times, and altogether blend- 
 ing together, and arising the moment the 
 visible impression is communicated, they 
 appear part of the visible impression “ The 
 visible appearance of objects,” as Berkeley 
 observes, “ is a kind of language serving to 
 inform us of their distance, magnitude, and 
 figure no sooner are these signs pre- 
 sented to the mind, than with the rapidity 
 of lightning the ideas associated with them 
 succeed, and appear to have been commu- 
 nicated by the sight, and to be in reahly a 
 part of the sensation. 
 
SENSATION. 
 
 The sensation thus connected with the 
 complex idea is a perception. The accu- 
 racy and vividness of the sensation depends 
 entirely upon the sensitive power and its 
 organs : the accuracy and vividness of the 
 perception depends partly upon the accu- 
 racy and vividness of the component sensa- 
 tions, and partly upon the activity and energy 
 of the retentive and associative powers. 
 
 For a somewhat particular account of 
 each sense, with statements respecting the 
 share each has in forming our ideas, i. e, our 
 notions and our feelings, we beg our readers 
 to refer in this place to the following arti- 
 cles, in the order in which we here detail 
 them ; Sight, Touch, Taste, Smell, 
 and Sound: and presuming upon the peru- 
 sal of those articles, we shall here make a 
 few general observations respecting sensa- 
 tions. 
 
 1. Sensations are the rudiments and ele- 
 ments of all our ideas ; that is, of all out 
 thoughts and feelings. — This is a position 
 which perhaps few of those who are unac- 
 quainted with the speculations of metaphy- 
 sical writers would suppose to have been 
 ever doubted. When an infant enters into 
 the world, there is no appearance of any 
 ideas being in its mind ; and no one can 
 doubt, that if any human being could be 
 deprived of all his organs and sensations, 
 before any sensations had been received, 
 that he would never have ideas. Yet it was 
 once generally believed, that there are in 
 every human being ideas born with him, 
 which were called innate. What they were, 
 or in what respects they differed from those 
 which are indisputably received by means 
 of the organs of sensation, was never, we 
 apprehend, pointed out. Indeed the doc- 
 trine of innate ideas rests merely on an ap- 
 peal to ignorance ; and as soon as any pro- 
 bable account of their origin is given,- all 
 support of it falls at once. Before the grandi 
 law of association was tolerably understood, 
 the mode of the formation of many com- 
 plex ideas could not be satisfactorily ascer- 
 tained 5 and_ it must still be admitted, that 
 we cannot in all cases fully trace the forma- 
 tion of our complex ideas j but we can in 
 a sufficient number to decide the point. 
 Between those whose formation we can ex- 
 plain, and those whose we cannot, there is 
 no further difference than our greater or 
 less acquaintance with the individual steps 
 of the process. 
 
 2. In the earliest exercise of the sensitive 
 power, sensations are Simple, uncompounded 
 with the relicts of former corresponding 
 
 sensations ; but the sensations very soon be- 
 come perceptions, that is, they instanta- 
 neously recal the relicts of other corre- 
 sponding sensations. This implies the ex- 
 ercise of the retentive and associative pow- 
 er; but as perceptions are almost hhi- 
 formly produced by every exercise of the 
 sensitive power, it may be proper to speak 
 of them here in connection with sensations. 
 That sensations in a somewhat advanced 
 state of mental culture are usually percep- 
 tions, any person may satisfy himself, by 
 considering, that sensations are usually ac- 
 companied either with an idea of an exter- 
 nal object causing them, or (if they are 
 thereby the effect of the state of the bodily 
 system) with an idea of the sensation being 
 in the part of the body in which the cause 
 of the sensation exists ; both of which are 
 complex ideas, formed from a great number 
 of impressions, and which could in no in- 
 stance be produced by any exertion of the 
 sensitive power. — We, therefore, in many 
 cases, without any impropriety, speak of 
 perceptions and sensations indiscriminately; 
 since a perception always implies a sensa- 
 tion, and sensations most frequently are 
 pel cep tions ; and accordingly we shall find 
 in some writers that they are confounded, 
 sometimes where they ought to be kept 
 distinct. 
 
 3. Considering man as an intellectual 
 being, the accuracy and extent of his per- 
 ceptions are of the first moment. They 
 are, in fact, the materials of all knowledge 
 respecting external objects, and in the early 
 stages of mental culture are the only ob- 
 jects of the understanding. Now the accu- 
 racy and extent of the perception depends 
 upon the vividness and efficaciousness of the 
 component Sensations, and the number of 
 them received from the same or similar ob- 
 jects in different situations, and through the 
 medium of different senses.— The object 
 therefore of the early education of the hu- 
 man being, should be to invigorate the or- 
 gans of sense. Independently of the effects 
 of the general healthiness of the system, it 
 appears decidedly probable that the organs 
 of sense are capable of being improved by 
 exercise. It is the grand law of our frame, 
 that moderate exertion increases the power 
 of exertion ; and assuredly there are facts 
 which lead to the same conclusion in this 
 particular case. But this may be safely 
 left to the natural eflfect df exertion. All 
 that is to be done is to afford children the 
 opportunity of exercising their senses on a 
 variety of objects, and as ranch as possible 
 

 
 SENSATION. 
 
 in a variety of situations.—Sonie have sup- 
 posed that the senses are not capable of im- 
 provement. We readily grant, that the 
 superiority possessed by some over others 
 in the use of their senses,' principally con- 
 sists in the extent and accuracy and vigour 
 of their perceptions. Two persons, with 
 equally good eyes, will see the same thing 
 very differently, will have very different 
 perceptions, though the sensations cannot, 
 as far as we can judge, differ in any respect. 
 Let two such persons have a watch placed 
 before each of them as nearly as possible in 
 the same situation in every respect, suppose 
 one minutely acquainted with the beautiful 
 machine and the other unacquainted with it ; 
 they have the same sensations, but how dif- 
 ferent their perceptions ; one sees a number 
 of movements, of which he cannot discern 
 the connection, nor point out the part it 
 bears in the performance of the object, the 
 other at once perceives the mutual de- 
 pendence of the parts and the minutia of 
 the whole structure, its excellences and de- 
 fects, &c. Our limits will not permit fur- 
 ther illustration, but it is in the power of 
 every one to trace it for themselves, by re- 
 collecting how differently the same thing ap- 
 pears to different persons of equally vigo- 
 rous powers of sensation, and how diffe- 
 rently it appears to the same person at dif- 
 ferent times. But all these things do not 
 disprove what we before stated respecting 
 the improvement of the senses themselves ; 
 they merely point out as another means to 
 render sensation efficacious, that we should 
 extend the perceptions and render them ac- 
 curate. That is l^y giving extent and accu- 
 racy to the perceptions we render the sen- 
 sations more efficacious, which we mention- 
 ed as one of the principal things upon 
 which tlie extent and accuracy of the per- 
 ceptions depend. — To give vividness and 
 efficacy to the sensations, the organs of 
 sense should then be exerted on various 
 objects and in various situations ; a still 
 more important mean is, to direct the at- 
 tention sufficiently to the objects of sensa- 
 tion. In what manner it produces the 
 effect we know not, but it is certain that 
 the efficaciousness of sensations in producing 
 distinct ideas, depends principally upon the 
 degree of attention which those sensations 
 receive. Hence those who have the care 
 of infants and children, should give them 
 every opportunity to keep their attention 
 directed to the objects of their senses, and 
 every means should be employed to lead 
 them to such attention : a child intently 
 
 gazing upon an object, or examining it 
 with its little .hands and lips, is as usefully 
 employed in the cultivation of intellect as 
 the fondest parent can wish. — There is how- 
 ever more to be done in this connection, 
 also bv allowing the child full scope for its 
 own exertions, than by any direct efforts 
 which can be made by others. When its 
 attention is fixed, let it remain so ; if pos- 
 sible let the objects of sense be brought 
 under different aspects, and exposed to' 
 the different senses. Before words become 
 to a child the sign of voluntary action all 
 that can be done is to expose it to sensa- 
 tions, and to allow them to fix the atten- 
 tion: but afterwards more direct efforts 
 may be made, and the attention may be 
 fixed by various other means than the mere 
 action of the sensations themselves. Inde- 
 pendently of its value in providing materials 
 for clear perceptions, it is of peculiar im- 
 portance to the future improvement of the 
 understanding, and consequently to the 
 moral culture, that the habit of fixed atten- 
 tion should be acquired ; and we wish here 
 to express our decided opinion that the 
 character of the intellect and affections, 
 however much it may be modified by future 
 cultivation, receives its .stamp from the em- 
 ployment of the first few years of life ; that 
 tl»e education of the nursery is of almost 
 incalculable moment in the mental and 
 moral culture; that by the neglect of it 
 years of labour may be rendered requisite 
 to compensate in some degree for it, and 
 by a proper attention to it a foundation is 
 laid for a clear and vigorous understanding 
 and lively and pure affections. As far as 
 the understanding can be considered as 
 separate from the affections, the primary 
 object is to gain clear and extensive per- 
 ceptions, and fixed active attention ; and 
 respecting these, the few observations which 
 have been made may afford some useful 
 hints to the thoughtful. Miss Hamilton has 
 many judicious remarks on this subject at 
 the beginning of the second volume of her 
 work on education; a work which though 
 sometimes uicorrect as tn scientific arrange- 
 ment, and still more frequently as to pre- 
 cision of language, contains many highly 
 valuable instructions for the culture of the 
 human mind. 
 
 4. Sensations are to be considered not 
 only as the original materials for the 
 various operations of intellect, but as the 
 sources of all the mental pleasures, and 
 pains. In the earliest periods of life 
 probably there is no sensation unaccom- 
 
 
 
 
 
SENSATION. 
 
 pauied either with pleasure or with pain ; 
 and as man is constituted, this is necessary 
 both to fix the attention upon the objects 
 of sense, and for self preservation. Plea- 
 surable sensations are called sensible plea- 
 sures, painful sensations sensible pains. The 
 pleasurable sensations leave behind them 
 pleasurable ideas, which are called mental 
 or intellectual pleasures ; and in the same 
 manner the painful sensations leave behind 
 them painful ideas, which are called mental 
 pains. Mental pleasures combine with one 
 another, and form more complex feelings, 
 and these with others, and so on, till owing 
 to the very great complexity of the whole, 
 the component parts are not discernable. 
 In this stage of their progress it is that they 
 generally fall under our inspection. They 
 appear to us at first to have no connec- 
 tion with sensations ; but this is merely be- 
 cause we cannot readily separate them into 
 their component parts. Reasonable evi- 
 dence can be adduced to show that all the 
 mental pleasures and pains, have their ori- 
 gin, indeed are formed solely, of the relicts 
 of sensible pleasures and pains. 
 
 5. Considering sensible pleasures and 
 pains as the rudiments of mental pleasures 
 and pains, it is requisite during the early 
 part of life to keep the inlets of sensation 
 in a fit state for receiving them, and not to 
 check the one or to impose the other, ex- 
 cept where an enlightened regard to the fu- 
 ture welfare requires it. The health of the 
 body should be attended to, not merely as a 
 means of present and future sensible enjoy- 
 ment, but as increasing the fund of materials 
 for the purest mental pleasures. Childhood 
 should be regarded as the time for the ac- 
 quisition of materials, not only for the intel- 
 lect but for the affections. Its pleasures 
 should be restrained only by those limits 
 which the laws of sensation and association 
 impose ; which require that they should be 
 moderate, and connected only with such 
 objects as will not lead to future pains : its 
 unavoidable pains should, as far as possible, 
 be removed ; and no avoidable ones imposed, 
 except what the laws of association require, 
 that is, those which are necessary for the 
 removing or preventing of greater evil, 
 either by remedying bodily disorders, and 
 destroying false associations, or by connect- 
 ing sensible pains with such objects as 
 would lead to future pains, more important 
 either as to vividness or duration. 
 
 6. The grand law of sensible pleasures 
 and pains is, that by frequent repetition 
 they lose their vividness. This is a law to 
 
 which may be traced various important 
 facts connected with the moral culture. 
 Whatever be the peculiar mode by which 
 impressions from the objects of sense are 
 transmitted through the nerves to the brain, 
 it seems decidedly probable that the dif- 
 ference between pleasurable and painful 
 sensations consists (as far as respects the 
 sensations themselves), in degree only : that 
 pain has the same cause as pleasure, ex- 
 cept that it acts more intensely. “ All 
 pleasure,” as Hartley remarks, “ appears to 
 pass into pain by increasing its cause, im- 
 pression, duration, sensibility of the organ 
 upon which it is impressed, &c. : thus an 
 agreeable warmth may be made to pass 
 into a troublesome or burning heat, by 
 increase or continuance; and the same 
 thing holds with respect to friction, light, 
 and sound.” Hence, since repetition dimi- 
 nishes the vividness of the sensation, (pro- 
 vided there be no increase in the exciting 
 cause, or in the sensibility of the organ, 
 &c.) great pain will by repetition gradually 
 subside into pain less intense; pains may 
 be converted by repetition into pleasures, 
 and pleasures may be converted into indif- 
 ferent sensations. This progress may be 
 observed in the effects of spirituous liquors, 
 or any other stimuli which strongly affect 
 the organs of taste. There are probably 
 no cases in which the taste of spirituous 
 liquors would originally be otherwise than 
 disagreeable ; by degrees the repeated use of 
 them brings the sensations which they oc- 
 casion within tlie limit of pleasure ; even then 
 a considerable increase of the quantity taken 
 would heighten the sensations to the limits 
 of pain : but suppose the pleasurable portion 
 continued without increase, the repeated 
 use of it diminishes the vividness of the 
 pleasure, till at last the sensation produced 
 is completely indifferent. — We here adduce 
 the fact merely as illustrative of the general 
 principle. 
 
 7. We have stated in the separate arti- 
 cles above referred to, that the origiaal 
 sensible pleasures derived from the taste 
 and smell are very numerous, and far ex- 
 ceed the pains; that the original sensible 
 pleasures derived from the sight and the 
 hearing are also numerous, while the origi- 
 nal sensible pains are few ; and that the 
 original sensible pleasures derived from the 
 sense of feeling are less intense than the 
 pains derived from that sense which are 
 more numerous and vivid than all the other 
 sensible pains united. From this account 
 we should be led to infer that the pains of 
 
SEP 
 
 sensation are very far exceeded by the 
 pleasures of sensation. — This will be still 
 more evident when we recollect that the 
 pleasurable sensations are those of constant 
 occurrence, the painful sensations much 
 more rare. In the early part of life, most 
 sfensations that are not painful are plea- 
 surable; and tile pleasurable are continually 
 recurring. The eye and the ear seem to 
 convey scarcely any thing but pleasurable 
 sensations to the infant mind ; the taste and 
 smelt are continually pouring in their plea- 
 surable sensations seldom mixed with pain ; 
 the feeling, when the body is healthy, 
 “ when life is felt in every limb,” is also 
 constantly adding to the stock of plea- 
 surable sensations, those derived from the 
 glow of health and the active motions of 
 childhood ; to balance all this there are, in 
 some few cases, frequent pains of body, but 
 more frequently the pains arising from ill 
 health are of seldom recurrence, and the 
 artificial sensible pains are still less fre- 
 quently received. Such is the matter of 
 fact, and if we consider the cause of the 
 sensible pleasures and pains as differing 
 Only in degree, we shall readily admit, that 
 On the whole the pleasurable sensations 
 very far exceed the painful sensations ; for 
 the sensible pains being produced by an 
 excessive action of the organs of sensation. 
 Common impressions will not produce them, 
 and should they befcome very frequent by 
 the grand law of sensation already stated, 
 they will gradually diminish in vividness, 
 and at last come within the limits of plea- 
 sure. 
 
 SENSITIVE plant. See Mimosa. 
 
 SENTICOSjE, in botany, the name of 
 the thirty-fifth order in Linnmns’s Frag- 
 ments of a Natural Method, consisting of 
 the rose, bramble, and other plants that re- 
 semble them in external structure. 
 
 SEPIA, in natural history, cuttle-fish, a 
 genus of the Vermes Mollnsca class and or- 
 der. Body fleshy, receiving the breast in a 
 sheath, with a tubular aperture at its base ; 
 eight arms, beset with numerous warts or 
 suckers, and in most species two peduncu- 
 lated tentacula ; head short ; eyes large ; 
 mouth resembling a parrot’s beak. Eight 
 species are mentioned. They inhabit va- 
 rious Seas, and in hot climates grow to 
 a very considerable size; they are armed 
 with a most terrible apparatus Of holders, 
 furnished with suckers, by which they fas- 
 ten upon and convey their prey to the 
 mouth. 
 
 S. octopus is found in the Mediterranean 
 
 SEP 
 
 and Indian Seas, and in the latter it is some- 
 times so large that the arms are said to be 
 nine fathoms long. In these seas the Indi- 
 ans never venture out without hatchets in 
 their boats, to cut off the arms, should it 
 attempt to fasten upon them and draw them 
 under water. 
 
 S. ofBcinalis inhabits the ocean, and is 
 the prey of the whale tribe and plaise ; its 
 arms are also frequently eaten off by the 
 conger eel, and are reproduced. See Re- 
 PRonucTioN. The bony scale on the back 
 is that which is sold in the shops, and which, 
 when reduced to fine powder, is reckoned 
 excellent for the teeth, as well for keeping 
 them white as for preserving them. It is 
 also used as pounce. These animals have 
 the power of squirting out a black fluid 
 resembling ink, which is said to be an in- 
 gredient us'ed in the composition of Indian 
 ink. They deposit their eggs upon sea- 
 weed, which resemble a bunch of grapes. 
 When first deposited they are white, but 
 when impregnated by the male they be- 
 come black ; they are round, with a little 
 point at the end, and in each of them is in- 
 closed a living cuttle-fish, surrounded with 
 a gelatinous fluid. The flesh is used as food 
 by the Italians. 
 
 SEPIARI^, in botany, the name of the 
 forty-fourth order in Linnmus’s Fragment* 
 of a Natural Method, consisting of many 
 beautiful woody plants, both of the shrub 
 and tree kind, most of which do not drop 
 their leaves till nearly the time in which the 
 new leaves begin to appear. Among the 
 plants of this order are the fraxinus, or ash ; 
 jasminum, jessamine tree; ligustrum, privet; 
 syringa, lilac. 
 
 SEPTAS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Heptandria Heptagynia class and order,- 
 Natural order of Succulentse. Sempervivse, 
 Jussieu. There is but one species, viz. S. 
 capensis, round-leaved septas, a native of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 SEPTEMBER, the ninth month of the 
 year, consisting of only thirty days: it took 
 its name as being tlie seventh month, reck- 
 oning from March, with which the Romans 
 began their year. 
 
 SEPTUAGINT, the name given to a 
 Greek version of the books of the Old 
 Testament, from its being supposed to be 
 performed by seventy-two Jews, who are 
 usually called the seventy ihterpreters, be- 
 cause seventy is a round number. The his- 
 tory of this version is expressly written by 
 Aristeas, an oflicer of the guards to Pto- 
 lemy Fbiladelphus, the substance of whose 
 
SEQ 
 
 account is as follows : Ptolemy having 
 erected a fine library at Alexandria, which 
 he took care to fill with the most curious 
 and valuable books from all parts of the 
 world, was informed that the Jews had one 
 containing the laws of Moses, and the his- 
 tory of that people, and being desirous of 
 enriching his library with a Greek transla- 
 tion of it, applied to the high priest of the 
 Jews ; and to engage him to comply with 
 his request, set at liberty all the Jews, 
 whom his father Ptolemy So ter had reduced 
 to slavery. After such a step, he easily ob- 
 tained what he desired ; Eleazar, the Jew- 
 ish high-priest, sent back his embassadors 
 with an exact copy of the Mosaical law, 
 written in letters of gold, and six elders of 
 each tribe, in all seventy-two, who were 
 received with marks of respect by the king, 
 and then conducted into the Isle of Pharos, 
 where they were lodged in a house pre- 
 pared for their reception, and supplied with 
 every thing necessary in abundE^ce. They 
 set about the translation without loss of 
 time, and finished it in seventy-two days ; 
 and the whole being read in the presence of 
 the king, he admired the profound wisdom 
 of the laws of Moses, and sent back the 
 deputies, laden with presents for themselves, 
 the high-priest, and the temple. This ver- 
 sion was in use to the time of our Saviour, 
 and is that out of which alt the citations in 
 the New Testament, from the Old, are ta- 
 ken. It was also the ordinary and canonical 
 translation made use of by the Christian 
 church in the earliest ages ; and it still sub- 
 sists in the churches both of the east and 
 west. It is, however, observable, that the 
 chronology of the septuagint is different 
 from the Hebrew' text. 
 
 SEQUENCE, in gaming, a set of cards 
 immediately following each other, in the 
 same suit as a king, queen, knave, &c. and 
 thus we say, a sequence of three, four, or 
 live cards ; but at piquet these are called 
 tierces, quarts, quints, &c. 
 
 SEQUESTRATION, is the separating 
 or setting aside of a thing in controversy 
 from the possession of both those who con- 
 tend for it ; and it is of two kinds, volun- 
 tary or necessary: voluntary is that which 
 is done by consent of each party j neces- 
 sary is what the judge does of his authority, 
 whether the parties will or not. It is used 
 also for the act of the ordinary disposing of 
 the goods and chattels of one deceased, 
 whose estate no man w'ill meddle with. A 
 sequestration is also a kind of execution for 
 debt, especially in the case of a bensficed 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SEE 
 
 clerk, of thd profits of the benefice, to be 
 paid over to him that had the judgment till 
 the debt is satisfied. 
 
 SEQUIN, a gold coin struck at Venice, 
 and in several parts of the Grand Seignior’s 
 dominions. 
 
 SERAPIAS, in botany, hellebonne, a 
 genus of the Gynandria Diandria class and 
 order. Natural order of Orchidese. Es- 
 sential character : nectary ovate, gibbous, 
 witlj an ovate lip. There are fourteen,spe- 
 cies. 
 
 SERGE, in commerce, a woollen stuff 
 rnanufactured in a loom, of vfhich there are 
 various kinds, denominated either from 
 their different qualities, or from the places 
 where they are wrought; the most consi- 
 derable of which is the English serge, which 
 is highly valued abroad, and of which a ma- 
 nufacture had been for some years carried 
 on in France. 
 
 In the manufacture of serges, the longest 
 wool is chosen for the Warp, and the shortest 
 for the W'oof. But before either kind is 
 used, it is first scoured, by putting it in a 
 copper of liquor, somewhat more than luke- 
 warm, composed of three parts of fair water 
 and one of urine. After it has staid in it 
 long enough for the liquor to take off the 
 grease, &c. it is stirred briskly about with a 
 wooden peel, taken out, drained, washed in 
 a running water, and dried in the shade ; 
 beaten with sticks on a wooden rack, to 
 drive out the coarser dust and filth; and 
 then picked clean with the hands. It is 
 then greased with oil of olives, and the 
 longest wool combed with large combs, 
 heated in a little furnace for that purpose : 
 to clear it from the oil, it is put into a ves- 
 sel of hot soap-water, whence being taken 
 out, wrung, and dried, it is spun on the 
 wheel. As to the shorter wool, intended 
 for the woof, it is only carded on the knee 
 with small fine cards, and then spun on the 
 wheel, without being scoured of its oil: 
 and here it is to be observed, that the 
 thread for the warp is always to be spun 
 finer, and much belter twisted, than that of 
 the woof. 
 
 The wool both for the warp and woof be- 
 ing spun, and the thread reeled into skeins ; 
 that of the woof is put on spools, fit for the 
 cavity of the shuttle ; and that for the warp 
 is wound on a kind of wooden bobbins, to 
 fit it for warping ; and when warped, it is 
 stiffened with a size, usually made of the 
 shreds of parchment ; and, when dried, put 
 into the loom, and mounted so as to be 
 raised by four treddles, placed under 
 F 
 
SER 
 
 loom, which the workman makes to act 
 transversely, equally, and alternately, one 
 after another, with his feet; and as the 
 threads are raised, throws the shuttle. See 
 Weaving. 
 
 The serge, on being taken from the loom, 
 is cairied to the fuller, who fulls or scours 
 it, in the trough of his mill, with fullers- 
 earth : and after the first fulling, the knots, 
 ends, straws, &c. sticking out on either side 
 of the surface, are taken off with a kind of 
 pliers, or iron pincers, after which it is re- 
 turned into the fulling-trough, where it is 
 worked with warm water, in which soap 
 has been dissolved ; when quite cleared, it 
 is taken out, the knots are again pulled off; 
 it is then put on the tenter to dry, taking 
 care, as fast as it dries, to stretch it out 
 both in length and breadth, till it be 
 brought to its just dimensions ; then being 
 taken off the tenter, it is dyed, shorn, and 
 pressed. 
 
 SERJEANT at law, is the highest de- 
 gree taken in that profession, as that of a 
 doctor is in the civil law. To tliese Ser- 
 jeants, as men of great leai-ning and ex- 
 perience; one court is set apart for them 
 to plead in by themselves, which is the 
 Court of Common Pleas, where the com- 
 mon law of England is most strictly observ- 
 ed ; yet, though they have this court to 
 themselves, they are not restrained from 
 pleading in any other (fourts. The judges 
 cannot be elevated to that dignity till they 
 have taken the degree of Serjeant at Law. 
 They are called brothers by the judges, 
 who hear them next to the King’s counsel ; 
 but a King’s Seijeant has precedence of all 
 but the Attorney and Solicitor General. 
 These are made by the King’s mandate, or 
 writ. 
 
 Serjeant at arms, is one whose office is 
 to attend on the person of the King, to 
 airest persons of condition offending. 
 
 SERJEANTY, in law, signifies a service 
 that cannot be due from a tenant to any 
 Lord, but to the King only. Although the 
 old tenures are abolished, yet the merely 
 honorary services of grand and petit ser- 
 jeanty remain. 
 
 SERIES, in general, denotes a continued 
 succession of things in the same order, and 
 having the same relation or connection with 
 each other : in this sense we say, a series of 
 emperors, kings, bishops, &Ci 
 
 In natural liistory, a series is used for an 
 order or subdivision of some class of natural 
 bodies; comprehending all such as are dis- 
 tinguished from the other bodies of that 
 
 SER 
 
 class, by certain characters, which they pos- 
 sess in common, and which the rest of the 
 bodies of that class have not. 
 
 Series, in mathematics, is a number of 
 terms, whether of numbers or quantities, 
 increasing or decreasing in a given pro- 
 portion ; the doctrine of which has already 
 been given under the article Progression. 
 
 Series, iji/inite, is a series consisting of 
 an infinite number of terms, that is, to the 
 end of which it is impossible ever to come; 
 so that let the series be carried on to any 
 assignable length, or number of terms, it 
 can be carried yet further, without end or 
 limitation. 
 
 A number actually infinite, (that is, alt 
 whose units can be actually assigned, and 
 yet is without limits) is a plain contradic- 
 tion to all our ideas about numbers ; for 
 whatever number we can conceive, or have 
 any proper idea of, is always determinate 
 and finite ; so that a greater after it may be 
 assigned, and a greater after this ; and so 
 on, without a possibility of ever coming to 
 an end of the addition or increase of num- 
 bers, assignable ; which inexhaustibility, or 
 endless progression in the nature of num- 
 bers, is all we can distinctly understand by 
 the infinity of number; and tlierefore to say 
 that the number of any things is infinite, is 
 not saying that we comprehend their num- 
 ber, blit indeed the contrary; the only 
 thing positive in this proposition being tliis, 
 that the number of these things is greater 
 than any number which we can actually 
 conceive and assign. But then, whether in 
 things that do really exist, it can be truly 
 said that their number is greater than any 
 assignable number; or, which is the same 
 thing, that in the numeration of their units 
 one after another, it is impossible ever to 
 come to an end ; this is a question about 
 which there are different opinions, with 
 which we have no business in this place ; 
 for all that we are concerned here to know, 
 is this certain truth, that after one deter- 
 minate number, we can conceive a greater, 
 and after this a greater, and so on without 
 end. And, therefore, whether the number 
 of any things that do, or can really exist all 
 at once, can be such that it exceeds any 
 determinable number, or not, this is true, 
 that of things which exist, or are produced 
 successively one after another, -the number 
 may be greater than any assignable one ; 
 because though the number of things thus 
 ptoduced, that does actually exist at any 
 time, is finite, yet it may be increased with- 
 out end. And tliis is the distinct and true 
 
SERIES. 
 
 notion of the infinity of a series, that is, 
 of the infinity of the number' of its terras, 
 as it is expressed in tlie definition. 
 
 Hence it is plain th'at we cannot apply 
 to an infinite series the common notion of a 
 sura, viz. a collection of several particular 
 numbers that are joined and added togedier 
 one after another, for this supposes that 
 these particulars are all known and deter- 
 mined; whereas the terms <jf an mfinite 
 series cannot be all separately assigned, 
 there being no end in the numeration of its 
 parts, and therefore it can have no sum in 
 sense. But again, if we consider that the 
 idea of an infinite series consists of two 
 parts, ®i 2 . the idea of something positive 
 and determined, in so. far as we conceive 
 the series to be actually carried on; and 
 the idea of an inexh-austible remainder still 
 behind, or an endless addition of terms that 
 can be made to it one after another, which 
 is as different from the idea of a finite series 
 as two things can be : hence we may con- 
 ceive it as a whole of its own kind, which, 
 therefore, may be said to have a total value 
 whether that be determinable or not. Now 
 in some infinite series this value is finite or 
 limited ; that is, a number is assignable be- 
 yond which the sum of no assignable num- 
 ber of terms of the series can ever- reach, 
 nor indeed ever be equal to it, yet it may 
 approach to it in such a manner as to want 
 less than any assignable difference; and 
 this we may call the value or sum of the 
 series; not as being a number found by the 
 common method of addition, but as being 
 such a limitation of the value of the Series, 
 taken in all its infinite capacity, that if it 
 were possible to add them all one after 
 another, the sum would be equal to this 
 number. 
 
 Again, in other series the value has no 
 limitation; and we may express this, by 
 saying, the sum of the series is infinitely 
 great; which, indeed, signifies no more than 
 that it has no determinate and assignable 
 value ; and, that the series may be carried 
 such a length as its sum, so far, shall be 
 greater than any given number. In short, 
 in the first case, we aflarm there is a sum, 
 yet not a sum taken in the common senses 
 in the other case, we plainly deny a deter- 
 minate sum in any sense. 
 
 Theorem 1. In an infinite series of num- 
 bers, increasing by an equal diffei ence or 
 ratio (that is, an arithmetical or geometrical 
 increasing progression) from a given num- 
 ber, a term may be found greater than any 
 assignable number. 
 
 Hence, if the series increase by differences 
 that continually increase, or l)y ratios that 
 continually increase, comparing each term 
 to the preceding, it is manifest that the 
 same thing must be true, as if the differences 
 or ratios continued equal. 
 
 Theorem 2. In a series decreasing injn- 
 finitum in a given ratio, we can find a term 
 less than any assignable fraction. 
 
 Hence, rf the terms decrease, so as the 
 ratios of each term to the preceding do 
 also continually decrease, then the same 
 thing is also true, as when they continue 
 equal. 
 
 Theorem 3. The sura of an infinite series 
 of numbers all equal, or increasing contum- 
 ally, by whatever differences or ratios, is in- 
 finitely great ; that is, such a series has no 
 determinate sum, but grows so as to exceed 
 any assignable number. 
 
 Demons. First, if the terms are all equal, 
 as A : A : A, &c. then the ^um of any finite 
 number of them is the product of A by 
 that number, ai An; but the greater n is, 
 the greater is An; and we can take ?i 
 greater than any assignable number, there- 
 fore A n will be still greater tlran any assign- 
 able number. 
 
 .Secondly, suppose the series increases 
 contuiually, (whether it do so infinitely or 
 limitedly) then its sum must be infinitely 
 great, because it would be so if the terms 
 continued all equal, and therefore w ill be 
 more so, since they increase. But if we 
 suppose the series increases infinitely, either 
 by equal ratios or differences, or by increas- 
 ing differences or ratios of each term to the. 
 preceding ; then the reason of the sums be- 
 ing infinite will appear from the first theo- 
 rem ; for hi such a series, a term can be 
 found greater than any assignable number, 
 and much more therefore the sum of that 
 and all the preceding. 
 
 Theorem 4. The sum of air infinite series 
 of numbers decreasing in the same ratio is 
 a finite number ; equal to the quote arising 
 from the division of the product of the ratio 
 and first terra, by the ratio less by unity ; 
 that is, the sum of an assignable number of 
 terms of the series can ever be equal to 
 that quote ; and yet no number less than it 
 is equal to tlie value of the series, or to 
 what we can actually determine in it; so 
 that we can carry the series so far, that the 
 sum shall want of this quote less than any 
 as.siguable difference. 
 
 Demons. To whatever assigned number 
 of terms the series is carried, it is so far fi- 
 nite ; and if the greatest term is I, the least 
 F 3 
 
SERIES. 
 
 A, aud the ratio r, then the sura is S = 
 
 — — — . See Progression. 
 r — 1 
 
 Now, in a decreasing series from I, the 
 more terms we actually raise, the last of 
 them, A, becomes the lesser^ and the lesser 
 A is rl — A is the greater, and so also is 
 rl — A 
 
 £ - : but rl — A being still less than 
 
 rl, therefore ~ — ^ is still less than , 
 r — 1 r — 1 
 
 that is, the sum of any assignable number 
 of terras of tlie series is still less' than the 
 
 tI 
 
 quote mentioned, W’hich is , and this 
 
 r — 1 
 
 is the first part of the theorem. 
 
 Again, the series- may be actually con- 
 tinued so far, tliat — — ^ shall want of 
 ' r — 1 
 
 T X 
 
 ~ ^ less than any assignable difference ; 
 
 ^for, as the series goes on, A becomes less 
 and less in a certain ratio, and so the series 
 may be actually continued till A becomes 
 less than any assignable number, (by Theo- 
 rem 2 ) now — l J:~ ^ — and 
 
 r — 4. r — 1 r — l’ 
 
 A 
 
 y - __ ^ is less than A ; therefore let any num- 
 ber assigned be called N, we cto carry the 
 series so far till the last term A be less than 
 
 N j and because — wants of — 
 
 r — 1 r — l’ 
 
 A 
 
 tlie difference — — , which is less than A, 
 
 which is also less than N, therefore the 
 second part of the theorem is also true, and 
 
 rl 
 
 ■ is the ti ue value of the series. 
 
 rl 
 
 Scholium. The sense in which 
 
 r — 1 
 
 called the sum of the series, has been suffi- 
 ciently explained; to which, however, we 
 shall add this, that whatever consequences 
 
 rl 
 
 follow from the supposition of ^ being 
 
 the true and adequate value of the series 
 taken in all its infinite capacity, as if the 
 whole were actually determined and added 
 together, can never be the occasion of any 
 assignable error in any operation or demon- 
 
 stration where it is used fai that sense ; be- 
 cause if it is said that it exceeds that 
 adequate value, yet it is demonstrated that 
 this excess must be less than any assignable 
 difference, which is in effect no difference, 
 and so the consequent error will be in effect 
 no error ; for if any error can happen from 
 rl 
 
 - being greater than it ought to be, to 
 
 represent the complete value of the infinite 
 series, that error depends upon the excess of 
 rl 
 
 ^ over that complete value; but this 
 
 excess being unassignable, that consequent 
 error must be so too ;- because still the less 
 the excess is, the less will the error be that 
 depends upon it. And for this reason we 
 
 rl 
 
 may justly enough look upon as ex- 
 
 r — 1 
 
 pressing the adequate value of the infinite 
 series. But we are furthci- satisfied of the 
 reasonableness of this, by finding, in fact, 
 that a finite quantity does actually convert 
 into an infinite series, which happens in the 
 c^e of infinite decimals. For example, 
 1 1 = . 6 6 6 6, &c. which is plainly a geo- 
 metrical series from — in the continual 
 
 ratio of 10 to 1 ; for it is 4- 4- - ^ 
 
 10 ^ 100 ~ 1000 
 
 + 10000 ’ 
 
 And reversely, if we take this series, and 
 fiiid its sum by the preceding theorem, it 
 
 comes to the same | ; for Z = -^ » — i o 
 
 therefore r Z = ^ = 6 ; 
 
 10 ’ 
 
 10 ’ 
 
 and r — 1 z= 9 j 
 
 whence 
 
 rl 
 
 __ _6 _ 2 
 r — 1 — 9 
 We have added here a table of all the 
 varieties of determined problems of infinite, 
 decreasing, geometrical progressions, which 
 all depend upon these three things, viz. the 
 greatest term Z, the ratio r, and the sura S ; 
 by any two of which the remaining one 
 may be found: to which we have added 
 some other problems, wherein S — L is 
 considered as a thing distinct by itself; 
 that is, without considering S and L sepa- 
 rately. 
 
SERIES. 
 
 » ^ 
 
 Theorem 5. In the arithmetic progression 
 
 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. the sum is to the product of 
 the last term, by the number of terms, 
 that is, to the square of the last terra ; in a 
 ratio always greater than 1 : 2, but ap- 
 proaching infinitely near it. But if the 
 arithmetical series begins with 0, thus, 0, 1, 
 
 2, 3, 4, &c. then the sum is to the product 
 of the last term, by the number of terms, 
 exactly in every step as 1 to 2. 
 
 Theorem 6. Take the natural progression 
 beginning with 0, thus, 0, 1, 2, 3, &c. and 
 take the squares of any the like powers of 
 the former series, as the squares, 0, 1, 4, 9, 
 &c. or cubes, 0, 1, 8, 27 ; and then again 
 take tlie sum of the series of powers to any 
 number of terms, and also multiply the last 
 of the terms summed by the number of 
 terms, (reckoning always 0 for the first 
 term) the ratio of that sum, to that product 
 
 is more than 
 
 (n being the index of tlie 
 
 m X 1 
 
 powers), that is, in the series of squares it 
 
 is more than 
 
 in the cubes more than ■ 
 
 and so on ; but the series going on in infini- 
 tum, we may take in more and more terms 
 without end into the sura; and the more we 
 take, the ratio of the sura to the product 
 mentioned grows less and less ; yet so as it 
 
 never can actually be equal to ^ ^ ^ but 
 
 approaches infinitely near to it, or within 
 less than any assignable difference. 
 
 “ The nature, origin, &c. of series.” In- 
 finite series commonly arise, either from a 
 
 continued division, or the extraction of root?, 
 as first performed by Sir I. Newton, who 
 also explained other general ways for the 
 expanding of quantities into infinite series, 
 as by the binomial theorem. Thus, to di- 
 vide 1 by 3, or to expand the fraction r into 
 an infinite series; by division in decimals in 
 the ordinary way, the series is 0.3333, &c. or 
 3,3, 3 
 
 _ J 1:L -L — - -L _ 
 
 10 ‘ 100 ‘ 1000 ‘ lOOOO' 
 
 &c. where the 
 
 law of continuation is manifest. Or, if the same 
 
 fraction \ be set in this form — ^ — , and di- 
 3 2-t-l’ 
 
 vision be performed in the algebraic man- 
 ner, the quotient will be 
 1 1 _1 
 3 “a-l-i — a 
 
 .1 + 1 . 
 
 4~8 
 
 1 . f . 
 
 Or, if it be expressed in this form ~ : 
 
 4— t’ 
 the series. 
 
 by a like division there will arise 
 
 1 — 1+i+J- &c — l-l-i-4-i 
 
 4-7- 421-43' 
 
 &c. 
 
 And, thus, by dividing 1 by 5 — 2, or 6 — 3, 
 or 7 — 4, &c. the series answering to the 
 fraction i, may be found in an endless variety 
 of infinite series ; and the finite quantity i is 
 called the value or radix of the series, or 
 also its sura, being the number or sum to 
 which the series would amount, or the limit 
 to which it would tend or approximate, by 
 summing up its terms, or by collecting them 
 together one after another. In like man- 
 
SERIES. 
 
 ner, by dividing 1 by the algebraic sum 
 or by a—c, the quotient will be in 
 these two cases, as below, viz. 
 
 1 1_ 
 
 a-]-c a a'*’ 
 
 1 '_1 I c I I 
 
 a — c C’ 
 
 where the terms of each series are the same, 
 and they diflfer only in this, that the signs 
 are alternately positive and negative in the 
 former, but all positive in the latter. 
 
 And hence, by expounding a and c by 
 any numbers whatever, we obtain an end- 
 less variety of infinite series, whose sums or 
 values are known. So, by taking a or c 
 equal to 1, or 2, or 3, or 4, &c. we obtain 
 these series, and their values ; 
 
 ^ ^ =1— 1-f 1 — 1 + 1 — l,&c. 
 
 1 + ^ 
 
 . i 1 
 
 O ^ .52 T Q 3 1 
 
 2 + 1 
 
 1 
 
 3’ 
 
 .i+1. 
 
 22 T 23 
 
 . — -= 1—2 + 2 ^ 
 
 1 + 2 3 ‘ 
 
 1 -1 1 I ^ 
 
 3 + i~4— 3 
 
 , &c. 
 
 -2^&c, 
 1 
 
 32-1-33 34' 
 
 &c. 
 
 And hence it appears, that the same 
 quantity or radix may be expressed by a 
 great variety of infinite series, or that many 
 different series may have the same radix, or 
 sum. 
 
 Another way in which an infinite series 
 arises, is by the extraction of roots. Thus, 
 by extracting the square root of the number 
 3 in the common way, we obtain its value 
 in a series as follows, viz. 1-73205, 
 
 „ _1 iltAj g I 5 
 
 &c. ; in w'hich w'ay of resolution the law of 
 the progression of the series is not visible, 
 as it is when found by division. And 
 the square root of the igebraic quantity 
 ((2 + gives 
 
 v/us + c' = a+ — — ^ +r:^,&c. 
 
 ^ ‘ ‘2a 8 a^ ' 16 a’’ 
 
 And a 3d way is by Newton’s binomial 
 theorem, which is an universal method, that 
 serves for all sorts of quantities, whether 
 fractional or radical ones : and by this 
 means the same root of the last given quan- 
 
 Hence it appears that the signs of the 
 terms may be either all plus, or alternately 
 plus and minus, though they may be varied 
 in many other ways. It also appears that 
 the terms may be either continually smaller 
 and smaller, or larger and larger, or else all 
 equal. In the first case, therefore, the se- 
 ries is said to be n decreasing one; in the 2d 
 case, an increasing one ; and in the 3d case, 
 an equal one. Also the first series is called 
 a converging one, because that by collecting 
 its terms successively, taking in always one 
 terra more, the successive sums approxi- 
 mate or converge to the value or sum of the 
 whole infinite series. So, in the series 
 
 -^ = i=i + i+ i + ^ &c 
 3 — 1 2 3^9^27^81’ 
 
 ’ 1 . 1 
 the first term ~ is too little, or below 
 
 which is the value or sum of the whole infi- 
 nite series proposed ; the sum of tlie first 
 
 two, terms i + i is ^ = -4444, &c. is also 
 too little, but nearer to ~ or -5 than the for- 
 mer; and the sum of three terms - + i + 
 
 3 ^9 ~ 
 
 1 . 13 
 
 ^ >s — = -481481, &c. is nearer than the 
 
 last, but still too little ; and the sum of four 
 terms 
 
 3 + 9 + 27 + 8i in = •49-’827', &c. 
 
 which is again nearer than the former, but 
 still too little; which is always the case 
 when the terms are all positive. But when 
 the converging series has its terms alter-- 
 nately positive and negative, then the suc- 
 cessive sums are alternately too great and 
 too little, though still approaching nearer 
 and nearer to the final sum or value. Thus, 
 in the series 
 
 +1 4 3 9 "^27' 81’**^’ 
 
 the 1st term | = -333, &c. is too great ; 
 
 two terms -222, &c. are too little; 
 
 three terms i — i + 1 = -259259, &c. 
 are too great; 
 
 four terms- ■ 
 
 . 1 + 1 .. 
 
 9 ~27 
 
 '81 
 
 -24691S 
 
 &c. are too great, and so on, alternately, 
 too great and too small, but every succeed- 
 ing sum still nearer than the former, or 
 converging. 
 
 In the second case, or when the terras 
 
SERIES. 
 
 grow larger and larger, the series is called a 
 ^kierging oue, because that by collecting 
 the terms continually, the successive sums 
 diverge, or go alvi'ays further and further 
 from the true value or radix of the series ; 
 
 , being all too great when the terms are all 
 positive, but alternately too great and too 
 little when they are alternately positive and 
 negative. Thus, in the series 
 
 -^=1 =1 — 2+4— 8, &c. 
 
 1+2 3 ^ 
 
 the first term + 1 is too great ; 
 
 two terms 1 — 2 = — 1 are too little ; 
 
 three terms 1 — 2 + 4 = + 3 are too great ; 
 
 four terms 1 — 2 + 4 — 8 = — 5 are too 
 
 little; and so on, continually, after the 2d 
 
 term, diverging more and more from the 
 
 true value or radix i , but alternately too 
 
 O 
 
 great and too little, or positive and negative. 
 But the alternate sums would be always 
 more and more too great if the terms were 
 all positive, and always too little if nega- 
 gative. 
 
 But in the third case, or when the terms 
 are all equal, the series of equals, with al- 
 ternate signs, is called a neutral one, be- 
 cause the successive sums, found by a con- 
 tinual collection of the terms, are always at- 
 tire same distance from the true value or 
 radix, but alternately positive and negative, 
 or too great and too little. Thus, in the 
 series 
 
 — L = 1 =1 — 1 + 1 — 1 + 1 — &c. 
 1+12 ‘ 
 the first term 1 is too great ; 
 two terms 1 — 1 = 0 are too little; 
 three terms 1 — 1 + 1 .= 1 too great ; 
 four terms 1—1 + 1 — 1=0 too little ; 
 and so on, continually, the successive sums 
 being alternately 1 and 0, which are equally 
 
 different from the true value, or radix, i, 
 
 the one as much above it as the other be- 
 low it. 
 
 A series may be terminated and render- 
 ed finite, and accurately equal to the sum 
 or value, by assuming the supplement, after 
 any particular term, and combining it with 
 
 the foregoing terms. So, in the series ^ — 
 
 i-J-l— — , &c. which is equal to i, and 
 4~8 16’ ^3’ 
 
 found by dividing 1 by 2 + 1, after the 
 
 first term, of the quotient, tlie remain- 
 der is — 1, which, divided by 2 + 1, or 3, 
 
 1 
 
 gives — - for the supplement, which, com* 
 
 1 . 1 i 
 
 bined with the first term, -, gives - — g 
 
 = the true sum of the series. Again, af- 
 1 1 
 
 ter the first two terms the remain- 
 2 4’ 
 
 der is + -, which, divided by the same di- 
 4 
 
 visor, 3, gives ~ for the supplement, and 
 
 j 1 
 
 this combined with those two terms - 
 
 4 ‘12 4* 12 
 
 4> 
 
 4 1 
 
 ^ or - the 
 
 makes , 
 
 ■ 2 4 ‘ 12 4 * 12 12 
 
 same sum or value as before. And, in ge- 
 neral, by dividing 1 by a + c, there is ob- 
 tained 
 
 a + c “ 
 0” + * 
 
 1 _ -i -L fl 
 
 a ' a3 
 
 a“ + ‘ (« + c) 
 at any term, as 
 c” + ‘ 
 
 ± ji+r + 
 ; where, stopping the division 
 the remainder after 
 
 this term is 
 the same divisor, a + c, gives 
 
 c” 
 
 I 
 
 which, being divided by 
 c'>+‘ 
 
 (a + c) 
 
 for the supplement as above. 
 
 “The Law of Continuation.” — A series 
 being proposed, one of the chief questions 
 concerning it is to find the law of its conti- 
 nuation. Indeed, no universal rule can be 
 given for this ; but it often happens, that 
 the terms of the series, taken two and two, 
 or three and three, or in greater numbers, 
 have an obvious and simple relation, by 
 which the series may be determined and 
 produced indefinitely. Thus, if 1 be di- 
 vided by 1 — X, the quotient will be a geo- 
 metrical progression, viz, 1 + a; + + x\ 
 
 &c. where the succeeding terms are pro- 
 duced by the continual multiplication by x. 
 In like manner, in other cases of division, 
 other progressions are produced. 
 
 But ill most cases, the relation of the 
 terms of a series is not constant, as it is in 
 those that arise by division. Yet their re- 
 lation often varies according to a certain 
 law, which is sometimes obvious on inspec- 
 tion, and sometimes it is found by dividing 
 the successive terms one by another, &c. 
 Thus, in the series 
 
 dividing the 2d term by the 1st, the 3d by 
 the 2d, the 4th by the 3d, and so on, the 
 quotients will be 
 
SERIES. 
 
 2 _ 
 
 3 ^’5^ 
 
 4 6 8 „ 
 
 X. - X, &C. ; 
 
 6 ^'’ 20 
 
 42 
 
 1.1 3.1 
 
 2 . 3 ^’Trs’^’ 
 
 
 '- JLm 
 
 7 ’ 9 
 
 and therefore the terms may be continued 
 indefinitely by the successive multiplication 
 by these fractions. Also in the following 
 series 
 
 1 .r -j — — -| — ^ x’ -| — xK &c. 
 
 '6 *40 ^120 ^1162 ’ 
 
 by dividing the adjacent terms successively 
 by each other, the series of quotients is 
 
 1 9 g.l 49 
 
 ■ X, &c. or 
 
 5 . 3 7^ 
 
 b. 7^’ 8.9 
 and therefore the terms of the series may 
 be continued by the multiplication of theSe 
 fractions. 
 
 Series, surmnation of. We have before 
 seen the method of determining the sums 
 of quantities in arithmetical and geometri- 
 cal progression, but when the terms in- 
 crease, or decrease, according to other laws, 
 difierent artifices must be used, to obtain 
 general expressions for their sum. 
 
 The methods chiefly adopted, and which 
 may be considered as belonging to algebra, 
 gre, 1 , The method of subtraction. 2 , The 
 summation of recurring series, by the scale 
 of relation. 3. The differential method. 
 4. The method of increments. We shall 
 content ourselves with an example or two, 
 in the first of these methods. 
 
 “ The investigation of series, whose sums 
 are known by .subtraction.” 
 
 Ex.i. Letl+1 + i-j-l+, &c. in 
 inf. = S, 
 
 Ex. 3. Let ~ — L^1L, j — 1 - 4 . in 
 
 1.2^2. 3^ 3.4^’ 
 
 inf. = S, 
 
 ’ \ 
 
 by subtraction, — 1 ® 
 
 ’ t.2.3T^2.3.4^3. 
 
 - 1 -, &c. in inf. z=; 
 and 
 
 1 . 2 . 
 
 inf. = 1 . 
 4 
 
 2.3.4 ‘3.4.5 
 
 4 . 5 
 
 S &c. in 
 
 Ex. 4. Let ^ 
 
 2 
 
 m -(- )i — 1 . r ' -f- M r 
 
 then — 1 1 1 4 _ 
 
 m-^-ar ^ j»-4-3r ' 
 
 _i__S 1 
 
 nt-j-nr ‘ tu’ 
 
 by subtraction. 
 
 1 
 
 + &c. (to n terms) -j- L — _ . 
 
 wt-j-wr m’ 
 
 hence, — 
 
 m . m + r ' wi + r . m + 2r 
 (to n term.s) = ^ 
 
 “I- &c. 
 
 and 
 
 tfi ' m -j- r’ 
 
 then 1 -f 1 -f 1 4- 1 -f, &c. in inf. = S- 
 
 - 1 , 
 
 m . m -j- »' /« -j- r . »j -j- 2 r 
 
 (to » terms) — -1 ^ 
 
 m r m r -j- n ' 
 
 If n be increased witijout limit, - 
 
 h ) 
 
 by subtraction, ~ — [- — 4 - — 4. 
 
 ^ ’ l.2“2, 3^3.4 • 
 
 'in inf. =a 1 : or 1 -4- l-U- — 4- — ,&c — 1 
 ’ 2~6‘ 12^20’ 
 
 Ex. 2 . Let 1.4-^ + 2 + 5+j 
 inf. 3= S. 
 
 ^en I -f 1 -f- 1 1 +, &c. in inf. = S— f, 
 
 by subtraction, ^ + + 
 
 &c. in inf. = - ; 
 
 2 ’ 
 
 111 . 
 
 or U -4- 
 
 1.3 2.4 ‘ 3.5 
 
 inf. = |. ' 
 
 J« r -J- n I-' 
 vanishes, and the sum of the series is 
 
 m r 
 
 If m = )• = 1 , we have — 1 1 - —1- 4 . 
 
 1.2 ~ 2.3 ^ 
 
 3.4 
 
 4 &c. (to re terms) = 1 
 
 1 -f- re 
 
 1 I 1 1 . 
 
 + 4^6 +' 
 
 1 -j-re" ' 
 
 Similar to the method of subtraction is 
 the following, given by De Moivre. 
 
 “ Assume a series, whose terms converge 
 to 0 , involving the powers of an indetermi- 
 nate quantity, a: ; call the sum of the series 
 S, and multiply both sides of the equation 
 by a binomial, trinomial, &c. which in- 
 volves the powers of x, and invariable co- 
 efficients ; then, if x be so assumed that the 
 binomial, trinomial, &c. may vanish, and 
 some of the first terms be transposed, thp 
 
• -V' 
 
 
 
 SEIl 
 
 SER 
 
 sum of the remaining series is equal to the 
 terms so transposed.” 
 
 Let t -[- ?-J- in inf. = S. 
 
 ^Iiiltiplying both sides by x — 1, we have 
 
 /^2 >i»3 ff't 
 
 z=x — l.S 
 
 &c.' 
 
 2 b ^ o 
 
 or — 1 -1- -j_ 4- ^ &c. = 
 
 X — 1.5; and if a? = 1, 
 
 then, — 1 4- _ 1 _ + _L 4. - 1 - 4 -, &c. 
 
 ^1. a ‘ 2 !. 3^0. 4 ’’ 
 
 = 0 ; or, 1 1 1 U, &c. in 
 
 inf. = 1. 
 
 SERIOLA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Syngenesia Polyganiia iEquahs class and 
 order. Natural order of Composit® Semi- 
 flosetdos®. Cichorace*, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character: calyx, simple; pappus sub- 
 phimose; receptacle chatfy. There are 
 four species. 
 
 SERIPHIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Syngenesia Polygamia Segregata class and 
 order. Natural order of Coinpnsit® Nnca- 
 mentace®. Corynibifer®, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character: calyx, imbricate; corolla, 
 one petalled, regular, seed one ; oblong, 
 below the corolla. There are four species, 
 all natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 SERPENTINE, in mineralogy, a species 
 'of the Talc genus : divided by Werner intp 
 the common and precious: the common 
 is chiefly gfeen, tliough passing into various 
 other colours, which are seldom uniform. 
 There are generally several colours to- 
 gether, and these are arranged in striped, 
 dotted, and clouded delineations. It occurs 
 massive : internally it is faintly glimmering, 
 which passes into dull when there are no 
 foreign particles to give a slight degree of 
 lustre. It is soft, not very brittle, and 
 frangible. Feels a little greasy, not very 
 heavy. It is infusible before the blow-pipe 
 without addition. It consists of 
 
 Magnesia 
 
 
 Silica 
 
 
 Alumina 
 
 
 Iron 
 
 
 }Vater 
 
 
 
 101 
 
 It is one of the primitive rocks : is found 
 in many parts of Germany, Italy, Siberia, 
 jn this country, Scotland, and the Shetlani} 
 
 islands. It takes a good polish, and is turn- 
 ed into vessels and ornaments of a great 
 variety of shapes. In upper Saxony, several 
 hundred people are employed in quarry- 
 ing, cutting, turning, and polishing the ser- 
 pentine which occurs in that neighbour- 
 hood, and the articles into which it is manu- 
 factured are carried all over Germany. The 
 precious is found in Silesia. 
 
 SERPICULA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monoecia Tetrandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Inuudat®. Onagr®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character; male, calyx, four- 
 toothed ; corolla, four petalled ; female, 
 calyx, four-parted ; pericarpium, nut tomen- 
 tose. Tliere are two species, viz. S. ver- 
 ticillata and S. repens. 
 
 SERPULA, in natural history, a genus 
 of the Vermes Testacea class and order : ani 
 mal a terebella: shell univalve, generally 
 adhering to other substances : often sepa- 
 rated internally by divisions at uncertain 
 distances. About fifty species have been 
 enumerated. 
 
 SERPENTE.S, in natural history, an 
 order of the Amphibia, containing seven 
 
 genera: viz. 
 
 —0 
 
 AchrochordiB 
 
 Crecilia 
 
 Amphisb®na 
 
 Coluber 
 
 Angiiis 
 
 Crotalus. 
 
 Boa 
 
 
 Serpents are distinguished as footless am- 
 phibia: their eggs .are connected in a 
 chain ; penis frequently double ; they breathe 
 through the mouth. The amphibia were 
 divided by Linnmus into four orders; vis. 
 Reptilia, Serpentes, Meantes, and Nantes. 
 Of the meantes or gliders, which were cha- 
 racterized as breathing by means of gills 
 and lungs together: feet branchiated and 
 furnished with claws : there was hut a 
 single genus, viz. the siren : this has since 
 been classed with the reptiles. See Rep- 
 TiUA and Siren. 
 
 The nant^s, or swimming amphibia, cha- 
 racterized by their having fins ; and by 
 breathing by means of lateral gills, were 
 afterwards distributed into the orders of 
 fishes denominated branchiostigi, and choli- 
 dropterygii, which have since been ranked 
 by Dr. Shaw and others under the general 
 term cartilaginous fishes. See Chron- 
 
 DROPTERIGIOUS. 
 
 We have thought it right to give this ac- 
 count of the changes in the Linnman system, 
 which we have generally adopted, having 
 omitted any mention of the facts under the 
 former articles. “ Serpents,” says the trans- 
 
 
 
SER 
 
 Jator of Gmeliii, “ are cast naked upon tlie 
 earth, without limbs, exposed to every iu- 
 jury, but frequently armed with a poison, 
 the most deadly and horrible : this is con- 
 tained in tubular fangs resembling teeth, 
 placed without the upper jaw, protruded or 
 retracted at pleasure, and surrounded with 
 a glandular vesicle by which this fatal fluid 
 is secreted: but lest this tribe should too 
 much encroach upon the limits of other 
 animals, the benevolent Author of nature 
 has armed about a fifth part only in this 
 dreadful manner, and has ordained that all 
 should cast their skins, in order to inspire 
 a necessary suspicion of the whole. The 
 jaws are dilatable, and not articulate, and 
 the oesophagus so lax that they can swallow, 
 witliout any mastication, an animal twice 
 or thrice as large as the neck : the colour is 
 variable, and changes according to the sea- 
 son, age, or mode of living, and frequently 
 vanishes, or turns to another in the dead 
 body : tongue filiform, bifid ; skin reticu- 
 late.” The distinction between tl5b poison- 
 ous and innoxious serpents, is only to be 
 known by an accurate examination of their 
 teeth ; those which are poisonous being al- 
 ways tubular, and calculated for the injec- 
 tion of the poisonous fluid, from a peculiar 
 reservoir communicating with the fang on 
 each side the head. These teeth or fangs 
 are situated in the upper jaw : they are 
 frequently accompanied by smaller fangs, 
 seemingly intended to supply the place of 
 the others, if lost by age or accident. The 
 fangs are situated in a peculiar bone, so 
 articulated with the rest of the jaw as to 
 elevate or depress them at the pleasure of 
 the animal : in a quiescent state they are 
 recumbent, with their points directed in- 
 wards or backwards ; but when the animal 
 is inclined to use them as weapons of of- 
 fence, their position is altered by the pecu- 
 liar mechanism of the/ bone in which they 
 are rooted, and they become almost per- 
 pendicular. 
 
 Serpents in cold and temperate climates 
 conceal themselves during winter, in cavi- 
 ties beneatli the surface of the ground, or 
 in any other convenient places of retire- 
 ment, where they become nearly or wholly 
 in a state of torpidity. Some serpents are 
 viviparous, as the rattle-snake ; the viper, 
 &c. : while the innoxious species are ovi- 
 parous, depositing, as we have observed, 
 their eggs in a kind of chain bi any warm 
 and close situation, where they are after- 
 wards hatched. The broad undivided la- 
 inin:£ on the bellies of serpents, are termed 
 
 SES 
 
 scuta, and the smaller or divided ones be- 
 neath the tail are called subcaudal scales, 
 and from these dilFerent kinds of laminae, 
 the Linnaean genera are characterized. 
 
 SERRATULA, in botany, saw-wort, a 
 genus of the Syngenesia Polygaraia iEqualis 
 class and order. Natural order of Com- 
 positre Capitatae. Cinarocephalae, Jussieu. 
 Essential character: calyx, subcylindrical, 
 imbricate, awnless. There are twenty 
 species. 
 
 SERROPALPUS, in natural history, a 
 genus of insects of the order Coleoptera: 
 antennae setaceous ; four feelers unequal ; 
 the anterior ones longer, deeply serrate, 
 composed of four joints, the last joint very 
 large, truncate, compressed, patelliform ; 
 the posterior one suhclavate; thorax mar- 
 gined, concealing the head, with a pro- 
 minent angle on each side; head deflected; 
 feet formed for digging. There are two 
 species, viz. S. striatns, which is of a brown 
 colour, with striated shells, found in autumn 
 in old buildings : S. laevigatus, which is 
 black and smooth. 
 
 • SERTULARIA, in natural history, a 
 genus of the Vermes Zoophyta class and 
 order: animal growing in the form of a 
 plant; stem branched, producing polypes, 
 from cup-shaped denticles or minute cells. 
 Nearly fourscore species have been enu- 
 merated. These are divided into two classes : 
 A. stem horny, tubular, fixed by the base, 
 beset with cup-shaped denticles, and fur- 
 nished with vesicles or ovaries containing 
 polypes, eggs, dr the living young. B. stem 
 crustaceous, inclining to stone, and com- 
 posed of rows of cells : there are no vesi- 
 cles, but in the place of them are small 
 globules. 
 
 SERUM. See Blood. 
 
 SESAMUM, in botany, sesamum or 
 oilygrain, a genus of the Didynamia Angi- 
 ospermia class and order. Natural order of 
 LuridEB. Bignoniae, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx five-parted ; corolla bell- 
 shaped, five-cleft, the lower lobe larger ; 
 rudiment of a fifth filament ; stign)a lan- 
 ceolate ; capsule four-celled. There are 
 three species, viz. tlie orientale, the indicum, 
 and the luteum. S. orientate has ovate, ob- 
 long, entire leaves. It is an annual, and 
 grows naturally on the coast of Malabar and 
 in the island of Ceylon ; rising with an her- 
 baceous four-cornered stalk, two feet high, 
 sending out a few short side branches. After 
 the flowers are past, the germen turns to an 
 oval acute pointed capsule, with four cells, 
 filled witli oval compressed seeds, which 
 
SET 
 
 ripen in autumn. S. indicum, with trlfid 
 lower leaves, grows naturally in India; this 
 is also an annual plant ; the stalk rises taller 
 than that of the former ; the lower leaves 
 arc cut into three parts, which is the only 
 ditference between them. The first sort is 
 frequently cultivated in all the eastern 
 countries, and also in Africa, as a pidse ; 
 and of late years the seeds have been intro- 
 duced into Carolina by the African negroes, 
 where they succeed extremely well. The 
 inhabitants of that country make an oil from 
 the seed, which will keep good for many 
 years, without having any r ancid smell or 
 taste, but in two years become quite mild ; 
 so that when the warm taste of the seed, 
 which is in the oil when first drawn, is w’orn 
 off, they use it as a salad-oil, and for all the 
 purposes of sweet oil. The seeds of this 
 plant are also used by the negroes for food ; 
 which seeds they parch over the fire, and 
 then mix them with water, and stew other 
 ingredients with them, which makes a hearty 
 food. 
 
 SESELI, in botany, meadow saxifrage, a 
 genus of tlie Pentandria Digynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Umbellat® or 
 Umbelliferse. Essential character : umbels 
 globular; involucre of one or two leaflets; 
 fruit ovate, striated. There are fifteen 
 species. 
 
 SESSIONS of tJie peace. See Quarter 
 Sessions. 
 
 SESUVIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Icosandria Trigynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of SuccnlentEe. Ficoidae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx five-parted, 
 coloured ; petals none ; capsule ovate, 
 three-celled, cut round, many-seeded. There 
 is only one species, r,iz. S. portulacastriim, 
 a native of the West Indies. 
 
 SET off, in law, is when the defendant 
 acknow'ledges the justice of the plaintiff's 
 demand on the one hand, but on the other 
 sets up a demand of his own, to counter- 
 balance that of the plaintiff, either in the 
 whole or in part ; as if the plaintiff sue for 
 10k due on a note of hand, the defendant 
 may set off 9k due to himself for merchan- 
 dize sold to the plaintiff, or for any other 
 demand, the amount of which is ascertained 
 in damages. 
 
 The action in which a set off is allowable 
 upon the statutes 2 and 3 George II. c. 22 
 and 24, are debt, covenant, and assumpsit, 
 for the non-payment of money ; and the de- 
 mand intended to be set off must be such 
 as might have been made the subject of one 
 or other of these actions. A set off, there- 
 
 SEW 
 
 fore, is never allowed in actions upon the 
 case, trespass, replevin, &c. ; nor of a pe- 
 nalty in debt on bond conditioned for the 
 performance of covenants, &c. ; nor of ge- 
 neral damages in covenant or assumpsit; 
 but where a bond is conditioned for the pay- 
 ment of an annuity, a set off may be allow- 
 ed. A debt barred by the statute of limi- 
 tations cannot be set off ; and if it be 
 pleaded in bar to the action, the plaintiff 
 may reply the statute of limitations ; or if 
 given in evidence, on a notice of set off, 
 which is one mode of setting up this sort of 
 counter-demand, it may be objected to at 
 the trial. 
 
 SET, or Sets, a terra used by the 
 farmers and gardeners to express the young 
 plants of the white thorn and other shrubs, 
 with which they use to raise their quick or 
 quickset hedges. 
 
 SETON, in surgery, a few horse hairs, 
 small threads, or large packthread drawn 
 through the skin, chiefly the neck, by means 
 of a large needle or probe, with a view to 
 restore or preserve health. 
 
 SETTE, a vessel very common in the 
 Mediterranean, witli one deck, and a very 
 long and sharp prow : they carry some two 
 masts, some three, without top-masts. Their 
 yards and sails are all like the mizen ; the 
 least of them are of sixty fons buiden. 
 They serve to transport cannon and provi- 
 sion for ships of war, and the like. 
 
 SETTING, in astronomy, the withdraw- 
 ing of a star or planet, or its sinking below 
 the horizon. Astronomers and poets make 
 three different kinds of setting of the stars, 
 viz. the cosmical, acronychal, and helical. 
 
 Setting, in the sea language. To set 
 the land or the sun, by the compass, is to 
 observe how the land bears on any point of 
 the compass, or on what point of the com- 
 pass the sun is. Also, when two ships sail 
 in sight of one another, to mark on what 
 point the chased bears, is termed setting 
 the chase by the compass. 
 
 SEWER, in tlie household, an officer 
 who comes in before fhe meat of a king or 
 nobleman, to place and range it on the 
 table. * 
 
 Sewer is also a passage or gutter made 
 to carry water into the sea or a river, 
 whereby to preserve the land, &c. from in- 
 undations and other annoyances. The bu- 
 siness of the commissioners of sewers, or 
 their office in particular, is to repair sea- 
 banks and walls, survey riyers, public 
 streams, ditches, &c. and to make or- 
 ders for that purpose. These commission- 
 
SEX 
 
 «rs .have likewise authority to nvake iii- 
 <]iiiry of all nuisances or offences committed 
 by the stopping of rivers, erecting mills, not 
 repairing banks, bridges, &c. and to tax 
 persons chargeable for the amending of de- 
 faults that tend to the obstruction or hin- 
 drance of the free passage of the water 
 through its ancient courses. They may not 
 only make a rate and assessment tor repairs, 
 but also may decree lands to be "sold, in 
 order to levy charges assessed upon non- 
 payment thereof, &c. But the decrees of 
 the commissioners are to be certified in 
 Chancery, and have the King's assent to be 
 binding, and their proceedings are subject 
 to the jurisdiction of the King’s Bench. In 
 the making of a rate or tax, the commis- 
 sioners are to assess every owner or posses- 
 sor of lands in danger 'of receiving any da- 
 mage by the waters, equally according to 
 the quality of their lands, rents, and num- 
 bers of acres, and their respective portions 
 and profits, whether it be of pasture, fish- 
 ing, &c. And where no persons or lands 
 can be known that are liable to make re- 
 pairs of banks and servers, then the com- 
 missioners are to rate the whole level. The 
 3 James I. ordains that all ditches, banks, 
 bridges, and water-houses, within two miles 
 of London, adjoining to, and falling into the 
 Thames, shall be subject to the commis- 
 sioners of sewers. Also the Lord Mayor, 
 &c. may appoint persons in tliat case to have 
 the power of commissioners of sewers. Per- 
 sons breaking down sea-banks, whereby 
 lands are damaged, are adjudged to be 
 guilty of felony ; and removing piles, &c. 
 forfeit 201. by 6 and 10 George II. c. 32. 
 
 SEX, something in the body which dis- 
 tinguishes male from female. 
 
 SEXAGENARY, something relating to 
 the number sixty. Thus, se.xagendry, or 
 sexagesimal arithmetic, is a method of com- 
 putation proceeding by sixties ; such is that 
 used in the division of a degree into sixty 
 minutes, of the minute into sixty seconds, , 
 of the second into sixty thirds, &c. ' Also 
 sexagenary tables are tables of proportional 
 parts, showing the product of two sexage- 
 naries that are to be multiplied, or the quo- 
 tient of the two that are to be divided. 
 
 SEXAGESIMALS, or Sexagesimai, 
 fractions, fractions whose denominators pro- 
 ceed in a sexagecuple ratio ; that is, a 
 prime, or the first minute = ^ ; a second 
 “ Tboo * ^ tliird — 2r5oto • 
 
 Anciently there were no other than 
 sexagesimals used in astronomy, and they 
 are still retained in many cases, though deci- 
 
 SEX 
 
 mal arithmetic has now grown into use 
 in astronomical calculations. In these 
 fractions, which some call astronomical frac- 
 tions, the denominator being always sixty, 
 or a multiple thereof, is usually omitted, 
 and the numerator only written down, 
 thus, 4", 59', 32", 50"', 16"", is to be read 
 four degrees, fifty-nine minutes, thirty-two 
 seconds, fifty thirds, sixteen fourths, &c. 
 
 SEXANGLE,in geometry, a figure hav- 
 ing six sides, and consequently six angles. 
 
 SEXTANS, a sixth part of certain things. 
 Tlie Romans liaving divided their as into 
 twelve ounces, or mica, the sixth part of 
 that, or two ounces, was the sextans. Sex- 
 tans was also a measure which contained 
 two ounces of liquor, or two cyathi. 
 
 SEXTANT, in mathematics, denotes the 
 sixth part of a circle, or an arch compre- 
 hending sixty degrees. The word sextant 
 is more particularly used for an astronomi- 
 cal instrument made like a quadrant, ex- 
 cepting that its limb only comprehends 
 sixty degrees. The use and application of 
 the sextant is the same with that of the 
 quadrant. See Quadrant. 
 
 SEXTILE, the position or aspect of two 
 planets when at sixty degrees distance, or 
 at the distance of two signs from one an- 
 other. It is marked thus ( * ). 
 
 SEXTON, a church officer, whose busi- 
 ness is to take care of the vessels, vestments, 
 &c. belonging to the church, and to attend 
 the minister, churchwardens, &c. at church. 
 He is usually chosen by the parson only. 
 The office of sexton, in the Pope’s chapel, 
 is appropriated to tlje order of the hermits 
 of St. Augustine. He is generally a bishop, 
 though sometimes the Pope only gives a 
 bishopric in particular to him on whom he 
 confers the post: he takes the title of 
 prefect of the Pope’s sacristy, and has the 
 keeping of the vessels of gold and silver, 
 the relics, &c. When the pope says mass, 
 the sexton always tastes the bread and wine 
 first. If it be in private he says mass, his 
 Holiness of two wafers gives him one to 
 eat ; and if in public, the cardinal who 
 assists the Pope in quality of deacon, of 
 three wafers gives him one to eat. When 
 the Pope is very sick, he administers to him 
 the sacrament of extreme unction, &c. 
 and enters the conclave in quality of first 
 conclavist. 
 
 SEXUAL system, in botany, that system 
 of classification which was invented by the 
 immortal Linnaeus, professor of physic and 
 botany, at Upsal, in Sweden. It is founded 
 on the parts of fructification, m. the sta- 
 
SHA 
 
 men* and pistils ; these having been obsetV'* 
 ed with more accuracy since the discovery 
 of the uses for which nature has assigned 
 them, a new set of principles have been de- 
 rived from them, by means of which the dis- 
 tribution of plants has been brought to a 
 greater precision, and rendered more con- 
 formable to true philosophy, in this system, 
 than in any one of those which preceded it. 
 The author dues not pretend to call it a na- 
 tural system, he gives it as artificial only, 
 and modestly owns his inability to detect 
 the order pursued by nature in her vegetable 
 productions ; but of this he seems confi- 
 dent, that no natural order can ever be 
 framed without taking in the materials out 
 of which he has raised his own ; and urges 
 the necessity of admitting artificial systems 
 for convenience, till one truly natural shall 
 appear. Linnaeus has given us his “ Frag- 
 menti Method! Naturalis,”in which he has 
 made a distribution of plants under various 
 orders, putting together in each such as ap- 
 pear to have a natural affinity to each 
 other ; this, after a long and fruitless search 
 after the natural method, he gives as the re- 
 sultof his own speculation, for the assistance 
 of such as may engage in the same pursuit 
 hereafter. Not finding it practicable to 
 form a system after the natural method, 
 Linnaeus was more fully convinced of the 
 absolute necessity of adopting an artificial 
 one, of which a detailed account is given 
 under the article Botany. 
 
 SHAD, in ichtliyology, a species of 
 Clupea, with the upper jaw bifid at the ex- 
 tremity, and spotted with black ; it greatly 
 resembles the common herring, and is, on 
 that account, sometimes called the mother of 
 herring ; all tlie fins are whitish, except that 
 on the back ; the tail is very much forked. 
 
 SHADOW, in optics, a privation or di- 
 minution of light, by the interposition of an 
 opaque body ; or it is a plane where the 
 light is either altogether obstructed, or 
 greatly weakened, by the interposition of 
 some opaque body between it and the lumi- 
 nary. A shadow of itself is invisible ; and 
 therefore, when we say we see a shadow, we 
 partly hiean that we see bodies placed in 
 the shadow, and illuminated by light re- 
 flected from collateral bodies ; and, partly, 
 that we see the confines of the light. If 
 the opaque body that projects the shadow 
 be perpendicular to the horizon, and the 
 place it is projected on be horizontal, the 
 shadow is called a right shadow; and such 
 are the shadows of men, trees, buildings, 
 
 SHA 
 
 mountains, &c. But if the opaque body 
 be placed parallel to the horizon, the sha- 
 dow is called a versed shadow ; as the arms 
 of a man stretched out, &c. 
 
 “The laws of the projection of Shadows 
 from opaque bodies.” l. Every opaque 
 body projects a shadow in the same direc- 
 tion with its rays ; that is, towards the part 
 opposite to the light. Hence, as either the 
 luminary or the body changes place, the 
 shadow likewise changes. 2. Every opaque 
 body projects as many shadows as tliere 
 are luminaries to enlighten it. 3. As the 
 light of the luminary is ipore intense, the 
 shadow is the deeper : hence the intensity 
 of the shadow is measured by the degrees 
 of light that space is deprived of. 4, If a 
 luminous sphere be equal to an opaque one 
 it illuminates, the shadow, which this latter 
 projects, will be a cylinder, and conse- 
 quently will be propagated still equal to 
 itself, to whatever distance the luminary is 
 capable of acting; so that if it be cut in 
 any place, the plane of the section will be 
 a circle, equal to a great circle of the opaque 
 sphere. 5. If the luminous sphere be greater 
 than the opaque one, the shadow will be 
 conical. If, therefore, the shadow be cut 
 by a plane, parallel to the base, the plane of 
 section will be a circle ; and that so much the 
 less as it is a greater distance from the base. 
 6. If the luminous sphere be less than an 
 opaque one, the shadow will be a truncated 
 cone ; and, consequently, pows still wider 
 and wider ; and therefore, if cut by a plane 
 parallel to the section, that plane will be a 
 circle, so much the greater as it is further 
 from the base. 
 
 The sun being vastly larger than the 
 Whole globe of the earth .must give all its 
 shadows pointed, by reason that it illumines 
 more than half ot them. In consequence 
 of this demonstration we might conclude 
 tliat all the sun’s shadows must be less than 
 the bodies that project them, and dimi- 
 nished more and more as they recede 
 further and further. Now this would be 
 true were there any relation between 
 the body illuminated and the body illu- 
 mining ; but as all objects on the earth are 
 so small in comparison of that star, tlie di- 
 ininution of their shadows is imperceptible 
 to the eye, which sees them always equal - 
 i. e. either broader or narrower than the 
 body that forms them : on this account all 
 the shadows caused by the sun are made in 
 parallels. From the whole it appears, that 
 to find the shadow of any body whatevej 
 
SHA 
 
 opposed to the sun, a line must be drawn 
 from the top of the liiininai y perpendicular 
 to the place where the foot of the luminary 
 is to be taken ; and through this place an 
 occult line is to be drawn through one of 
 tlie angles of the plan of the object, and an- 
 other from the sun to the same angle ; and 
 the intersection of the two lines will show 
 how far the shadow is to go : all the other 
 lines must be drawn parallel hereto. The 
 shadows of the sun are equal in objects of 
 the same height, though at a distance from 
 each other. Experience teaches, that stiles, 
 or elevations of the same height, removed 
 to a distance from each other, do yet pro- 
 ject equal shadows at the same time : for 
 they are lengthening and shortening, in pro- 
 portion as the sun comes nearer, or recedes 
 further off; one or other of which he is 
 continually doing. 
 
 Shadow, in geography. The inhabitants 
 of the terraqueous globe of the earth receive 
 different denominations, according to tlie 
 different ways wherein their shadows are 
 projected; as ascii, amphiscii, heteroscii, 
 and periscii. ’ 
 
 Shadow', in painting, an imitation of a 
 real shadow, effected by gradually height- 
 ening and darkening the colours of such 
 figures as by their dispositions cannot re- 
 ceive any direct rays from the luminary that 
 is supposed to enlighten the piece. The 
 management of the shadows and lights makes 
 what the painters call claro-obscuro. 
 
 SHAFT of a column, in building, is the 
 body thereof between the base and capital : 
 so called from its straightness. The term 
 shaft is also used for the spire of a church 
 steeple, and for the tunnel of a chimney. 
 See. Architectuue. 
 
 Shaft, in mining, is the pit or hollow 
 entrance into the mine. 
 
 SHAGREEN, or Chagreen, in com- 
 merce, a kind of grained leather, prepared, 
 as is supposed, of the skin of a species of 
 squalus, or hound-fish, called the shagree, 
 or shagrain, and much used in covering cases, 
 books, &c. It is imported from Constanti- 
 uople,Tauris,Tripoli, Algiers, and from some 
 parts of Poland, where it is prepared in the 
 following manner : the skin being stretched 
 out, is first covered over with mustard 
 seed, which is bruised upon it: and being 
 thus exposed to the weather for some days, 
 it is then tanned. The best is of a brownish 
 colour, as the white sort is the worst: it is 
 extremely hard ; yet, when steeped in wa- 
 ter, it becomes soft and pliable ; and being 
 
 SHA 
 
 fashioned into case-covers, it readily takes 
 any colour, as red, green, yellow, black, 
 according to the fancy of the workman. 
 
 SHAMBLES, among miners, a sort of 
 niches, or landing places, left at such dis- 
 tances in the adits of mines, that the shovel- 
 men may conveniently throw up the ore 
 from shamble to shaTnble, till it comes to 
 the top of the mine. 
 
 SHAMMY, or Chamois Leather, a kind 
 of leather, dressed either in oil or tanned; 
 and much esteemed for its softness, pliancy, 
 and being capable of hearing soap without 
 hurt. The true shammy is prepared of the 
 skin of the chamois-goat. See Capra. 
 
 The true chamois leather is counterfeited 
 with common goat, kid, and even sheep- 
 skin ; the practice of which makes a parti- 
 cular profession, called by the French cha- 
 moisure. The last is the least esteemed, 
 yet so popular, and such vast quantities 
 prepared, especially about Orleans, Mar- 
 seilles, and Thoulouse, that it may not be 
 amiss to give the metliod of preparation. 
 
 “ The manner of chamoising, or of pre- 
 paring sheep, goat, or kid-skins in oil, in imi- 
 tation of chamois.” The skins being washed, 
 drained, and smeared over with quick-lime 
 on the fleshy side, are folded in two, length- 
 wise, the wool outwards, and laid on heaps, 
 and so left to ferment eight day s ; or, if they 
 had been left to dry after flaying, for fifteen 
 days. Then they are washed out, drained, 
 and half-dried, laid on a wooden leg or 
 horse, the wool stripped off with a round 
 staff for the purpose, and laid in a weak pit, 
 the lime whereof had been used before, and 
 had lost the greatest part o'f its force. After 
 twenty-four hours they are taken out, and 
 left to drain twenty-four more ; then put in 
 another strong pit. This done, they are 
 taken out, drained, and put in again by 
 turns; which begins to dispose them to 
 take oil: and this practice they continue 
 for six weeks in summer, or three months in 
 winter; at tlie end whereof they are wash- 
 ed out, laid on the wooden leg, and the sur- 
 face of the skin on the wool side peeled off, 
 to render them the softer; then, made into 
 parcels, steeped a night in the river; in 
 winter, more ; stretched six or seven over 
 ■ one another, on the wooden leg ; and the 
 knife passed strongly on the flesh side, to 
 take off any thing .superfluous, and render 
 the skin smooth. Then they are stretched 
 as before, in the river, and the same opera- 
 tion repeated on the wool side ; then thrown 
 into a tub of water with bran in it, which is 
 
SH A 
 
 brewed among the skins till the greatest 
 part stick to them ; and then separated into 
 distinct tubs, till they swell and rise of 
 themselves above the water. By this 
 means the remains of the lime are cleared 
 out : they are then wrung out, hung up to 
 dry on ropes, and sent to the mill, with the 
 quantity of oil necessary to scour them : the 
 best oil is that of stock-fish. Here they are 
 first thrown in bundles into the river for 
 twelve hours, then laid in the mill trough, 
 and fulled without oil till they be well soft- 
 ened ; then oiled with the hand. One by 
 one, §nd thus formed into parcels of four 
 skins 'each, which are milled and dried on 
 chords a second time, then a third ; then 
 oiled again and dried. 
 
 This process is repeated as often as neces- 
 sity requires ; when done, if there be any 
 moisture remaining, they are dried in a 
 stove, and made up into parcels wrapped 
 up in wool ; after some time they are open- 
 ed to the air, but wrapped up again as be- 
 fore, till such time as the oil seems to have 
 lost all its force, which it ordinarily does in 
 twenty-four hours. 
 
 The skins are then returned from the 
 mill to the chamoiser to be scoured ; which 
 is done by putting them into a lixivium of 
 wood-ashes, working and beating them in it 
 with poles, and leaving them to steep till 
 the lye have had its effect; then wrung out, 
 steeped in another lixivium, wrung again, 
 and this repeated till all the grease and oil 
 be purged out. They are f^hen half dried, 
 and passed over a sharp-edged iron instru- 
 ment, placed perpendicular in a block, which 
 opens, softens, and makes them pliable: 
 lastly, they are thoroughly dried, and pass- 
 ed over the same instrument again, which 
 finishes the preparation, and leaves them in 
 form of shammy. 
 
 Kid and goat skins are charnoised in the 
 same manner as those of sheep, excepting 
 that the hair is taken off without the use of 
 any lime ; and that when brought from the 
 mill they undergo a p^irticular preparation 
 called ramalling, the most delicate and diffi- 
 cult of all the others. It consists in this, 
 that as soon as brought from the mill they 
 are steeped in a fit lixivium : taken out, 
 stretched' on a round wooden leg, and the 
 hair scraped off with the knife ; this makes 
 tliein smooth, and, in working, cast a fine 
 nap. The difficulty is in scraping them 
 evenly. 
 
 SHARK, in ichthyology, the English 
 name of two species of squalus, distingnish- 
 
 SH A 
 
 ed by their different colours, blue and wliitc. 
 See Squalus. 
 
 ^SHARP (Abraham), in biography, an 
 eminent mathematician, mechanist, and as- 
 tronomer, was descended from an ancient 
 family at Little Horton, near Bradford, in 
 the west riding of A'orksh>»e, where he was 
 born about the year 1651, At a proper 
 age he was put apprentice to a merchant at 
 Manchester; but his genius led him so 
 strongly to the study of mathematics, both 
 theoretical and practical, that he soon be- 
 came uneasy in that situation of life. By 
 the mutual consent, therefore, of his master 
 and himself, though not altogether with that 
 of his father, he quitted the business of a 
 merchant. Upon this he removed to Liver- 
 pool, where he gave himself up wholly to 
 the study of mathematics, astronomy, &c. 
 and where for a subsistence he opened a 
 school, and taught ■ writing and accounts, 
 &c. 
 
 He had not been long at Liverpool, when 
 he accidentally fell in company with a mer- 
 chant, or tradesman, visiting that town from 
 London, in whose house it seems the astro- 
 nomer Flamsteed then lodged. With the 
 view, therefore, of becoming acquainted 
 with this eminent man, Mr. Sharp engaged 
 himself with the merchant as a book-keeper. 
 In consequence he soon contracted an inti- 
 mate acquaintance and friendship with Mr. 
 Flamsteed, by whose interest and recom- 
 mendation he obtained a more profitable 
 employment in the dock-yard at Chatham } 
 where he continued till his friend and pa- 
 tron, knowing his great merit in astronomy 
 and mechanics, called him to his assistance 
 in contriving, adapting, and fitting up the 
 astronomical apparatus in .the royal obser- 
 vatory at Greenwich, which had been lately 
 built, namely, about the year 1676; Mr. 
 Flamsteed being then thirty years of age, 
 and Mr. Sharp twenty-five. 
 
 In this situation he continued to assist 
 Mr. Flamsteed in making observations (with 
 the mural arch, of eighty inches radius, and 
 140 degrees on the limb, contrived and gra- 
 duated by Mr. Sharp) on the meridional ze- 
 nith distances of the fixed stars. Sun, Moon, 
 and planets, with the time of their transit 
 over the meridian ; also the diameter of the 
 Sun and Moon, and their eclipses, with those 
 of Jupiter’s satellites, the variation of the 
 compass, &c. He assisted him also in mak- 
 ing a catalogue of nearly 3000 fixed stars, as 
 to their "longitudes and magnitudes, their 
 right ascensions and polar distances, with 
 
SHARP. 
 
 the variations oftlie same while tliey change 
 their longitude by one degree. 
 
 But from the fatigue of continually ob- 
 serving the stars at night, in a cold thin air, 
 joined to a weakly constitution, he was re- 
 duced to a bad state of health ; for the re- 
 covery of which he desired leave to retire 
 to his house at Horton ; where, as soon as 
 he found himself on the recovery, he began 
 to fit up an observatory of his own, having 
 first made an elegant and curious engine for 
 turning all kinds of work in wood or brass, 
 witha maundril for turning irregular figures, 
 as ovals, crosses, wreathed pillars, &c. Be- 
 side these, he made himself most of the 
 tools use<f by joiners, clock-makers, opti- 
 cians, mathematical instrument-makers, &c. 
 The limbs, or arcs, of his large equatorial 
 instrument, sextant, quadrant, &c. he gra- 
 duated with the nicest accuracy, by diago- 
 nal divisions into degrees and minutes. 
 The telescopes he made use of were all of 
 his own making, and tlie lenses ground, 
 figured, and adjusted with his own hands. 
 
 It was at this time that he assisted Mr. 
 Flamsteed in calculating most of the tables 
 in the second volume of his “ Historia Cceles- 
 tis,” as appears by their letters, to be seen in 
 the hands of Mr. Sharp’s friends at Horton. 
 Likewise the curious drawings of the charts 
 of all the constellations visible in our he- 
 misphere, with the still more excellent 
 drawings of the planispheres both of the 
 northern and southern constellations. And 
 though these drawings of the constellations 
 were sent to be engraved at Amsterdam 
 by a masterly hand, yet the originals far 
 exceeded the engravings in point of beauty 
 and elegance ; these were published by 
 Mr. Flamsteed, and both copies may be 
 seen at Horton. 
 
 The mathematician meets with something 
 extraordinary in Sharp’s elaborate “ Treatise 
 of Geometry Improved,” (in4to. 1717, sign- 
 ed A. S. Philomath), 1st. by a large and accu- 
 rate table of segments of circles, its con- 
 struction, and various uses in the solution 
 of several difficult problems, with compen- 
 dious tables for finding a true proportional 
 part, and their use in these or any other 
 tables exemplified in making logarithms, 
 or tlieir natural numbers, to 60 places of 
 figures, there being a table of them for all 
 primes to 1100, true to 61 figures. 2d. His 
 concise “ Treatise ofPolyedra,” or solid bo- 
 dies of many bases, both the regular ones and 
 others : to which are added twelve new 
 ones, with various methods of forming them, 
 
 and their exact dimensiolis in surds or spe-< 
 cies, and in numbers ; illustrated with a 
 variety of copper-plates, neatly engraved 
 by his own hands. Also the models of 
 these polyedra he cut out in box-wood with 
 amazing neatness and accuracy. Indeed 
 few or none of the mathematical instru- 
 ment-makers could exceed him in exactly 
 graduating or neatly engraving any mathe- 
 matical or astronomical instrument, as may 
 be seen in the equatorial instrument above 
 mentioned, or in his sextant, quadrants, 
 and dials of various sorts ; also in a curious 
 arihillary sphere, which, beside the com- 
 mon properties, has moveable circles, &c. 
 for exhibiting and resolving all spherical 
 triangles ; also his double sector, with many 
 other instruments, all contrived, graduated, 
 and finished, by himself. In short, he pos- 
 sessed at once a remarkably clear head for 
 contriving, and an extraordinary hand for 
 executing any thing, not only in mechanics, 
 but likewise in drawing, writing, and making 
 the most exact and beautiful schemes or 
 figures,’ in all his calculations and geometri- 
 cal constructions. 
 
 The quadrature of the circle was under- 
 taken by him for his own private amuse- 
 ment in the year 1699, deduced from two 
 different series, by which the truth of it 
 was proved to 72 places of figures ; as may 
 be seen in the introduction to Sherwin’s 
 table of logarithms ; that is, if the diameter 
 of the circle be 1, the circumference will 
 be found equal to 3.141592653589793238 
 462643383279502884197169399375105820 
 974944592307816405, &c. In the same 
 book of Sherwin’s may also be seen his in- 
 genious improvements on the making of 
 logarithms, and the constructing of the na- 
 tural sines, tangents, and secants. 
 
 He also calculated the natural and loga- 
 rithmic sines, tangents, and secants, to 
 every second in the first minute of the 
 quadrant : the laborious investigation of 
 which may probably be seen in the archives 
 of the Koyal Society, as they were pre- 
 sented to Mr. Patrick Murdock for that 
 purpose; exhibiting bis very neat and ac- 
 curate manner of writing and arranging his 
 figures, not to be equalled perhaps by the 
 best peUman now living. 
 
 The late ingenious Mr. Smeaton says, 
 (Philosophical Transactions, anno 1786, 
 p. 5, &c.): “ In the year 1689, Mr. Flam- 
 steed completed his mural arc at Green- 
 wich ; and, in .the Prolegomena to his His- 
 toiia Cwlestis, he makes an ample acknow- 
 
SHARP. 
 
 iedg^nent of the particular assistance, care, 
 and industry of Mr. Abraham Sharp ; 
 ■whom, in the month of August 1688, he 
 brought into the observatory as his amanu- 
 ensis ; and being, as Mr. Flamsteed tells 
 us, not only a very skilful mathematician, 
 but exceedingly expert in mechanical ope- 
 rations, he was principally employed in the 
 constructioh of the mural arc ; which in the 
 compass of fourteen months he finished, so 
 greatly to the satisfaction of Mr. Flamsteed, 
 that he speaks of him in the highest terms 
 of praise. 
 
 “This celebrated instrument, of which 
 be also gives the figure at the end of the 
 Prolegomena, was of the radius of 6 feet, 
 yr inches ; and, in like manner as the sextant 
 was furnished both with screws and diago- 
 nal divisions, all which were made by the ac- 
 curate hand of Mr. Sharp. But yet, whoever 
 compares the different parts of the table 
 for conversion of the revolutions, and parts 
 of the screw belonging to the mural arc, 
 into degrees, minutes, and seconds, with 
 each other, at the same distance from the 
 zenith on different sides ; and with their 
 halves, quarters, &c. will find as notable a 
 disagreement of the screw-work from the 
 hand divisions, as had appeared before in the 
 work of Mr. Tompion : and hence we may 
 conclude, that the method of Dr. Hook, 
 being executed by two such masterly hands 
 as Tompion and Sharp, and found defec- 
 tive, is in reality not to be depended upon 
 in nice matters, 
 
 “ From the account of Mr. Flamsteed it 
 appears also, that Mr. Sharp obtained the 
 zenith point of the instrument, or line of 
 collimation by observation, of the zenith 
 stars, with the face of the instrument on 
 the east and on the west side of the wall ; 
 and that having made the index stronger 
 (to prevent flexure) than that of the sex- 
 tant, and thereby heavier, he contrived, by 
 means of pulleys and balancing weights, to 
 relieve the hand that was to move it from a 
 great part of its gravity. Mr. Sharp conti- 
 nued in strict correspondence with Mr. 
 Flamsteed as long as he lived, as appeared 
 by letters of Mr. Flamsteed’s, found after 
 Mr. Sharp’s death, many of which I have 
 seen. 
 
 “ I have been the more particular in what 
 relates to Mr. Sharp, in the business of con- 
 structing this mural arc, not only because 
 we may suppose it the first good and valid 
 instrument of the kind, but because I look 
 upon Mr. Sharp to have been the first per- 
 son that cut accurate and delicate divisions 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 upon astronomical instruments, of which, 
 independently of IMr. Flamsteed’s testimony, 
 there still remain considerable proofs ; for, 
 after leaving Mr. Flamsteed, and quitting 
 the department above mentioned, he retired 
 into Yorkshire, to the village of Little Hor- 
 ton, near Bradford, where he ended his days 
 about the year 1743 (should be in 1742), and 
 where I have seen not only a large and very 
 fine collection of mechanical tools, the prin- 
 cipal ones being made with his own hands, 
 but also a great variety of scales and instru- 
 ments made with them, both in wood and 
 brass, the divisions of which were so exqui- 
 site, as would not discredit the first artist of 
 the present times ; and I believe there is 
 now remaining a quadrant, of four or five 
 feet radius, framed of wood, but the limb 
 covered with a brass plate, the subdivisions 
 being done by diagonals, the lines of which 
 are as finely cut as those upon the quad- 
 rants at Greenwich. The delicacy of Mr. 
 Sharp’s hand will indeed permanently ap- 
 pear from the copper-plate, in a quarto 
 book, published in the year 1718, intituled 
 ‘ Geometry Improved, by A. Sharp, Plii- 
 lomath,’ (or rather 1717, by A. S. Philo- 
 math) whereof not only the geometrical 
 lines upon the plates, but the whole of the 
 engraving of letters and figures were done 
 by himself, as I was told by a person in the 
 mathematical line, who very frequently at- 
 tended Mr. Sharp in the latter part of his 
 life. I therefore look upon Mr. Sharp 
 as the first person that brought the affair 
 of hand division to any degree of perfec- 
 tion.” 
 
 Mr. Sharp kept up a correspondence by 
 letters with most of' the eminent mathema- 
 ticians and astronomers of his time, as 
 Mr. Flamsteed, Sir Isaac Newton, Dr. 
 Halley, Dr. Wallis, Mr. Hodgson, Mr. 
 Sherwin, &c. the answers to which letters 
 are all written upon the backs or empty 
 spaces of the letters he received, in a 
 short hand of his own contrivance. From 
 a great variety of letters (of which a lafge 
 chest-full remains with his friends); from' 
 these and many other well known facts it is 
 evident that Mr. Sharp spared neither pains 
 nor time to promote real science. Indeed, 
 being one of the most accurate and indefa- 
 tigable computers that ever existed, he 
 was for many years the common resource 
 for Mr. Flamsteed, Sir Jonas Moore, Dr. 
 Halley, and others, in all sorts of trouble- 
 some fmd delicate calculations. 
 
 Mr. Sharp continued all his life a bache- 
 lor, and spent his time as recluse as a her- 
 G 
 
SHA 
 
 mit. He was of a middle stature, but very 
 tliin, being of a weakly constitution; he 
 was remarkably feeble the last three Or four 
 years before he died, which was on the 
 eighteenth of July, 1742, in the ninety-first 
 year of his age. 
 
 In his retirement at Little Horton, he 
 employed four or five rooms or apartments 
 in Ills house for different purposes, into 
 which none of his family could possibly 
 enter at any time without his permission. 
 He was seldom visited by any persons, 
 except two gentlemen of Bradford, the one 
 a mathematician, and the other an ingeni- 
 ous apothecary : these were admitted when 
 he chose to be seen by them, by the sig- 
 nal of rubbing a stone against a certain part 
 of the outside wall of the house. He duly 
 attended the dissenting chapel at Bradford, 
 of which he was a member, every Sunday, 
 
 ■ at these times he took care to be provided 
 with plenty of halfpence, which he very 
 charitably suffered to be taken singly out 
 of his hand, held behind him during his 
 walk to the chapel, by a number of poor 
 people who followed him, without his ever 
 looking back; or asking a single question. 
 
 Mr. Sharp was very irregular as to his 
 meals, and remarkably sparing in his diet, 
 which he frequently took in the following 
 manner ; A little square hole, something 
 like a window, made a communication be- 
 tween the room where he was usually em- 
 ployed in calculations, and another chamber 
 or room in the house where a servant could 
 enter ; and before this hole he bad con- 
 trived a sliding board : the servant always 
 placed his victuals in this hole, without 
 speaking or making the least noise, and 
 when he had a little leisure he visited his 
 cupboard to see what it afforded to satisfy 
 his hunger or thirst. But it often happened 
 that the breakfast, dinner, and supper have 
 remained untouched by liim when the ser- 
 vant has gone to remove what was left, so 
 deeply engaged had he been in calculations. 
 Cavities might easily be perceived in an old 
 English oak table where he sat to write, 
 by the frequent rubbing and wearing of his 
 elbows. Giitta cavat lapidem, &c. By 
 Mr. Sharp’s epitaph it appears that he was 
 related to Archbishop Sharp ; and Mr. 
 Slrarp, the eminent surgeon, who some 
 years since retired from business, is the ne- 
 phew of our author. Another nephew was 
 the father of Mr. Ramsden, the present 
 celebrated instrument maker, wbo says that 
 his grand uncle Abraham, our author, was 
 some time, in his younger days, an excise- 
 
 SHE 
 
 man, which occupation he quitted on com*- 
 ing to a patriinonial estate of about two 
 hundred pounds a year. 
 
 SHASTER, or Shastram, a sacred 
 book, containing the religion of the Banians ; 
 it consists of three tracts ; the first of whicli 
 contains their moral law ; the second, the 
 ceremonial ; and the tliird, delivers the 
 peculiar observances for each tribe of In- 
 dians. 
 
 SHAWIA, in botany, so named in me- 
 mory of Thomas Shaw, D.D. a genus of the 
 Syngenesia Polygamia Segregata class and 
 order. Essential character : calyx imbri- 
 cate, with five or six scales, three interior 
 longer ; corolla five-cleft ; seed one, oblong. 
 There is only one species, viz, S. paniculata, 
 a native of New Zealand. 
 
 SHEADING, a term used in the Isle of 
 Man for a riding, tything, or division of that 
 isle; the whole being divided into six of 
 these sheadings ; in each of which there is 
 a coroner or constable, who is appointed 
 by the delivery of a rod at the tinewald 
 court, or annual convention. 
 
 SHEATHING, in ship building, a sort 
 of casing or covering nailed all over the 
 outside of a ship’s bottom, to protect the 
 planks from the pernicious effects of the 
 worms. It has been customary many years 
 past to sheath the ships of the Royal Navy, 
 and those of the East India service with 
 copper. 
 
 SHEAVH, or Sheeve, in maritime af- 
 fairs, the wheel on which the rope works 
 in a block ; it is generally formed of lignum- 
 vitae, sometimes of brass, and frequently 
 compounded of both : the interior part, or 
 that which sustains the friction against the 
 pin, being of brass, let into the exterior, 
 which is of lignum- vitae ; it is then denomi- 
 nated a sheave with a brass bush. 
 
 Sheave hole, is a channel c'ut in a mast, 
 yard, or timber, in which to fix a sheave, 
 and answering instead of a block. 
 
 SHEEP, in zoology, a well-known genus 
 , of quadrupeds, the horns of w'hich are hol- 
 low, bent backw'ard, twisted, and rugose ; 
 the fore- teeth are eight, and the hinder ones 
 are narrower than the others ; there are no 
 canine, or dog-teeth. See Ovis. 
 
 Sheep. Any person who shall feloniously 
 drive away, or feloniously steal any sheep 
 or lamb, or wilfully kill any sheep or lamb, 
 with a felonious intent to steal the carcase, 
 or any part thereof, or assist or aid in com- 
 mitting any of the said offences, shall be 
 guilty of felony, without benefit of clergy. 
 14 George II, c. 6. Any person who shall 
 
SHE 
 
 apprehend and prosecute to conviction any 
 such offender, shall have a reward of lOZ. j 
 for which purpose he shall have a certifi- 
 cate signed by the judge, before the end 
 of the assizes, certifying such conviction, 
 and where the offence was committed, and 
 that the offender was apprehended and pro- 
 secuted by the person claiming the reward ; 
 and if more than one claim it, he shall 
 therein appoint what share shall be paid to 
 each claimant. And on tendering such cer- 
 tificate to the sheriff, he shall pay the same 
 within a mopth, without deduction, or for- 
 feit double, with treble costs ; to be al- 
 lowed in his accounts, or be repaid him out 
 of the Treasury. And any person who shall 
 in the night time maliciously and wilfully 
 maim, wound, or otherwise hurt any sheep, 
 whereby the same is not killed,.shall forfeit 
 to the party grieved treble damages, by ac- 
 tion of trespass, or on the case. 
 
 By 28 George III. c. 38, every person 
 who shall export any live sheep or lambs, 
 shall forfeit Si. for every sheep or lamb, 
 and shall also suffer solitary imprisonment 
 for three months, without bail, and until the 
 forfeiture is paid, but not to exceed twelve 
 months for such non-payment ; and for 
 every subsequent offence bl. a piece, and 
 imprisonment for six months, and until the 
 forfeiture be paid ; but not to exceed two 
 years for the non-payment thereof. And 
 all ships and vessels employed in the expor- 
 tation of sheep shall be forfeited. 
 
 Sheep shank, in naval affairs, a kind of 
 knot made on a rope to shorten it, and is 
 particularly used on runners or ties, to pre- 
 vent the tackle from coming block and 
 block. By this contrivance, the body to 
 which the tackle is applied may be hoisted 
 much highfer, or removed further, in a 
 shorter time. 
 
 SHEERING, or Shearing, in the wool- 
 len manufacture, is the cutting off, with 
 large sheers, the too long nap, in order to , 
 make the cloth more smooth and even. 
 
 Sheering, in the sea language : when a 
 ship is not steered steadily, they say she 
 sheers, or goes sheering ; or, when at an- 
 chor, she goes in and out, by means of 
 the current of the tide, they also says she 
 sheers. 
 
 ■SHEERS, in naval affairs, an engine used 
 to hoist in, or get out the lower masts of a 
 ship. They are either placed on the side 
 of a quay or wharf, or are fixed on board of 
 an old ship cut down ; or, lastly, they are 
 composed of two masts, or large spars lash- 
 ed together, and erected in the vessel in 
 
 §HE 
 
 which the mast is to be placed or displac- 
 ed ; the lower ends of the props resting 
 on the opposite sides of the deck, and the 
 upper parts being fastened together across, 
 from which a tackle depends. 
 
 SHEET, in naval affairs, a rope fastened 
 to one or both of the lower corners of a sail, 
 to extend and retain it in a particular situ- 
 ation. When a ship sails with a side wind, 
 the lower corners of the main and fore-sails 
 are fastened by a tack and sheet ; the for-^ 
 mer being to windward, and the latter to 
 leeward : the tack is, however, only diffused 
 with a stern wind, whereas the sail is never 
 spread without the assistance of one or both 
 of the sheets. The stay sails and studding- 
 sails have only one tacjt and one sheet 
 each ; the stay-sails tack are fastened for- 
 ward, and the sheets drawn aft, but the 
 studding-sail tackS draw the outer corner 
 of the sail to the extremity of the boom, 
 while the sheet is employed to extend the 
 inner corner. 
 
 SHEFFIELDIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Mr. Sheffield, an eminent bota- 
 nist of the University of Oxford, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogjmia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Caryophyllei. Ly- 
 simachire, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 calyx five-cleft ; corolla bell-shaped j fila- 
 ments ten, the alternate ones barren ; cap- 
 sule one-celled, five-valved, many-seeded. 
 There is only one species, viz. S. repens, 
 a native of New Zealand and Easter Island. 
 
 SHEKEL, in Jewish antiquity, an ancient 
 coin, worth about 2s. sterling. 
 
 SHELF, among miners, the same with 
 what they otherwise call fast ground, or, fast 
 country; being that part of the internal 
 structure of the earth -which they find lying 
 even, and in an orderly manner, and, evi- 
 dently having retained its primitive form 
 and situation, unmoved by the waters of the 
 general deluge, while the circumjacent, and 
 upper strata, have plainly been removed 
 and tossed about. 
 
 SHELL, a substance of a stony hardness, 
 composed of carbonate of lime variously 
 combined with animal gluten, and serving 
 for the coverings and habitations of different 
 animals, mostly of the order of Mollusca; 
 allowing of the occasional protrusion of 
 part of their naked body. The various 
 forms, the beautiful colours, and the high 
 polish which shells possess, have long ren- 
 dered them objects of research to the 
 curious naturalist : many of them, possess- 
 ing these properties in a high degree; and 
 G 3 
 
SHELL. 
 
 being from tlieir rarity purchased at very 
 high prices. 
 
 The vast variety of forms which shells 
 possess, not only renders arrangement more 
 necessary, but at the same time occasions 
 the formation of that arrangement the more 
 difficult. Dissimilarity in size and colour, 
 as well as in form, which occur in shells 
 of the same species, at different ages, adds 
 much to this difficulty. External characters, 
 however, sufficiently marking specific dif- 
 ferences, may almost always be discovered 
 in shells, at every period of their existence ; 
 and various attempts have hence been made, 
 to dispose them in such a methodical ar- 
 rangement, as should place each of them in 
 its proper place ; and should thereby occa- 
 sion them to be more readily recollected. 
 
 Lister, Langius, and other early writers 
 on testaceology, have proposed different 
 methodical arrangements of shells, which, 
 from their imperfections, have been in- 
 tirely laid aside, and do not therefore re- 
 quire to be here noticed. Indeedit appears 
 to be unnecessary to go further back than 
 to the arrangement of the celebrated Lin- 
 naeus, which seems, in its turn, to be yield, 
 ing to later systems, rendered more perfect 
 by tlie constant accession of new and illus- 
 trative specimens, and the consequent in- 
 crease of knowledge. But previous to con- 
 sidering the proper method of arrangement, 
 and to examining into even the generic dif- 
 ferences, it will be proper to ascertain the 
 characters which belong to shells in gene- 
 ral, and to determine the precise terms by 
 which they can be best expressed. 
 
 The division into univalves, bivalves, and 
 mnltivalves is so clearly pointed out by na- 
 ture, that it must be adopted in every well 
 methodized arrangement, and may there- 
 fore be safely admitted in these preliminary 
 observations. Univalve shells are discoi- 
 dal when the spiral is formed on a horizon- 
 tal line, so tliat a section, made in that 
 line, would divide the shell into two nearly 
 equal parts ; fusiform when it bulges in the 
 middle, and has the two extremities of 
 nearly equal length ; turbinated, when the 
 belly of the shell is very large and tumid 
 compared with the spire, which is given 
 off from its centre ; and turriculated when 
 the turns of the spire, gradually increasing, 
 form an elongated cone. 
 
 The parts of univalve shells are, the back, 
 which is the external bulging part of the 
 turn opposite to the opening; the belly, 
 the tumid part of the last turn, forming the 
 right or outer lip ; that being termed the 
 
 left which is formed on the columella, and 
 which Linnasus distinguished as the colu- 
 mellar ridge. The spire is formed on the su- 
 perior part of the shell, the turns of which 
 are formed round the columella, or little 
 centi al column, reaching from the opening 
 of the shell to the summit of the spire. 
 These convolutions are numbered by reckon- 
 ing that as one, which reaches from the ex- 
 ternal to the inner lip, and in the same manner 
 to the summit.; the line by which they are 
 united being termed a suture. The spire 
 itself is either pointed, obtuse, truncated, 
 flattened, concave, convex, straight, ob- 
 lique, or pyramidal. Its turnings are coro- 
 nated, (beset with spines or tubercles), 
 beaded, carinated, or canaliculated. The 
 suture is cremilated, double, projecting, or 
 effaced. The shell is said to be perforated, 
 when a small umbilical cavity exists in the 
 columella at the base of the shell, in the 
 axis round which the spire is revolved ; and 
 imperforate when there is here no cavity 
 nor umbilicus. Besides being either umbi- 
 licated or not, the columella may be flat- 
 tened, truncated, caudated, canaliculated, 
 spiral, and plaited, as in the Volutes. The 
 umbilicus also may be slit, canaliculated, 
 consolidated, crenulated, or dentated: it 
 may also have a snperadded cullus. The 
 opening varies much in different shells; 
 and where it narrows it acquires the name 
 of throat ; it terminates in a canal. The lip 
 is eared, digitated, alated, grooved, slit, or 
 wrinkled ; the form of the opening depend- 
 ing much on that of the lip ; it hence becom- 
 ing angular, round, semicircular, longitudi- 
 nal, transverse, linear, gaping, compressed, 
 or reversed. The openings of shells are some- 
 times closed by a shelly or cartilaginous 
 plano-convex body,termed operculum, which 
 is disposed between the two lips, and fitted 
 to the form of the opening. The flat surface 
 of this body is marked by a spiral line. 
 
 A bivalve shell has the two valves, which 
 constitute it, connected at the basis, or in- 
 ferior margin ; opposite to which is the su- 
 perior margin ; the shell being supposed to 
 be placed on the hinge, its margin is di- 
 vided into the anterior and the posterior 
 margin. The length of the shell is mea- 
 sured from the inferior to the superior mar- 
 gin, and the breadth from the anterior to 
 the posterior margin. The belly is the 
 most tumid part, and the beaks, the promi- 
 nences over the hinge, are of a conoidal 
 and spiral form. At the basis of the shell 
 is the hinge, by which the valves are moved 
 on each other ; and in the anterior chink a 
 
SHELL. 
 
 ligament is placed, by which the valves are 
 closely connected. This chink is formed 
 by a slight separation of the valves at this, 
 the anterior, part, which having a distinct 
 surface from the general disc, and being 
 indeed separated from it by an angle, or by 
 a raised or sunk line, it may be distin- 
 guished as the corslet : this surface is par- 
 ticularly distinguished in the shells of the 
 Venus kind. On these parts, in some spe- 
 cies, are spines, in others various markings, 
 and in others, these parts are plain. At 
 the lower part of the anterior margin of the 
 valves, within the limits of the corslet, and 
 above the ligament, is a part generally distin- 
 guishable from the rest of the surface by a 
 difference in the colour, stri®, &c. This 
 part varies in its form, being canaliculated, 
 replicated, &c. Its edges are termed lips. 
 
 On the other side of the hinge, on the 
 posterior part, and near to the hinge, is ge- 
 nerally a lunated depression ;■ the crescent, 
 like the part just described, it varies in its 
 form and markings in different shells. Both 
 these parts derive half their form from each 
 of the valves ; and are consequently sepa- 
 rated in the middle. To determine the side 
 to which a valve belongs, the shell need 
 only be placed on the hinge with the ante- 
 rior side forward, when it directly shows 
 itself. 
 
 In some irregular shells, as of oysters and 
 Spondyles, the shells are divided into upper 
 and under, the upper shell being flatter 
 than, the under. In the Terebratul®, the 
 upper shell, the beak of which is pierced, 
 is more tumid than the under : but in most 
 shells, as in the Pectens, and the oysters, 
 the upper valve is almost always the least 
 tumid. 
 
 The hinge is, in general, furnished with 
 teeth ; but sometimes it is without. When 
 placed on the side, they are said to be lateral ; 
 and when on the inferior extremity, terminal. 
 The central teeth, essential to the genus, 
 are termed the cardinal teeth ; and the 
 others, accessory or secondary. The teeth 
 are in some shells articulated, in a cavity, 
 in the opposite valve ; in others, they are 
 not. In multivalves also the shell is tiie 
 combination of all the valves, whether con- 
 nected by articulation, or by ligaments. 
 
 From the observations and experiments 
 of Reaumur, which have been since consi- 
 derably extended by Bruguiere and others, 
 the formation and growth of shells have 
 obtained considerable illustration. Leu- 
 wenhoeck, Swammerdam, Lister,and others, 
 had observed, that, at the first escape of 
 
 the animal from the egg, it was invested by 
 a complete spiral turn, at least, of the shell ; 
 and, it appears, from the observations of 
 Adanson, that viviparous shell fish are like- 
 wise brought forth in a similar state. The 
 growth of shells was discovered by Reau- 
 mur to take place in that which is most dis- 
 tant from the first formed part. Here a 
 part of the animal exists which is not yet 
 covered w'ith shell ; but which is beset with 
 a vast number of vessels, which separate 
 and deposit, on the existing edge of the 
 shell, those glutinous and calcareous mat- 
 ters, by which its due increased extent of 
 surface is obtained. In proof of this being 
 the process by which the augmentation of 
 the shell is effected, he broke the shells of 
 various living testaceous animals in different 
 parts, and was thus enabled to perceive, 
 that the newly added matter was not depo- 
 sited line after line from the shell, at the 
 edges of the fractured part; but was sepa- 
 rated, in a pellicle, from the body of the 
 animal, and thus applied at once to the 
 whole of the vacuity. Those, who denied 
 this mode of increase, denied also the remo- 
 val of the posterior termination of the 
 worm, from the extreme termination of the 
 first formed spire. But it is certain that 
 the animal, in many shells, have their pos- 
 terior termination attached to the point of 
 the shell only in their earliest stages ; and 
 that, when older, it is found adherent to the 
 second or third turn : and it has also been 
 ascertained that the tail of the Nerite is at- 
 tached beneath the left or columellar lip. 
 In proof of these animals possessing this 
 power of removing themselves frbm these 
 turns of the shell, or indeed from those parts 
 in which their residence is no longer neces- 
 sary, the circumstance may be adduced of 
 the animal belonging to the Porcellanea, 
 sometimes abandoning its old shell, and 
 forming a new one. 
 
 The various tints of different colours with 
 which shells are so beautifully adorned, 
 result, according to the remarks of the same- 
 ingenious naturalist, from an oeconomy and 
 organization somewhat similar to that which 
 has been just mentioned. On the neck of 
 the animal, that part from which the matter 
 of the shell is supposed to be secreted, the 
 colours of the shell may be detected. Thus 
 if tlie ground of the shell be yellow, and it 
 be marked with dark brown or black bands, 
 then the neck of the animal will be seen of 
 a white inclining to a yellow hue, with 
 dark spots, answering in their number and 
 direction to the bands observable ip the 
 
SHELL. 
 
 shell itself : the colouring matter appearing 
 to be here disposed, ready for its deposi- 
 tion, with the other substances of the shell. 
 In this manner, and on these principles, has 
 Reaumur been able to explain almost every 
 circumstance, respecting the varieties of 
 form and of colour which are observable in 
 these bodies. 
 
 But a circumstance is observable in the 
 Olives and the Porcellaneae, to which Reau- 
 mur has not attempted to apply his doctrine. 
 In these shells the colours are disposed in 
 two layers, the outer of which is the pro- 
 duction of an organization different from 
 that of any of the other inhabitants of shells, 
 and from which proceeds an operation, also 
 different from what occurs in any other in- 
 stance. At the period at w'hich Reaumur 
 wrote, several of the olives and of the 
 cowries, in consequence of certain differ- 
 ences of colour, and of some difference also 
 in their forms, were considered as of dif- 
 ferent species from others, of which they 
 were in fact individuals of the same spe- 
 cies ; bat had not yet acquired their perfect 
 state. For want of reckoning upon this 
 circumstance, the celebrated Linnaeus has 
 unnecessarily multiplied the number of spe- 
 cies of these shells. 
 
 The highly ornamented surface of these 
 shells is formed at two different periods, 
 and by two different processes. The first 
 appears to be that deposition which takes 
 place from the surface of the body of the 
 animal ; and in which but little takes place 
 different from what occurs in shells in gene- 
 ral. But as the age of the animal ad- 
 vances, this surface is covered by another ; 
 the primitive colours disappear, others are 
 disposed over them, and the substance 
 itself of the shell becomes considerably 
 thickened. This process is performed 
 by a simple, but most curious organiza- 
 tion. Tw'o soft, membraneous flaps, or 
 winged processes, pass out of the open- 
 ing of the shell, turn back on the external 
 convex surface, and cover it so completely 
 as not to leave the least portion to be seen 
 at the line where they meet each other, on 
 the back of the shell. From the superior 
 surface ■ of these membraneous bodies, that 
 surface, which clings to the convex part of 
 the shell, exudes that secretion by which 
 the shell is increased in bulk ; and a new 
 arrangement of the beautiful colours of its 
 drapery is effected. 
 
 Bruguiere ascertained this formation of a 
 second surface by actual observation at 
 Madagascar j and the fact derives addi- 
 
 tional proof from the pale line which passes 
 frequently along the back of these shells, 
 marking the part where the edges of the 
 membraneous wings met. Still more posi- 
 tive proof is rendered by rubbing down the 
 second coat, when the markings of the first 
 coat will make their appearance. 
 
 Although the colours are thus disposed 
 by the animal, the action of light appears 
 to have a considerable effect in augmenting 
 their brilliancy ; climate also occasions con- 
 siderable differences in this respect ; hence 
 the shells obtained from the torrid zones 
 are much more rich in their colouring than 
 those which are found in the more tempe- 
 rate zones. But notwithstanding the cir- 
 cumstance just noticed, there is great rea- 
 son for attributing the high degree of co- 
 louring in shells more to the effects of light 
 than to the heat of the climate. 
 
 It is not the colouring only of the second 
 coat of the porcellaneous shells which is 
 given by this second operation, the several 
 asperities observable in various shells, as in 
 the Cypraea tuberculosa, and in the Cypraea 
 pediculus, are superadded at the same pe- 
 riod. 
 
 The form of the shell will necessarily 
 depend on that with which the worm is 
 first invested j but it is a curious subject of 
 investigation, on what peculiar modification 
 of the animal depends the spiral form of 
 univalve shells. This has been attempted 
 to be explained, by Reaumur, by a very 
 simple peculiarity of organization : it be- 
 ing sufficient, he supposes, to consider the 
 fibres on one surface of the body to be 
 shorter than those on the opposite surface. 
 From this inherent peculiarity of formation, 
 the prolongation of the animal must neces- 
 sarily be in a spiral form ; and, from the 
 various obliquities of disposition of these 
 shorter and longer fibres, will proceed that 
 variety of direction in which the spiral 
 turns will be disposed. 
 
 Tlte umbilicus, the cavity in the centre 
 of the spire, which is seen in the lower 
 part of the shell, depends on the direction 
 in which the animal has extended the shell. 
 Thus, if the turns of the spire have been 
 carried round an axis of a conical form, 
 each turn having departed more and more 
 from the centre of the shell, an umbilicus 
 will be formed, more or less open, as the 
 turns depart more or less from the centre. 
 But if the turns are made round an axis so 
 straight and fine as to occasion the turns 
 to touch each other, then no umbilical cavity 
 will be formed at the bottom of the shell. 
 
SHELL. 
 
 To enable us to account for the longitu- 
 ^Sina], raised, and thickened ribs which 
 «ross in a longitudinal direction, the turns 
 ©f the spire, and which are termed varices 
 by Linnicns, it is necessary to refer to 
 the formation of the opening of land shells, 
 when they have obtained their full growth. 
 At this period the lip of the shell, from the 
 frequent egress and return of the animal 
 through the opening, has an additional por- 
 tion of the testaceous matter repeatedly 
 deposited upon it, by which it acquires a 
 bordered edge, which diflfers in size and 
 thickness in the shells of different animals. 
 But in sea shells, the growth of the shell is 
 pot completed on the fonnation of this 
 bordered lip ; the continuation of the spire 
 still preceding after its formation, lo ex- 
 plain the formation of these ribbed longitu- 
 dinal projections, it is therefore only neces- 
 sary to suppose the animal, after having^ 
 formed the bordered edge to the mouth of 
 the shelf to have proceeded uninterrupt- 
 edly for a certain period in the formation 
 of the common smooth surface of the shell, 
 which, as it wonld then extend beyond the 
 lately formed lip, 'would now render it a rib 
 projecting from the general surface; and 
 by a repetition of this process, a succession 
 of these rib.=, with intermediate spaces of 
 the common surface, such as frequently 
 exists in turbinated shells, would conse- 
 quently be formed. 
 
 From a process exceedingly similar we 
 may suppose the formation of the warted 
 protuberances and tubercles to have pro- 
 ceeded; corresponding fleshy projections, 
 existing on that part of the surface of the 
 animal to which this part of the shell has 
 been applied, having been the moulds, as 
 it were, on which these have been formed. 
 Whilst these fleshy protuberances have con- 
 tinued, these processes have remained hol- 
 low,; but where the fleshy protuberances 
 have been diminished, these processes have 
 become partly filled up ; and where they 
 have been removed, these have become en- 
 tirely solid, from the deposition of additional 
 shelly matter from the surface of the animal, 
 the existence of the cavities being necessary 
 no longer than the continuance of the fleshy 
 processes themselves. 
 
 The production of the spinous processes 
 so frequent on many shells approaches still 
 nearer to that of the ribbed protuberances, 
 since they have been formed by little, long, 
 tongue-like processes, with which the neck 
 of the animal is beset, and which have 
 »erved iirthe same manner to produce these 
 
 spines as the neck of the aniibal has served 
 to form the bordered edge of the shell, by 
 an addition of the testaceous matter at 
 each time the neck of the animal, at certain 
 periods, passed out or returned into the 
 shell. The confirmation of this being the 
 mode of their formation is yielded by the 
 circumstance of these spines being ranged 
 in lines, at equal distances, on the ribbed 
 protuberances, or varices of Linnasus, the 
 formation of which has not only been simi- 
 lar, but simultaneous. 
 
 The production of the channel, or gutter, 
 the caiida of Linnaeus) depends on circum- 
 stances extremely similar to those on which 
 has depended the formation of the vai ions 
 parts already noticed. All those animals 
 whose shells have this termination are en- 
 dued with an, organ of a cylindrical form, 
 capable of being contracted and extended, 
 so as to allow the animal to explore its path, 
 or to attach itself to neighbouring bodies. 
 By the frequent employment of this organ, 
 and by its ^necessarily accompanying, fre- 
 quent, alternate contractions and exten- 
 sions, its surface, which possesses the pro- 
 perty of exuding a testaceous substance, 
 must at each passage and return contribute 
 to the formation of this canal, which would 
 serve the purpose of a sheath to it. 
 
 By an ingenious application of these prin- 
 ciples of Reaumur, Bruguiere and Brog- 
 niart (“ Bulletin de la Societe Philomathe- 
 que,” No. 25) have very satisfactorily ex- 
 plained the production of the several fissures, 
 stride, grooves, and other modifications of 
 the forms and surfaces of different shells. 
 The author fast mentioned has shown, that, 
 in some instances, the organ by which some 
 changes have been produced in the later 
 formed part of the shell was not .acquired 
 by the animal until it had obtained its full 
 size. By an application of these principles 
 to bivalves, and even to multivalves, their 
 peculiarities of form have also been very 
 ingeniously accounted for. It has been 
 found, that, in bivalves, the part of the 
 animal which is termed the mantle is the 
 organ on which the peculiarity of the form 
 of” each chiefly depends; it answering in 
 this respect to the collar, or neck of the 
 animal, belonging to univalve shells. 
 
 It does not seem necessary here to dwell 
 on the labours of those who, previous to the 
 time of Linnmus, had endeavbured to dis- 
 pose of shells under the most comprehen- 
 sive and distinctive arrangement. What- 
 ever had been done before with this view 
 gave way to the more lucid and correct 
 
SHELL. 
 
 disposition which Linnscus adopted ; bnt 
 this is certainly by no means the ne plus ul- 
 tra : other divisions appear in some instances 
 deserving of adoption, and new genera re- 
 quire to be admitted. It is therefore in- 
 tended to give here Liimmus’s arrangement 
 of the genera, omitting the species; after- 
 wards to give that which has been adopted 
 by Du Bose, agreeable to tlie discoveries 
 and observations of Lamarck, Bruguiere, 
 and others ; and to otter a few explanatory 
 remarks, for the purpose of showing the 
 propriety or impropriety of the deviations 
 from the arrangement of Linnaeus. 
 
 JIULTIVALVE SHELLS. 
 
 Genus^l. Cliiton. The animal covered 
 by several shells lying on each other along 
 the back. 
 
 2. Lepas. The shell, which is formed of 
 several unequal and erect valves, is aftixed 
 by its base. 
 
 3. Pholas. Shell bivalve and divarfeated, 
 with smaller, accessory, ditferently formed 
 pieces at the hinge. 
 
 BIVALVES, OR CONCH.®. 
 
 4. Mya. Gaper. Shell generally gaping 
 at one end ; the hinge with, for the most 
 part, a thick, solid spreading tooth, not in- 
 serted in the opposite valve. 
 
 5. Solen. Razor-shell. Shell oblong, 
 gaping at both ends; hinge with a subulated 
 reflexed tooth, often double, not inserted 
 in the opposite valve: the lateral margin 
 rather obsolete. 
 
 6. Tellina. The foreside of the shell slop- 
 ing downwards ; the hinge, in general, with 
 three teeth ; the side teeth, in one of the 
 valves, being either flat or wanting. 
 
 7. Cardium. Shell with equal and nearly 
 equilateral valves, longitudinally ribbed, or 
 sulcated, the margin dentated ; the hinge 
 having, in the middle, two alternating teeth, 
 one commonly incurved, and two lateral 
 remote teeth, inserted info each other. 
 
 8. Mactra. Shell with equal, bnt inequi- 
 lateral valves; the hinge a complicated, 
 central tooth, with an adjoining pit, and re- 
 mote lateral teeth, inserted iii the opposite 
 valves. 
 
 9. Donax. The anterior margin of the 
 shell very obtuse, the margin often crenu- 
 lated ; two teeth at the hinge, and on the 
 hinder margin, a, single one (rarely two, or 
 three, or none) somewhat remote. 
 
 10. Venus. The lips lying over the an- 
 terior margin ; the hinge with three teeth 
 close together, the lateral ones diverging 
 from the apex. 
 
 11. Spondylus. With rigid, unequal 
 valves ; the hinge being formed by two re- 
 curved teeth, with a cavity beUyeen. 
 
 12. Chama. The shell heavy ; the hinge 
 a gibbous projection, inserted in an oblique 
 cavity ; the fore pai'ts closed without carti- 
 lages. 
 
 13. Area. Equivalved ; the hinge with 
 numerous, acute, and alternately inserted 
 teeth. 
 
 14. Ostrea. With unequal valves, some- 
 times eared ; the hinge an ovate cavity, 
 without teeth ; but, in general, with lateral, 
 transverse stri® ; no space or depression at 
 the ligament. 
 
 15. Auomia. The valves unequal, one 
 flattish, the other gibbous, and one of them 
 often perforated at the base ; the hinge a li- 
 near projection, with a lateral tooth, which, 
 in the flat valve, is inserted in the margin ; 
 two bony rays support the animal. 
 
 16. Mytiliis. Shell coarse, generally af- 
 fixed by its byssus ; hinge generally w'ith- 
 oiit teeth, being distinguished by a linear, 
 subulated, longitudinal furrow'. 
 
 17. Pinna. A sub-bivalve, brittle, erect, 
 and gaping, having a silky beard. The- 
 hinge without teeth ; the valves adhere on 
 one side. 
 
 UNIVALVE SHELLS, OR COCHLEj®. 
 
 18. Argonauta. Shell spiral, involute, 
 membranaceous, and with one chamber. 
 
 19. Nautilus. Divided into many cham- 
 bers, by partitions, perforated with project- 
 ing pipes. 
 
 20 . Conus. Convoluted and turbinated 
 shell; the aperture longitudinal, linear, 
 open at both ends, and without teeth ; the 
 base entire, and the columella smooth.' 
 
 21. Cyprasa. Involuted, sub-ovate, ob- 
 tuse, and smooth ; the opening longitudi- 
 nal, linear, dentated on each side, and ex- 
 tended to both ends of the shell. 
 
 22. Bulla. Convoluted, without spire, 
 opening longitudinal, oblong, and contract- 
 ed at the ends, entire at the base ; the colu- 
 mella oblique and smooth. 
 
 23. Voluta. Unilocular and spiral; the 
 aperture without a tail, and somewhat open 
 at both ends; columella plaited, with no 
 inner; or colnmellar lip, nor umbilicus. 
 
 24. Buccinum. Spiral and gibbous ; the 
 aperture oval, terminating in a gutter, 
 Vfhich, with the cauda, runs out to the 
 right ; the interior lip smooth. 
 
 25. Strombus. Spiral, with one side 
 large, the aperture frequently with a dilat- 
 
SHELL. 
 
 ed outer lip, terminating in a gutter which 
 turns to tile left. 
 
 26. Murex. Spiral and rough, with mem- 
 branaceous sutures ; the aperture ending 
 in an entire, straight, or soraewliat ascend- 
 ing gutter. 
 
 27. Troclius. Spiral, and nearly coni- 
 cal ; the aperture nearly tetragonal or 
 rounded, contracted transversely above j 
 the columella oblique. 
 
 28. Turbo. Spiral and solid ; the aper- 
 ture contracted, orbicular, and intire. 
 
 29. Helix. Spiral, subdiaphanous and 
 fragile ; aperture close at the ends ; within 
 lunated, or partly circular, as if a segment 
 of the circle had been cut off. 
 
 30. Nerita. Spiral, gibbous, and flattish 
 below; the aperture semiorbicular, or semi- 
 lunar ; the lip of the columella transverse 
 and flattishly truncated. 
 
 31. Haliotis. Ear-shaped; the mouth 
 spread open ; the spire lateral and flat- 
 tened ; the disc almost always perforated 
 with a row of holes. 
 
 32. Patella. Nearly conical and without 
 a spire. 
 
 33. Dentalium. Tubular straight, with 
 one chamber, open at both ends. 
 
 34 Serpnla. Tubular, adhering to other 
 bodies, often intercepted by intire parti- 
 tions. 
 
 35. Teredo. Round, bending, and lodged 
 wood. 
 
 36. Sahella. Tubular, formed by grains 
 of sand, on a membranous sheath. 
 
 The French naturalists, whose late exer- 
 tions have added much to the funds of this 
 science, have thought it necessary to adopt 
 some changes with respect to the preceding 
 arrangement. These changes would, in- 
 deed, derive some support from the high 
 characters which have suggested them ; no 
 one having done more of late years to the 
 advancement of this species of knowledge 
 than Bruguiere and Lamarck. Their ob- 
 servations shall therefore be introduced un- 
 der the several genera to which they apply, 
 whilst the order in which they are taken 
 shall be that of Bose, in “ Histoire Natu- 
 relle des Coquilles.” . 
 
 MULTIVALVE SHELLS. * 
 
 Lamarck thinks that Pholades should be 
 regarded as bivalves, having accessary 
 pieces, and that the Oscabrions (Chitons) 
 should be considered as naked mollusc®, 
 whose backs are beset with small testace- 
 ous lamin®. Bose, however, in conformity 
 
 with accustomed practice, considers them 
 among the multivalve shells. 
 
 Dacosta (Conchology, 8vo. p. 97.) ob- 
 serves that “ The Greek name lepas, al- 
 ways synonimous with the Latin name pa- 
 tella, the latter signifying little sacrifice 
 dishes, or saucers, was given to limpets 
 from the earliest Grecian times, and the 
 Roman name from their resemblance to 
 those little dishes ; yet Liimmus wantonly 
 transposes the name of Lepas to the Balani.” 
 The French naturalists have still continued 
 the name of Lepas to the Patell®, and have 
 separated those bodies which Linnmus had 
 placed under the genus Lepas, into two 
 genera : 1. Anatifa, a cuneiform shell com- 
 posed of several flat unequal valves, con- 
 nected together by a membrane, and united 
 to the extremity of a tendinous tube fixed 
 by its base ; and, 2. Balanus, a conical mul- 
 tivalve shell, fixed by its base, and com- 
 posed of six articulated valves, the openings 
 closed by an operculum, with four valves. 
 These shells had been united by Linnmus 
 under one genus, most probably in conse- 
 quence of the similarity of the animals by 
 which they are inhabited ; but the French 
 naturalists observe, in confirmation of the 
 propriety of the distinction which they have 
 adopted, that very essential differences ex- 
 ist between the animals of the Anatif® and 
 of the Balani. 
 
 The Teredo is considered by Bose as a 
 multivalve shell, formed of five unequal 
 pieces ; the largest is a cylindrical tube, in 
 which the others are contained. Two ex- 
 tremely thin and nearly hemispherical pieces, 
 resembling parts of a Pholas, pointed at one 
 of their ends, and beset on their outer sur- 
 face with twenty-five rows of small teeth, like 
 those of a file, are placed at their lower 
 extremity, and by their action remove the 
 wood, and form the cavity in which tlie 
 shell becomes lodged. At the superior ex- 
 tremity, that which communicates with the 
 water, are tw’o small roundish pieces, con- 
 nected with the animal by cylindrical pedi- 
 cles pbout their own length. When the 
 animal stretches a little out of the tube, these 
 valve-like pieces spread out, and when it 
 re-enters, they contract and close the open- 
 ing, through which the head, or rather the 
 syphons of the animal had passed. 
 
 Bruguiere has, apparently with much 
 propriety, introduced a new genus which 
 he has termed Fistulana, the characters of 
 which are a tubular club-formed shell, open 
 at its smaller extremity, and containing in 
 its cavity two valves. The shell, the exa^ 
 
SHELL. 
 
 Miination of which led to this separation, is 
 the Hercules club, considered by Gmelin as 
 a Teredo, and named by him Teredo 
 clava. The shells of this genus seem to 
 differ from the Teredines only in con taining 
 one, whilst the Teredo contains two pair of 
 valves. The Pholas hians and Pholas 
 teredula of Gmelin appear to be. merely 
 the interior valves of two species of Fis- 
 tulancE. 
 
 From the several species which Linnaeus 
 has collected under his genus Anomia, La- 
 marck and Bruguiere have formed six dis- 
 tinct genera, which they have named Ano- 
 mia, Calceola, Terehratnla, Crania, Pla- 
 cuna, and Hyalaea, which they describe as 
 being thus characterised : 
 
 Anomia, an irregular shell, formed of 
 two unequal valves, the inferior of which is 
 either pierced or grooved at its beak, the 
 opening being closed by a small opercu- 
 lum, or third valve, which fixes on other 
 bodies, and is attached by a ligament. 
 The hinge is without teeth. If is by pos- 
 sessing this tliird body, therefore, whether 
 considered as valve or operculum, that this 
 genus is distinguished. 
 
 BIVALVE SHELLS. 
 
 Calceola. A regular bivalve shell, with 
 unequal valves, the largest being in the 
 form of a half sandal, and the smallest flat, 
 semiorbicular, and resembling an opercu- 
 lum; the hingq with from one to three 
 small teeth. This shell is only known as a 
 fossil, and is considered by Gmelin as an 
 Anomia (Anomia sandalium). It is very 
 thick, and about an inch in length. Its 
 back is flattened ; its interior is striated 
 longitudinally, and its valve or operculum, 
 concentrically. 
 
 Terebratula, a regular bivalve shell, with 
 unequal valves, fixing itself by a ligament 
 or short tube ; the largest valve perforated 
 at its summit, which is prominent and re- 
 curved; hinge with two teeth. The regu- 
 larity of the valves, the absence of any 
 operculum, the position of the hole, and 
 the form of the hinge, separate this genus 
 from that of Anomia. 
 
 Crania, a regular bivalve shell, withun- 
 e((ual valves, the inferior almost smooth, 
 and nearly round, and pierced in its inter- 
 nal face with three unequal and oblique 
 holes ; the superior valve very convex, fur- 
 nished internally with two projecting cal- 
 losities. The three holes in the inferior 
 valve of this shell, induced Lamarck and 
 Bruguiere to separate it from the Anomiae, 
 
 and place it in a distinct genus. The spe- 
 cies described by Lkinseus is named by him 
 Anomia craniolaris. 
 
 Placuua, an irregular bivalve flat shell ; 
 the interior hinge composed of two diverg- 
 ing ridges, which serve for the attachment 
 of a ligament. Linnaeus has arranged two 
 species, Anomia placenta, and Anomia sella, 
 under the genus Anomia. 
 
 Hyalaea, a regular bivalve shell, with 
 unequal, bulging, Connies, transparent 
 valves, gaping under the beak, and tricus- 
 pidated at the base. This genus is formed 
 by Lamarck, from a shell described by For- 
 skal, and denominated in Gmelin’s Linnmus 
 Anomia tridentata, caudata ^and retusa. 
 The Clio pyramidata of Linnmus are also 
 referable to this genus. 
 
 Lingula, a long flat shell, formed of two 
 valves, nearly equal, truncated in the fore- 
 part; the hinge without teeth; the beak of 
 the valves pointed, and joined to a tendi- 
 nous tube, which as a ligament to the shell, 
 and fixes it to other solid bodies. Linnaeus, 
 who knew only of one valve of this shell, 
 termed it Pdtilla unguis. 
 
 Corbula is an unequal-valved, sub-trans- 
 verse, smooth, regular shell ; with a coni- 
 cal cardinal tooth, curved, or turned up- 
 wards, on each valve; interior ligament, 
 and two muscular impressions. This genus 
 is characterised by the inequality of its 
 valves, one of them being nearly a third 
 larger than the other. These shells are 
 found fossil at Grignon, near to Versailles. 
 
 Orbicula is a genus formed by Lamarck 
 from a shell which was discovered by Mul- 
 ler, and which was named by him Patella 
 anomala. Its differing so entirely from 
 Patellae in being a bivalve, ‘and its being in- 
 habited by an animal totally different from 
 that of the Patella, has induced Lamarck 
 thus to separate it from the genus Patella. 
 This shell is orbicular, but rather flattened, 
 and composed of two valves ; by the lowest 
 of which, which is extremely delicate, it 
 adheres to other bodies. Its hinge is not 
 known. 
 
 Pandora is a regular inequivalved, and 
 inequilateral shell ; with two cardinal, ob- 
 long, unequal, and diverging teeth, in the 
 upper valve ; and two oblong pits in the 
 other valve ; and interior ligament, and two 
 muscular impressions. The shell which gives 
 rise to this genus is Tellina inmquivalvis, of 
 Linnseus ; the inequality of the valves be- 
 ing the circumstance which is supposed to 
 warrant the separation. This shell is named 
 Pandora margaritacea, by Bruguiere. 
 
SHELL. 
 
 Lima. An inequilateral-eared bivalve; 
 the valves a little gaping on one side ; binge 
 without teeth ; ligament external ; beaks 
 separated. This genus is founded chiefly 
 on the Ostrea lima of Linnaeus, now named 
 by Bruguiere, Lima squamos. The separa- 
 tion of these shells from the Pectens, on the 
 idea of their forming a byssus, whilst the 
 Pectens do not, requires, it should seem, a 
 more accurate kilowledge of the habits of 
 the animals which occupy the different 
 Pectens. 
 
 Pecten. This, contrary to Linnaeus, is 
 adopted by Bruguiere as a genus distinct 
 from Ostrea. Its characters are given : a 
 regular bivalve shell ; the valves unequal ; 
 the hinge without teeth, most commonly 
 eared, with a triangular pit for the ligament. 
 The hinge shutting by a black lipment 
 fixed in this triangular pit, and the different 
 forms of the shells are the circumstances 
 which are supposed to warraiit the proposed 
 separation. 
 
 Pedum. The shell from which this genus 
 has been formed, and of which only one 
 species is known, being that which is figured 
 by Chemnitz and Favanne, is semi-trans- 
 parent, unequal valved, eared ; the inferior 
 valve gaping; the beaks separated; hinge 
 without teeth; ligament external, and at- 
 tached to a long and narrow gutter. The 
 upper valve is striated, and granulated lon- 
 gitudinally ; but the under valve is smooth, 
 sharply edged, and hollowed out in one 
 part. 
 
 Perna. An irregular, flatfish, bivalve, 
 shell: the hinge composed of many linear, 
 parallel teeth, disposed in a straight line, 
 across. The hinge is closed by a ligament 
 which is attached between the teeth, and 
 which, by its thickness, prevents the teeth 
 from articidating witli each other. Ostrea 
 perna, isogona, ephippium, pictum, and 
 legumen, of Linnmus, aie placed under this 
 genus. I 
 
 Avicula. This genus Lamarck forms from 
 Mytilus hirundo, Linnaeus, which is the only 
 shell in the genus. He describes it : an 
 irregular, loose shell; a little gaping towards 
 its beaks, and having the valves of unequal 
 size. The hinge callous, without teeth ; a 
 little oblong pit, which i% marginal and 
 parallel with the edge which supports the 
 ligament. 
 
 Malleus. The hammer-oyster of Linnaeus, 
 with two other species, form this genus, 
 according to Lamarck, who gives fur the 
 characters of the genus: an irregular loose 
 
 shell, a little gaping near its beaks, having 
 equal valves ; a callous hinge, without 
 teeth, having a conical pit, placed obliquely 
 on the edge of each valve. This genus 
 seems to be hardly sufficiently distinguish- 
 able from the last ; nor does the name of 
 the genus appear to be well adapted, since 
 some of the species no ways resemble a 
 hammer in their form. 
 
 Vulsella. This genus is formed from the 
 Mya vulsella of Linnaeus. The uncertainty 
 with which this shell has been viewed, at 
 different periods, shows the uncertainty of 
 its nature, and the propriety of not placing 
 it under any other genus. Linnaeus had 
 once considered it as a Pinna, and Bruguiere 
 as an oyster. It is a loose shell, longitudi- 
 nal, and nearly equivalved, terminating in 
 a very short bent beak ; the hinge callous, 
 depressed, and without teeth, of equal ele- 
 vation on each valve, forming a rounded 
 conical pit for the ligament. 
 
 Ostrea. In this genus is comprehended 
 those shells only which are oysters, accord- 
 ing to common acceptation. The charac- 
 ters of the genus are, therefore, an irregu- 
 lar, adherent, inequivalve shell ; the hinge 
 without teeth ; an oblong pit, sulcated 
 across, giving attachment to a ligament. 
 
 Gryphaea. The shell, for the reception 
 of which this genus was established by 
 Lamarck, was improperly considered as a 
 species of Anomia by Linnaeus, and as a 
 species of oyster by Bruguiere ; to which 
 latter genus it undoubtedly very nearly 
 approximates. It is a loose unequivalved 
 shell ; the inferior valve concave, terminat- 
 ed by a beak turned upwards, and bent 
 into an involved spire; the superior valve 
 smaller, like an operculum ; the hinge with- 
 out teeth; but with an oblong and dented 
 pit ; and one muscular impression in each 
 valve. Lamarck enumerates eight fossil 
 species of this genus. 
 
 Plicatula is a genus formed, by Lamarck, 
 from Spondylus plicatus of Linnaeus. It is 
 an angulated shell, with unequal valves and 
 unequal beaks, which are pointed ; the edges 
 are in deep plaits ; its hinge is formed of 
 two strong teeth on each valve, and an in- 
 termediate pit for the reception of the liga- 
 ment; with one muscular impression on 
 each valve. 
 
 Spondylus. In this genus of Linnaeus are 
 comprised bivalve, irregularly-formed shells, 
 the hinge of which is formed of two strong 
 hooked teeth, and an intermediate pit for 
 the ligament ; in the inferior valve are two 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
SHELL. 
 
 thick recurved teeth, with two intermediate 
 rounded cavities to receive the teetli of the 
 other valve, and an elongated pit in which 
 the ligament is placed ; in the superior 
 valve are two exterior cavities for receiving 
 the teeth of the other valve, and two teeth 
 curving backwards, with a pit for the liga- 
 ment. 
 
 Charaa. This genus is appointed, by Bru- 
 guiere and Lamarck, to those shells only 
 which, in particular, possess unequal valves, 
 and are adherent. The characters of the 
 genus therefore are : a bivalve shell, with 
 adhering unequal valves ; the hinge compo- 
 sed of one oblique thick tooth, which may 
 be crenulated or rough, and is articulated 
 in a cavity in the opposite valve. 
 
 It was necessary, therefore, to establish 
 other genera for the reception of those 
 shells which thus become excluded from 
 the genus Chaina. Hence Bruguiere form- 
 ' ed too new genera; Cardita, having two 
 teeth in the hinge ; and Tridacna, possessing 
 the same number, but having the edges of 
 the crescent crenulated and gaping. La- 
 marck has proceeded still further; he has 
 subdivided the genus Cardita from an iso- 
 lated tooth, situated, in some species, under 
 the corslet, as in Cardium isocardia, and 
 makes this his genus Isocardia. He also 
 makes another genus, Hippopus, the species 
 of which are subtransverse, inequilateral 
 shells ; the hinge with two compressed, in- 
 verted teeth, the crescent filled up : of this 
 genus is Chama gigax. But it is necessary 
 still further to particularise these new 
 genera. 
 
 Cardita, a loose inequilateral shell, the 
 hinge with two teeth ; the one at the base 
 of the left valve, and the other longitudinal, 
 parallel with the anterior face. 
 
 Hippopus. An inequilateral, subtrans- 
 verse shell ; the hinge with two compressed 
 and inverted teeth ; the crescent filled up. 
 Hippopus, it is to be remembered, differs 
 from Tridacna by having its crenate filled, 
 whilst in Tridacna it is gaping. 
 
 I Tridacna. An inequilateral, subtrans- 
 verse shell ; hinge with two teeth, compres- 
 sed and inverted ; the crescent gaping. The 
 Clrnnagigas of Linnaeus (the Tridacna gigas 
 of Lamarck) is the only species under this 
 genus. 
 
 Cardinm. This genus remains unaltered 
 by the French naturalists. The characters 
 being : a sub-cordiform shell, with valves 
 dentated on their edges; the hinge with 
 four teeth; two cardinal, approximating 
 
 obliquely .in each valve, and articulating 
 across with their correspondent teeth ; the 
 lateral teeth distant, and inverted in the 
 opposite valve. 
 
 Acardo. Is a genus very properly esta- 
 blished by Commercon. It is founded on 
 two species : the generic characters of 
 which are : a shell composed of two, nearly 
 equal, flat valves ; having neither hinge nor 
 ligament ; a muscular impression appearing 
 on the centre of each valve. 
 
 Radiolites. This is a genus approximating 
 to the preceding, but very properly sepa- 
 rated from it ,by the form of the shell. The 
 shell is of an irregular form, of unequal 
 valves, striated on the outside ; the inferior 
 valve turbinated; the superior convex, or 
 conical ; no hinge nor ligament. 
 
 Erodona. This genus was formed, by 
 Daudin, from two shells in the cabinet of 
 Favannes. It is intermediate between the 
 Mya and Mactra. It is_ a subtransverse, 
 bivalve shell, irregular and gaping ; one of 
 the valves having a hollow tooth ; and 
 the other a pit between two projections ; 
 the ligament inserted on the tooth and in 
 the pit. 
 
 Mya, is a transverse shell, gaping at both 
 ends ; the ligament on the inside ; the left 
 valve having a cardinal tooth, compressed, 
 rounded, perpendicular to the valve, and 
 giving attachment to the ligament. This is 
 the original genus of Linnaeus, from which 
 Bruguiere and Lamarck have withdrawn 
 many of the species to place them under 
 the genera Vulsella, Glycemeris, and Unio ; ' 
 leaving only those sea-shells which have a 
 very projecting cardinal tooth in one of 
 their valves. 
 
 Glycemeris. A transverse shell, gap- 
 ing at both extremities : a protuberant 
 hinge without teeth ; the ligament on the 
 outer part. Such is Mya glycemeris of 
 Linnreus. 
 
 Solen. A transverse shell, gaping at both 
 extremities : the upper edge straight, or 
 nearly so ; two or three teeth at the hinge' 
 furnished by both valves. 
 
 Tellina. Considerable confusion has 
 arisen from the admission of species which ' 
 by no means belong to this genus. Bru- 
 gniere and Lamarck have divided the Tel- 
 lens of Linnaeus into two new genera. 1. 
 Tellina, a transverse or orbicular shell with 
 equal valves, with a fold on the anterior 
 side : one or two cardinal teeth, and two 
 separated lateral teeth, as in Tellina vir- 
 gata. 2. Caspa, a transverse shell, with 
 
SHELL. 
 
 two teeth in one valve, and one tooth in 
 the opposite valve, shutting between those 
 of the other valve, as in Tellina angulata. 
 
 Cyclas. This genus comprehends some 
 shells which Linnaeus had associated with 
 Tellens ; but which Bruguiere and Lamarck 
 have separated from them, from their want- 
 ing the fold on the anterior side. The cha- 
 racters are : A suborbicular, or in a small 
 degree, transverse shell, without fold on the 
 anterior side j the ligament external and 
 bulging ; two or three cardinal teeth, and 
 elongated, lamelliform, inserted lateral teeth. 
 They are fresh water shells. 
 
 Venus. This genus of Linnmus is formed 
 by shells which are regular, suborbicular, 
 bivalves, provided with a crescent and a 
 corslet; three cardinal teeth near toge- 
 ther, and sometimes one or tw'o lateral teeth. 
 The valves of this genus are generally 
 pretty gibbous and thick ; constantly equal, 
 and nearly of a triangular form. Lamarck 
 divides this genus into two. 1. Venus, a 
 suborbicular or transverse shell, with three 
 approximated cardinal teeth, the lateral 
 ones being more or less diverging. 2. Me- 
 retrix, a transverse or orbicular shell ; witli 
 three approximated cardinal teeth, and one 
 isolated tooth under the crescent. The genus 
 Caspa, mentioned above, is proposed by 
 Bruguiere and Lamarck to comprise seve- 
 ral of the Venus’s of Linnaeus. 
 
 Ungulina. A regularly formed long bi- 
 valve; the hinge formed by a very small 
 ^ooth between two oblique dents : the 
 valves bearing the form of the finger nail. 
 There is but one species in this genus. The 
 binge bears some resemblance to that of 
 Cardium, but the general form of the shell 
 differs much from that of Cardia. 
 
 Donax. A regular, transverse, inequi- 
 lateral bivalve, with three* cardinal teeth, 
 and one or two separated lateral teeth. 
 Shells of this genus have much of the trian- 
 gular form, their sides very unequal; they 
 are solid, thick, flattened at the inferior, 
 and rounded at the opposite, extremity. 
 The ligament, which, in most shells with 
 equal valves, is placed above the summit, 
 is in these shells unequally distributed above 
 and below it. Above, it is narrow and 
 short ; and below, it is thick, nearly round, 
 and fills the cavity of, the corslet exactly. 
 
 Mactra. A bivalve shell, regular, trans- 
 verse, inequilateral, and a little gaping, the 
 cardinal tooth having a pit for the ligament ; 
 lateral teeth compressed and inserted, or 
 none. 
 
 Lamarck divides this genus into three. 
 
 1. Mactra, a transverse, inequilateral shell 
 a little gaping ; the cardinal tooth folded in 
 a furrow, articulating with that of tlie op- 
 posite valve, and accompanying a pit for 
 the ligament ; two lateral and inserted 
 teeth, such is Mactra stultorum. 2. Lu- 
 traria, a transverse, inequilateral shell, gap- 
 ing at the extremities ; two cardinal teeth, 
 oblique, and diverging, accompanying a 
 large pit for the ligament ; no lateral teeth ; 
 such is Mactra lutraria, Linnmus. 3. Pa- 
 phia, a subtransverse, inequilateral shell, 
 the valves close ; a pit for the ligament on 
 the beak between or near to the teeth of 
 the hinge, as in Venus divaricata. Linnaeus, 
 
 Crassatella. A genus formed by Lamarck of 
 shells unknown to Linnaeus, and which Bru- 
 guiere had placed in the genus Mactra. The 
 generic chararacters are an inequilateral, 
 subtraiiverse shell, with close valves, with a 
 sunk crescent or corslet ; the ligament in- 
 ternal ; the pit for the ligament placed un- 
 der the beaks, above the teeth of the h'uge. 
 There are two fossil, and one recent species 
 under this genus. These shells are remark- 
 able for the thickness of the valves, and 
 for their two deep muscular impressions. 
 
 Trigonia. This is a genus formed by 
 Lamarck, the species of which are known 
 only in a fossil state. The characters of 
 the genus are, an inequilateral subtrigonal 
 shell, the hinge ■ formed by two large flat 
 diverging teeth, transversely grooved. These 
 are the Cunei of Dacosta. 
 
 Hiatella. A genus formed by Daudin on 
 two shells from Tranquebar, which appear 
 to be intermediate between the genera 
 Trigonia and Tridacna ; the characters are 
 a transverse, irregular bivalve shell, gaping 
 in its superior edge ; its hinge a tooth in 
 each valve, inserted in a groove in the op- 
 posite valve. 
 
 Cucullaea. A gibbous, subtranverse ine- 
 quilateral shell, with detached beaks : the 
 hinge in a straight line, having a range of 
 numerous teeth, transverse inserted ; and at 
 the extremities two or three parallel rib-like 
 teeth, the ligaments external. This genus 
 is founded by Lamarck on a recent shell 
 from the Indian Sea, and on a fossil shell 
 from Beauvais, which Bruguiere had placed 
 among the Arks ; from which these shells 
 dift’er in the ribs placed at the extremities 
 of the hinge. 
 
 Area. An inequilateral bivalve shell ; the. 
 hinge composed of numerous teeth, which 
 lock in the interstices of those of the oppo- 
 site valve, and which range in a straight, 
 angular, or curved line. The ligament 
 
external. This genus of Linnaeus has at the top, and simple within. 2. Crepidda^ 
 been subdivided by Lamarck into three an oval shell, with an incomplete spire, in- 
 genera. i. Area, with the teeth of the dined on the edge ; the cavity separated 
 hinge in a straight line, as the Area nose, into two, by a simple diaphragm. 3. Ca* 
 2. Pectuncnlus, with the hinge in a curved lyptra, a conical shell, whole at the point ; 
 ,line ; and 3. Nucula, which deserves a dis- with a spiral diaphragm. 4. Fissurella, the 
 tinct notice. shell pierced with a hole at the point. 
 
 Nucula. This genus has been formed by 5. Emarginula, a conical shell, summit in- 
 Lamarck from Area nucleus, Linn. Dau- dined, concave beneath, and the posterior 
 din has also added two more species. The edge slit or grooved. 
 
 Arks, in having their insides resplendent valve, having in its inferior face, on one 
 
 large tooth at the hinge. The characters spiral turns on the disc of the shell. The 
 are, an inequilateral, almost triangular or genus is formed by Lamarck on a fossil shell 
 oblong shell ; the hinge in a broken line, be- found by Faujas among the fossils of Maes- 
 set with numerous transverse and parallel tricht ; but the figuite has not yet been 
 teeth ; one oblique cardinal tooth out of given. 
 
 the line ; the beaks contiguous and turned Testacella. A univalve shell, in form of 
 forwards. an oblique' cone, the summit being rather 
 
 Unio. A transverse shell with three mus- spiral and the opening oval. This is the co- 
 cular impressions ; an irregular, callous, car- vering of the posterior part of a long gaste- 
 dinal tooth, stretcliing on one side, under ropodia from the isle of Teneriffe. This is 
 the corselet, and articulating with one of therefore an animal between the slug and 
 the opposite valve. In this genus, formed the snail. 
 
 by Bruguiere, are placed the Mya margari- Oscana. An oval, coriaceous, almost 
 tifera and Pictorum of Linnaeus. transparent univalve shell without a spire. 
 
 Anodonta. A regular transverse bivalve The shell of this genus, and of which one 
 shell, having three muscular impressions : species only is known, which is found ad- 
 a simple hinge without any tooth. In this hering to prawns, is in form similar to the 
 genus are placed Mytilus cygneus, anatinus. Patellae, and the animal approaches to that 
 and fluviatilis of Linnaeus, with three other of the Chiton. 
 
 species. Carinaria. A univalve shell, very thin ; 
 
 Mytilus. A regular transverse shell with its form a cone, flattened on its sides ; its 
 equal valves, shutting close, a hinge with- summit rolled, spirally and very small ^ 
 out, or with one or two teeth. Lamarck the back covered with a dentated keel ; 
 divides the genus Mytilus into four genera, the opening entire, oval, oblong, and eon- 
 1. Mytilus, a longitudinal shell, with pointed tracted towards the angle of the keel, 
 terminating beaks ; one njuscular impres- Linnaeus had placed this shell, which is ex- 
 sion, and a hinge most frequently without ceedingly delicate, and as transparent as 
 
 the posterior extremity very short ; the Patella cristata, but Dargenville, Martini, 
 beaks sunk upon the short side of the shell; and Gmelin, have ranged it under the Argo- 
 one muscular impression ; the hinge simple, nauts by the name of Argonauta vitrea. 
 without teeth. 3. Avicula. 4. Anodonta. Bruguiere appears to have been disposed 
 Pinna. The characters of this genus are, rather to have replaced it among the Pa- 
 a regular bivalve shell, with equal valves, tellae ; but Lamarck has thought it right 
 wedge-formed, pointed at its base, gaping to consider it as a species of a distinct 
 at its superior edge; hinge without teeth, genus. 
 
 Patella. A conical univalve shell, without disposed in a line. No change is proposed 
 a spire. Linnaeus had divided these shells in this genus of Linnaeus by the French tes- 
 into five sections ; the labiated, the denta- taceologists. 
 
 ted, the mucronated, the entire, and the Sigaretus. An oval, depressed, nearly 
 perforated. Lamarck has divided this ear-formed shell, with a short spiral colu- 
 genus into five : t. Patella, a shell of a mella ; the opening entire, very large, 
 shield pr bonnet form, without a spire, whole widened near the top of the right lip, and 
 
SHELL. 
 
 longer than wide. This shell had been 
 placed by Linnaeus among the Helices, 
 under the name of Helix halidtoidea ; and 
 by Midler among the Bullae, under tlie name 
 ofBulla velutina ; but Lamarck seems very 
 properly to have disposed of it under a dis- 
 tinct intermediate genus between the Ne- 
 rites and the ear-shells. 
 
 Stomatia. Is a genus which has been 
 formed by Helblins and Lamarck from a 
 shell, which had been placed under the ge- 
 nus Haliotis, but which wanted the holes, 
 which exist in the shells of that genus. 
 
 Argonauta. A very thin, single chambered 
 univalve shell j the spire concealed in the 
 internal part of the shell. 
 
 Concholepas. An oval univalve, convex 
 in its superior part', with its summit ob- 
 liquely inclined upon the left edge ; the ca- 
 vity simple ; two teeth and a sinus at the 
 base of the right edge. Dargenville and 
 others had placed the shell of this genus 
 among the Patellae ; but Bruguiere having 
 seen several with tendinous opercula, dis- 
 posed them under the genus Buccinum. 
 Lamarck has however thought fit to consi- 
 der it as forming a genus, connecting the 
 Patellae with the other spire valved shells. 
 
 Nerita. A semiglobular univalve, flattish 
 beneath, not umbilicated at the spire ; the 
 opening semicircular the columella or par- 
 tition, nearly transverse. Lamarck has 
 retained in this genus only the imperforated 
 Nerites ; the others he transfers to the next 
 genus. The Nerites have not only no um- 
 bilicus but no true columella, having in its 
 place, a simple partition ; which is flat, 
 thin, and longitudinal, originating in the 
 groove of the first spire, and generally 
 dentated. 
 
 Natica. This genus of Lamarck’s is cha- 
 racterized by a nearly globular shell, umbi- 
 licated at the left lip with a callosity at the 
 umbilicus; the opening semicircular; the 
 columella oblique, and not dentated. 
 
 Helicina. This genus is founded by La- 
 marck on a shell figured by Lister (Plate 
 LXXI. fig. 59) and which he describes as a 
 globular shell ; the opening entire, semioval ; 
 columella with a callus, compressed infe- 
 riorly ; an operculum. The propriety of 
 this adoption cannot be judged of, from 
 merely the figure of this shell in Lister’s 
 work. 
 
 Helix. An orbicular or elongated uni- 
 valve, with an obtuse or concave spire; the 
 opening Entire, forming a half moon. La- 
 marck divides the shells which have been 
 hitherto disposed under this genus into 
 
 eight genera. 1. Bulimus, an oval or oblong 
 shell, the opening whole, longer than wide ; 
 the columella smooth, without folds, trun- 
 catiire or widening at the base ; as in Bulima 
 hsemastoma. 2. Lymnaea, an oblong sub- 
 turriculated shell, longer than wide ; open- 
 ing entire, the inferior part of the right 
 edge, turning up and passing into the open- 
 ing, and forming a very oblique fold on the 
 columella ; as in Helix stagnalis. 3. Mela- 
 nia, a turriculated shell ; the opening entire 
 oval or oblong, widened at the base of the 
 columella ; Helix amarnla is of this genus. 
 4. Ampullaria, a globular bellied shell, um- 
 bilicated at its base, no callosities on the 
 left lip; the opening entire, longer than 
 wide. Helix ampullacea forms this genus. 
 .5. Planorbis. A discoid shell, the spire 
 flattened or sunk, not prominent, the 
 opening entire, longer than wide, and filled 
 laterally by the convex projection of the 
 last turn but one. The type of this genus Ls 
 Helix planorbis. 6. Haliotidea. 7. lan- 
 thina. 8. Helix, a globular shell, with a 
 convex or conoidal spire ; and particularly 
 with the opening diminished by the projec- 
 tion of the last iturn but one; but as this 
 last character is common to the Planorbis 
 also, these two genera are evidently con- 
 founded. The separation which is hereafter 
 made of some shells which originally were 
 in the genus Helix, in agreement with the 
 ideas of Bruguiere, will be, therefore, more 
 correct. 
 
 Volvaria, a cylindrical shell, twisted on 
 itself, without a projecting spire ; the open- 
 ing narrow, as long as the shell ; one-or more 
 folds on the base of the columella. This 
 genus was formed by Lamarck from a shell 
 which is figured and described by Pennant, 
 vol. iv. Plate LXX. fig. 8.5. He considers it 
 as intermediate between Bulla and Bulima. 
 
 Bulla. A tumid shell, the spire not pro- 
 jecting ; the opening as long as the shell ; no 
 umbilicus. This genus of Linnaeus has been 
 much reduced by Bruguiere, who placed 
 several species under Bulima, and esta- 
 blished his genus Ovula. Lamarck has still 
 further reduced them, by forming the genera 
 Terebellum, Pyrula, Ampulla, and Achatina. 
 
 lanthina. This genus is formed by La- 
 marck on a single shell described by Lister, 
 Brown, Forskal, and other naturalists ; 
 which derives its claims of distinction from 
 Helix, not so much from the character of 
 the shell as from that of the animal, which 
 differs in its structure materially from the 
 animal of the Helix, since it is furnished 
 with a curious apparatus, being an inhabi- 
 
SHELL. 
 
 tftnt of the sea, for swimming, instead of 
 'that for crawling, with which the Helices 
 are provided. It is nearly globular, and al- 
 most diaphanous ; the opening is nearly 
 triangular, with an angular sinus at the right 
 «dge. 
 
 Turritella. This genus was formed by 
 Lamarck, for the reception of those shells 
 which Linnmus had placed in the last sec- 
 tion of his genus Turbo, as Towers ; and 
 which Dargenville and Favanne had consi- 
 dered as screws. The characters of the 
 genus are, a turriculated shell ; the opening 
 round, whole, but having a sinus at the 
 right edge. 
 
 Cyclostoma. Tliis genus was formed by 
 Lamarck for the reception of the Wentle- 
 trap, and other shells of the same character. 
 The propriety of thus forming a new genus 
 is rendered evident by the, doubts which 
 had arisen respecting the placing of it in 
 any old genus. Linneeus having considered 
 it a Turbo ; Rumphius, a Buccinum ; Dar- 
 genville, a Screw; and Davila, Gualteri, 
 Guettard, and Favanne, merely a Tube, 
 from its not possessing a columella, which 
 they considered as essential in a univalve 
 shell. The shells of this genus ditfer in 
 their forms ; their openings are nearly round, 
 and their sides connected circularly. The 
 shell is formed of seven spires, separated 
 by a void space ; with ten or twelve longi- 
 tudinal ribs, which uniting, form a rim 
 round the lip. These ribs externally supply 
 the place of a columella. 
 
 Bulimns. A globular, oval, or turricu- 
 lated shell, the opening of which is entire, 
 not grooved at the base, and always longer 
 than wide. This genus of Bruguiere com- 
 prises some of the shells considered by Lin- 
 nseus as Helices and Bullae ; and the genera 
 Auricula, Pyramidella, Melania, Lymnsea, 
 Agathina, Maillot, and Bulima, of Lamarck. 
 The essential character distinguishing this 
 genus from Helix is the opening being lon- 
 ger than it is wide. 
 
 Turbo. A conoidal or turriculated shell; 
 the opening entire, round, without any 
 tooth; the edges disjoined on the superior 
 part. Several shells which were reckoner! 
 by Linnmus of this genus have been remov- 
 ed from it by Bruguiere, and placed under 
 his genus Bulima, and others have been 
 taken from it by Lamarck, and disposed 
 under the genera Cyclostoma and Tur- 
 ritella. 
 
 Trochus. A conical univalve shell; the 
 opening almost always quadrangular, flat- 
 tened transversely ; the columella oblique. 
 
 Lamarck has divided tliis genus into four: 
 
 1. Trochus. 2. Solarium, witlr an open, um- 
 bilicus, or crenulated opening on the inside 
 of the spiral turnings, as in the Trochus per- 
 spectivus. S.Monodenta. The opening round- 
 ed, and furnished with a tooth formed by the 
 truncated and projecting base of the columel- 
 la, as in Trochus labio, Linnmus. 4. Pyrami- 
 della; the columella projecting, perforated 
 at its base, and possessing three transverse 
 folds, as in Trochus dolabratus, Linnaeus. 
 
 Cerithium. A univalve turriculated shell, 
 the opening terminated at its base by a 
 short, narrow canal, either suddenly turning 
 backwards or truncated, but never grooved 
 out. In this genus of Bruguiere are com- 
 prehended several shells from the genera 
 Trochus, Strombus, and Murex of Linnaeus. 
 The shells differ from those|of Murex by their 
 turriculated form ; and from the screws, in 
 not having the groove at the base of the 
 canal. 
 
 Pyrula. A subpyriform shell, canalicu- 
 lated at its base ; without any projections, 
 and having the belly part nearer to its sum- 
 mit than to its base ; the spire short ; the 
 columella smooth ; the right edge without a 
 groove. Lamarck founding the distinction 
 on the situation of the bellied part of the 
 shell, and on the greater or less length of 
 the spire, has formed two new genera ; one 
 with those shells possessing this character 
 of the genus Bulla, and the other of the 
 genus Murex, calling the former Pyrula 
 and the latter Fusus. 
 
 Murex. An oval or elongated univalve 
 shell, generally foliated, plaited, spinous, or 
 tuberculated ; the opening always prolonged 
 into a canal, running straight, or turning 
 directly backwards, and always entire. In 
 the earlier stages of their growth it is diffi- 
 cult to separate the Murices from the 
 Strombi. Lamarck divides this genus of 
 Linnmus into five genera. 1. Murex, with 
 tuberculated or spinous projections, and 
 channelled at the base, as M. ramosus. 
 
 2. Fusus ; fusiform, without projections, 
 with the bellied part either equally distant, 
 from the extremities or nearest to the base ; 
 spire elongated; columella smooth; right 
 edge without groove, as M. coins. 3. Fas- 
 ciolaria; nearly fusiform; no projections; 
 with two or three very oblique folds on the 
 columella ; and channelled at the base, as in 
 M. tulipa. 4. Pleurotoma : fusiform or 
 turriculated,without projections, and having 
 a groove, or sinus, near the summit of the 
 right edge, as in M. babylonicus. 5. Ce- 
 rithium, already described. 
 
SHELL 
 
 Kosteliaria. Lattiarck has fotmcd this 
 genus on Strombus fusus, (Linnaeus) and on 
 some fossil species found at Couitagnon. 
 The characters of the genus are : a fusiform 
 shell, terminating interiorly by a canal with 
 a pointed beakj tlie right edge entire or 
 dentated ; dilated more or less in a wing, 
 according to age, and having a sinus conti- 
 guous to the canal. 
 
 Strombus. A bellied univalve, terminat- 
 ing, at its base, by a canal, accompanied 
 with a distinct sinus ; the right lip dilating, 
 or spreading itself out, with age, in a simple 
 or digitated lobe. Lamarck divides the genus 
 Strombus of Linnaeus into three, t. Strom- 
 bus; terminating in a short canal, truncated 
 or grooved out ; the right edge dilating, with 
 age, into a simple entire wing or lobe ; with 
 a sinus distinct from the groove at the base, 
 as in S. pugilis. 2 . Pterocera ; a bellied 
 shell, terminated inferiorly by an elongat- 
 ed canal ; the right edge dilating, with age, 
 in a digitated wing, and having a sinus near 
 its base, as in S. Iambus. 3. Rostellaria, 
 the genus last described, 
 
 Buccinum. An oblong or oval shell, the 
 opening of which is terminated at the base 
 by an oblique groove, without any sensible 
 canal, or external border. Bruguiere has 
 divided the Buccina of Linnaeus into the 
 genera Buccinum, Terebra, Cassidaea, and 
 Purpura. Under the gemis Buccinum are 
 therefore here comprised tumid shells, with 
 from three to ten spiral turns; a summit 
 generally flattish; a surface rarely even; 
 the predominating colours dull; the lip ex- 
 tended more or less in a bow, and rarely 
 jagged. 
 
 Cassidtea. A tumid shell, the opening 
 longer than wide, terminated at its base by 
 a short canal, recurved towards the back 
 of the shell ; the columella plaited in the 
 lower part. This genus of Bruguiere is in- 
 tended to comprise the helmets (casques) of 
 Gualteri, Klein, and others. '' 
 
 Terebra. A turriculated’ univalve ; the 
 opening grooved in the lower part ; the base 
 of the columella twisted or oblique. 
 
 Purpura. An oval shell, generally with 
 spines, or tuberculated ; the opening termi- 
 nating in a very short canal, the extremity 
 of the canal grooved out, the base of the co- 
 lumella finishing in a poinf. The shells in- 
 cluded in this genus by Bruguiere, are not 
 those species which have been hitherto 
 considered, as Purpurae, by Dargenville and 
 others, and which belong to the genus Murex ; 
 but those species which appear to connect 
 the genus Buccinum and Murex, The open- 
 
 VOL, VI, 
 
 ing of these shells is rather large, oval, 
 round, upwards, and more contracted in 
 the inferior part ; the right lip has but lit- 
 tle thickness, and is grooved or notched ; 
 the left expands witli a wrinkled ridge, 
 which terminates in the groove. 
 
 Voluta. A cylindrical, or oval, univalve 
 shell, grooved out at the base, but without 
 a gutter ; the opening longer than wide ; 
 and the columella plaited. The division of 
 this genus by Linnaeus is very clear and use- 
 ful ; but Lamarck proposes a still nicer dis- 
 tinction of the shells of this genus, by di- 
 viding them into eight genera. 1. Voluta, 
 an oval shell, more of less bellied, summit 
 obtuse or mammillated ; the base grooved, 
 but without a gutter ; the columella with 
 several plaits, of which the lowest are 
 largest and longest; as in Voluta musica. 
 2. Oliva, sub-cylindrical, grooved at the 
 base ; the turns of the spire separated by a 
 channel ; the columella striated obliquely, 
 as in Voluta oliva. 3. Ancilla, oblong, a 
 short spire, base of the' opening hardly 
 grooved ; a swelling, or oblique roll, at 
 the base of the columella, 4. Mitra, fusi- 
 form or turriculated, spire pointed at the 
 summit, the base grooved out, vVithont a 
 gutter; the columella with plaits, the low- 
 est being die least, as in Voluta episcopalis. 
 5. Columbella,’ marked by a swelling on 
 the internal face of the right edge ; as in Vo- 
 luta mercatoria. 6. Marginella, the right 
 edge emarginated, as in Voluta vespertilio, 
 7. Cancellaria, the right edge grooved in- 
 ternally, and the base of the opening al- 
 most entire, as in Voluta reticidata. 8. Tur- 
 binella, sub-turbinated, canaliculated at its 
 base,with transverse plaits on the columella. 
 
 Ovula. A tumid shell, more or less elon- 
 gated at the extremities ; the edges rolled 
 inwards ; the opening longitudinal, not den- 
 tated on the left side. This genus is form- 
 ed by Lamarck from shells, which had been 
 comprised by Linnmus in his genus Bulla. 
 The shells of the genus Ovula differ from 
 those of Cypraea, chiefly by the absence of 
 teeth from the left-side. Bulla volva, ovum, 
 spelta, verrucosa, and gibbosa, of Linnasus, 
 are placed under this genus. 
 
 Terebellum, a shell nearly cylindrical^ 
 pointed at the summit ; the opening longi- 
 tudinal, narrow upwards, and hollowed out 
 at its base ; the columella truncated. This 
 genus is formed by Lamarck, of the Bulla 
 terebelum of Linnaeus, which he has re- 
 moved from the genus Bulla, and has placed 
 in this genus, as intermediate between tlse 
 Ovulae and the Olives. 
 
 H 
 
SHELL. 
 
 Cjpraea. A convex, univalve shell, the 
 edges turned inwards ; the opening long 
 and narrow, and toothed on each side. 
 The shells of this genus are so distinctly 
 characterized as to have escaped that con- 
 fusion which has taken place in many other 
 genera. 
 
 Conus. A conical, convoluted univalve ; 
 the opening of the length of the shell, linear, 
 without teeth, and hollowed out at the top ; 
 the coluniella smooth. The generic cha- 
 racters are here so determinate, as not to 
 have left any opportunity for changing the 
 acceptation of this genus, as established by 
 Linnaeus. 
 
 Vermicularia. A tubular shell, twisted 
 in an irregular spiral, in general adhering to 
 some body ; and furnished with an opercu- 
 lated opening. The shells with which La- 
 marck has formed this genus, were blended 
 by Linneeus with the Serpulae ; but the ani- 
 nsals which inhabit these shells are very dif- 
 ferent from the Terebrellie, which are the 
 only inhabitants of the true Serpulae. 
 
 Silicaria. A tubular shell, spirally convo- 
 luted, and laterally divided through its 
 whole length by a narrow fissure; the 
 mouth roundish. Linnaeus himself consi- 
 ders it as doubtful whether the shell which 
 forms this genus (Serpula anguina) should be 
 placed under the genus Serpula, or not ; 
 but Bruguiere, Lamarck, and Daudin, have 
 thought itnece.ssary to establish for it this 
 new genus. 
 
 Penicellus. A long tubular copical shell, 
 the superior extremity closed by a disc, 
 beset with numerous short tubes, and sur- 
 rounded by a projecting coronet ; the infe- 
 rior extremity having been fixed to some 
 solid body, Linnaeus had doubted whether 
 the .shell, of which Bruguiere has formed 
 this genus, ought not to be placed under 
 the genus Teredo, rather than under that 
 of Serpula, where, however, he left it. 
 
 Nautilus. A spiral and nearly discoidal 
 shell, the last turn of which envelopes the 
 rest, and the sides of which are smooth: 
 numerous chambers formed by transverse 
 smooth septa, perforated by a tube. This 
 ^enus is divided by Lamarck into three. 
 1. Nautilus, 2. Spirula, 3. Orthocera. 
 
 Orbulites. A spiral, and nearly discoidal 
 shell, the last spire enveloping the rest ; the 
 sides articulated by winding sutures ; the 
 transverse septa? being pierced by a margi- 
 nal tube. The shells which Lamarck has 
 assumed for this genus have been hitherto 
 confounded with the Ammonites: they are 
 only known as fossils and as casts. 
 
 Ammonites. A discoidal spiral shell, the 
 turns contiguous and all visible, the sides 
 articulated by foliated sutures, and the 
 transverse septic terminating in winding 
 processes, and pierced by a marginal tube. 
 These, like the shells of the preceding ge- 
 nus are only with certainty known to exist 
 as fossils. 
 
 Planulites. A discoidal spiral shell, with 
 contiguous and visible turns, with smooth 
 sides, and transverse septae, not foliated. 
 These shells are supposed to bear the same 
 relationship to the Ammonites as the Nautili 
 do to the Ammonites ; but the difference 
 between them and the Ammonites is so lit- 
 tle as must often be with difficulty disco- 
 verable. 
 
 . Camerina. A shell with a single valve, 
 without any external spire, the internal 
 part divided into numerous chambers by 
 imperforated septa. This genus was formed 
 by Bruguiere for the reception of the fossil 
 shells long known as Lapides lenticulares 
 and Nummulites. 
 
 Ilotalites. A depressed orbicular, discoi- 
 dal chambered shell, smooth on the upper, 
 radiated on the under side, with tubercular 
 and unequal points in the centre ; the edge 
 carinated, and having a small trigonal mar- 
 ginal opening. The fossil shell on which 
 this genus was formed, is figured and de- 
 scribed by Guettard in his Memoirs on 
 Fossils. 
 
 Tiiriilites. A spiral turbinated shell, with 
 contiguous and visible turns, the sides arti- 
 culated by winding sutures ; transverse 
 pierced septa, with foliated terminations; 
 the opening round. The shells belonging 
 to this genus are all fossil, and even the 
 fragments of their casts are very rare. The 
 characters of the shells of this genus are 
 very striking, their internal structure being 
 similar to that of the Ammpnites, whilst 
 they possess a turriculated or wreathed 
 form. 
 
 Baculites. A straight cylindrical and ra- 
 ther conical shell; the sides articulated by 
 winding sutures ; the transverse septa ter- 
 minating in foliaceous forms. This genus is 
 founded on a fossil shell described by Fau- 
 jas St. Fond in his Natural History of St. 
 Peter’s Mountain near Maestricht, and 
 which he considers as a straight Ammo- 
 nite. 
 
 Spirula. A shell partially or completely 
 in a discoidal spire; the turns separate, and 
 the last extending into a straight line ; 
 transverse smooth septa, pierced by a tube , 
 the opening round. This genus comprises 
 
 
 V 
 
SHE 
 
 also the Lituites, a fossil shell, bearing a 
 very close resembance, in form, to the 
 recent shells of this genus, but very far 
 exceeding them in size. 
 
 Belemnites, a many-chambered straight, 
 long, conical pointed shell, full at its sum- 
 mit, 'and possessing a lateral cleft. These 
 are only known in a mineral state. 
 
 StlKLl., in chemistry. Shells of marine 
 animals, and of all eggs, consist chiefly of 
 carbonate of lime, and yield a very pure 
 lime, for which they are used on the sea- 
 coast. They aflFord, likewise, a small por- 
 tion of phosphate of lime. There are two 
 great classes of marine shells, the testaceous 
 and crustaceous. The former are by much 
 the most numerous, and include all the ma- 
 rine shell animals that have not legs, and 
 the power of transporting themselves from 
 place to place. The crustaceous shells are 
 those of the lobster, crab, prawn, &c. who 
 carry their shell as a protection from exter- 
 nal injury, and not as a place of residence. 
 Mr. Hatchet has made many experiments 
 on shells, and he obseives, that marine 
 shells for the most part are either of a por- 
 cellaneous aspect, with an enamelled sur- 
 face and fibrous texture, or they are com- 
 posed of the substance called nacre, or mo- 
 ther of pearl. The first kind dissolved in 
 acids with strong effervescence, and their 
 solutions afforded no trace of the pTTosphate 
 of lime : tliey contained only carbonate of 
 lime, and the animal matter, which acts as 
 a cement to this, and which he supposes to 
 be albumen in various states of induration : 
 this is in small proportion ; hence shells ex- 
 posed to heat exhale but little empyreuma- 
 tic animal odour ; they emit no smoke, and 
 when dissolved in acids no vestige of it can 
 be discovered. In .shells of the other de- 
 scription approaching to nacre, the earthy 
 matter is carbonate of lime, but in a smaller 
 proportion, while the animal matter is in 
 considerable quantity. These give out 
 smoke and an empyi eumatic odour when 
 exposed to heat ; and when acted upon by 
 acids, give out less car bonic acid gas, and 
 leave a large quantity of a membranaceous 
 or cartilaginous residuum. This substance 
 often constitutes a large part of the shell, as 
 in that of the oyster or muscle, and is so 
 much indurated as to be no longer gelati- 
 nous j and in all shells of this division it 
 appears to be deposited in layers, each hav- 
 ing a corresponding coat of carbonate of 
 lime. 
 
 Sheli.s, in grtimery, are hollow iron 
 balls to throw' out of niortars or howitzers, 
 
 SHE 
 
 with a fuze-hole of about an inch diameter, 
 to load them with powder, and to receive 
 the fuze : the bottom, or part opposite the 
 fuze, is made heavier ihaii the rest, that the 
 fuze may fall uppermost; but in small ele- 
 vations this is not always the case, nor is it 
 necessary ; for let it fall as it will, the fuze 
 sets fire to the powder within, which bursts 
 the shell, and causes great devastation. 
 The shells had much better be made of an 
 equal thickness, for then they burst into 
 more pieces. 
 
 Shells, message, are nothing more than 
 howitz shells, in the inside of which a letter, 
 or other papers, are put. The fuze-hole is 
 stopped up with wood or cork, and the shells 
 are fired out of a royal or howitz, either in- 
 to a garrison or camp. It is supposed that 
 the person to whom the letter is sent knows 
 the time, and accordingly appoints a guard 
 to look out for its arrival. 
 
 “ To find the weight of a Shell.” Rule. 
 Double the difference of diameters of the 
 shell and hollow sphere, and seven times 
 the result gives the weight in pounds, cut- 
 ting off the two right-hand figures of whole 
 numbers. Ex. Let the diameter of the 
 shell be l.S inches, and that of the hollow 
 sphere 9.5. Then the cube of 13 is 2197, 
 and that of 9.5 is 857.357 ; the difference is 
 13;39.625, its Rouble is 2679.25, which mul- 
 tiplied by 7, gives 18754.625 ; and cutting 
 off two places in whole numbers, the result 
 is 187 lb. or l cwt. 2 grs. 21 lb,, the weight 
 of the shell. 
 
 Shell, a particular part of a sword, 
 which serves as a shield to the hand wben 
 It grasps the hilt. The regulation sword, 
 which is directed to be worn in a cross belt, 
 has its shell so constructed that one .side can 
 fall down, by wliicli means the hilt hangs 
 more conveniently. 
 
 Shell, a short jacket without arms, 
 which was worn by light dragoon-s, and in 
 some instances by the infantry, before the 
 new regulations took place, respecting the 
 clothing of tlie British army. At the com- 
 mencement of the present war, some mi- 
 litia colonels derived no inconsiderable 
 emolument from this mode of dress. 
 
 SHELVES, in naval affairs, a general 
 name given to any dangerous shallows, 
 sand-banks, or rocks, lying immediately 
 under the surface of the water. 
 
 SHERARDIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of William Sherard, LL.D. consul 
 at Smyrna, a genus of the Tetrandria Mo- 
 nogynia class and order. Natural order of 
 Stellatm. Rubiaceaj, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 H 2 
 
SHE 
 
 racter: corolla one-petalled, funiiel-foriii, 
 superior ; seeds two, three-toothed. There 
 are three species. 
 
 SHERIFF. As keeper of the King’s^ 
 peace, the sheriff is the first man in the 
 county, and superior in rank to any noble- 
 man therein, during his office. He may ap- 
 prehend and commit to prison all persons 
 who break the peace, or attempt to break 
 it, and may bind any one in a recognizance 
 to keep tire King’s peace. He may, and 
 is bound ex officio, to pursue and take all 
 traitors, murderers, felons, and other mis- 
 doers, and commit them to gaol for safe 
 custody. He is also to defend his country 
 against any of the King’s enemies, when they 
 come into the land ; and for this purpose, 
 as well as for keeping the peace and pursu- 
 ing felons, he may command all the people 
 of his county to attend him, which is called 
 the posse comitatus, or power of the county j 
 which summons every person above fifteen 
 years of age, and under the degree of a 
 peer, is bound to attend, upon warning, on 
 pain of fine and imprisonment. Yet he 
 cannot exercise the office of a justice of the 
 peace, for then this inconvenience would 
 arise, that he should command himself to 
 execute his own precepts. 
 
 The sheriff has a jurisdiction both in cri- 
 minal and civil cases, and therefore he has 
 two courts; his town court, for criminal 
 causes, which is the King’s court; the 
 other is his county court^ for civil causes, 
 and this is the court of the sheriff himself. 
 When the new sheriff is appointed and 
 sworn, he ought, at or before the next 
 county court, to deliver a writ of discharge 
 to the old sheriff, who is to set over all the 
 prisoners in the gaol, severally by their 
 names (together with all the writs), pre- 
 cisely, by view and indenture between the 
 two sheriffs ; wherein must be comprehended 
 all the actions wliich the old sheriff has 
 against every prisoner, though the execu- 
 tions are of record ; and till the delivery of 
 the prisoners to the new sheriti; they re- 
 main in the custody of the old sheriff, not- 
 withstanding the letters patent of appoint- 
 ment, the writ of discharge, and the writ 
 of delivery. Neither is the new sheriff 
 obliged to receive the prisoners, but at the 
 "aol ; but the office of the old sheriff ceases 
 when the writ of discharge is brought to 
 him. 
 
 By S George I. c. 15, it shall not be law- 
 ful for any person to buy, sell, let, or take 
 to farm the office of under sheriff, or deputy 
 sheriff, or seal keeper, county clerk, shire 
 ’ clerk, gaoler, bailiff, or any other office per- 
 
 SHI 
 
 taining to the office of high sheriff, or to 
 contract for any of the said offices, on for- 
 feiture of 5002. ; one moiety to his Majesty, 
 the other to such as shall sue in any court 
 at Westminster, within two years after the 
 offence. 
 
 Provided that nothing in this act shall 
 prevent any high sheriff from constituting 
 an under sheriff, or deputy sheriff, as by law 
 he may ; nor to hinder tlie under sheriff in 
 any case of the high sheriff’s death, when 
 he acts as high sheriff, from constituting a 
 deputy ; nor to hinder such sheriff, or under 
 sheriff', from receiving the lawful perquisites 
 of his office, or for taking security for the due 
 answering the same ; nor to hinder such sheriff 
 or under sheriff, deputy sheriff, seal keeper, 
 &c. from accounting to the high sheriff for 
 all such lawful fees as shall be by them 
 taken, nor for giving security so to do, or 
 to hinder the high sheriff from allowing a 
 salary to his under sheriff, &c. or other offi- 
 cers. And if any sheriff shall die before the 
 expiration of his year, or before he be su- 
 perseded, the under sheriff shall neverthe- 
 less continue in his office, and mcecute the 
 same in the name of the deceased, till an- 
 other sheriff be appointed and sworn ; and 
 the under sheriff shall be answerable for 
 the execution of the office during such in- 
 terval, as the high sheriff would have been; 
 and the security given by the under sheriff 
 and his pledges shall stand a security to the 
 King, and all persons whatsoever, for the 
 performing his office during such interval. 
 
 There is no particular qualification in 
 lands required for the office of sheriff, but 
 a sheriff cannot be elected to serve in par- 
 liament for the county of which' he is she- 
 riff. The under sheriff performs nearly all 
 the duties of the sheriff. He is not to hold 
 his office above one year, under the penalty 
 of 2001. And no under sheriff or bailiff 
 shall practice as an attorney ; but this is so 
 openly evaded, that no person is appointed 
 under sheriff except an attorney. 
 
 SHIELD, an ancient weapon of defence, 
 in tlie form of a light buckler, borne on 
 the arm to turn off lances, darts, &c. 
 
 Shield, in heraldry, the escutcheon or 
 field on which the heal ings of coats of arms 
 are placed. 
 
 SHILLING, an English silver coin, equal 
 to 12 pence, or the 20th part of a pound 
 sterling. This was a Saxon coin, being the 
 48th part of their pound weight. Its value 
 at first was 5 pence ; but it was reduced to 
 4 pence about a century before the con- 
 quest. After the conquest, the French so- 
 lidus of 12 pence, which was in use among 
 
SHI 
 
 *ije Nomans, was called by the Englisfh 
 name of shilling ; and the Saxon shilling of 
 4 pence took a Norman name, and was 
 called the groat, or great coin, because it 
 was the largest English coin then known in 
 England. From this time the shilling un- 
 derwent many alterations. In the time of 
 Edward I. the pound troy was the same as 
 the pound sterling of silver, consisting of 20 
 shillings ; so tliat the shilling weighed the 
 ..20th part of a pound, or more than half an 
 ounce troy. But some are of opinion there 
 were no coins of this denomination till 
 Henry VII., in the year 1504, first coined 
 silver pieces of 12 pence value, which we 
 call shillings. Since the reign of Elizabeth 
 a shilling weighs the 62d part of a pound 
 troy, or 3 dwts. 20|f grs., the pound weight 
 of silver making 62 shillings. And hence 
 the ounce of silver is worth 5s. 2d. or 5i 
 shillings. 
 
 SHINGLES, in building, small pieces of 
 wood, or quartered oaken boards, sawn to 
 a certain scantling, or, as is more usual, 
 cleft to about an inch thick at one end, and 
 made like wedges four or five inches broad, 
 and eight or nine inches long. Shingles are 
 also used instead of tiles or slates, especially 
 for churches and steeples. However, this 
 covering is dear ; yet where tiles arg very 
 scarce, and a light covering is required, it 
 is preferable to thatch ; and where they are 
 made of good oak, cleFt, and not sawed, 
 and well seasoned in water and the sun, 
 they make a sure, light, and durable cover- ' 
 ing. The building is first to be covered all 
 over with boards, and the shingks nailed 
 upon tliem. 
 
 SHIP building. The man of science and 
 the practical shipwright have long lamented, 
 that in the theory of the art of ship-building 
 there are so few fixed and positive princi- 
 ples established by demonstration, or con- 
 firmed by practice j thus the artist being 
 left to the exercise of his own opinion in 
 general, resists theoretical ■ propositions, 
 however speciously found, so hard has it 
 ever been found to overcome habitual pre- 
 judices. 
 
 The great neglect of the theory of ship- 
 building is much to be deplored in a coun- 
 try like this, where the practical part is so 
 well understood and executed. Mathema- 
 tics, engineering, and civil or house archi- 
 tect, are sciences nourished and taught in 
 our universities and other schools, 'and 
 however superior scholars may arrive in 
 those arts, and celebrated for their abilities, 
 show them shipping draughts, or talk to them 
 of the science of ship building, and they ap- 
 
 SHI 
 
 pear as much at a loss as though they had 
 never heard of such an art ; nevertheless, it 
 may be but justice to add, that some men of 
 different professions have felt themselves 
 interested in its progress to perfection, and 
 lately we have seen the endeavours of men 
 conversant in the practical parts of ship- 
 building, publishing their ideas, and this in 
 hopes that gentlemen of more scientific 
 abilities may be induced to add to their la- 
 bours, and make the theory of ship-building 
 much more familiar in this country, as few, 
 very few, professional shipwrights have hi- 
 therto had it in their power to employ their 
 talents to improve this science by theory. 
 
 Ships are bodies, which when to be put in 
 motion, have water for their resisting force, 
 and a contrary element, as air or wind, for 
 their impelling force, therefore the theorist 
 and practical ship-builder should ever keep 
 particularly in view to improve himself in 
 the knowledge of floating bodies, and endea- 
 vour to gain a complete knowledge of the 
 resistance of fluids, add to this aerostatics 
 and mathematics in general. Thus taught, 
 the man of practice would, though cau- 
 tiously, add the speculation of the theorist, 
 as there is a great deal to be risked, and 
 much to be suffered ; but could the ideas of 
 the theorist and the man of practice be as- 
 similated and well weighed togetlier, much 
 benefit to the art of ship-building might be 
 acquired, and their most useful ideas be re- 
 duced to the test of experiment. 
 
 When experience favours theory, then we 
 arrive at the desired point; but the dif- 
 ficulty and expense of accurately making a 
 sufficient number of experiments, is a great 
 hindrance to its assumption, and has greatly 
 hindered that de.sired knowledge in this 
 branch of science. Notwithstanding these 
 obstacles, many opportunities offer of in- 
 troducing well digested theory, though cau- 
 tiously and by degrees, into the many va- 
 rious ships and vessels building in this king- 
 dom, and thus vve would hope, by the 
 united efforts of the theorist, ship-builder 
 and mariner, who should carefully notice 
 and report every observation in his power 
 of the vessel acting in her various situations, 
 thus the different results being accurately 
 stated, desirable data may be reasonably 
 established. 
 
 It is well known thatbodies of any mag- 
 nitude could not be built or put together 
 without designs or drawings on convenient 
 scales, particularly that complex machine a 
 ship, therefore an accurate delineation of 
 the whole vessel, with respect to its various 
 lengths, heigh ths, breadths, and depths, is 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 earefully represented by a drawing, called 
 the sheer draught, tiie construction of 
 ■which, with its several lines, &c. we shall en- 
 deavour as familiarly as possible to describe 
 to our readers. 
 
 The principal dimensions, as they are ge- 
 nerally termed, must be first decided upon, 
 and they are the following, viz. 
 
 The length at the gun-deck in ships of 
 war, or distance between the extreme per- 
 pendiculars in merchant ships. 
 
 The extreme breadth, which is the thick- 
 ness of the bottom plank on each side, 
 added to the moulded breadth, or broadest 
 part of the ship in midships. 
 
 Length of the keel for tonnage, which re- 
 sults from the extreme breadth and a length 
 liereafter given. 
 
 Depth in hold, which must be always 
 yegulated by the properties required of the 
 vessel. 
 
 Burthen in tons, resulting from the ex- 
 treme breadth and length of the keel for 
 
 tonnage, being multiplied into each other 
 by a rule given hereafter. 
 
 Now these are called the principal di- 
 mensions, which we will endeavour to 
 describe, with their concomitant circum- 
 stances, in their above order i and, first, the 
 length on the gun-deck ; this in ships of war 
 must ever contain sufficient distance be- 
 tween the perpendiculars for all the ports, 
 and room between each port for working 
 the guns, and what may be required at the 
 extremities, such as the manger at the fore- 
 part, and abaft room for the after-port, to 
 come clear of the wing transom knee, &c. 
 It will also appear evident that the distance 
 between each port in the clear must con- 
 tain space sufficient for two frame timbers 
 and the filling timbers between, and the 
 room or openings between the timbers. 
 Thus we find by established practice the 
 distance between, and size of the ports, in 
 the following class of ships in the navy, are as 
 follow : 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 Guns. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Sloop'. 
 
 1 On the main deck, viz. ; 
 
 110 
 
 98 
 
 74 
 
 50 
 
 36 
 
 
 18 
 
 
 1 Foreside of the foremost port 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 abaft the foremost perpendi 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. In, 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 !n. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 ;n. 
 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 I Aft-side of the after port afore 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 the after perpendicular 
 
 13 
 
 0 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 16 
 
 6 
 
 to 
 
 0 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 12 
 
 0 
 
 Ports deep 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 g 
 
 9 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 fore and aft 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 2, 
 
 5 
 
 In distance from port to port*... 
 
 r 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 7 
 
 0 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 In number on each side 
 
 16 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 15 
 
 
 11 
 
 
 F3 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 Thus we may find the most ap- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 proved length on the gun- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 193 
 
 0 
 
 188 
 
 8 
 
 180 
 
 C 
 
 146 
 
 C 
 
 137 
 
 c 
 
 110 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 Tonnage of Merchant Ships. 
 
 
 1257 
 
 1000 
 
 818 
 
 544 
 
 441 
 
 329 
 
 • 
 
 Foreside of the foremost port 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 abaft the foremost perpendi- 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft, In. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Ft. In; 
 
 cular 
 
 22 6 
 
 22 0 
 
 22 0 
 
 14 6 
 
 31 0 
 
 6 6 
 
 Aft-side of the after port afore 
 
 
 
 
 
 Foreside 
 
 
 1 the after perpendicular 
 
 14 6 
 
 13 6 
 
 13 4 
 
 12 6 
 
 ■well. 
 
 8 4 
 
 1 Ports deep 
 
 2 2 
 
 2 S 
 
 2 2 
 
 2 0 
 
 2 0 
 
 1 10 
 
 fore and aft 
 
 2 5 
 
 2 5 
 
 2 5 
 
 2 4 
 
 2 -1 
 
 2 o 
 
 In distance from port to port*... 
 
 8 3 
 
 8 3 
 
 8 3 
 
 7 6 
 
 6 0 
 
 7 6 
 
 In number on each side 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 12 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 Thus we may find the most ap- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 proved length between the per- 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 K 
 
 peiidiculars of merchant ships 
 
 165 6 
 
 159 0 
 
 146 0 
 
 124 9 
 
 120 9 
 
 103 4 1 
 
 * Sometimes an additional timber is added between the ports at the gang-way, to 
 make it the more convenient for the steps, .Sjc. 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 The next dimension is tlie extreme 
 breadth, and without repeatinp; (lie propor- 
 tions which various authors have mentioned, 
 all alike erroneous as to fixed datas, we will 
 
 give the extreme breadths of the above 
 ■ships, which upon trial have been found ty 
 answer their intended purposes by that 
 construction. 
 
 Breadth, moulded 
 
 Breadth, extreme 
 
 Guns. 
 
 ' 
 
 Sloop. 
 
 18 
 
 110 
 
 98 
 
 74 
 
 50 
 
 36 
 
 rt. In. 
 
 ;->‘i 0 
 
 o^ 10 
 
 Ft, In 
 49 0 
 
 19 1( 
 
 Ft. In 
 48 0 
 48 8 
 
 Ft. In, 
 
 39 10 
 
 40 6 
 
 Ft. In. 
 ,'57 6 
 
 38 i 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 29 0 
 
 29 6 
 
 Brea'dth, moulded 
 
 Breadth, extreme 
 
 Tonnage of Merchant Ships. ' 
 
 1257 
 
 1000 
 
 818 
 
 544 
 
 441 
 
 329 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 41 1 
 
 42 C 
 
 Ft. In, 
 .37 4 
 38 0 
 
 Ft. In, 
 3.5 4 
 
 36 0 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 31 4 
 
 32 0 
 
 Ft. In. 
 28 6 
 29 0 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 27 0 
 
 27 6 
 
 The letigth of the keel for tonnage, as 
 was before observed, is produced from the 
 former dimension, and a length given by a 
 rule, although long established, is very de- 
 fective, and the tonnage or burthen of the 
 vessel, as it is sometimes called, is said to 
 be produced therefrom. It may be there-i 
 fore readily seen that those two dimensions 
 only cannot possibly give any true burthen, 
 for those two dimeu.sions may be alike in 
 twb vessels of the greatest difference in 
 their construction imaginable, for one vessel 
 may be so constructed from the samfigdi- 
 mensions as to be very sharp under her 
 load draught of water with a very quick 
 rising, to possess the requisite qualities for 
 fast sailing, as the sloop of war, while an- 
 other vessel keeping the dimensions, the 
 same may be constructed as full under 
 water as the most burthensome merchant 
 ships. Sometimes the production of this 
 rule is called builders tonnage, as a contra- 
 distinction to the true tonnage, and by this 
 result builders are paid a certain price per 
 ton for building any vessel. 
 
 THE RULE FOR CASTING THE TONNAGE. 
 
 In the royal navy, is to take the length on 
 a stiaight line along the lower side of the 
 rabbit of the keel from a perpendicular or 
 square from the back of the main stern 
 post, at the height of the wing transom, to a 
 perpendicular or square at the height of the 
 
 upper deck (and middle deck of thiee- 
 decked ships) from the fore-part of the 
 stern. The only difference in merchant 
 ships is to take this lengtli as before from 
 the back of the main post at the height of 
 the wing-transom to the same height for- 
 w'ard to the fore side of the stern ; then 
 flora the length between those perpendicn- 
 lars subtract three-fifths of the exfrerne 
 breadth for the rake forw’ard, and two 
 inches and a half for every foot the w'ing- 
 traniom is high above the lower part of the 
 rabbit of the keel for the rake abaft. The 
 remainder is the length of the keel for 
 tonnage. 
 
 Although this is the dimension sought, 
 yet to show the fallacy of acquiring this 
 tonnage the whole of the rule shall be here 
 subjoined. 
 
 Then multiply the length of the keel for 
 tonnage by the extreme breadth, and the 
 product by half that breadth, and divide the 
 whole by 94 j the quotient will be the 
 tonnage. 
 
 This extreme breadth to be taken from 
 the outside to the outside plank or thick- 
 stuff, in the broadest part of the ship, either 
 above, on, or below the wales, deducting 
 from the said thickstuff' or plank all that it 
 exceeds the thickness of the plank of the 
 bottom, which shall be accounted the ex- 
 treme breadth ; so that the moulding 
 breadth, or breadth of the frame, will then 
 be less than tlte ejttreme breadth so founds 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 The tliickness of the bottom plank, see the 
 foregoing dimensions. 
 
 By this rule, the following lengths of the 
 keel for tonnage of the same class of ships, 
 are found, of 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 110... 
 
 
 1257.. 
 
 134 0 
 
 98... 
 
 
 1000.. 
 
 131 0 
 
 74... 
 
 
 818.. 
 
 
 60... 
 
 119 9 
 
 344.. 
 
 
 36... 
 
 113 3 
 
 441., 
 
 
 18.. 
 
 
 329.. 
 
 
 
 Also their burthen in tons ; 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 110.. 
 
 
 50... 
 
 
 98.. 
 
 
 36, ., 
 
 
 74.. 
 
 
 18... 
 
 419 
 
 Tons. 
 
 
 East India ships., 
 
 
 ,.1257 
 
 
 Ditto 
 
 
 ,.1000 
 
 
 Ditto ' 
 
 
 .. 818 
 
 
 West India ships 
 
 
 .. 544 
 
 
 Ditto 
 
 
 .. 441 
 
 
 Ditto . 
 
 
 .. 329 
 
 Hence, it is obvious, had the length and 
 breadth of the ships in the royal navy, and 
 tliose in the merchant- service, being the 
 same, the tonnage would also have been 
 the same, although the construction under 
 water is so very different ; therefore no de- 
 pendance can be placed on those rules for 
 the confirmation of the real burthen of ves- 
 sels. And, as to builder’s tonnage, it is 
 equally as fallacious, because depth is not 
 taken at all into consideration, and it is easy 
 to imagine, that two vessels may, by this 
 rule, be the same tonnage, and one some 
 feet deeper than the other ; consequently, 
 what results to the builder, is to regulate 
 
 his price accordingly. Hence, there re- 
 mains scarcely one undeviating method in 
 the construction of ships. We will allow', 
 it is not to be expecfed to obtain any rule, 
 in this particular, that would be quite ex- 
 act ; because the true burthen, or tonnage, 
 a ship should carry, not only depends upon 
 the cubical dimensions of the ship’s bottom, 
 but her own gravity with respect to the 
 whole of the hull ; and, in short, on the 
 weight of every article which makes a part 
 of the ship. Therefore, the nearest rule 
 that approximates to the burthen different ' 
 built vessels are found, by experience, to 
 carry, should be adopted ; as the fallacy of 
 the rule in present use discovers no one 
 thing whatever, as may be easily seen by 
 any person, though a novice in the art of 
 ship-building. 
 
 Lastly, the depth in hold, which, in naval 
 ships, must be always governed by the height 
 which the guns are intended to be above 
 tire water, and load-water line. As the 
 depth is taken from the upper side of the 
 limber-strake to the upper side of the lower - 
 deck beam in midships. In merchant-ves- 
 sels, the depth in hold is regulated for the 
 different cargoes that each may be designed 
 to carry | and here, again, as there can be no 
 certain rule observed, we will give the 
 depth in hold of the same acknowledged 
 superior vessels. 
 
 Guns. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In. 
 
 110 
 
 
 9 
 
 1200 
 
 .....17 
 
 Q 
 
 '98. 
 
 
 0 
 
 1000 
 
 
 9 
 
 74 
 
 
 6 
 
 800 
 
 
 9 
 
 50 
 
 17 
 
 6 
 
 344 
 
 
 9 
 
 V ■« 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 440 
 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 
 6 
 
 330 
 
 1 
 
 
 0 
 
 To these dimensions we shall add the 
 load draught of water of the same ships. 
 
 Afore ] 
 Abaft ; 
 
 Guns. 
 
 .110 j 
 
 Ft. I. 
 
 23 0 
 
 24 0 
 
 Guns. 
 
 98 - 
 
 Ft. I. 
 22 0 
 ;23 0 
 
 Guns. 
 
 74 ■ 
 
 Ft. I. 
 20 0 
 :20 6 
 
 Guns. 
 
 50 - 
 
 Ft. 
 
 il8 
 
 h8 
 
 I. 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 Guns. 
 
 36 
 
 Ft. I. 
 
 i 18 0 
 i20 0 
 
 Afore \ 
 Abaft 1 
 
 Tons. 
 
 ■ 1257 ■ 
 
 23 9 
 23 9 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1000- 
 
 21 0 
 21 0 
 
 Tons. 
 
 818 
 
 20 0 
 . 20 0 
 
 Tons. 
 
 544 
 
 S17 
 
 jir 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 Tons. 
 
 440 
 
 j 16 0 
 116 0 
 
 Guns. 
 
 18 
 
 Tons. 
 
 330 
 
 s 
 
 5 
 
 Ft. I. 
 
 13 0 
 
 14 6 
 
 14 3 
 14 3 
 
 Tims, having gained a few of the first 
 leading principles, we will proceed to show 
 their utility in constructing what is called 
 the sheer-draught ; and the necessity of di- 
 viding the sheer-draught into three distinct 
 plans will be evident by inspection. 
 
 First. The sheer-plan, called, in general 
 architecture, the plan of elevation. This is 
 a section of the ship, made by a vertical or 
 
 perpendicular plane, passing through the 
 middle line of the keel, stem, and stern- 
 post, throughout the whole length of the 
 ship. 
 
 Secondly. The half-breadth plan, called 
 by architects the ground-plan. This plan 
 consists of an horizontal view of the half- 
 breadths of the water-lines, ribbands, main 
 and top-breadths, half breadth of the rising, 
 
SHIP Bl 
 
 ditto, by longitudinal curves, by which the 
 several breadths are limited, and as they 
 would appear to the eye, placed' directly 
 over, and looking down on, the aforesaid 
 sections, whether cutting .the solid (sup- 
 posing a ship a solid body) either by hori- 
 zontal, diagonal, or sheer planes. 
 
 Thirdly. The body-plan, or plan of pro- 
 jection, are the transverse sections of the 
 ship, at the joint of every frame-timber, 
 showing the half breadth of each frame- tim- 
 ber, as it stands perpendicularly to the two 
 former plans : hence, the frames contained 
 between 0, or the midship, that being the 
 broadest frame, and the stem, are repre- 
 sented on the right-hand side, and the 
 frames at aft 0 on the left hand of the mid- 
 dle line in the body plan, are respectively 
 called the fore and after body. 
 
 It may be necessary to add, that in all 
 these plans only one half of the ship is re- 
 presented, as each side must be supposed 
 to be exactly alike, and that they must be 
 very accurately drawn to the dimensions 
 given, which have all been examined by 
 proper calculations, submitted to the most 
 precise scrutiny, and the results have ac- 
 tually stood the best test, that is, experi- 
 ment ; the said ship having been really 
 built, and found to answer every expecta- 
 tion. Now, in the clearest manner pos- 
 sible, we will endeavour to point out the 
 utility of these plans, in the construction of 
 the various curves that form the body of a 
 ship, in their different points of view, whe- 
 ther transverse or longitudinally, as on the 
 several plans they will present themselves 
 in very different directions; for, although 
 the horizontal water-lines are represented 
 by curves in the half-breadth plan, they are 
 straight lines in sheer and body plan, and 
 so likewise the appearance of the timbers ; 
 for, although they present themselves as 
 vertical curves in the body plan, they ap- 
 pear as straight lines in the sheer and half- 
 breadth plan ; these premises being well 
 understood, we may proceed to the con- 
 struction of these several plans ; and first, 
 hi the V 
 
 Sheer plan, draw the stem kpel, stern- 
 post, &c. thus: draw a straight line that 
 shall represent the upper edge of the rab- 
 bit of the keel, more than the main half 
 breadth of the vessel, above the lower edge 
 of the paper, then to your right-hand square 
 up the foremost perpendicular, allowing 
 room to represent the head. Now, as the 
 limits of our design will not admit of our 
 continuing the dimensions of all the before- 
 
 mentioned ships ; and as only one can be 
 selected to form the sheer draught, the 74) 
 gun-ship is made choice of, as being, of all 
 vessels, the most handsome, and arrived to 
 the greatest perfection in the construction ; 
 therefore set aft 180 feet from the foremost 
 perpendicular, and square up another, call- 
 ing it the after perpendicular, which gives 
 the length of the gun-deck, or first prin- 
 cipal dimension. Then square up another 
 perpendicular, 69.0 feet abaft the foremost 
 one, which is the midship perpendicular 
 marked 0 thus, and called df ad flatt. Much 
 has been said concerning the situation of 
 this transverse section, it being the broad- 
 est part of the ship, and containing the 
 greatest area of .s\;rface ; its judicious dis- 
 posal will certainly facilitate the velocity of 
 the vessel. All have agreed, and expe- 
 rience has confirmed it, that its position 
 should always be before the middle of the 
 vessel’s length, or its centre of gravity. 
 The French say, about ^ the length of the 
 vessel from aft, and nearly there, may be 
 its best position, as vessels, in general, have 
 been found much better constructed since 
 the midship has been fixed nearer the 
 stern. 
 
 Set up from the upper edge of the keel, 
 or rabbit, the height of the under side of 
 the gundeck, at the middle line, or middle 
 of the ship, which is 24 feet 5 inches at the 
 foremost perpendicular, 22 feet at 0, and 
 25 feet 4 inches up the after perpendicular ; 
 having these three heights, the. hang, or 
 sheer of the deck may be obtained, all fore 
 and aft, by a drawing-bow, the lath of 
 which is pressed by Its screws, until it im 
 tersects the said heights set up, as this is 
 supposed to produce the arch of a circle 
 equal to the sheer of the deck ; the upper 
 side of the deck is then shown, by a line 
 drawn 4 inches above, and parallel to 
 its under side. Then, when the , under- 
 side of the gun-deck intersects the foremost 
 perpendicular, set forward 4 inches for the 
 rabbit of the stem, and 7 inches afore the 
 rabbit, for the fore-side of the stem, and 7 
 inches abaft the aft-side of the rabbit, for 
 the aft-side of the stem, the whole making 
 18 inches, the moulding of the stem ; then 
 with a radius equal to 24 feet, half the 
 moulded breadth, sweep an arch which will 
 form the aft-side of the stem below the 
 gun-deck, intersecting the line drawn for 
 the upper edge of the rabbit of the keel ; 
 then lengthen the radius to the fore-side of 
 the stem, and sweep a circle parallel to the 
 aft-side ; then sweep in the aft-side of the 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 rabbit, by the radius 24 feet, keeping the 
 centre tlie same height above the upper 
 edge of the rabbit on the keel, as there tlie 
 aft-side of the rabbit on the stem at the gun- 
 deck, and the rabbit of the keel, intersect 
 each other, by carrying the centre 7 inches 
 before the first ; then describe the aft-side 
 of the rabbit, and by opening the radius 4 
 inches more, the fore-side of the rabbit will 
 be parallel to the aft-side, and the stem and 
 rabbit shown below the lower-deck, except 
 the boxing, or keel, which will be deter- 
 mined on hereafter ; then set up from the 
 upper edge of the rabbit of the keel, on the 
 foremost perpendicular, 36 feet, the height 
 of the upper part of the stejn, and draw a 
 horizontal line upon this line before the per- 
 pendicular; set off 15 inches, which is what 
 the stem rakes forward at the head, thence 
 draw a straight line, or one a little curving, 
 to break in fair with tlie back of the fore- 
 most sweep, at gun-decks, and the fore-side 
 of the stem is complete ; then draw ano- 
 ther, 18 inches from, and parallel to, the 
 fore-side, and the aft-side will be drawm ; 
 then by the same curve the rabbit may be 
 continued up on the fore-side, to the head 
 of the stem, as the aft-side of the rabbit 
 may not be drawn higher than the under- 
 side of the wall. 
 
 Proceed to draw in the stern-post thus ; 
 before the after perpendienlar, on the up- 
 per edge of the keel, set 7 inches ; then set 
 up the after perpendicular 27 feet from the 
 upper edge of the keel, and draw a hori- 
 zontal line, which is the upper side of the 
 wing transom on that line abaft the per- 
 pendicular, set off 23 inches ; then a straight 
 line, drawn through those two spots, will 
 represent the aftside of the stern-post; 
 then from the aft-side of the stern-post, set 
 forward on the upper side of tiie keel 2 feet 
 1 inch, and at the upper side of the wing 
 transom 13 inches ; a straight line drawn 
 through these two spots will be the aft-side 
 of the rabbit, and another line, 4 inches pa- 
 rallel before it, will be the fore-side of 
 the rabbit, which will intersect the per- 
 pendicular at the gun-deck. The stern- 
 post thus far described, would be sufficient 
 at present; but, to complete it, set up 2 
 feet 8 inches above the upper-side of the 
 wing transom, and continue upwards the 
 aft-side ; then, on a line parallel to the un- 
 der-side of the deck, at that height set for- 
 ward 20 inches, and fi-om the aft-side 3 feet 
 upon the upper-side of the keel ; a line 
 draw'll through those spots and the sterp-po^t, 
 will be represented from the head down- 
 
 wards. Draw another line before the fore- 
 side of the post, on the keel, 16 inches, ano 
 , at the under-side of the deck transom 13 
 inches, and the fore side of the inner post 
 will be likewise represented. Thus we 
 have the extremities of the ship below the 
 main-breadth. 
 
 The height of breadth-lines are next to 
 be drawn on the sheer plan, and there they 
 determine the height of the broadest part 
 ot the ship, at each transverse section or 
 timber ; that nearest the keel, is called the 
 lower height of breadth, and the one above, 
 the upper height of breadth. The lower 
 height of breadth in the midships generally 
 is placed midway between the ports and 
 the load- water line in naval ships, and ra- 
 ther above the load-water line in merchant- 
 ships; its quick rise forward and aft is 
 highly requisite for preserving a greater 
 breadth above the load-waterline, to assist 
 and relieve the ship in her pitching and 
 rolling motions in a heavy sea, lifting her 
 forward, and making her lively, as the sea- 
 men call it. In order to set up the height 
 of breadth-lines, it is necessary that the sta- 
 tions of several of the timbers should be set 
 off between the perpendicular at 0, and 
 the stem forward, and stern post abaft : 
 here the timber and room, or room and 
 space, must be determined, which is the 
 distance between the moulding edges, or 
 joints of every two timbers, and an interval 
 of two or more inches between them ; for 
 here it may be observed, that in moulding 
 the timbers, either before or abaft this Joint ’ 
 or station, the moulds are made to the same 
 line, as they are supposed to adjoin each 
 other ; but this method could not be true, 
 supposing the timbers to be separated some 
 distance apart ; and it must be here also 
 further observed, it being of the utmost 
 consequence to the strengtli of the ship, 
 that all the frame-timbers should be pre- 
 served whole, and not cut or wounded by 
 the ports, at the timbers appointed to make 
 the sides of ports should run up to the top 
 of the side, and are to be united or framed 
 together into bends, before they are gotten 
 up into their places in the ship : thus, those 
 intended to make the sides of ports, are 
 called frame-timbers; and those cut off 
 under the ports, or between the frames, 
 are called filling timbers, the third futtocks 
 of which, to increase the strength, should 
 run up to the under-sides of the ports, if 
 possible. 
 
 The room and space of this ship is 2 feet 
 9 inches, consequently the distance of every 
 
SHIP BUI 
 
 frame ioint is 5 feet 6 inches ; and it is at 
 each of these stations that perpendiculars 
 from the keel are drawn in the sheer plan: 
 the timbers before 0 are alphabetically 
 npmed A, B, C, &c. ; and those abaft 0, 
 or dead flat, numerally, 1, 2, 3, &c. ’Ihe 
 timbers adjoining 0, which have no rising, 
 are distinguished thus (A) (B), or (1) (2), 
 and are likewise called flats. 
 
 In this ship 0 is a single timber, although 
 it has been before observed this single tim- 
 ber is sometimes placed near the steps, or 
 gangway. Observe, this single timber is in- 
 troduced to change the bodies, as that be- 
 fore it is called the fore-body, so that abaft it 
 is called the after-body i but this is not all, 
 the floors in the fore-body are placed on 
 the fore-side of the joint, consequently their 
 moulding edge is on their aft-sidp, and the 
 floors in the after-body are placed on the 
 aftside the joint, and their moulding edge is 
 on their foreside 5 therefore in both bodies 
 they become under bevellings : hence the 
 necessity of this single timber to effect this 
 change, or two floors would come together 
 at the turn of the body, and the joint at 
 their heads not strengthened by this inter- 
 mediate shift of timber. 
 
 Now, as we do not mean to square up 
 perpendiculars at the joint of every frame 
 timber, we shall make use of as many as will 
 suit our purpose in delineating the sheer 
 plan. Therefore set before the perpendicu- 
 lar 0 19 feet 3 inches, and then square up 
 from the upper edge of the keel a perpen- 
 dicular, and under it mark F, as that is the 
 station for frame F ; then before F square 
 up perpendiculars at 11 feet distant, marking 
 under that next F, K, the next O, and the 
 foremost one S. Then abaft the perpendi- 
 cular 0 set off 24 feet 9 inches, and then 
 square up a perpendicular, and mark under 
 it 6, as that will be the station for frame 6 ; 
 then abaft this perpendicular set off 16 feet 
 6 inches five times, and square up perpen- 
 diculars at each station, marking that next 
 abaft 6, 12, the others in succession 18, 24, 
 30, and the after one 36. These perpendi- 
 culars, or stations, are always referred to by 
 those names hereafter. 
 
 Above the upper edge of the rabbit of the 
 keel set up upon the foremost perpendicu- 
 lar 29 feet, the height of breadth at the stem, 
 as both heights of breadths are terminated 
 at one place quite forward aud aft; next 
 set up at S 24 feet 2 inches ; at O, 22 feet 
 8 inches ; at K, 21 feet 10 inches ; at F, 21 
 feet 3 inches; at 0, 21 feet 3 inches; at 
 6, 21 feet 3jf inches ; at 12, 21 feet 4 inches ; 
 
 at 18, 21 feet 6 inches ; at 24, 22 feet 4 
 inches; at 30j 23 feet 9 inches; at 36, 26 
 feet 5 inches; and the after perpendicular, 
 
 27 feet 10 inches. Then an elliptical curve 
 drawn through those heights will show the 
 lower height of breadth all fore and aft. 
 
 The rising line is the next curve to be 
 drawn in the sheer plan, which in a ship of 
 this construction gives the heights of the 
 centres of the floor sweeps, by the which 
 curves the shape of the timbers at and near 
 the floor heads are formed in the body plan ; 
 thus, set up, as before, at K 21 feet 4 in- 
 ches ; at F, 14 feet 7 inches ; at 0, 11 feet 
 6 inches; at 6, 12 feet; at 12, 14 feet; at 
 18, 17 feet 6 inches; and at 24, 24 feet 11 
 inches. 
 
 Then an elliptical curve drawn through 
 those heights will determine the centre 
 heights of the floor sweeps, and although 
 these lines may be termed imaginary lines, 
 and not waftted in finishing the fabric, the 
 necessity of drawing these lines, with their 
 connected half breadths, &c. will appear, 
 when we insist upon the nicety required in 
 the formation of every line used in ship- 
 building; and by thus representing them, 
 the draftsman, or constructor, avails himself 
 of an opportunity of observing that the said 
 lines make fair curves. We said above, that 
 the rising line in a ship of this construction 
 gave the heights of the centres for forming 
 the floor-sweeps ; but in full-built ships, or 
 merchant ships in general, this rising line 
 gives the rising or lifting of the floors to- 
 wards their heads, above which one radius 
 is given for limiting their curves, and from 
 this very line the whole construction or 
 form of the body at this place is given. 
 Now, in the formation of this line, no unde- 
 viating rule is given; therefore, to construct 
 it, a general knowledge of the formation of 
 various bodies of different vessels is abso- 
 lutely necessary. But what follows may be 
 unvariably observed, that is the lifting of 
 this line on the sheer plan, and narrowing 
 it on the half-breadth plan, will procure ve- 
 locity and less capacity ; while lowering it 
 on the sheer plan, and continuing its mid- 
 ship part parallel with the keel, and aug- 
 menting its breadth on the half breadth, and 
 continuing it in midships parallel with the 
 middle line, will produce a full, or burthen- 
 some vessel ; but then a vessel on this con- 
 struction will not sail; hence the judgment 
 required in constructing this part of the ship 
 can only be acquired by practice. 
 
 Now the main half-breadth, and the half- 
 breadth of the rising of this ship, may be 
 
I 
 
 SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 .drawn in the half-breadth plan : thus, draw 
 a straight line, parallel to, and as much be- 
 low the upper side of the keel, in the sheer 
 plan, as will admit of the depth of the keels 
 a scale of feet and inches, by wliich the 
 whole is to be drawn, and rather more than 
 the main-half-breadth at 0, and this line 
 will represent the middle line of the half- 
 breadth plan, and is so called ; then square 
 down upon this line the several perpendicu- 
 lars from the sheer plan, and it will also 
 there represent the several timbers as sec- 
 tions crossing the timbers in the sheer plan 
 at right angles. 
 
 Then for the main half-breadth set up 
 from the middle line, for S, 20 feet 4 in- 
 ches; at O, 23 feet; at K, 23 feet 10 in- 
 ches ; at F, S3 feet 11 inches ; at 0, 24 
 feet; at 6, 23 feet 11| inches; at 12, 23 feet 
 11 inches; at p, 23 feet 8 inches; at 24, 
 22 feet 9 inches; at 30, 20 feet 10 inches; 
 and at 36, 17 feet 9 inches. Draw a curve 
 through these several half breadths, and the 
 main half-breadth line will be described, 
 except the fore aid after parts. Permit us 
 here to observe, the best method for draw- 
 ing this, and all other lines partaking of the 
 nature of curves, is by elliptical moulds ; or 
 what is better, when they are of any length, 
 is by a thin pliable batten, confined down 
 to the several spots, or dimensions, by 
 square pieces of lead, about three or four 
 ounces in weight ; because by this last me- 
 thod the draughtsman has an opportunity of 
 observing the fairness, or correctness, of the 
 line before he draws it. Our readers will 
 excuse this particular description, because 
 it need not be repeated, as all lines hereafter 
 are supposed to be drawn in the same man- 
 ner. 
 
 Now, to end the main halfbreadth for- 
 ward proceed as follow : when the height of 
 breadth cuts the fore part of the rabbit on 
 the stem, square it down to the middle line 
 of the half breadth plan, by taking its near- 
 est distance from the adjoining perpendicu- 
 lar, and setting off that distance in the same 
 manner from the same perpendicular on 
 the middle line in the half- breadth plan, and 
 there square up a line ; then set up on it 10 
 inches, the half-siding, or thickness, of the 
 stem at that place; from the middle line 
 then, with compasses opened to 4 inches, 
 'the thickness of the plank of the bottom, 
 sweep aft from the halfthickness of the 
 stem an arch ; then with a radius equal 26 
 feet 6 inches will finish the fore-part of the 
 main half breadth line ; from the following 
 centre draw a line at 4 feet 4 inches below 
 
 
 and parallel to the middle line of the halt- 
 breadth plan under timber O, and from 
 timber O set forward 20 inches, and square 
 it down to the line last drawn, and its inter- 
 section will be the centre required ; then, 
 with radius 26 feet 6 inches, sweep the seg- 
 ment of a circle from timber S till it will in- 
 tersect the back of the arch at the thickness 
 of the bottom plank; thus the main half- 
 breadth line is completed, except the after 
 end, which must be finished hereafter. 
 
 Next set off the half-breadth of the rising 
 which limits the distance of the centres of 
 the floor sweeps from the middle line on 
 their respective heights in the body plan. 
 Set up from the middle line of the halt- 
 breadth plan, at timber K, 2 feet 9 inches ; 
 at F, 7 teet 2 inches ; at 0, 8 feet 6 inches; 
 at 6, 8 feet 5 inches; at 12, 7 feet 6 inches; 
 at 18, 5 feet 3^ inches; and at 24, 8 inches ; 
 then drawing a curve through those spots, 
 the half breadth of the rising will be seen. 
 
 We may now proceed to drawing the 
 vertical curve appearance those several 
 timbers will form below the lower height 
 of breadth line in the body plan. Continue 
 aft the upper edge of the rabbit of the keel 
 line, and on it square up a line about 40 feet 
 abaft the after perpendicular,and call this the 
 middle line ; then at 24 feet distance, which 
 is the main half-breadth at midships on each 
 side the middle line, square up a side line; 
 then, within the boundaries of 0, on the 
 right hand, will be delineated the several 
 timbers which compose the fore-body ; and 
 within 0, on the left, those of the after- 
 body. 
 
 Now transfer the several heights of the 
 lower height of breadth line from the sheer 
 plan at and before 0, and set them up the 
 side line in the fore-body plan, drawing ho- 
 rizontal lines across at those heights to the 
 middle line; then take the several main 
 half-breadths from 0, and forward from the 
 middle line of the half breadth plan, and set 
 them off from the middle line on their cor- 
 responding heights of breadth last drawn in 
 the fore-body plan, and the utmost limits, 
 or main breadth, of each timber will be 
 shown. 
 
 Now draw another curve in the half 
 breadth plan which shall be the radius or 
 length, whereby portions of circles are 
 swept to form the shapd of the body some 
 distance below the main breadth. Set up 
 from the middle line at 0 in the half breadth 
 plan 18 feet 9 inches ; at F, 1 8 feet ; at K, 17 
 feet ; at 0, 15 feet 8 inches; at S, 18 feet 11 
 inches ; at 6, 18 feet 9 inches; at 12, 18 feet 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 7 inches ; at 18, ,17 feet 2 inches ; at 24, 15 
 feet 3 inches ; at 30, 12 feet 3 inches ; and at 
 36, 7 feet. Draw a fair curve through these 
 spots, and the length of all the sweeps 
 be obtained, then transfer the length at 0 
 and the timbers before it, and set them oft 
 with the half breadth of their respective 
 timbers on their corresponding height of 
 breadth lines in the fore-body plan, sweep- 
 ing arch about 9 feet below each height. 
 
 In the same manner transfer the heights 
 for the centres of the floor-sweeps, from 
 the sheer to the body-plan, and on those 
 heights, from the middle line, set off the cor- 
 responding rising half breadths, their inter- 
 sections being the centres from which each 
 floor may be swept by the following radii, 
 without its rising half breadth, the radius at 
 0 is 11 feet, and what this is above the 
 upper-edge of the keel is called the dead 
 rising. The radius at F is 13 feet 7 inches; 
 at K, 20 feet, 3 inches. Then with a curved 
 mould, some times called a reconciling sweep, 
 (as in some bodies it might be a portion of 
 a circle), placed so as to cut the back of 
 the lower and floor-sweeps, the timber 0 
 will be represented almost to the keel, and 
 so may the other timbers as far as K ; then 
 to complete them to the keel, set off the 
 half siding of the keel, which is 9 inches, on 
 each side the middle line in the body plan, 
 below the line for its upper edge, and draw 
 a lice on each side parallel to the middle 
 line; then with compasses, opened to 4 inches, 
 make two arcs, on each side, from the upper 
 side of the keel, to cross each other towards 
 the middle line ; draw a straight from the 
 upper, and another from the lower, side 
 of the rabbit, to intersect the arcs at equal 
 angles, and the rabbit of the keel will be 
 shown. Then a straight line,, or a mould 
 a little hollow, (.sometimes called floor- 
 hollow), placed to the siding of the keel 
 at the uppfer-edge of the rabbit, and to cut 
 the back of the floor-sweep, the timbers 
 as far as K may be completed as far as 
 the keel. 
 
 Now, as the other timbers approachw^e 
 stem in the fore body, and those towards 
 the stern post in the after body differ in 
 shape materially from those timbers near 
 the midships, it will be necessary to draw 
 in several horizontal or water lines as they 
 are called ; for supposing the ship was float- 
 ing on an even keel, and in an upright posi- 
 tion, sections from side to side would thus 
 be formed by the water. Here also we 
 would show that every attention has been 
 paid, and notice to our reader* that vessels, 
 
 in general, are found in their best sailing 
 trim when they incline abaft from one ‘ 
 to two feet, and sometimes more, particu- 
 larly sharp constructed bodies, and that the 
 upper one being the load- water line, is drawn 
 to this inclination, and that the several 
 water lines below it have been kept parallel 
 thereto ; thus in the common mode of repre- 
 senting the water lines, in the half breadth 
 plan, their correct shape at Arose places 
 was not accurately ascertained, and as it 
 is not necessary they should be so drawn, 
 horizontal lines are more preferable, and 
 more useful ; therefore draw in the sheer- 
 plan five horizontal lines, above the upper 
 edge of the keel, 3 feet 8 inches asunder. 
 
 Now as these lines are parallel to the 
 keel, they will be shown by straight lines 
 parallel to each other across the body plan; 
 otherwise, were they inclined lines in the 
 sheer plan, they would form curves at their 
 heights in the body plan, but in either case 
 they form curves in the half breadth plan, 
 limiting the half breadth of the ship at the 
 height of their corresponding lines in the 
 sheer plan, and these being the lines, we are 
 now about to represent, let their formation 
 forward and aft be very nicely considered, for 
 it is easy to conceive as they approach the 
 keel, and finish into the stem and stern post, 
 or vanish there, we may say they must taper 
 very suddenly at those places, yet let not 
 their form partake of hollow concave in- 
 flected curves, but as little as possible, and 
 not at all forward, as it has been prov- 
 ed a mistaken notion of giving velocity. 
 Proceed then, as before directed, to set off 
 on each corresponding timber from the 
 middle line of the half breadth plan the fol- 
 lowing half breadths, and first, for the upper 
 or fifth waterline, set offatS, 19 feet; at-O, 
 22 feet 7 inches ; at K, 23 feet 6 inches ; at 
 F, 23 feet 10 inches ; at 0, 23 feet 11 inches ; 
 at 6, 23 feet 11 inches. Observe between - 
 6 and F the water lines are kept parallel, 
 or nearly so, to the main half breadth line : 
 set off at 12, 23 feet 10| inches; at 18, 23 
 feet 4 inches ; at 24, 22 feet 3 inches ; at 30, 
 19 feet 7 inches; and at 36, 8 feet o inches. 
 Now to end the aft part correctly, square 
 down, from the nearest perpendicular, where 
 the aft side of the rabbit of Are post is cut 
 by the fifth or' upper waterline, in the sheer 
 plan, down to the middle line of the half 
 breadth plan, from whence square up a line, 
 on which set up the half thickness of the stem 
 post from the body plan; but in order to 
 do this, set off the half thickness of the stern 
 post from the middle line, in after body plan, 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 thus set off 11 inches at the head, and con- 
 tinue it parallel to the middle line, as low 
 down as the deck transom, which is 2 feet 
 2 inches below the upper side of the wing 
 ti'ansom ; from thence it is to taper, with a 
 straight line, to 7 inches on the npper side 
 of the keel. Then the half thickness of the 
 post may be taken at each water line, in the 
 body plan, and set np from the middle 
 line, in the half breadth plan to its corre- 
 sponding ending, as squared down, from the 
 sheer plan, where the water lines intersect 
 the aft-side of the rabbit on the stern post; 
 then, with a radius of 4 inches, sweep an 
 arch within the half thickness of the post, 
 on tlie half breadth plan, and the water 
 line ends, intersecting the back of the arch, 
 and a line squared out from the back of the 
 water line to cut the half siding of the post, 
 would show the thickness of the bottom 
 plank in that direction. Proceed to com- 
 plete the fore part of the upper water line, 
 with a 35 feet 6 inches radius, and ending 
 of it similar as the main half breadth was ; 
 and, for the centre of the radius, draw an 
 horizontal line at 11 feet 6 inches, under the 
 middle line of the half breadth plan, with 
 the above radius extended from the half 
 breadth, or spot, given at timber S gives the 
 centre, where it cuts the line last drawn ; 
 then sweep an arch from S, to the rabbit, 
 will complete the upper water line. 
 
 Proceed to set off the several half 
 breadths and endings of the fourth water 
 line as before ; set up at S, 16 feet 8 inches ; 
 at 0, 21 feet ; at K, 22 feet 5 inches; at F, 
 22 feet lOt inches ; at 0, 23 feet ; at 6, 22 
 feet lit inches ; at 12, 22 feet 10 inches ; at 
 18, 22 feet 2 inches; at 24, 20 feet 8 inches; 
 at 30, 16 feet 8 inches ; and at 36, 2 feet 11 
 inches. To sweep the fore part draw a 
 line under the middle line, in the half 
 breadth plan, and parallel to it, at 21 feet 9 
 inches ; then with a radius of 47 feet, from 
 the half breadth at S, sweep in the fore 
 part to the rabbit, as the paper on which 
 the draught is drawn will not extend so 
 low as this ; in this case of sweeping in the 
 fore part of half breadth lines an additional 
 sheet is placed underneath for this purpose. 
 Ending of the water lines being all the 
 same abaft, refer to the ending of the upper 
 water line. 
 
 Proceed to set off the several half breadths 
 and endings of the third water line ; at S, 12 
 feet 4inches ; at 0, 15 feet 8 inches ; at K, 
 20 feet 3 inches ; at F, 21 feet ; at 0, 21 feet 
 5 inches ; at 6, 21 feet 4^ inches ; at 12, 21 
 feet 1 inch ; at 18, 20 feet 3 inches ; at 24, 
 
 18 feet; at 30, 12 feet ; and at 36, 1 foot S 
 inches. We must here remark, that to 
 complete this line forward with an arch, 
 the radius would be too long for practice, it 
 must therefore be finished by a mould or 
 thin batten. 
 
 Proceed to set off the several half breadths 
 and endings of the second water line. Setup 
 at S, 7 feet 3 inches; at 0,13 feet 6 inches ; 
 at K, 17 feet 2 inches; at F, 18 feet 11 
 inches ; at 0, 19 feet 3 inches ; at 6, 19 feet 
 21 inches; at 12, 18 feet 11 inclies;at 18,17 
 feet 8 inches; at 24, 14 feet 2 inches ; at 30, 
 6 feet 2 inches ; and at 36, 8 inches ; draw 
 it as the last. 
 
 Lastly, for the first or lower water line : 
 set up at S, 3 feet; at O, 8 feet ; at K, 12 feet 
 6 inches ; at F, 15 feet 3 inches ; at 0,16 feet 
 
 2 inches ; at 6, 16 feet 1 inch; at 12, 15 feet 
 
 3 inches ; at 18, 13 feet 0i inch ; at 24, 7 feet j 
 at 30, 2 feet 1 inch ; and at 36, 4 inches. 
 
 Now all the water lines being drawn, in 
 the half breadth plan, and their delicacy of 
 shape, if we may so term it, well examined, 
 we may proceed to show whether they will 
 likewise make fair timbers in the body plan ; 
 thus transfer the several half breadths of the 
 water lines, as taken at 0, and set them off 
 from the middle line, on their corresponding 
 water lines, in the fore body plan, which will 
 be found to answer with the shape of 0, 
 already drawn ; then proceed in the same 
 manner with the other timbers before 0, 
 drawing curves through the several half 
 breadths, and ending them at the’ keel to 
 the inside of the rabbit, but as timber S, 
 comes upon tlie stem in tlie sheer plan, the 
 keeling will also come on the stem, in the 
 body plan, therefore its height must be 
 taken above the line, at the upper edge of 
 the rabbit, as continued before the stem, to 
 where timber S intersects the fore side of 
 the rabbit on the stem, and transfer that 
 height to the fore body plan, to intersect 
 the half thickness of the stem above the 
 base line, or upper edge of the rabbit ; in 
 midships then, with a radius of 4 inches, 
 sw^p an arch from that height within the 
 half thickness of the stem, then a line drawn 
 through tlie several half breadths of S, and 
 ending over the back of the arch, at the 
 keeling timber, S, will be drawn; and to 
 complete the keel, draw a square line 
 from tiie back of the timber to intersect 
 the height of the keeling at the half thick- 
 ness of the stem, and the timber S wilt be 
 complete below' the breadth. Thus, having 
 the perpendicular fore and aft appearance 
 of the several timbers in the fore body, they 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 thay now be stiictly examined, and any 
 nnt’airness readily pointed out ; again, as a 
 liirtlier proof, square up perpendicular lines 
 close forward, about 2! feet asunder or less, 
 (the same may be done close aft hereafter, 
 for the proof of the fairness of the water 
 lines abaft), then transfer the several half 
 breadths, as before, from the half breadth 
 to the body plan, and if they make hand- 
 some curves in the body plan, when drawn, 
 the water lines may be said to be construct- 
 ed with exactness. 
 
 But it may be necessary here just to 
 describe to our readers what is meant by 
 the term fair, as it otten occurs in the for- 
 mation of the several lines ; which is, that 
 all the lines should please the eye, having 
 no inequalities, but produce a beautiful line 
 (one sense of the word fair), and this is not 
 an incongruous term, for Hogarth calls a 
 curve, or serpentine line, the line of beauty, 
 of which no architecture has such a variety 
 as that of a ship. 
 
 Now complete the topsides, or upper part 
 of the body and sheer plan, above the lower 
 height of breadth. Tims, set off the upper 
 height of breadth, in the sheer plan'; at S, 25 
 feet 10 inches; at O, 24 feet 6 inches ; at K, 
 23 feet 10 inches; at F, 23 feet 5 inches ; at 
 0, 23 feet 4 inches ; at 6, 23 feet 4 inches ; at 
 12, 23 feet 4i inches ; at 18, 23 feet 6 indies ; 
 at 24, 24 feet 1 incli; at 30, 25 feet ; and at 
 36 , 27 feet 1 inch ; and at the after perpen- 
 dicular 28 feet 3 inches. Then, by drawing 
 a curve through tliose heights intersecting 
 the lower height of breadth, forward and 
 aft, the upper height of breadth line will be 
 represented. Then transfer these heights 
 from the sheer to the body plan, and thereat 
 draw horizontal lines across the body plan, 
 then square up the several timbers from 
 the lower to the upper height of breadth, 
 as between those heights the timbers are 
 straight, and of one breadth. Then with a 
 15 feet radius, called the length of the up- 
 per breadth sweep, draw arches upwards, 
 from the breadth squared up, and at that 
 centre in each upper breadth line. Draw 
 in the sheer plan the top-timber line, for it 
 is at this height that the top side is limited 
 to a certain breadth, called the top-timber 
 breadth. Set up above the upper edge of 
 the keel, in the sheer plan, at timber S, 37 
 feet 3 inches ; at O, 36 feet 9 inches ; at K, 
 36 feet I inch ; at F, 35 feet 8 inches ; at 0, 
 515 feet 6 inches ; at 6, 35 feet 9 inches ; at 12, 
 36 feet 4 inches ; at 18, 36 feet 11 inches ; at 
 24, 37 feet 10 inches ; at 30, 38 feet 10 
 inches; and at 35, 40 feet. Draw a curve 
 
 through these heights, antf that will be the 
 top-timber line in the sheer plan. Then 
 set off the several top-timber half breadths, 
 in the half breadth plan, by setting up at S, 
 20 feet 4 inches ; at O, 21 feet ; at K, 21 feet 
 11 inches; atF, 22 feet; at 0, 22 feet 3 
 inches ; at 6, 22 feet Ij inch ; at 12, 22 
 feet ; at 18, 31 feet 7 inches ; at 24, 20 feet 8 
 inches ; at 30, 18 feet 10 inches ; at 36, 16 
 feet ; and at the after end, 12 feet; and at 
 the fore end, or beak head, 17 feet. Draw 
 a curve through these several half breadths, 
 and the top-timber half breadth will be repre- 
 sented. Ti-ansfer the several heights of the 
 tep-timber line from the sheer to the body 
 plan, and at those heights draw horizontal 
 lines; then from the half breadth plan trans- 
 fer the several top-timber half breadths, 
 and set them off from the middle line in 
 the body plan upon their corresponding 
 heights ; then with a mould, about three 
 inehes curve (called the top- timber hollow), 
 fixed well at the top-timber half breadth, 
 and back of the upper sweep, at 0, draw a 
 line to the top of the side, and 0 on the 
 midship timber will be found from the keel 
 to the gunwale. 
 
 Make a mould to 0, from the upper 
 breadth upwards, some length above the 
 gunwale, by which mould most of the tim- 
 bers in the top-side may be drawn, by keep- 
 ing them nearly parallel to each other, by 
 so fixing the mould as to intersect tlie up- 
 per bieadth sweep, and top timber half 
 breadth. But observe the top-timbers as 
 they approach the beak-head in the fore- 
 body, they flair out, or curve the reverse 
 of the midship timbers, and considerably so 
 in ships with a beak-head ; this not only 
 gives more room on the forecastle, but 
 assists the catheads to cull the anchors 
 clearer of the bow, and this Hairing, though 
 much less in other ships, has a tendency 
 to keep off the spray of the sea, and make 
 a dry forecastle. 
 
 Above the top-timber line in this ship, 
 and sometimes at the plank sheer in others, 
 the top-side is perpendicular, consequently 
 an angle, called the knuckle, is formed at 
 the intersection, and as many of the fore- 
 most timbers as partake of this shape, be- 
 fore they can be broken in fair with the 
 others, are called knuckle timbers. 
 
 Forward and aft at the top-sides run 
 higher than the top- timber tine, set up their 
 greatest heights to prove that their breadths 
 at that place may make a fair line in the 
 half-breadth plan. Set up from F to for- 
 ward, in the sheer plan, 2 feet 10 inches 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 above, and draw a line parallel to the top- 
 timber line ; and from 12 to 24, in the after- 
 body, 4 feet 6 inches ; and from 24, quite 
 aft, 6 feet 6 inches ; these risings ^bove the 
 gunwale, or the midships, are called drifts. 
 Tranfer those heights from tire sheer plan to 
 intersect their corresponding timbers in the 
 body plan, as they are then limited by 
 curves parallel to the top-timber line, then 
 transfer their several half breadths to their 
 corresponding timbers in the half breadth 
 plan, and if curves drawn through those 
 breadths should prove fair, the top-side is 
 rightly constructed; if otherwise, each must 
 be altered until they agree. 
 
 What remains to be described relates 
 equally to both the fore and after bodies ; 
 for their being thus far completed, we 
 have an opportunity of shifting the seve- 
 ral timbers to the various lengths that com- 
 pose them from the. keel upwards, such as 
 the floors, futtocks, and top-timbers. First 
 tlie lengtlr of the floors for a ship of this 
 magnitude is 26 feet long at 0, or midships, 
 and the lengths of those forward and aft 
 may be determined by a diagonal line thus 
 drawn in the body plan ; set up the middle 
 line above the upper edge of the keel 14 feet 
 6 inches, and on the base-line 14 feet on each 
 side tlie middle line, draw lines to those 
 spots, and the length of each floor is limit- 
 ed between those lines. Then to deter- 
 mine the heads or lengths of the lower or 
 first futtocks, set up the middle as before 
 22 feet 10 inches, and along the base line 
 on each side 24 feet, drawing diagonal lines 
 as for the floors, and the length of the lower 
 futtocks are limited from the side of the 
 keel to the diagonal line at their heads. 
 Then for lengths of the second futtocks, set 
 up the middle line 28 feet 8 inches, and 
 up each side line from the base 10 feet, 
 and draw the diagonals and the lengths of the 
 second futtocks as limited from their junc- 
 tion at the floor-head called the heel, to 
 the diagonal last drawn or head. Then for 
 the lengths of the third futtocks, set up 
 the middle line 34 feet 8 inches, and up 
 each side 18 feet 5 inches, then diagonals, 
 when drawn to these spots, will limit the 
 length of the third futtocks from its heel at 
 the first head. The fourth futtocks, when 
 they can be gotten, are in one length from 
 the second futtock head to the top of the 
 side, and the top-timbers from the third 
 futtock head to the top of the side. 
 
 The heads of the timbers being shown in 
 the body plan, direct the stations for the 
 ribbands thus ; place the floor ribband about 
 
 20 inches below the floor head, and parallef 
 thereto ; then tlie next or first futtock rib- 
 band about rhidvvay between the floor and 
 first futtock heads, and so with the others, 
 keeping their heights forward and aft, the 
 most convenient for supporting the heads 
 and heels of the timbers before they need 
 be disturbed by working the planlu out- 
 side. 
 
 Now these are called the ribband lines, 
 and only appear as diagonal lines in the 
 body plan, but they take their names from 
 the ribbands, which are pieces of oak or fir 
 timber, about 6 inches square, the longer 
 the better ; but those close forward and aft 
 are called harplns, and are trimmed by 
 moulds and bevellings to the form of the 
 ship at those places. Ribband lines form 
 curves on a ship’s bottom by the intersec- 
 tion of a plane inclined, or canted, as ship- 
 wrights term it, to the plane of elevation, 
 and their curves on the half breadth plan 
 are denominated by them canted, or level, 
 according as their several half breadths are 
 taken off from the body plan, whether dia- 
 gonally, or in a direction square from the 
 middle line, which is a level, or perpendi- 
 cular to the plan of elevation, and although 
 they agree in oiie and the same line on the 
 ship’s bottom, they represent very different 
 curves in the half breadth plan. 
 
 Draw the ribband line at the floor head, 
 in the half breadth plan, by taking these 
 several half breadths from the middle line 
 of the body plan, in the direction of the 
 ribband line ; thus, we shall find 0; 16 feet; 
 F, 15 feet 1 inch ; K, 13 feet 11 inches ; O, 
 10 feet 4 inches ; and S, 8 feet 6 inches ; in 
 the fore body ; and 6, 15 feet 9 inches ; 12, 
 15 feet 1 inch; 18, 14 feet; 24, 11 feet 7' 
 inches ; 30, 7 feet 6 inches; and 36, 1 foot lit 
 inches. Then set up these several half 
 breadths on tlieir corresponding timbers 
 from the middle line in the half breadth 
 plan; but what their endings differ from 
 the water lines we will next explain. Take 
 the height where the diagonal line, or rib- 
 band, cuts the half thickness of the stem in 
 'the body plan, and transfer that height 
 to intersect the fore side of the rabbit of the 
 stem in tlie sheer plan, from whence square 
 down the fore side of the rabbit to the mid- 
 dle line in tlie half breadth plan, and then 
 square up a line, then take the half thick- 
 ness of the stem' from the middle line in the 
 body plan in the direction of the ribband 
 line, and set it np from the middle line in 
 the half breadth plan on the line last drawn, 
 then with compasses take the breadth of 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 the rabbit in the direction of the ribband 
 Sine, in the body plan, and sweep an arcli 
 from the half tliicli.ness of tlie stem, in 
 the half breadth plan, and the back of 
 the archi will be its ending forward ; the 
 ending abaft is so nearly t!te same, only that 
 the heights are taken up the halt thickness 
 of the post in the body plan, and transfer- 
 red to the aft side of the rabbit of the post 
 in the sheer plan ; proceed as belore, now 
 draw a curve line through all the half 
 breadths, and intersecting the back of each 
 arch, the ribband line at the floor head will 
 be represented in the half breadth plan. 
 In the same manner all the ribband lines may 
 be represented. These lines will also prove 
 the fairness of the bodies, but horizontal 
 water lines should always have the pre- 
 ference, as they cut the body in a more 
 acute direction, and its unfairness would 
 be more readily discover ed, for it is possi- 
 ble to have fair ribband lines to appearance, 
 and the body itself remain unfair. 
 
 Hitherto the timbers have only been con- 
 sidered as perpendicular to the upper side 
 of the keel, and square from the plane of 
 elevation, or sheer plan, and hence called 
 squkve timbers. But forward and aft in 
 the turn of the body, they are canted, that 
 is, they incline aft towards the middle line 
 in the fore body, and forward in the after 
 body in tlie lialf breadth plan, or form ob- 
 tuse angles to the plane of elevation ; the 
 utility, of this is to straighten the form of 
 the timbers, and reduce the bevellings, both 
 highly essential in the conversion. Now 
 to determine the situation of the cant tim- 
 bers in the fore body, the foremost cant 
 timber, which is Y, should be so canted as 
 to stand square with the main breadth line 
 as possible, therefore it will be on that line 
 before timber S, 15 feet 2 inches on a straight \ 
 line, and at the side of the deadwood, which 
 is 8 inches from, and parallel to, the middle 
 line of the half breadth plan, 4 feet 10 inches 
 before S ; then the after cant timber, which 
 is P, is before O at the main breadth, 2 
 feet 9 inches, and at the side of the dead- 
 wood, 2 feet 4 inches, draw straight lines 
 to those spots, and the cant of the foremost 
 cant timbptf Y, and the after one P, will be 
 represented on the half breadth plan, the 
 intermediate ones, which are 7", may be 
 dravl'n by equally dividing them at the 
 dead-wood, between those already drawn, 
 to where they shall intersect their respec- 
 tive square timbers at the main breadth 
 line, as here they remain at the same sta- 
 VOL VI. 
 
 tion unless they are moved to make the 
 side of a port. 
 
 The cant timbers in the after body may 
 next be described in the half breadth plan, 
 in order to which the cant of the fashion- 
 piece, or after-timber, must first be deter- 
 mined, observing, as in the fore body, to 
 let it cast as nearly as possible square from 
 the body at that place. Now as the fashion- 
 piece comes against the fore side of the 
 transoms, the wing transoms must be drawn 
 in the half breadth plan, thus set off from 
 the middle line in the half breadth plan at 
 timber 36, 16 feet 6 inches the half breadth 
 of the wing transom, from thence level out 
 a line aft, then, from the sheer plan, square 
 down the aft-side of the wing transom at 
 the post to the middle line in the half 
 breadth plan, and at the side, on to the line 
 last levelled out, then an arch drawn through 
 these two spots, whose centre of radius is 
 in the middle line, will represent the aft- 
 side of the wing transom. Then draw in a 
 horizontal line, in the half breadth plan, from 
 a line at the side of the wing transom trans- 
 ferred from the sheer to the body plan, 
 which is similar to a water line, then, from 
 the aft-side of the transom, set forward upon 
 the line last drawn, about 16 inches, and 
 that is the aft-side of the fashion piece at that 
 place ; then let the heel of it, setting off the 
 half thickness of the dead wood as before, 
 be setoff before timber 36, 6 feet 2 inches, 
 a line drawn through those spots is the 
 aft-side appearance of the cant fashion piece ; 
 then set off the cant of the foremost cant 
 timber, which is 29, thus, abaft square 
 timber 28, set off 2 feet 9 inches on the 
 main breadth line,' and 22 inches at the 
 side of the dead wood, drawing a line 
 which will represent the foremost cant tim- 
 ber, 29 ; then equally divide the heels of 
 seven more on the dead wood between 
 those already drawn, and likewise on the 
 main breadth line and the joints oT all the 
 cant timbers, will be represented in the 
 half breadth plan. 
 
 It was observed above, that the wing 
 transom was limited by the aft-side of the 
 fashion piece, and so are all the other 
 transoms, unless to assist their conversion 
 by shortening those below the deck transom, 
 which are six in number, by introducing 
 fashion pieces abaft that already described-. 
 
 Now, to complete the sheer plan, let the 
 stern timber, or shape of the stern at the 
 aft-side, be described thus, draw aft an ho- 
 rizontal line at the upper side of the wing 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 transom at tlie post, and above it set up 
 4 feet, and draw another horizontal line, 
 which will be the height of the lower coun- 
 ter; then set up, from the wing transom, 
 7 feet 6 inches, drawing another horizontal 
 line, which will be the height of the upper 
 counter; then set off abaft the aft-side of 
 the wing transom 6 feet 10 inches, and 
 square it up the line at the height of 'the 
 lower counter, and the intersection with 
 the knuckle of the lower counter ; then, 
 from the said knuckle, draw a curve line 
 about 5 inches hollow to intersect the up- 
 ^er-side of the wing transom at the fore-side 
 of the rabbet on the stern post, and the 
 lower counter will be represented at tlieinid- 
 dle line ; then setoff abaft the aft-side of the 
 wing transom 8 feet 10 inches, and square 
 up a line to the height of the upper coun- 
 ter, and their intersection will be the knuc- 
 kle of the upper counter ; then to the two 
 knuckles draw a curve about 2 inches hol- 
 low, and that will represent the upper coiui- 
 ter. Both counters being formed at the 
 middle line, the upper part of the stem 
 timber must be thus finished ; set up, as 
 before, 14 feet 7 inches, the height of the 
 top-timber line aft, draw a horizontal line; 
 then set off abaft the aft-side of the wing 
 transom 11 feet, and square it up to the 
 top-timber line, a straight line now drawn 
 from the upper counter knuckle, and through 
 the mtersection at the top timber line, and 
 the stern timber at the middle line is com- 
 plete. 
 
 Then observe, as the stern in its breadth 
 rounds two ways, th^t is both up and aft, 
 the stern timber at the side will alter from 
 that at the middle line, and must be thus 
 drawn : take the round top of the upper 
 counter, which is 10 inches, and set it 
 below its knuckle at the middle timber in 
 the sheer plan, and draw an horizontal line ; 
 then take the round aft, which is 16 inches 
 (on a level), and set it forward fiom the 
 knuckle of the middle timber, and square 
 it down to the line last draw'ii, and where it 
 intersects will be the knuckle of the up- 
 per counter at the side. In the same man- 
 ner set down 8 inches for the round up, and 
 forward 15 inches for the round aft, and 
 tliat will be the knuckle of the lower coun- 
 ter at the side ; then a curve being drawn 
 similar to that at the middle timber from 
 one knuckle to the other, will form the up- 
 per counter at the side ; then to finish the 
 lower counter at the side, set down 5 inches 
 the round up, below the upper side of the 
 
 wing transom in the sheer plan, and draw 
 an horizontal line ; then take 7 inches the 
 round aft of the wing transom, and set it 
 forward from the aft-side of the wing tran- 
 som upon its upper side, and square it down 
 to the line last drawn, and the intersection 
 will be the aft-side of the side stern timber; 
 then a curve drawn similar to that at the 
 middle from the side low'er counter knuckle 
 to the aft-side last set off, will represent the 
 lower counter at the side. But as the 
 straight line for the upper part of the side 
 timber will not be parallel to that at the 
 middle, owing to the stern narrowing up- 
 wards, its rake must be determined as fol- 
 low : upon any straight line set off 26 feet 
 8 inches, the breadth of the stern at the 
 upper counter, and at the middle set off 
 16 inches the round aft, then let an arch 
 pass through this point and the half breadths 
 of the stern on the line; this may be per- 
 formed by a small drawing bow or a mould 
 swept with a radius equal to that segment. 
 Now set off 12 feet, the half breadth of the 
 stern at the top timber line on each side the 
 middle to intersect the round aft at the 
 upper counter, and through these intersec- 
 tions draw a line parallel to the other, and 
 the distance from the line last drawm to 
 arch in the middle is the distance that the 
 side stern timber is from the after timbers, \ 
 at the height of the top- timber line; then a 
 line drawn through this spot to the knuckle 
 of the upper counter at the side, completes 
 the side counter timber. 
 
 ■ Now the. fore and aft view of the side 
 counter timber may be drawn in the body 
 plan, representing the half breadth of the 
 stern. Draw an horizontal line across the 
 after body plan, at the height of the upper 
 side of the wing transom at the middle, 
 thereon set off the half breadth of the wing 
 transom from the half breadth plan, and 
 there square down a line, and on that line 
 set down 5 inches, or what is the same 
 thing, transfer the heigljl of the wing tran- 
 som at the side from the sheer plan ; then 
 sweep an arch to cut the upper side of the 
 wing transom at the side and middle, the 
 centre of the radius being found in the 
 middle line of the body plan ; then draw a 
 horizontal line, as before, at the height of 
 each knuckle transferred from the side 
 timber in the sheer to the body plan ; then 
 transfer the heights of the knuckles of the 
 middle sterq timber from the sheer, up the 
 middle line of the body plan ; then to ob- 
 tain the half breadth at each knuckle, the 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 horizontal lines should be run from their 
 heights in the body, to the half breadth 
 plan and their knuckles, squared down 
 thereon from the sheer plan, and at those 
 places their half breadth transferred to the 
 bodv plan. Thus we should find the half 
 breadth at the lower counter knuckle 
 14 feet 6 inches, and at the Upper counter 
 knuckle 13 feet 5 inches ; then set off these 
 half breadths on their corresponding hori- 
 zontals from the middle line in the body 
 plao, and by sweeping arches as at the 
 wing transom, from the heights at the side 
 and middle line, the round up of each 
 counter would be represented ; then draw 
 an horizontal line in the body plan, at the 
 height where the top timber line curs the 
 side stern timber in the sheer plan, and on 
 it set off the half breadth of the top timber- 
 line, which is 12 feet, as taken from the 
 half breadth plan. Draw another horizon- 
 tal line in the body plan, at the height of 
 the top side, and on it set off 11 feet, its 
 half breadth ; then draw a straight line 
 from the knuckle at the upper counter and 
 the two half breadths above it, and the up- 
 per part of the timber will be formed, and 
 from thence to the lower counter the same 
 line may be continued, only having it to 
 curve between the knuckles ; then to com- 
 plete this timber between the knuckle at 
 the lower counter and wing transom, three 
 or more horizontal lines should be equally 
 spaced and drawn across the body plan, 
 then several Iralf breadths taken and set off 
 the Iralf breadth plan, and curves drawn 
 through them ; then when these horizontal 
 lines intersect the side stern timber in the 
 sheer pfan, they must be squared down to 
 their corresponding lines drawn in the 
 half breadth plan, and their several half 
 breadths there t-aken and set off on their 
 corresponding lines in the body plan ; then 
 a curve passing through those spots from 
 the knuckle of the lower counter to the 
 wing transom at the side, completes the 
 side timber in tlie body plan. 
 
 Now to complete tiie half breadth plan 
 and the main half breadth and top-timber 
 line abaft, thus sqtiare down to the half 
 breadth plan where the height of breadth, 
 the top-timber line, cuts the side stern tim- 
 ber in the sheer plan, and from thence 
 transfer its height to the stern timber in the 
 body plan, and there take its half breadth 
 and set off from the middle line of the half 
 breadth plan upon the line last squared, 
 dowp which is its ending at the outside; 
 from thence sweep a curve to the round aft 
 
 of the stern at those places, and it is coiil-* 
 plete. 
 
 Now there only remains to complete the 
 sheer plan, and the construction of the 
 sheer draught or principal design will be 
 completed ; and first set up the heights and 
 lengths of all the decks thus, above the 
 upper side of the gun deck already drawn, 
 set up 7 feet 1 inch all forward aft, and 
 draw a curve parallel thei'eto, which will 
 represent the under side of the upper deck, 
 and another curve, drawn 3 inches above, 
 and parallel thereto, will represent the up- 
 per side of the upper deck ; then above the 
 Tipper side of the upper deck set iqr 6 feet 
 7 inches at timber T, and forward to the 
 beak bead ; tben draw a curve through 
 these heights, parallel to the upper decks, 
 and that will be the under side ot the fore- 
 castle ; then draw another curve 3 inches 
 parallel above it, and that will be the upper 
 side. Again, set up at timber 6, above the 
 upper side of the upper deck, 6 feet 
 7 inches, and at the middle stern timber, 
 6 feet 9 inches, and above those heights 
 3 inches, drawing curves as before, the 
 quarter deck will be represented. Set up, 
 at timber 24, above the upper side of the 
 quarter deck, 6 feet 5 inches, and at the 
 midship stern timber 6 feet 7 inches, and 
 above those heights 2^ inches, and the round 
 house deck will be represented as well as 
 the before mentioned at the middle line. 
 
 The ports next claim our attention, but 
 before they can be drawm, the decks at the 
 side must be represented, and to do this 
 correctly, the round np of the beam in raid- 
 ships, or the longest, must be represented 
 by the segment of a circle, as was lately 
 observed for the round aft of the stern. 
 
 Transfer the height of gun deck at 0 in 
 the sheer, to the body plan, and then take 
 the half breadth of the midship timber 
 and set it off twice on some straight line, 
 and in the middle set-up 6 inches, tlie 
 round-up of the gun deck, at that place, 
 dian ing an arch as before. 
 
 Then for the round of the deck, or the 
 deck at tlie side in the sheer plan, set down 
 below the under side of the middle, as al- 
 ready drawn at 0, 6 indies ; -and tor the 
 other timbers observe the following method : 
 transfer the height of tlie under side of the 
 deck from the sheer, to its corresponding 
 timber in the body plan, taking then its halt 
 breadth and apply it from each side the 
 middle to inscrsect the arch for the round- 
 up of the beam at 0, drawing para’lei lines 
 to each intersection, then the distance taken 
 I 2 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 in the middle, from the lines at the several 
 breadths, being set down on their coiTes- 
 ponding timbers, from the under side of the 
 gun deck in the sheer plan, and a curve 
 there drawn to pass through these several 
 spots, will represent tlie hang, or sheer of 
 the gun-deck at the side, and thus may the 
 round-up of each deck, at the side, be 
 shown in the sheer plan, according to its 
 round up at the broadest place. 
 
 Now for the under side of the gun deck 
 ports, draw a curve line, 2 feet 8 inches 
 . above the gun deck line, at the side, in the 
 sheer plan'; and another parallel line, drawn 
 I 2 feet 8 inches above the lower side, will 
 show the upper side of the gun deck ports. 
 Then for the fore side of the foremost port, 
 set off 9 feet 5 inches before timber S, and 
 for its aft-side 6 feet 5 inches. Then for 
 the fore-side of all the ports abaft the fore 
 one, set off 4 feet inches before the 
 joint of every other frame beginning at 
 frame 32 ; then 3 feet 5 inches set otF abaft 
 each of their fore sides will give the aft side ; 
 then square up their sides between the 
 lines drawn for their lower and upper sides 
 and all the 15 ports for the gun deck will 
 be represented. 
 
 Then draw the upper deck, at the side, 
 as directed for the gun deck ; and for the 
 upper-deck ports two curves, parallel above 
 the deck at the side, the lower one 2 feet 
 2 inches, and the upper line 2 feet 8 jnches 
 above that; then set off, before timber S, 
 4 feet 4 inches for the fore-side of the fore- 
 most port, and 3 feet abaft it for the aft- 
 side, then continue to set off 3 feet, exactly 
 midway, between each gun deck port, and 
 one abaft the after gun deck port, and 
 square up their sides, and 15 ports will be 
 represented for the upper deck. 
 
 In the same manner must the quarter- 
 deck and forecastle ports, and even those 
 on the round-house, if any be drawn, keep- 
 ing them at equal distances, as near as pos- 
 sible, as their situations must depend on 
 keeping them clear of the shrouds. The 
 quarter deck ports on each side are 7 in 
 number, the lower side 23 inches above 
 the deck, at the side 2 feet 7 inches deep, 
 and 2 feet 10 inches fore and aft, and the 
 same on tlie forecastle, only 3 in number,. 
 
 Now the wales may be drawn in the 
 sheer plan, and as the strength of the ship 
 depends much on their situation, great care 
 should be taken in not placing them so high 
 as to be cut by the gun deck ports, and yet 
 so placed as to take as many of the bolts as 
 come through the gun deck kijees as possi- 
 
 ble, and that they come as near on the 
 broadest part of the ship as the foregoing 
 circumstances will admit; therefore for the 
 height of the lower edge, set up above the 
 upper edge of the keel, at the fore-side of 
 the rabbit at the stem, 22 feet 7 inches ; at 
 S, 21 feet 2 inches; at O, 20 feet 4 inches i 
 at K, 19 feet 9 inches ; at F, 19 feet ; at 
 0, 18 feet 8 inches ; at 6, 18 feet 8j inches; 
 at 12, 18 feet 10 inches; at 18, 19 feet 5 
 inches ; at 24, 20 feet 4 inches ; at 30, 21 
 feet 10 inches; and at 36, 23 feet 11 inches. 
 Then a curve drawn through these heights 
 will be the lower edge of the wale, and an- 
 other curve drawn 4 feet 4 inches, parallel 
 above it, will be the upper edge of the 
 wale ; but observe the lower edge of the 
 wale close aft, curves up very quick, owing 
 to the .sudden turn of the body at that 
 place. 
 
 The heights and breadths of the channel 
 wales may be next drawn ; and as it may 
 be readily seen from their situation they 
 are intended to strengthen the top side, 
 they therefore must be placed as nearly as 
 possible between the lower and upper deck 
 ports, and their lower edge, along the mid- 
 ships, should be placedso low as only to pre- 
 vent their being cut by the upper stops of 
 the gun deck ports, to prevent the upper edge 
 being wounded by the upper deck ports, 
 afore and abaft, therefore for the height 
 of the lower edge, set up above the upper 
 edge of the keel, at the fore side of the rab- 
 bit on the stem, 30 feet; at S, 29 feet; at 
 O, 28 feet 5 inches ; at K, 27 feet 11 inches ; 
 at F, 27 feet 6 inches ; at 0 27 feet 3 
 inches; at 6, 27 feet 6 inches; at 12, 28 
 feet ; at 18, 28 feet 8 inches ; at 24, 29 feet 
 8 inches; at 30, 30 feet 7 inches; and at 
 36, 32 feet. Then a curve drawn through 
 these heights will be the lower edge of the 
 channel wale, and another curve drawn 3 
 feet, parallel above it, will be the upper 
 edge, thus the channel wale will be repre- 
 sented. 
 
 Now to complete the top side, the several 
 rails, drifts, &c. remain to be described. 
 Therefore set forward, from the aft side of 
 the middle stern timber, 51 feet, the length of 
 the round-house, and this should be no longer 
 than may be just sufficient for the neces- 
 sary accommodations, as the shorter the 
 round-house the lower the top side may be 
 kept abaft ; and likewise the stern, as a 
 low snug stern always appears handsome, 
 and is best, as a proof of this, and the objec- 
 tion of lofty quarters abaft, several ships in 
 the navy have their round-houses taken 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 away, and the top sides cut down. Set up 
 above the top timber line 6 feet 6 inches, 
 and draw a curve at that height, parallel to 
 the top timber line, from aft to the fore 
 end of the round-house; then draw another 
 line, 21 inches, parallel above it, and that 
 will represent the plank sheer as far as the 
 round-house. 
 
 Then in order to lower the top side, in a 
 handsome manner, as it approaches the 
 waist, or lowest part, have a fall or trance 
 at the fore end of the round-housej, turned 
 off, with an inverted scroll, upon the plank 
 sheer of the quarter deck, the underside of 
 which is 4 feet 6 iriches above the top-tim- 
 ber line, and parallel to it, to 3 feet 6 inches 
 before timber 12, draw another curve, pa- 
 rallel 21 inches, above the under side, and 
 the plank sheer tlius far will be represent- 
 ed, and house the ports at the fore part of 
 the quarter deck. Then near the gang- 
 way let there be another fall or break at 
 the fore part of the quarter deck, its ex- 
 tent 11 feet 6 inches before timber 12 ; then 
 set up 3 feet 5 inches above the top timber 
 line, and draw' a line parallel thereto, 6 feet 
 9 inches aft, and another line ^ inches pa- 
 rallel above it, and the plank sheer will be 
 completed from aft. Then set np 2 feet 11 
 inches above the top-timber line, and draw 
 a curve, parallel thereto, to the first break 
 before timber 12, and that Will be the under 
 side of the drift rail, and draw another line, 
 parallel to 4i inches above that, and it will 
 complete the drift rail thus far ; then con- 
 tinue the drift rail as far as the main drift, 
 by keeping its under side 2 feet above, and 
 parallel to the top-timber line ; now finish 
 the main drift at the fore part of the quar- 
 ter deck with a scroll, and the plank sheer 
 above it with an inverted scroll ; then com- 
 plete the drift rail and plank sheer at the 
 next break, with a quarter round. 
 
 Then above the round-house, at the side, 
 set up 4 feet 1 inch, and draw a curve pa- 
 rallel thereto, which will be the under side 
 of the rough tree rail, and a line drawn 4j 
 inches above, will show the thickness, or 
 upper side, under which four ports, on each 
 side, about 6 feet 4 inches asunder, and 3 
 feet 4 inches fore and aft, may be drawn, 
 observing they are clear of the mizen 
 shrouds, and the after port clear of the 
 upper finishing of the quarter gallery. 
 
 Now that the top side of the ship, for- 
 ward, should bear a resemblance to the after 
 part, and in order to give security to the 
 forecastle, set up above the top timber line, 
 2 feet 10 inches, and draw a curve, parallel 
 thereto, from the fore side of the beak head 
 
 to the aft part of the forecastle, and another 
 line 2i inches above, and parallel to the 
 last, and the forecastle plank sheer will be 
 represented ; observe the after part of the 
 forecastle is 4 feet 8 inches abaft timber F, 
 and the fore side of the beak head 10 feet 
 3 inches before timber S ; then draw the 
 under side of the drift rail 22 inches above, 
 and parallel to the top-timber line, and a 
 line 4^ inches above it will complete the 
 drift rail, and the drift is to be finished like 
 the drift at the fore part of the quarter deck. 
 Tlien the ports, 3 in number, 2 feet 10 inches 
 fore and aft, are represented by timber 
 heads, as their situations must be governed 
 by the fore shronds ; the height of the tim- 
 ber heads are 22 inches above the plank 
 sheer, one timber head being left to form 
 the side of each port, and one between, 
 and three or four before the foremast, will 
 be quite sufficient, and there may be two 
 similar timber heads left up abreast the 
 main mast. 
 
 The sheer rail is represented by the top 
 timber line, and a curve draw n to 5 inches 
 parallel above it, and the waist rail by 
 curves 5-‘- inches asunder, drawn parallel be- 
 low the sheer rail, at 22 inches in the clear. 
 The rails and drifts being merely ornamen- 
 tal, they are often dispensed with in the 
 navy, as the sides of the ship were found to 
 decay very fast under them. Some have 
 them painted only along the sides, but mer- 
 chant ships, in general, have them wrought 
 solid in the plank of the top side. 
 
 The channels may next be situated as the 
 shrouds leading to them were lately men- 
 tioned, with regard to spacing the quarter 
 deck and forecastle ports; and first, the 
 centres and rake of the masts must be 
 drawn in the sheer plan. The centre of the 
 fore mast is 22 feet abaft the aft side of the 
 stem on the gun deck and rakes, or inclines 
 aft, from a perpendicular, with the upper 
 side of the keel i of an inch, in every yard 
 of its length from the centre given. The 
 centre of the main mast is 102 feet abaft 
 the aft side of the stem, on the gun deck 
 and rakes | of an inch in every yard of its 
 length. And the centre of the mizen mast 
 is 27 feet before the fore side of the rabbit 
 of the stern post, on the gun deck and 
 rakes aft i of an inch in every yard of its 
 length. Now let the upper edges of all the 
 channels be kept well wiih the upper edge 
 of the sheer rail, but in some ships the 
 mizen channel is kept higher than the 
 others, the better to station the quarter 
 deck ports. 
 
 The length of the fore channel is 35 feet 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 6 iticlies, and its fore end fixed 3 feet 4 
 inches before tiie centre of the fore mast at 
 that place. The length of the main cliannel 
 is 29 teet 4 inches, and its fore end 3 inches 
 hefoie the centre of the main mast. The 
 length of the mizen channel is 16 feet 6 
 inches, and its fore end 1 inch before the 
 centre of the mizen mast. The outer edges 
 ot the fore and main channels is inches 
 thick, and outer edge of mizen channel 3| 
 inches thick ; whicli thicknesses may be 
 drawn parallel their whole length below the 
 upper side. The dead-eyes, that is, their 
 diameters, which are 16 inches tiie main 
 and fore, and' 11 inches the mizen, may next 
 he drawn, observing to place their centres 
 that the rake of the chains may be clear of 
 the upper deck ports, both chains and pre- 
 venter plates to rake in the direction of 
 their shrouds, which is best done in the fol- 
 lowing manner ; continue upwards, through 
 the centre, the rake of the mast to the 
 upper side of the tressle trees, which for 
 the fore mast is 87 feet above the keelson ; 
 then draw a line about 2 inches more than 
 half their diameter above, and parallel to 
 the upper side of the fore channel ; then on 
 this line fix the centre of the fore dead-eye 
 10 inches abaft the centre of the fore mast, 
 and the centre of the second dead-eye 3 feet 
 9 inches abaft the foremost one’s centre, and 
 the centre of the third, fourth, and fifth, 2 feet 
 2 inches asunder ; then lines drawn straight 
 their centres, and crossing the height set 
 up the mast, gives the proper rake of each 
 dead-eye, chains, and preventer plate ; and 
 although there are eleven dead-eyes in the 
 fore channel, their rakes and ceuties must 
 be governed by the ports. The same rule 
 must be observed in raking the dead-eye 
 for the top mast, backstay, &c. adding tiie 
 height of the top mast to the lower part of 
 the head. 
 
 In the main channel are 12 dead-eyes, 
 the centre of the foremost dead-eye to be 
 fixed at 12 inches abaft the centre of the 
 main-mast, and the centres of the renrain- 
 ing dead-eyes may be stationed four be- 
 tween each port, raking them by the same 
 process of those in the fore-channel. 
 
 Here the main-top-mast, and top-gallant 
 backstay dead-eyes, had much better be 
 fixed on a stool, kept the height of the 
 drift-sail above, as they will not only clear 
 the ports better, but save a great and un- 
 necessary consumption, in lengthening t.*ie 
 main-channel. 
 
 Lastly, the mizen-channel, having 7 dead- 
 eyes, the four foremost ones are stationed 
 
 between the quarter-deck ports, next abaft 
 the mizen-mast ; and the other three, and 
 mizen-topmast backstay dead-eye, is sta- 
 tioned between the two next ports, fixing 
 the centre of the foremost dead-eye. about 
 4 inches abaft the centre of the mizen-mast, 
 raking them as befoi'e described. 
 
 The keelson being lately mentioned, and 
 not drawn before, let it bo represented in 
 the sheer plan thus : first, draw in the cut- 
 ting-down line, which is a curve that limits 
 the height of every floor-timber, in the mid- 
 dle and the upper part of the dead or ijsing 
 wood, forward and abaft, and the under- 
 side of the keelson. Set up at timber S, 4 
 feet 6 inches; at O, 2 feet 11 inches; at K, 
 2 feet 2 inches ; at F, 2 feet | inch ; at 0, 2 
 feet ; at 6, 2 feet i inch ; at 12, 2 feet | inch ; 
 at 18, 2 feet 3 inches ; at 24, 3 feet 3 inches ; 
 and at 30, 6 feet. Draw a curve through 
 these spots, and another at 18 inches, pa- 
 rallel above it, and the keelson will be thus 
 far shown ; but as the fore part scarphs in- 
 to the stemson, that must likewise be re- 
 presented ; and first, by drawing a curve 
 11 inches parallel, abaft the aft side of the 
 stem, from the head to timber O, we show 
 the apron or inner stem ; then another curve, 
 drawn abaft the apron, 13 inches, at the un- 
 der side of the upper deck, and to break in 
 fair with the upper side of the keelson, will 
 represent the stemson. The after end of 
 the keelson scarphs into the knee, against 
 the foreside of the transoms. 
 
 We may now proceed to draw in that or- 
 namental and useful part of the ship, called 
 the head ; and here beauty and lightness 
 should be most considered. Draw in the 
 under side of the bow'sprit, as that confines 
 the height of the figure ; set up above the 
 upper side of the upper deck, at the aft side 
 of the stem, 2 feet 11 inches ; and then draw 
 a perpendicular, at i‘) feet 8 inches before 
 the fore side of the stem, at the upper 
 part, which will limit the fore side of the 
 figure ; set up thereon, above the upper 
 side of the keel, 42 feet 3 inches ; then draw 
 a straight line through these two heights, 
 and it will represent tlie under side of the 
 bowsprit ; and another line drawn parallel 
 above it, at 3 feet distance on a square, 
 will show the diameter or upper side of the 
 bowsprit. Now draw the knightiieads, and 
 let them be sufficiently in height as to ad- 
 mit a shock over the bowsprit, so as to se- 
 cure it firm in its bed on the stem : to do 
 this, we must first draw half the diameter 
 of the bowsprit, parallel to the middle line 
 of the half breadth plan, and thereon square 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 down the fore side of the rabbit of the stern, 
 at the underside of the bowsprit, in the 
 sheer plan, and there draw a section of tlie 
 knighthead, about two indies witliin the 
 bowsprit, as they must not be cut any moie 
 by tlie bowsprit ; then by squaring up tlie 
 fore sides and the aft side of the section, 
 from the half breadth plan, to and above 
 the stem in the sheer plan ; and, drawing 
 lines parallel to the fore side of the rabbit, 
 
 4 feet 4 inches above the head of the stern, 
 and the starboard knighthead will be repre- 
 sented. 
 
 The limits of the beak head should next 
 be drawn thus: in the sheer plan draw a 
 perpendicular, 6 feet abaft the aft side of 
 the stem, at the upper part, and that will 
 be the fore side of the beak head ; set up 
 above the upper side of the upper deck 20 
 inches, and draw a horizontal line from the 
 fore side of the back head to the stem. 
 
 The cheeks being the basis of the head, 
 their situation demands peculiar care, espe- 
 cially as the hawse holes come between 
 them ; therefore, before we can determine 
 the situation of the lower cheek, the hawse- 
 holes must be drawn in the half breadth 
 plan, and squared up to tlie sheer plan ; then 
 set up, for their under sides, 2 feet 3 inches 
 above the upper side of the upper deck, 
 and 3 feet 8 inches for their upper sides ; 
 then the outsides of the hawse holes may 
 be drawn in the sheer plan, and we shall 
 see that the cheeks, as here to be drawn, 
 are rightly situated: thias, for the under- 
 side of the lower cheek, set up from the 
 upper edge of the keel, in the sheer- 
 plan, 25 feet, on the fore side of the rabbit, 
 on the stem, and from thence draw an airy 
 curve, rising, to break in fair with the per- 
 pendicular, at the fore side of the figure, 
 near to the head or upper part ; and this 
 curve will represent the fore side or set of 
 the figure. Abaft the stem, the cheek may 
 be drawn to the sheer of the wale, to 4 feet 
 4 inches, its after end. The upper side of 
 the upper cheek may be exactly in the 
 middle, between the lower side of the low- 
 er cheek, and the upper side of the main rail, 
 the upper side of which is kept on a level 
 with the beak head at the stem ; then set 
 down on the stem, below the upper side of 
 the upper cheek, 11 inches, its siding or 
 lower edge. Tlien draw a parallel line, 4 
 feet 4 inches abaft the perpendicular line, 
 at the fore side of the figure, that will give 
 the boundary of the hair bracket, except 
 the scroll, and likewise the aft-side of the 
 figure ; the scroll which finishes the upper 
 
 part of the hair bracket, should be grace- 
 fully turned over into the lower part of the 
 neck, or between the shoulders of the fi- 
 gure. Square up a line from the after end 
 of the lower cheek, to the upper cheek, 
 and then draw another curve line from the 
 under side of the upper cheek at the stem, 
 the after part kept nearly parallel to the 
 flight of the lower cheek, gradually rising, 
 to break in fair with the perpendicular last 
 drawn, and the under side of the upper 
 cheek will now be represented. Then set 
 off the heel of the figure, or length of the 
 block from which the figure is to be carved, 
 by' squaring up a line from the under side of 
 tlie lower cheek to the under side of the 
 upper cheek, 7 feet 3 inches abaft the per- 
 pendicular, at the fore side of the figure. 
 Then to draw in the siding or upper sides 
 of the cheeks, set up 12 inches, the siding 
 of the lower cheek above its lower side at 
 the stern, and 9 inches at the heel of the 
 figure, or foremost end of the lower cheek j 
 then a curve drawn to a regular taper 
 through those spots, describes the Tipper 
 side of the lower cheek. In the same, draw 
 in the upper side of the upper cheek, taper- 
 ing regularly from 11 inches, its siding at 
 the stem to 7 inches, its siding at the heel 
 of the figure, or lower end of the hair 
 bracket, the upper part of which at the 
 scroll, may be 5 inches ; the hair bracket 
 should be completed by a pleasing serpen- 
 tine line, finishing with the scroll before ob- 
 served. The head of the block, or upper 
 part of the figure, may be completed by 
 continuing the line at the breast of the fi- 
 gure, rounding it to the top of the hair 
 bracket, which is 37 feet 6 inches above the 
 upper side of the keel, observing to keep 
 the upper part of the figure 6 inches below 
 the under side of the bowsprit. 
 
 Having fixed on the upper side of the 
 main rail at the stern, continue the bag or 
 upper side of it level with the beak head, as 
 far out as possible, for the conveniency of 
 the gratings, gradually rising the foremost 
 end nearly parallel with the flight of the 
 upper cheek, terminating the foremost end 
 into the scroll of the hair bracket ; to com- 
 plete the after end, describe the arch of a 
 circle that shall break in fair with the fore 
 side of the beak head at the forecastle, and 
 its upper side at the stem ; the under-side 
 /Of the main rail is drawn by regularly taper- 
 ing it from 12 inches, its moulding at the 
 forecastle ; to 7 inches, its moulding at the 
 fore end ; then continue the head of the 
 main rail 2 feet 6 inches above the plank- 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 sheer, corresponding with the fore side of 
 the beak-head and it is complete. 
 
 The stations of the head timbers may 
 next be drawn thus : place the stem tim- 
 ber, or that nearest the stem, which is 7 
 inches, sided half its siding before the stem, 
 and parallel to it, from the upper side of the 
 upper cheek, to the under side of the main- 
 rail ; then fix the fore side of the foremost 
 head timber on the upper side of the upper 
 cheek, well with the heel of the figure, rak- 
 ing it forward its siding, which is 5 inches. 
 The middle timber, which is sided 6 inches, 
 may be now dra^vn exactly betw'een the 
 former two. 
 
 The two middle rails, between the main- 
 rail and upper cheek, may be next drawn, 
 by dividing the distance, equally between 
 the latter at every head timber, curves then 
 drawn, regularly tapering, as before, to their 
 mouldings ; tliey may be thus represented, 
 as far aft as the side, w'hich terminates tire 
 after-end of the lower rail, about two feet 
 abaft the stem timbers ; and it may be 
 now said, the rail above it also, as most 
 ships now have the supporters under the 
 cat-heads, to bang plumb, or nearly so ; and 
 although this may not finish quite so hand- 
 some as the rail continuing aft, and making 
 the supporter, yet it is much stronger for 
 supporting the cat-heads ; but we shall here 
 describe its method of ending, as has been 
 usual, and the cat-head must be shown in the 
 sheer plan ; and in order to do this, it must 
 be first drawn in the half breadth plan; 
 thus square down the aft-side of the main- 
 rail, or bsak-heqd timber, from the sheer to 
 the half breadth plan, squaring it across ; 
 and another line, 18 inches abaft it, which 
 will be the fore-side, and the latter, the 
 after side of the cat-head, as upon the fore- 
 castle; then from the intersection of the 
 fore side of the cat-head, with the outside 
 plank, at the top-timber, half breadth, or 
 upper side of the forecastle, at the side 
 sweep a carve, at 9 feet distant, or without 
 the bow; for at this place the cat-head cuts 
 the sheer; then square up a line that shall 
 cut the arch last drawm, at a feet before 
 the fore side of the cat head ; then a line 
 drawn from its intersection, to where .the 
 fore side of the cat-head cuts the outside 
 plank, shows what the cat-head casts for- 
 ward ; then a parallel line, drawm at 18 
 inches abaft if, on a square, will be the aft 
 side, and to complete the cat-head on the 
 hah breadth plan, square the outer end. 
 Now square upwards to the forecastle on 
 the sheer plan, where the aft side of the 
 cat-Lead cuts the outside plank on the half 
 
 breadth plan, and likewise its outer ends • 
 then level out a line where the cat-head 
 cuts the upper side , of the forecastle ; at the 
 side above this line set up 3 feet 10 inches 
 on the perpendicular, squared up for the aft 
 . side at the outer end ; then from that spot 
 draw a line to intersect the aft side of the 
 cat-head at the forecastle ; and that will be 
 the under side of the cat-head, showing 
 what it -stives in its length upwards ; then 
 draw a parallel line above that to 16i inches, 
 and the aft side of the cat-head will be 
 shown ; then join the perpendiculars at the 
 outer end, agreeably to the sheer, and draw 
 a line at tlie fore side, parallel to the aft 
 side, and the under side of the cat-head will 
 be represented. In the half breadth plan, 
 draw the supporter under the cat-head, 
 what it is to project the bow, which is 6 
 feet 6 inches, and its siding 10 inches, plac- 
 ing it in the middle of the cat-head ; then 
 square up its length and aft side to the un- 
 der side of tiie cat-head, in the sheer plan, 
 and draw a line parallel to the aft side of 
 the cat-head, from thence to the side its 
 distance from the aft side of the cat-head. 
 Then continue upwards the under side 
 of the upper middle rail, with a curve 
 parallel, or nearly so, to tlie aft side of 
 tlie main rail ; then draw the outer end 
 of the supporter to the shape of a knee, and 
 finish thereto the after end of the upper 
 middle rail with a pleasing curve, resem- 
 bling the after end of the main rail. 
 
 The knee of the head, or cutwater, re- 
 mains now to be described. Let it project 
 from the seating of the figure about 3 inches, 
 which is at 35 feet 6 inches above the upper 
 side of the keel ; tlien draw a line across to 
 the hair bracket with the sheer, and con- 
 tinue the upper side of the knee, or its cut- 
 ting down, about 4 inches above, and paral- 
 lel to the upper side of the upper cheek. 
 Observe, in shaping the fore part of the 
 knee downwards, it be not too full, as it is 
 then liable to rub the cable very much ; 
 therefore let it not project; the foreside of 
 the low'er cheek only to have sufiicient sub- 
 stance for the bobstay holes, which are 4 
 inches diameter. When the lower side of 
 the lower cheek cuts the foreside of the 
 stem, with a radius of 5 feet 4 inches, sweep 
 an arch ; then draw a handsome serpentine 
 line from its projection, at the seat of 
 the figure, downwards, that may cut the 
 back of the arch last drawn, and its breadth 
 at the upper water line, which is two feet 
 before the stem at that place, continuing it 
 downwards, nearer the stem, until it forms 
 the gripe, w'hicli partakes of a circle of 4 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 feet radius as it approaches the fore end of 
 the keel. Therefore let the keel be com- 
 pleted : its upper edge here is represented 
 by the upper edge of tlie rabbit : but this is 
 ' not the case in all ships ; for East India 
 ships have the rabbit in the middle of the 
 keel as well as in the middle of the stem ; 
 but observe, all heights are set up above 
 the line representing the upper edge of the 
 rabbit, whether in the middle of the keel or 
 upper edge. Set down 18 inches from the 
 upper edge of the keel, and draw a straight 
 line parallel thereto, which represents the 
 under edge of the main keel ; then below 
 that set down b inches, and drawing ano- 
 ther parallel line, the false keel will be like- 
 wise represented. To limit the foremost 
 end of the keel, square up a line as shall in- 
 tersect the fore-side of the stem, leaving as 
 ranch of the keel below the stem as it is 
 deep in midships, at least from thence 
 square a line across the stem, and it will 
 limit the fore-foot ; and the keel must there 
 be that depth at least to receive the lower 
 part of the stem, which boxes into it with a 
 scarph, as follow : set otf from the fore end 
 of the keel 6 feet 6 inches, the length the 
 stem scaiphs into the keel; and that the 
 stem, by keeping its moulded breadth, 
 should not wound the keel too much at its 
 lower edge, let the under side of the stem 
 be cut off parallel with the under side of the 
 keel two feet from its after end. The false 
 keel may project the main keel about three 
 inches, to which the lower part of the gripe 
 will unite, and be limited by the fore-foot.' 
 
 The scale which is drawn between the 
 keel and half breadth plan we shall here de- 
 scribe, and very briefly, as most draughts- 
 men are acquainted with scales of this kind. 
 Shipping draughts, in general, are drawn by 
 a scale of one-fourth of an inch to every 
 foot, in the length on the gun-deck, or be- 
 tween the perpendiculars ; and the inches, at 
 each end, divided into twelve parts, by 
 seven lines drawn parallel to each other be- 
 tween the under side of the keel and the 
 main half-breadth, and one foot, or division, 
 at each end, beyond the perpendiculars, arc 
 divided each way in the middle by two' dia- 
 gonal lines, which produce 12 equal parts, 
 or inches. Sometimes this scale is con- 
 structed with five lines, and the foot at each 
 end divided into inches by three equal dia- 
 gonal divisions, the thick, dark line, repre- 
 senting the under side of the keel, is generally 
 continued round the scale by way of orna- 
 ment. 
 
 Now, to proceed to finish the stem, quar- 
 
 ter-galleries, &c. : first draw in tiie aft side of 
 the quarter-piece at the outside’, yvhich you 
 will find by the rounding of the stern, to 
 come 13 inches before the upper counter 
 knuckle of the side stern timber, setting it 
 off as before directed; then draw a line 
 with pencil, for the present, parallel to the 
 side stern timber upwards, as the projection 
 of the outside of the quarter gallery is nearly 
 parallel to the side, except towards the up- 
 per part of the quarter-piece. Then draw 
 the projection of the upper counter rail at 
 the knuckle of the middle stern timber, 
 thus : draw a line, 2^ inches parallel, abaft 
 the upper counter at the middle, which will 
 represent the thickness of the plank of the 
 upper counter ; then draw the under side 
 of the rail, square from the upper counter, 
 and to project enough to bury the plank in 
 a rabbit; from thence set up 8 inches, the 
 breadth of the rail, and to intersect it set 
 otf 7 inches, its thickness, drawing the up- 
 per side to the sheer ; then from this pro- 
 jection draw lines parallel to the knuckles, 
 till they intersect the line drawn for the 
 aftside of the qharter piece ; thus the round 
 up of the aftside of the upper counter rail 
 will be represented in the sheer plan. From 
 the intersection of the upper side of the 
 upper counter rail with the aft side of the 
 quarter-piece draw a straight line forwards, 
 parallel with the sheer, or top-timber line, 
 and that will represent the upper edge of 
 the lower gallery rim; upon that line set 
 off before the quarter piece 16 feet 9 inches, 
 the length of it on the side, then the under- 
 side of the rim will be shown by a line 
 drawn parallel to 8 inches below it. 
 
 In the same manner draw a section of 
 the lower counter rail, its under side to be 
 square from the knuckle of the lower coun- 
 ter at the middle stern timber, and to pro- 
 ject enough to bury the plank of the lower 
 counter, the thickness of which will be re- 
 presented by drawing a line to 4 inches pa- 
 rallel, abaft the lower counter, at the mid- 
 dle ; from thence set up the breadth of it, 
 which is 8' inches, and thereto project 8 
 inches, its thickness; from thence draw 
 lines parallel to the knuckles of the lower 
 counter to the counter at the side, drawn 
 parallel, what tlie quarter piece projects, or 
 as mucli as the lower counter rail rounds 
 forward at the outside ; then draw a line 
 2 feet 10 inches below, and parallel to the 
 upper side of the lower gallery rim, and 
 another likewise inches below it, and that 
 will show the lower counter rail, as continu- 
 ed round the quarters, called the lower stool 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 rail; set off from its aft side 13 feet, the 
 length of this rail on the quarter. Then 
 draw in the lower finishing, which should 
 be as light and airy as possible : and first 
 set down 10 inches below the rail last 
 drawn, and draw a line parallel thereto, and 
 another also 4 inches below it, which is the 
 thickness of the stool. Draw a line paral- 
 lel to the rake of the quarter-piece, at 7 
 feet 11 inches, set oif square before it, and 
 this will give the rake of the quarter in the 
 middle of the lower galleiy, and likewise 
 the middle of the lower finishing. ' Set down 
 13 inches below the stool, and in the direc- 
 tion on the line last drawn ; then draw a 
 handsome serpentine line from the under' 
 side of the lower counter-rail at the side, 
 through the spot last set offj continuing it 
 upwards nearly to the fore end Of the lower 
 stool rail, the lower finishing will be com- 
 pleted ; and then draw a curve 4 inches 
 abaft, and parallel to the lower counter at 
 the side, and the stern will be finished be- 
 low the lower gallery rim. 
 
 Then set up the qft side of the quarter- 
 piece, and with the rake from the upper 
 edge of the lower gallery rim, 5 feet, and 
 draw a line along the quarter parallel to the 
 sheer, or lower gallery rim, and another 
 line in the same direction 8 inches above it, 
 and its length, 16 feet 9 inches, from the 
 aft side of the quarter piece, and that will 
 represent the middle stool rail, and a conti- 
 nuation of the foot-space rail from aft round 
 the quarters. Hitherto the quarter-piece 
 has been considered as one length, from the 
 upper part to the lower gallery rim ; but as 
 that would make it very heavy, and of an 
 unnecessary length, let its heel, or lower 
 end, terminate on the middle stool. 
 
 Now set forward the siding of the quar- 
 ter-piece, which is 16 inches, on a square, 
 and draw a line to that siding parallel to the 
 aft-side, which represents the fore side of 
 tlie quarter piece ; continue down the fore- 
 side line fi'om the under side of the middle 
 stool rail to the upper side of the lower rim 
 rail. Then set up the fore side of the quar- 
 ter-piece on the rake, 3 feet 2 inches above 
 the upper edge of the lower rim rail, and 
 above that inches, and draw two lines 
 forward, parallel to the lower rim, to 12 feet 
 2 inches before the fore side of the quarter- 
 piece, and they will represent the upper 
 gallery rim. Then above the upper rim, 
 and parallel to it, draw the upper stool rail 
 thus : set up the fore side of the quarter- 
 piece, and on the rake 3 feet 10 inches 
 from tlte upper edge of the upper rim, and 
 
 6^'inches, its depth above it, and draw two 
 parallel lines from thence to 12 feet 2 inches 
 before the fore side of the quarter-piece. 
 Above the upper stool draw the upper 
 finishing thus : set up the rake at the fore 
 side of the quarter-piece, 12 inches from the 
 upper side of the upper stool, and below 
 that height 4 inches ; then draw two lines 
 from thence, parallel to the upper stool, to 
 
 10 feet 8 inches before the fore side of the 
 quarter-piece in the same manner, and from 
 the same place as above set 23 inches, and 
 2| inches below it, and the pulpit rail, or 
 upper rail of the finish, will be found to an- 
 swer with the height of the plank sheer; 
 then set forward from the fore side of the 
 quarter-piece 10 feet 2 inches ; then draw 
 between those two rails a line parallel to 
 the rake of the quarter, about 3 inches 
 within the forwards ; then finish tlie fore 
 part of the quarter from the under side of 
 the middle rail of the upper finishing to the 
 upper side of the upper stool rail at the 
 fore part by an ogee curve, and the upper 
 fini.shiug wall be complete. 
 
 Now, as the upper rim shortens so much 
 more than the lower rim, in order to make 
 the upper gallery lighter and smaller, con- 
 nect the under side of the upper rim at the 
 fore side with the middle stool rail, with an 
 airy raking curve ; then the munions and 
 gallery lights remain only to be represented 
 to complete the quarters. And first draw 
 the fore side of the lower gallery by a line 
 set olF on the sheer 14 feet 2 inches before, 
 and parallel to the fore side of the quarter- 
 piece, from the upper side of the lower 
 rim to the under side of the middle stool 
 rail; then set aft 12 inches on a square from 
 this line, and draw another parallel there- 
 to, and this will show the foremost munion 
 of the lower gallery ; then divide between 
 the aft side of this munion and the fore side 
 of the quarter-piece, into thrtee lights, hav- 
 ing a twelve-inch munion between each 
 light, and then the light will be about 2 feet 
 
 11 inches, in the clear, on a square; then 
 draw the bottom of each light about 6 
 inches above, and parallel to the lower rim, 
 for the water-table, and their upper parts 
 about 4 inches below the middle stool 
 rail. 
 
 The lights of the upper gallery may next 
 be drawn in a similar manner. Thus, draw 
 the fore part as before, which is llfeet 
 7 inches before the fore side of the quarter- 
 piece, then set aft 10 inches on a- square 
 for the foremost munion and space between 
 that and the fore side of the quarter-piece, 
 
SHIP BUILDING. 
 
 three munions of 10 inches broad each, and 
 three lights about 2 feet 2 inches in the 
 clear ; draw the bottom of the lights about 
 5 inches attove the upper rim, and the up- 
 per part of the lights about 3 inches below 
 the underside of the upper stool-rail : hence 
 the quarters are complete. To finish the 
 stern abaft, and above the upper counter, 
 set abaft the middle stern timber on the 
 upper side of the quarter deck, 2 feet 6 
 inches, and draw a line upwards parallel to 
 the aft side of the timber, and this line wilt 
 be the projection of the balcony. On this 
 line set down, below the under side of the 
 quarter deck about ir inch, from whence 
 draw a curve that shall cut the side stern- 
 timber at jr inch below the under side of 
 the quarter deck at that place, and to break 
 in with the under side of the middle stool 
 rail, at the aft side of the quarter piece ; 
 then draw another curve nearly parallel 
 above it, from the upper side of the middle 
 stool rail, to project 2 inches abaft the bal- 
 cony, and it will represent the aft side view 
 of the foot space rail, as far as the middle 
 line. Draw an horizontal line at the upper 
 sifie of the foot space rail abaft, then take 
 the upper side of the middle rim above the 
 middle stool-rail, and set it up in the same 
 manner above tlje horizontal line last drawn^ 
 to cut the aft side of the balcony, and from 
 thence draw a curve parallel to the foot- 
 space rail, to the inside of the quarter-piece, 
 which is represented by a line drawn paral- 
 lel to the aft side of the quarter-piece, 
 at about 4 inches within it, then draw an- 
 other curve parallel below the former, to 
 the depth of the upper rim, and the breast 
 rail of the balcony will be represented 
 also. Then draw a parallel line 3 inches 
 abaft the middle stern-timber, from the un- 
 der side of the foot space rail down to tire 
 upper counter rail, and that will show the 
 after munion at the middle of the stern. 
 
 Now draw in the taffrail and upper part 
 of the quarter-piece, which unite in one 
 view at the side. Set up 3 feet above the 
 upper side of the round-house, at the mid- 
 dle stern-timber, and draw a line to the 
 sheer, which will be the upper side of the 
 taffrail ; then draw a line 3 inches abaft the 
 middle timber, and parallel to it, which 
 will be the aft side of tlic taffrail birthing ; 
 then set up the side stern-timber on its 
 rake, 3 feet above the breast rail, for the 
 cove, or arching, of the quarter-piece ; then 
 fr om the under side of the taffrail, which 
 may be about ir inch below the under side 
 of the round-house transom, draw a curve 
 
 to the trass munion on the side stern-tiirs- 
 ber, then set down 2 feet below the upper 
 side of the taffrail, and from thence draw 
 another curve, to break in with the former 
 at the truss-munion, which represent the 
 taffrail cove rail ; then set up 5 feet above 
 the breast rail, at the side stern tinrber on 
 the rake, and finish the upper part of the 
 quarter-piece to this height by a round pa- 
 rallel to that at the cove; then draw a 
 curve from the aft side of the taffrail down 
 to 3 inches abaft the upper part of the 
 quarter-piece at the side-timber, and an- 
 other curve, parallel before it, to the siding 
 of the quarter-piece, and the stern will be 
 complete. 
 
 The rudder now remains to be drawn in 
 the sheer plan, which represents its breadth, 
 and how it is attached to the stern-post. 
 Set up from the upper edge of the keel 19 
 feet 6 inches for the lower hance, which 
 is generally kept a little above the load wa- 
 ter line ; then set up 25 feet for the upper 
 hance ; then set aft, from the aft side of the 
 stern-post, its breadth at the keel, which is 
 5 feet 8 inches, and at the lower hance 4 
 feet ; then draw a line to those two breadths, 
 and a parallel line 3 inches abaft it for tlie 
 back, and the rudder is formed below the 
 lower hance, except the heel, which at 
 the foreside may come as low down as the 
 middle of the main keel, and cut off with 
 a line 4 inches short of that at the aft side, 
 below which is fixed a sole, equal in depth 
 to the false keel, this is to prevent its 
 striking, if the ship touches the ground. 
 Then draw a moulding at the lower hance, 
 so as to reduce the breadth to 3 feet 4 
 inched ; then set aft 3 feet at the upper 
 hance, and join the two last breadths by a 
 straight line ; then reduce the upper hance, 
 with an ogee mdulding, to 2 feet 6 inches ; 
 then set off 2 feet 4 inches, the breadth at 
 the head ; now the head must run up high 
 enough to take a tiller above the upper 
 deck ; therefore set up above the deck 3 
 feet, and continue upwards the aft side of 
 the stern-post, which will represent the fore 
 side of the rudder ; then set aft the breadth 
 of the head as above, and join it with a 
 straight line to the breadth at the upper 
 hance, and the aft side of the rudder will 
 be represented, 'fh® pintles and bracea 
 may next be drawn, and as the straps of the 
 upper brace must come round the head of 
 the standard on the gun deck, and, meeting 
 in the middle, becomes a double security 
 to the brace ; therefore its under side may 
 be about 3 inches above the upper side of 
 
SHI 
 
 the wing transom ; then fix the under side 
 of the lower brace about 8 inches above the 
 upper side of the keel, then the others, 
 which are five in number, may be placed at 
 equal distances between the upper and 
 lower brace, their lengths may be repre- 
 sented by setting off, before the aft side of 
 the post, tiie length of the lower brace, 
 which is 7 feet, and the second brace, which 
 is 4 feet 6 inches ; then," by drawing a line 
 to these two, the intermediate ones will be 
 governed by it ; then set up the breadth of 
 the straps, which is 4i inches, drawing them 
 parallel to the lengths above mentioned, 
 and square from the aft side of the post. 
 The pintles are next drawn, 4^ inches the 
 breadth of their straps, immediately above 
 the braces, and parallel thereto, across the 
 rudder, and extend within 2 inches of the 
 back. The pintles are 3| inches in diame- 
 ter, and 13 inches long, except the lower 
 one, which is 15 inches long. 
 
 The steps of the side being mentioned, 
 we will describe their situation. Before we 
 can say the sheer draught is complete, the 
 steps must be fixed to the side, at the fore 
 part of the main drift, and in length what 
 the distance between the ports will admit ; 
 they are generally placed 5 inches asunder, 
 and 6 inches deep, and continued from 11 
 inches below the top of the side to the up- 
 per edge of the lower or main wales. 
 
 The chestree may be also drawn, which 
 must be placed at a proper distance before 
 the main-mast, for hauling home the main 
 tack ; therefore place it the most conve- 
 nient abaft the break of the forecastle, 
 which in this ship is 5 feet ; it is sided 10 
 inches at the upper part or top of the side, 
 and tapers to 6 inches at the lower part or 
 ■upper edge of the channel wales. 
 
 Lastly, tlie anchor-lining is a birthing of 
 three-inch plank, projecting from a bolster 
 on the side, at the upper edge of the channel 
 wales, to the outside of the fore channel, and 
 is to convey the peak of the anchor on to 
 the plank sheer, to stow it clear of the side; 
 and as it determines the length of the fore 
 channel, it should always be drawn on the 
 sheer plan by a radius equal to tlie length 
 of the anchor from the ring to the peak of 
 the fluke, allowing for the cat-block at the 
 outer end of the cat-head ; and the lining 
 should be so placed up the side, that the 
 peak of the anchor may sweep np the mid- 
 dle of it : the fore side is finished agreeable 
 to this sweep, and the aft side is shown 
 perpendicular. 
 
 The cat-block may be likewise drawn 
 abaft the main rail of the head, and the tim- 
 
 SHO 
 
 ber-head adjoining upon the plank sheer of 
 the forecastle, and tlie sheer draught may 
 be said to be completed. 
 
 Ships. Wilfully destroying a ship, with 
 intent to prejudice the insurers ; plundering 
 a ship in distress ; stealing goods of the va- 
 lue of 40s. from on ship-board ; burning or 
 destroying any of his Majesty’s shipping or 
 stores ; are, by a variety of statutes, made 
 felony, without benefit of clergy. 
 
 Ship money, an imposition charged on 
 the ports, towns, cities, boroughs, and coun- 
 ties of this realm, in the time of Charles I., 
 by w'rits, commonly called ship-writs, under 
 the great seal of England, in 1635 and 1636, 
 for providing and furnishing certain ships 
 for the King’s service, &c. which was de- 
 clared to be contrary to the laws and sta- 
 tutes of this realm, the petition of right, 
 and liberty of the subject. 
 
 SHIRE, in geography, signifies the same 
 as county ; being originally derived from the 
 Saxon pcipan, to divide. 
 
 SHIVERS, or Sheevers, in the sea- 
 language, names given to the little rollers or 
 round wheels of pulleys. 
 
 SHOAD, among miners, denotes a train 
 of metalline stones, serving to direct them 
 in the discovery of mines. 
 
 SHOAL, in the sea-language, denotes a 
 place where the water is shallow. 
 
 SHOE /or an anchor, in a ship, the place 
 for the anchor to rest, and fitted to receive 
 the stock, .&c. so as to prevent the sheets, 
 tacks, and other running-rigging, from gall- 
 ing, or being entangled with the flukes. 
 
 SHOOTING. See Gunnery and Pro- 
 jectiles. 
 
 Shooting. See Sporting. 
 
 Shooting, maliciously, at persons in any 
 dwelling bouse, or other place, though death 
 should not ensue, is felony without clergy, 
 by 9 George I. c. 22, commonly called the 
 Black Act. 
 
 SHOPLIFTERS, those who steal goods 
 privately out of shops. If the goods are of 
 the value of 51. though no person be in the 
 shop, is felony without benefit of clergy. 
 10 and 11 William III. c. 23. 
 
 SHORE, a place washed by the sea, or 
 by some large river. Count Marsigli di- 
 vides the sea-shore into three portions ; the 
 first of which is that tract of land which the 
 sea just reaches in storms and high tides, 
 but which it never covers ; the second part 
 of the shore, is that which is covered in 
 high tides and storms, but is dry at other 
 times ; and the third is the descent from 
 this, which is always covered with water. 
 The first part is only a continuation of the 
 
sno 
 
 Continent, and sntFers no alteration from 
 the neighbourhood of the sea, except that it 
 is rendered tit for the growth of some 
 plants, and wholly unfit for that of others, 
 by the saline steams and impregnations ; 
 and it is scarcely to be conceived by any, but 
 those who have observed it, how far on 
 land the effects of the sea read), so as to 
 make the earth proper for plants, which 
 will not grow without this influence ; there 
 being sevd'al plants frequently found on 
 high hills, and dry places, at three, four, and 
 more miles from the sea, vidiich yet would 
 not grow, unless in the neighbourhood of it, 
 nor will ever be found elsewhere. The se- 
 cond part or portion of the shore is much 
 more affected by the sea than the former, 
 being frequently washed and beaten by it. 
 Its productions are rendered salt by the 
 water, and it is covered with sand, or with 
 the' fragments of shells inform of sand, and in 
 some places with a tartarous matter depo- 
 sited from the water; the colour of this 
 whole extent of ground is usually dusky and 
 dull, especially where there are rocks and 
 stones, and these covered with a slimy mat- 
 ter. The third part of the shore is more af- 
 fected by the sea than either of the others, 
 and is covered with an uniform crust of the 
 true nature of the bottom of the sea, ex- 
 cept that plants and animals have their resi- 
 dence in it ; and the decayed parts of these 
 alter it a little. 
 
 SHORL, in mineralogy, occurs com- 
 monly in granite, gneiss, and other simitar 
 rocks ; often in mass, but very frequently 
 crystallized. The primitive form of its 
 crystals is an obtuse rhomboid, the solid 
 angle at the summit of which is 139’, having 
 rhomboid faces, with angles of 114’ 12' and 
 65“ 48' : but it usually occurs in three, six, 
 eight, nine, or twelve sided prisms, termi- 
 nated by four or five-sided summits, va- 
 riously truncated. , 
 
 SiioRL, black. Colour black. Found in 
 mass, disseminated and crystallized. Crys- 
 tals three-sided prisms, having their lateral 
 edges truncated. Sometimes terminating 
 in a pyramid. It becomes electric by heat. 
 When heated to redness, its colour becomes 
 browhiishred; and at 127“Wedgewood,itis 
 converted into a brownish compact enamel. 
 According to Wiegleb, it is composed of 
 
 Alumina 41.25 
 
 Silica 34.16 
 
 Iron 20.00 
 
 Manganese 5.41 
 
 100.82 
 
 SH O 
 
 Shorl, electric. This stone was first 
 made known in Europe by specimens 
 brought from Ceylon ; but it is now found 
 frequently forming a part of the composition 
 of mountains. It is sometimes in amor- 
 phous pieces, but much more frequently 
 crystallized in three or nine sided prisms, 
 with four-sided summits. Colour usually 
 green ; sometimes brown, red, blue. Found 
 in mass, in grains, and crystallized. Crystals 
 three, six, or nine-sided prisms, variously 
 truncated. Its texture is foliated. Specific 
 gravity 3. Colour brown, sometimes with 
 a tint of green, blue, red, or yellow. When 
 heated to 200’ Fahrenheit, it becomes elec- 
 tric, one of the summits negatively and the 
 other positively. It reddens when heated, 
 and is fusible per se, with white intumes- 
 cence, into a white or grey enamel. Ac- 
 cording to Vauquelin, it is composed of 
 
 Silica 40 
 
 Alumina 39 
 
 Oxide of iron 12 
 
 Lime 4 
 
 Oxide of manganese 2.5 
 
 97.5 
 
 Loss 2.5 
 
 100 
 
 SHORLITE, a stone which received its 
 name from M. Klaproth, is generally found 
 in oblong masses, which, when regular, are 
 six-sided prisms, inserted in granite. Its 
 texture is foliated. Specific gravity 3.53. 
 Colour greenish or yellowish white ; some- 
 times sulphur yellow. Not altered by heat. 
 
 It is composed of 
 
 Alumina 50 
 
 Silica 50 
 
 100 
 
 SHORT -HAND, Stenography. When 
 mankind had acquired a tolerable degree of 
 expertness and exactness in the use of let- 
 ters by the ordinary modes of writing, it 
 became the study of the curious to invent 
 more concise methods of denoting the same 
 words or phrases. Hence sundry schemes 
 of abbreviation for compendious writing 
 were devised ; and the learned of different 
 nations introduced them into their respec- 
 tive languages, according as more skill and 
 greater perfection in writing them were 
 acquired. Buxtorf has written a learned 
 history of Hebrew abbreviations, as a key 
 to understand the Rabbinical authors. Some 
 of them are the incipient letters of several 
 words, joined together as one, and marked 
 
SHORT‘HANt). 
 
 at the top with points ; others are the final 
 letters of words ; and others, again, are 
 contracted words, wherein two or three 
 letters are made to denote an entire word. 
 The Jews were particularly partial to these 
 ' methods of abbreviation, to which they 
 added a few arbitrary characters to express 
 certain proper names, such as God, Je- 
 hovah, &c. 
 
 This kind of writing was, by degrees, in- 
 troduced, and successfully practised among 
 the Greeks. Nicolai gives it as his opinion 
 that Xenophon first taught the Greeks to 
 write by certain notes, in the nature of cha- 
 racters. Laertius confirms this opinion, 
 and particularly mentions two methods of 
 short writing, viz. one by contractions of 
 words, and the other by arbitrary marks. 
 I'his art was practised among the Romans 
 at an early period. Indeed, the first in- 
 vention of a system of short-hand, by wliich 
 the writer was enabled to follow the most 
 rapid speaker, has been ascribed by some 
 to the poet Ennius, and it is said that it was 
 afterwards improved by Tyro, Cicero’s freed 
 man; and still more so by Seneca. Ennius 
 began the practice with one thousand one 
 hundred marks of his own contrivance. As 
 an elucidation of this subject, and to show in 
 what estimation this art was held among the 
 Romans, we may briefly notice two of the 
 Roman Emperors, of very opposite cha- 
 racters; Caligula and Titus'Vespasian. It 
 was deemed a great defect in one of them 
 to be ignorant of short-hand, and a perfec- 
 tion in the other, to be acquainted with this 
 highly useful and ingenious art. Caligula was 
 a man guilty of so many vices, that; it might 
 be imagined his ignorance of siiort-hatid 
 would not have fallen under the notice of 
 an historian. And yet Suetonius mentions 
 it as something remarkable, that he w'ho 
 was so expert in other matters, and wanted 
 not capacity and parts, was totally ignorant 
 of short-hand. Titus Vespasian, on the 
 contrary, was remarkable for writing short- 
 hand exceedingly swift. He was indeed a 
 true lover of the art, and made it not only 
 his business but his diversion. It afforded 
 him great pleasure to get his amanuenses 
 together, and entertain himself with trying 
 which of them could write fastest ; so that, 
 by constant practice, he acquired such a 
 command of hand, and such a facility in 
 imitation, that he was wont to joke upon 
 himself hnd say, what a special counterfeit 
 he should have made. 
 
 The different schemes of short-hand for- 
 merly used, were probably much of the 
 
 same nature, exceedingly arbitrary, and, for 
 the most part, unintelligible to any but 
 those who practised them ; and, for that 
 reason, were soon forgotten and destroyed. 
 We may guess at the fate they generally 
 experienced, by two books of short-hand 
 mentioned by Trithemius. The first was a 
 dictionary of short-hand, which he bought 
 of an abbot, who was a doctor of law, for a 
 few pence, to the great satisfaction of the 
 community to which he belonged, who had 
 ordered the short-hand marks to be erased, 
 for the sake of the parchment on which 
 they were written. The other was a short- 
 hand copy of the book of Psalms, which he 
 met with in another monastry, where the 
 learned monks had inscribed upon it, by 
 way of title, “ A Psalter of the Armenia 
 Language !” Several copies of a dictionary 
 and psalter, in the Roman short hand, are 
 mentioned as extant in different libraries ; 
 but they are, in general, the same method, 
 as may be judged by the accounts of those 
 who mention them, and also from the appear- 
 ance of the hand-writing of an old short- 
 hand psalter, in the library of St. Ger- 
 main’s at Paris, a few pages from which 
 were transcribed for the use of the writer 
 of these observations. 
 
 Plutarch, in his life of Cato, informs us, 
 that the celebrated speech of that patriot, 
 relating to the Catilinian conspiracy, was 
 taken and preserved in short-hand. There 
 are numerous epigrams of Ausonius, Mar- 
 tial, and Manilius, descriptive and com- 
 mendatory of short hand. Probably the 
 most ancient method of short-writing at 
 present extant, is a Latin MS. entitled 
 “ Ars Scribendi Characteris ;” or, “ The 
 Art of Writing in Characters." The author 
 of this tract is unknown ; but, we believe, 
 it was printed about the year i 412 . 
 
 The ancient Irish alphabets, particularly 
 the first, which was purely stenographic, 
 named Bobeloth, have a strong resem- 
 blance to many of our modern short-hands, 
 but they are now little known. A speci- 
 men of this writing may be seen in Led- 
 wich’s Antiquities, p. 98 . 
 
 M. Larabinet, in his Researches upon 
 Printing, observes, that modern stenogra- 
 phy, which, like the telegraph, dates in 
 France fl ora the foundation of the republic, 
 has neither the inconvenience, nor tiie ob- 
 scurity, nor the danger of the ancient. 
 The old characters varied under the hand 
 of the copiers, and the sense changed ac- 
 cording to the genius of the interpreters ; 
 so tliat their contractions are become so 
 
SHORT-HAND. 
 
 many enigmas, because we can refer to no 
 otlier copies to ascertain the true reading, 
 and because the authors are no longer in 
 existence. “But,” continues Lambinet, 
 “ by the present system of stenography, the 
 writers follow the words of the public ora- 
 tors, take down their speeches, the motions, 
 the debates of the tribune, or the lectures 
 of the professors at the Lyceum, and pro- 
 duce a literal translation at last, in the usual 
 characters, and in print.” What the im- 
 proved short-hand is, to which this French 
 writer alludes, we are not informed. 
 
 The ingenious attempt of the late learn- 
 ed Bishop Wilkins, towards a real charac- 
 ter and philosophical language, has much 
 the appearance of some short-hands now in 
 use. How far this attempt might have been 
 successful we know not ; had the contri- 
 vance been carried to that degree of per- 
 fection of whi’ch the Bishop thought it ca- 
 pable. The reader may find a specimen 
 of this philosophic character in Stowers’ 
 Printer’s Grammar. 
 
 The shortest and most curious mode of 
 writing, not professedly stenographic, which 
 we have hitherto seen, is the specimen of 
 ancient Welsh, by the ingenious Mr. W. 
 Owen. This also may be seen in Mr. 
 Stowers’ Grammar, p. 294. 
 
 The art of short-writing was first attempt- 
 ed to be published in this country in the 
 year 1588, in a treatise entitled “ Charac- 
 terie, or the Art of Short, .Swift, and Se- 
 cret Writing, by Character, by Timothy 
 Bright, M. D.” Two years after the ap- 
 pearance of Dr. Bright’s treatise, Mr. Pe- 
 ter Bale published his “ Writing School- 
 master,” which he divided into three parts, 
 the first of which he entitled “ Brachygra- 
 phy,” containing rules to write as fast as a 
 man can speak, with propriety and distinc- 
 tion. In 1618, appeared Willis’s “ Steno- 
 graphy ; or Short-hand Writing, by spelling 
 Characterics.” This system consisted of 
 ten alphabets, denominated words of sort ; 
 seven of which were composed of the initial 
 letters of words ; the rest, principally by 
 the omission of unnecessary letters, and by 
 symbolical figures. This system was at- 
 tempted to be improved upon by Henry 
 Dix’s “ Brachygraphy.” Omitting the men- 
 tion of numerous other methods of Short- 
 hand writing, that soon followed these seve- 
 ral schemes, we must proceed to lay before 
 the reader such a system of stenography, 
 as, if generally known, would supersede the 
 necessity of every other system ; having 
 been the result of great labour and inge- 
 
 nuity, as well as recommended, and its 
 practical utility sufficiently demonstrated, 
 by the practice of some of the fiist literary 
 characters of our age, and the best judges 
 of the art. This system is that invented by 
 the late ingenious and worthy Mr. John 
 Byrom, M. A. F. R. S. commonly known 
 by the appellation of Doctor ; availing our- 
 selves, at the same time, of the very judi- 
 cious improvements introduced by Mr. Mo- 
 lineux, uf IVJaccIesfield, whose Introduc- 
 tion to Byroin’s Short hand is certainly 
 the most beautiful and complete work on 
 the subject ever yet produced to the pub- 
 lic. It is published, for the author, by 
 Longman and Co. London. 
 
 The short-hand alphabet, as exhibited in 
 the annexed plate, consists of the shortest 
 and simplest marks in nature ; and on the 
 proper formation and combination of these 
 characters, depend the beauty and accuracy 
 of the writing. We will endeavour to lay 
 down such directions, as appear necessary 
 to acquire a general knowledge of the art ; 
 referring our readers to Mr. Molineux’s 
 Treatise, for more ample instructions on 
 the subject. 
 
 Tlie great end of short-writing being to 
 convey the sounds of words, by the fewest, 
 as well as the most simple characters, all 
 those letters wliich are not distinctly sound- 
 ed in pronunciation are to be omitted ; ex- 
 cept in a few cases, wliere either the word 
 w'onld be rendered ambiguous, or present 
 an unsightly appearance, without certain 
 of its quiescent letters: for instance, it is 
 evident that the letters wakd, properly 
 joined together, might be allowed to repre- 
 sent'walked, provided the reader could al- 
 ways remember to sound the a broad, as 
 in wall; but as the word, so contracted, 
 might easily be mistaken for the word wak- 
 ed; it is always best to spell it with the let- 
 ter 1; thus, walkd. This example will suf- 
 fice for other words of the like nature. The 
 omission of vowels, especially in the middle 
 of words, has been a fault too common with 
 writers on the present subject: yet it must 
 generally be observed, that in short-writing 
 it is proper to insert those vowels only 
 which are absolutely necessary in the pro- 
 nunciation, w'hich is a great saving of time, 
 as well as conducive to the beauty of the 
 writing. It is sometimes convenient, for the 
 sake of facility in joining, to substitute one 
 letter for another : as k for g, ks for x, &c, 
 yet this should never be resorted to, but 
 for some obvious advantage of beauty or 
 brevity. 
 
SHORT-HAND. 
 
 The short-hand alphabet, as some sup- 
 pose concerning the Hebrew, consists of 
 consonants only, the vowels being supplied 
 by dots differently placed. These conso- 
 nants, running neatly into each other, will 
 form the marks for words, never lifting the 
 pen in writing a word, except in a very few 
 instances, and for the sake of preserving 
 the beauty of the writing, which will always 
 be attended with a correspondent degree 
 of brevity and legibility ; a circumstance, 
 perhaps, peculiar to the method of Mr. By- 
 rom, where beauty, brevity, and legibility 
 are happily combined. 
 
 The twenty-one consonants which com- 
 pose the short-hand alphabet, are formed 
 out of simple lines, to some of which are at- 
 tached small loops or twirls. These lines 
 derive their respective powers and proper- 
 ties by their difference of position, and by 
 some of them being made curviiineal. 
 
 The horizontal characters are always to 
 be written from left to right ; the peipen- 
 dicular ones are invariably written down- 
 wards; and with respect to the oblique 
 characters, it is to be observed, that those 
 which lean to the left are generally written 
 upw.ards, while those having their inclina- 
 tion to the right hand, are always written 
 downwards. Not any of the twirled letters 
 (the duplicate characters denoting h, j, w, 
 ■and sh, which are never joined to any other 
 letters ; but simply stand for the words had, 
 just, would, and should, excepted) ought 
 never to be written so as to end with the 
 loop. This observation must not be for- 
 gotten by the learner, and he will never be 
 at a loss about the manner of Joining the 
 looped characters to other letters. 
 
 It will be observed, that some of the let- 
 ters are denoted by two, and the letter I 
 even by three diflFerent characters ; but as 
 these characters are formed in the same 
 manner, having only a simple change of 
 position, and as they will be found to be of 
 singular advantage in the joining of them to 
 some letters, no ambiguity can possibly 
 arise by their occasional use. The little 
 mark, denoting the abbreviation for the 
 two Latin words et ceterea, is formed out of 
 the letters t and s, and is well calculated 
 for the purpose to which it is applied. It' is 
 the only eharacter (if we except the little 
 mark for the very common termination 
 o ing) which has the appearance of an ar- 
 bitrary mark in the whole system ; and even 
 this is foimed not strictly upon an arbi- 
 trary, but an alphabetical principle. 
 
 We have already observed that the vowels 
 
 are expressed in short hand by means of 
 dots, distinguished by their relative situa- 
 tions with respect to the consonants to 
 which they are 'supposed to be joined. 
 Although it is proper, in the spelling of 
 words, to use no raoie vowels than are 
 strielly necessary to convey the sound:; yet 
 as all writing must be rendered extremely 
 illegible by their total omission in the mid- 
 dle of words, we will here lay down proper 
 directions for their use and application. 
 Whenever a vowel constitutes a perfect 
 syllable in any word, whether that syllable 
 be incipient, radical, or terminative, it must 
 always be inserted ; unless in the case of 
 following a veiy rapid speaker; and the 
 vowels which are then unavoidably omitted, 
 should be inserted as soon as convenient 
 afterwards, while the subject is fresh in the 
 writer’s memory ; by which means the legi- 
 bility of the writing will be elfectually se- 
 cured and preserved. 
 
 The manner of placing the vowels in this 
 system is, of all others, the most natural, 
 and the freest from ambiguity. A simple 
 stroke, however placed, will naturally sug- 
 gest the idea of supplying five different 
 places for the five vowel points: viz. the 
 top, the middle, the bottom, and the cen- > 
 ties of the halves when so divided. Care, 
 however, must be taken not to place the 
 dot for the vowel a, over the perpendicular 
 or oblique characters ; nor the same vowel 
 point before the horizontal ones. By a very 
 slight attention, it will be observed that in 
 this plan of short-w'riting the same general 
 method is to b^ observed as in common 
 writing; i.e. not to write perpendicular 
 letters from the b9ttom upwards, nor any 
 letters from the right to the left; conse- 
 quently all the vowel points belonging to 
 upright consonants are to be placed imme- 
 diately before or after the consonant, as the 
 case may require; those connected with 
 the horizontal characters, exactly ovei', 
 when they precede, and under, when they 
 follow the consonant. 
 
 The vowels are always reckoned from 
 the beginning of the consonant. 'When, 
 therefore, any inclined consonant is begun 
 at the bottom of the short-hand line, and 
 written upwards, the vowels -are always 
 counted from the bottom, on each side of 
 the character, upwards. A due attention 
 to the manner of placing the vowel points, 
 in the cases of curved or semi-circiilar let- 
 ters, as it is exhibited in the annexed plate, 
 will explain the matter beyond the possi- 
 bility of misconception or embarrassment. 
 
SHORTHAND. 
 
 With respect to the long and short sounds 
 of vowels, it is convenient, wdien time will 
 allow of it, to express the broad sound of a 
 vowel by making its representative dot a 
 little larger than in the usual method ot ex- 
 pressing the vowels. When two, or more, 
 different vowels occur, without any inter- 
 vening consonant, they may be distinguish- 
 ed by making the first a little thicker 
 and stronger, diminishing their respective 
 strengths until the last vowel is expressed, 
 by being made of the usual thickness. Two 
 es, or two os, may be expressed by two 
 dots of the same size. In swift writing, we 
 know, these minutia cannot always be 
 strictly attended to. It is^ nevertheless, 
 convenient to have a method so simple and 
 useful to resort to, when time will allow ; 
 and it is one of the many excellencies pecu- 
 liar to this system, that it will admit of these 
 orthographical attentions. 
 
 The letter y, at the beginning of words, 
 is a consonant ; but at the end of words, or 
 when it follows a consonant, it is a vowel, 
 and, as such, is represented, in short-hand, 
 by a dot in the i’s place, as in the word 
 butt, beauty. 
 
 As the horizontal characters may be 
 written at the top, or middle, or bottom, 
 of the line, the vowel may be sometimes 
 indicated by their situation between the pa- 
 rallels, as same, at the top ; sin, in the mid- 
 dle ; and sun, at the bottom of the line. 
 
 There are few monosyllables, beginning 
 with a vowel, that are immediately follow- 
 ed with either h or w ; for which reason the 
 following rule, peculiar to tliese two letters, 
 will seldom occasion any ambiguity, and 
 affords a convenient method of express- 
 ing a great variety of very common words. 
 The letters h and w, having a vowel point 
 before them, are to be considered as de- 
 noting, by one mark, the two letters, ht, 
 vyt, respectively, with the prefixed vowel 
 between them ; as in the words hat, hit, hot, 
 hut; wat, wet, wit, wot, &c. 
 
 Having said thus much concerning the 
 nature and use of the vowel points, we will 
 proceed to give some further directions re- 
 lative to the form and proportion of the 
 short-hand characters ; the various ways of 
 joining the curvilineal ones with the greatest 
 ease and elegance ; together with some 
 rules, designed to obviate a few apparent 
 difficulties, which may be supposed to oc- 
 cur, more or less, to every learner of short- 
 hand. ^ 
 
 1. All the perpendicular and inclined let- 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 ters are made to touch, as it were two ima» 
 ginary parallel lines, whose distance is sup- 
 posed to be adjusted by the length of the 
 short-hand t, i It is sometimes necessary, 
 in order to preserve a perfect lineality in 
 the writing, to make these letters only half 
 their usual size ; as in the words /oof, form, 
 gold, &c. In a very few instances, where 
 lineality cannot be preserved, even by 
 thus curtailing the size of the letters, it is 
 always best to lift the pen, and write the 
 word at twice, taking care to place the de- 
 tached parts very near to each other, to 
 denote their connection. Instances of this 
 kind occur so very seldom in practice, that 
 no perceptible difference will be experienced 
 in the brevity of writing, while a very mate- 
 rial advantage will be gained on the score of 
 beauty and legibility ; considerations never 
 to be lost sight of by the lovers of useful 
 and rational stenography. 
 
 2. The diameter of the horizontal semi- 
 circular letters is the short-hand — s; and 
 their height is rather more than one-third 
 part of the letter | f. 
 
 3. As both the beauty and the brevity of 
 short-hand writing depend very much on 
 avoiding, as much as possible, the making 
 of angles, and on the general uniformity of 
 the writing, it is proper in joining such let- 
 ters as m and n, m and f, m and p, &c. to- 
 gether, to deviate a little from the correct 
 form of each letter ; so that they may rea- 
 dily and naturally run into each other. The. 
 learner will easily discern where it is 
 necessary to preserve the precise point of 
 concurrence, as in the case of md, hh, &c. 
 
 4. The letter | f is occasionally used for 
 th, writing the adjoining letter only half its 
 usual size j as in thr, thin, &c. 
 
 5. Except in the foregoing case, a letter 
 of half size, when it is made optionally, always 
 indicates that the adjoining character is to 
 be resolved into two letters. When it is 
 requisite to double the letters r or/, and no 
 consonant is required to be joined with 
 them, they are generally lengthened by a 
 greater inclination of the stroke than usual. 
 Double t, and double s, when necessary, 
 may be made by a little break in the mid- 
 dle, which may be done, without taking off 
 the pen, by only a very slight movement 
 of it from the line it was describing. TJiere 
 are one or two cases where it is better en- 
 tirely to lift the pen, and make a small 
 stroke through the letter, nearly in the 
 manner we usually cross the t in long hand. 
 
 I 
 
SHORT-HAND. 
 
 This exj)edient is requisite in writing the 
 words idler, butler, miller, &c. 
 
 6. No letters are to be doubled in short- 
 hand, unless some vowel comes between 
 them. 
 
 7. When there are various ways of join- 
 ing the same letters together, which, in the 
 present highly improved system of short- 
 hand, is not unfrequently the case, the 
 learner should accustom himself to that 
 which is the best, or most lineal, preserving 
 as much as possible the full proportion and 
 compact form of every letter. 
 
 It is to be observed, as another advan- 
 tage peculiar to this system, that here the 
 strictest adherence to the common rules of 
 punctuation may be observed. The period, 
 or full stop, which is supplied by a very 
 
 small circle, o being the only exception. 
 
 The characters denoting the prepositions 
 and terminations being derived from the 
 alphabet, are easily retained in the memory, 
 and are of very extensive use to the brevity 
 and legibility of short hand. Their respec- 
 tive powers and uses are distinctly delineat- 
 ed in the plate. It is sufficient to remark, 
 that in writing them, they ought always to be 
 formed rather smaller than the rest of the let- 
 ters, and should be placed sufficiently near 
 the radical part of the word of which they 
 constitute a part, that they may not be 
 mistaken for separate and distinct words. 
 Double prepositional characters Joined to- 
 gether, as compre-, misundei'-, &c. 
 
 The plural of nouns, ending in s, ought to 
 have their terminative letter written rather 
 smaller than the otlier letters. A very little 
 practice will accustom the writer to this 
 method of denoting such plural nouns. 
 
 When the learner has acquired a perfect 
 knowledge of so much of the art as we have 
 already laid down, he may proceed to make 
 himself acquainted with the following 
 
 Rules of Abbreviation ; by which he 
 will be enabled to follow the most rapid 
 speaker, and will soon become an expert 
 stenographer. 
 
 1. The auxiliary Verbs, the participle 
 -not, and the pronouns, being severally de- 
 noted by their first consonant, may be 
 
 joined to one another ; as , can be, 
 
 , will be, , have not been. 
 
 2. Join the marks or letters in an un- 
 usual manner, in order to show that each 
 particular mark denotes a word, and not 
 A single letter ; as, by joining the letter » 
 to the middle instead of tke top of the letter 
 
 t, the whole character , will represent: 
 the words in the; so, also, the letter s,; 
 joined to the letter t, and drawn from the 
 middle of the preceding consonant, thus 
 
 l~ , will denote the two words it is, or 
 
 1 ,it teas. This nde is veiy comprehen- 
 sive. The writer will apply it as he finds 
 it necessary or convenient so to do. 
 
 3. Derivative nouns, adjectives, and ad- 
 verbs, may be very conveniently expressed 
 by points, ditfereutly placed, at the end of 
 their last consonant. The substantive point 
 being placed immediately following the con- 
 sonant, and in a direct line with it ; the ad- 
 jective to have its point placed also a little 
 lower down to the left of the substantive 
 point ; and the adverb point to he placed,; 
 in the same manner, to the right of tlie sub- 
 stantive point; as , , forgetfulness;S^ , 
 
 forgetful ; VH. , forg£tfulliJ. 
 
 4. Very common words, or such as have 
 an immediate relation to the subject, and 
 are therefore easily discoverable, may be 
 denoted by their first consonant, or first 
 vowel and consonant, witli the substantive, 
 adjective, or adverb point annexed. The 
 adjectives, Which usually accompany such 
 substantives, may also be denoted by' their 
 first consonant, joined to the substantive ; 
 
 as, ■L. , humble servant ; , human na- 
 ture ; , Christian religion, &c. 
 
 5. Place a dot at the point of concur- 
 rence of two consonant marks, to denote 
 two substantives connected togetlier by 
 some preposition, which is omitted; as, 
 
 iS^ , love of God, or light of the gospel ; 
 
 , cause of gravity, &c. Also when an 
 adjective precedes either of the substan- 
 tives, they may ail three be represented by 
 their first consonants joined together, with 
 the dot placed at the end of the first sub- 
 stantive ; as the , great goodness of 
 
 God. 
 
 6. The substantive point, placed before 
 a single consonant mark, denotes that the 
 substantive is to be repeated, with some inter- 
 vening preposition ; as, ^ , day after day ; 
 
 I , from time to time, &c. 
 
 7. Place the substantive, adjective, or 
 adverb point before two or more consonant 
 marks, to denote two or more substantives, 
 adjectives or adverbs connected by a coa- 
 
^HOUt-HAND. 
 
 Junction ; as, , King, Lord, and 
 
 Commons; righteously, and 
 
 godly, &c. 
 
 8. Express Ion? words by their first syl- 
 lal)Ies, with as many points annexed as 
 tiiere are syllables wantin?. In very com- 
 mon words the points may be occasionally 
 omitted. 
 
 9. Express Ion? words by their preposi- 
 tions, together with their next vowel or 
 consonant only. 
 
 10. Words may be denoted by their first 
 vowel and consonant, with their termina- 
 tions added ; as, , arbitrary; , op- 
 portunity, &c. 
 
 11. Words easily discovered by their con- 
 nection, may be expressed by their first 
 vowel and consonant, or by their preposi- 
 tions otily ; and as few English words end 
 with tiie syllable to, the preposition to may 
 
 be joined to the preceding word ; as, ^ j 
 
 belongs to ; I' , satisfactory to, &c. 
 
 12. Join the pronouns to prepositions ; 
 
 as, 1^, tome; L- ^ to vs; I-, to you, &c. 
 always adding the vowel point, when the 
 words, would otherwise be liable to be mis- 
 taken. 
 
 13. Join the preceding word, the prepo- 
 sition, and pronoun all together ; as, , 
 
 belongs to me ; , agreed with me, &c. 
 
 14. Join adverbs, verbs, prepositions, 
 pronominal adjectives, and substantives 
 
 all together ; as, '""VHi , sefely depend upon 
 my word, &c. 
 
 1.9. Many common phrases, formed by a 
 substantive, preceded by the prepositions 
 with, without, in, &c. and followed by to, of, 
 
 &c. may be abbreviated; as, , with 
 
 regard to ; in consequence of, &c. 
 
 These several words are expressed by 
 their first consonants only, joined together, 
 the vowel o being added in the first exam- 
 ple to denote the preposition to. 
 
 16. In like manner, denote common ad- 
 verbial phrases by the initial consonants 
 
 joined together ; as, , in lihe manner-, 
 
 , in particular ; ^ in a great mea- 
 
 sure, &c. 
 
 17. Numerous contractions may be made 
 when it is, or if was, are foUdvved by an 
 
 adjective, and to, or that ; as, , it is 
 
 impossible to ; if is not to be sup- 
 
 posed that,. &c. 
 
 The above abbreviating rules, though few 
 in number, are very extensive in their appli- 
 cation. An assiduous attention to the na- 
 ture and idiom of our language may suggest 
 others as useful and extensive as these. 
 Proper care being taken to lay a right foun- 
 dation, the legitimate ways of contracting 
 will increase in proportion to the ^uiter’s 
 want of them. It must be obvious to every 
 one how much a systematic plan of abbre- 
 viation, like this, is superior to that which 
 consists of a multitude of arbitrary marks 
 to signify particular words and phrases ; a 
 plan which not only disfigures the writing, 
 but renders it nearly, if not entirely, illegible 
 even to the writer himself, unless it is tran- 
 scribed into long hand while tlie subject is 
 fresh in his memory. The experience of 
 the late ingenious Dr. Darwin will serve to 
 illustrate the futility of these systems* 
 “ The book I learned short hand from,” 
 says this elegant writer, “ was published by 
 Gurney, and said to be an improvement on 
 Ma^on ; other treatises of short-hand I have 
 also examined, and found them all of nearly 
 equal excellence. I can only add, -that 
 many volumes I wTote from medical lec- 
 tures I now find difficult to decipher.” Had 
 Dr. Darwin practised the system of Mr. 
 Byrom, we can assert, both from our own 
 experience, and the experience of many 
 others, that he would have found no serious 
 difficulty in deciphering his medical lec- 
 tures at any period of time after they were 
 written. For, as the present indefatigable 
 Dr. Mavor observes, in the introduction to 
 his own treatise On stenography, “ it must 
 be owned that it is above the reach of hu- 
 man ingenuity to exceed his (Mr. Byrom’s) 
 general plan, which must for ever be the 
 basis of every future rational system.” 
 
 s 
 
 The first Part of the Specimens without Con- 
 tractions, spelt according to the Method 
 used in writing Short-hand. (See Plates 
 Short-hand.) 
 
 THE BEAR. A FABLE. 
 
 A bear, wo ws bred in the savg desrts 
 of Sibria, had an inklnation to see the wrld. 
 He travld frm forst to forst, and frm on 
 kngdm to anthr, making miii prfud obsrva- 
 tions in hs wa. Among the rst of hs ex- 
 -krsns, he km bi aksdnt into a farmr’s yard, 
 1 / 
 
SHORT-HAND. 
 
 ■wr he saw a nmbr of pltri stnding to drnk 
 hi the sid of a pool. Obsrving tliat at evri 
 sip they turnd up thr beds tords the ski, he 
 could nt frber enkringthe resn of so pekulr 
 a srmni. They told hm that it ws bi wy of 
 rtrning thanks to hvn fr the bnfts they rsvd, 
 and ws indd an ansnt and rigs kstm, which 
 they could nt, wth a saf knsns, or wthot im- 
 piity, omit. Her the bear brst into a ft of 
 laftr, at ons mimking thr gestrs, and rdkling 
 thr superstition, in the mst kntmtos mnr. 
 On this' the kok, wth a sprt sutable to the 
 bldness of hs krktr, adrsd hm in the foloing 
 wrds. “ As you ar a strngr, sr, you prps 
 ma be exksd the indsnsi of this behvr ; yet 
 gvme leav to tl you, that non but a bear 
 would rdkl ani rigs srmni watsoever, in the 
 prsns of thos wo bliev thm of imprtns.” 
 
 An Exemplification of the Specimen with 
 Contractions ; containing numerical Refer- 
 ences to all the Rules of Abbreviation, 
 the fourteenth, fifteenth, and seventeenth 
 excepted, 
 
 A bear, who was bred in the^ savage 
 A ber, wo ws bred nt svg 
 
 deserts of Siberia, had an inclination'* to 
 dsrts of Sbrie, had an in. to 
 
 see the world*. He travelled from 
 
 see the fV. He trvld frm 
 
 FOREST TO FOREST**, and from one 
 f and frm on 
 
 KINGDOMS to another, making many 
 
 kng. to anthr, mking mni 
 
 profound observations'* in his'^ way. 
 
 prfnd obs nis wa. 
 
 Among the rest of his'^ excursions’, he 
 
 Among the rst fis exk, he 
 
 came by accident* into a farmer’s yard, 
 km bi ak. into a frmfs yrd, 
 
 where he saw a number of poultry standing 
 wr he saw a nmbr of pltri stnding 
 
 to drink by the side of a pool.’ Observing, 
 to drnk bi the sp Obsrving, 
 
 that at every sip they turned up their 
 
 that at evri sp they trnd up thr 
 
 heads'* towards the sky, he could not* 
 
 hs. trds the ski, hkn 
 
 forbear enquiring the reason of so peculiar 
 frbr enqring the rsn of so pklr 
 
 a ceremony. They told him, that it was^ 
 a srmni. They tld hm, that ts 
 
 by way of returning thanks to heaven* for 
 bi way of rtrning thnks to H. fr 
 
 the benefits they received, and was indeed 
 the biifts they rsvd, and ws indd 
 
 an ancient and religious’ custom, which 
 an nr kstm, which 
 
 they could not, with a safe conscience, or 
 
 they could nt, wth a saf knsns, or 
 
 without impiett'", omit. Here the bear 
 wtht imity, mit. Hr the ber 
 
 burst into a fit of laughter’, at once 
 
 brst into a fi at ons 
 
 mimicking their gestures, and ridiculing 
 mmking thr gstrs, and rdkling 
 
 their superstition’ in the’ most 
 
 thr, superst, nt mst 
 
 CONTEMPTUOUS MANNER*. On THIS”, the 
 cm, onis, the 
 
 cock, with a spirit suitable to” the 
 kk, wth a sprt ste • the 
 
 BOLDNESS OF HIS*’ character, addressed 
 
 Ifis krktr, adrsd 
 
 him IN the’ following'" words. ‘ As you 
 hm nt foing wrds, * As you 
 
 are a stranger, sir, you perhaps’ may be' 
 ar a strngr, sr, you p. mb 
 
 excused the' indecency* of this*’ 
 
 xksd the ind. fis 
 
 behaviour’; yet give me leave to'* tell 
 beh, yt gmlto ti 
 
 you, that none but a bear would ridicule 
 you, that nn but a ber would rdkl 
 
 any religious ceremony* whatsoever, 
 ani rs, watsoever, 
 
 IN the* presence of those'* who believe 
 nt prsns fos wo blv 
 
 them of importance.’ 
 th7n of imprtns.’ 
 
 The learner will perceive, by this exem- 
 plification of the short specimen on the 
 Plate, that the rules of abbreviation are not 
 only constructed on the most simple and 
 scientific principles ; but that they posses* 
 an almost unlimited power of contraction, 
 and have a peculiar adaptation to the genius 
 and phraseology of our language. With 
 these rules, perfectly learnt, and brought 
 into use by experience, the present systens 
 

 /n/ 
 
 SHORT - HA'^_1D)» 
 
 f_ Vv/ r '/ff/i /ty 
 
 7 
 
 '^^4y?ny, f 
 
 Wc>rds. 
 
 Cf- 
 
 j i^y^-ay'/ty 
 t '^at^ey, Acu/' 
 
 tyyiy^tey, 
 
 ( -A>a, 92 / 
 
 X^at^AA 
 
 f .^^,iy 
 
 "1^ d 4>/l07t^d A 
 
 / yA-ft/ 
 
 -< tAA/^y 
 
 ^A/ruA' iy 
 
 1 
 
 AAyAu" 
 
 r 1 
 
 ’^PPAA/P, Ai’ai/AA' 
 
 c/ A 
 
 A'tryTe^A, e'a;y it‘tete 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^AAAAyJ/ 
 
 
 ec, 
 
 y/Aia/A , ytAtatyy 
 
 
 A/A/aA 
 
 r 
 
 S^c . 
 
 PTepositious. 
 £iA)ey- (_ fA,j— 
 
 {Acrm ■ -f>ty ry<)/i'~- 
 ^OTtT^y— 
 
 ( f 
 
 t //a 14 — 
 
 (//m. -zz/y-- 
 
 er^y mi/e - 
 A ZiJzAy'— 
 
 ^^?/zi/-<>t' HAZz/et - 
 
 PA, 
 
 
 
 PAe^ 
 
 >.ya//yl- 
 
 'A A--ryiy tt^/^iyiy— 
 A/tanJ- 
 
 PAiH’y- foAfyi - 
 
 Tei'minations . 
 
 ypy' (?t ^ -a/>/ey 
 
 -^y 
 
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 -y/'iz'yz/y 
 
 •y/ 4 *yi/ 
 
 -myyi/ 
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 X~€?a/^ 
 
 vyT' 
 
 -fi'ii/, /-y./u/ C-y //(/,! 
 
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 M.- 
 
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 y/i^ L 
 
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 Vdwels Places. 
 
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 ' Pig^ares. 
 
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 LondorVtAuhlUhni by f.on^mcU}/,Muz4t, Afev, &: Orme.,Julv t f^iSoS. ■ 
 
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 f t y/'a/’/ey. 
 
 ■ -v, r- ^ I (ivi- \ J ^ I-" I ^ o 
 
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 r, ^ I ^ \ -L , T "1- ■ VC , ^ '1' -f • 
 
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SHO 
 
 ■of sliort-liand may be applied to all the pur- 
 poses for which this invaluable art is in- 
 tended, with as little labour in tlie acqui- 
 sition, and with less ambiguity in decy- 
 phering, than attends the learning of any 
 other system of stenography hitherto made 
 public, 
 
 Having availed ourselves of the improve- 
 ments made by Mr. Molineux on this mode 
 of short-writing, first invented by Mr. By- 
 rom, and recommending the learner for 
 further instructions to Mr. Molineux’s trea- 
 tise, we think it only necessary, in order to 
 give the learner a still more adequate know- 
 ledge of this system of short-hand, to lay 
 before him the following 
 
 GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR A YOUNG STE- 
 NOGRAPHER. 
 
 1. Short-hand is one of the perpendicular 
 hands, and that your writing may have a 
 vertical appearance, always place yourself 
 exactly parallel with your paper. 
 
 2. Make all your strokes of an equal 
 thickness ; and endeavour to be as correct 
 as possible in the formation of the Short- 
 hand characters ; because any material de- 
 viation, either in their shape, or in the posi- 
 tion of the stroke, may express a different 
 letter, or produce illegibility. 
 
 3. Let the looped or twirled letters have 
 their loops made as circular as is consistent 
 with beauty and ease of joining. 
 
 4. Make the horizontal characters which 
 denote the letters m and n, with their deri- 
 vatives, ch and g, nearly semicircular ; but 
 the rest of the curvilineal letters, which are 
 either vertical or oblique, are always less 
 curved, except when they are made only 
 half size. 
 
 5. Spell in the shortest, but neatest and 
 most compact manner possible. 
 
 6. Use no more vowels than are neces- 
 sary ; yet never leave out any that are dis- 
 tinctly sounded, 
 
 T. Observe lineality and beauty at all 
 times, and occasionally lift your pen, rather 
 than fall below or rise above the space al- 
 lotted for the Short-hand characters. 
 
 8. Use no arbitrary marks at all; but let 
 
 every abbreviation be formed upon rational 
 and scientific principles. * 
 
 9. Never use the common stops or points 
 for any but their own proper and legitimate 
 purpose, 
 
 10. Never affect too much brevity ; com- 
 mon Short hand is short enough for all com- 
 mon purposes. 
 
 11. Make no fanciful innovations in the 
 
 SHO 
 
 art : but let all your improvements be 
 founded on the rational principles laid 
 down by the ingenious Inventor. 
 
 12. If you write Byrom’s Short-hand, 
 your writing will be easily read by all who 
 practise the same system. Let all rational 
 Stenographers observe uniformity, and the 
 Art will soon become generally useful. 
 
 13. Write not too close; and never suf- 
 fer your characters to have a we*k, diminu- 
 tive appearance. Let your whole practice 
 be bold and dignified; agreeably to the 
 genius of the system you have adopted. 
 
 14. Do not make a secret of the Art : it 
 is worthy of being universally known and 
 practised. 
 
 SHORT sightedness, in medicine. See' 
 Myopia. 
 
 SHOT, a denomination given to all sorts 
 of balls for fire arms ; those for cannon 
 being of iron, and those for guns, pistols, &c. 
 of lead. 
 
 “ To find the weight of an iron shot” 
 whose diameter is given ; and the contrary. 
 Rule. Double the cube of the diameter in 
 inches, and multiply it by 7 ; so will the 
 product (rejecting the two last or right 
 hand figures) be the weight in pounds. Ex, 
 What is the 'weight of an iron shot ef 7 
 inches diameter. The cube of 7 is 343, 
 which doubled is 686, and this multiplied 
 by 7 produces 4802, which, with the right- 
 hand figures rejected, gives 48 pounds, the 
 weight requii-ed. 
 
 “ To find the diameter of the shot,” 
 when the weight is given. Rule. Multiply 
 the cube root of the weight in pounds by 
 1.923, and the product is the diameter in 
 inches. Ex. What is the diameter of an iron 
 shot of 52 pounds ? The cube root of 52 is 
 3.732, which multiplied by 1.923 gives 7.177 
 inches, the diameter required. 
 
 Rule by Logarithms. 
 
 To one-third of the logarithm 
 
 of52 , Ti 0.572001 
 
 Add the constant logarithm.... 0.283979 
 And the sum is the logarithm 
 of the diameter 7.177 0.855980 
 
 “ To find the diameter of a shot,” from 
 the impression or cavity it makes by striking 
 a brass gun, or other object. Rule. Divide 
 the square of the radius of the cavity by the 
 depth of it, and add the quotient to the 
 depth, the sum will be the diameter of the 
 shot required. 
 
 Shot, common, small, or that used for 
 fowling, should be well sized : for, should i,t 
 be too great, then it flies thin and scatters 
 
SHO 
 
 too much ; or if too small, then it has not 
 weight and strength to penetrate far, and 
 the bird is apt to fly away with it. In or- 
 der, therefore, to have it suitable to the 
 occasion, it not being always to be had in 
 every place fit for the purpose, we shall set 
 down the true method of making all sorts 
 and sizes under the name of mould-shot, 
 formerly made after the following process : 
 
 Take any quantity of lead you think fit, 
 and melt it down in an iron vessel ; and as 
 it melts keep it stirring with an iron ladle, 
 skimming off all impurities whatsoever that 
 may arise at top ; when it begins to look of 
 a greenish colour, strew on it as much anri- 
 pigmentura, or yellow orpiment, finely pow? 
 dered, as will lie on a shilling, to every 
 twelve or fourteen pounds of lead ; then 
 stirring them together, the orpiment will 
 flame. The ladle should have a notch on 
 one side of the brim, for more easily pour- 
 ing out the lead : the ladle must remain in 
 the melted lead, that its heat may be the 
 same with that of the lead, to prevent in- 
 conveniences which otherwise might hap- 
 pen by its being either too hot or too cold; 
 then, to try your lead, drop a little of it 
 into water, and if the drops prove round, 
 then the lead is of a proper heat; if oihcr, 
 wise, and the shot have tails, then add more 
 orpiment to increase the heat, till it is foun4 
 sufficient. 
 
 Then take a plate of copper, about the 
 size of a trencher, which must be made 
 with a hollowness in the middle, about 
 three inches compass, within which must be 
 tiored about 40 holes according to the size 
 of the shot which you intend to cast : the 
 hollow bottom should be thin; but the 
 thicker the brim, the better it will retain 
 the heat. Place this plate on a frame of 
 iron, over a tube or vessel of water, about 
 four inches from the water, and spread 
 burning coals on the plate, to keep the lead 
 melted upon it; then take, some lead and 
 pour it gently on the coals on the plate, and 
 it wilt make its way through the holes into 
 the water, and form, itself into shot; do 
 thus till all your lead is run through the 
 holes of the plate, taking care, by keeping 
 your coals alive, that the lead does not cool, 
 and so stop tip the holes. 
 
 While you are casting in this manner, an- 
 other person with another ladle may catch 
 some of the shot, placing the ladle four or 
 five inches underneath tlie plate in the 
 water, by which means you will see if they 
 are defective, and rectify them. Your 
 phief care is to keep the lead in a jnst de- 
 
 SHU 
 
 gree of heat, that it shall be not so cold sa 
 to stop up the holes in your plate, nor so 
 hot as to cause the shot to crack ; to remedy 
 the heat, you must refrain working till it is 
 of a proper coolness ; and to .remedy the 
 coolness of your lead and plate, you must 
 blow yonr fire ; observing, tliat the cooler 
 your lead is, the larger will be your shot ; 
 as, the hotter it is, the smaller tliey will be. 
 
 After'ymi have done casting, take tliem 
 out of the water, and dry tliem over the 
 fire with a gentle heat, stirring them con- 
 tinually that they do not melt ; when dry, 
 you are to separate the great shot from the 
 small, by the help of a sieve made for that 
 purpose, according to their several sizes. 
 But those wlio would have very large shot, 
 make the lead trickle with a stick out of 
 the ladle into the water, without tlie plate. 
 
 If it stops on the plate, and yet the plate 
 is not too cool, give but the plate a little 
 knock, and it will run again ; care must be 
 had that none of your in)plements are 
 greasy, oily, or the like ; and when the shot, 
 being separated, are found too large or too 
 small for yonr purpose, or otherwise imper- 
 fect, they will serve again at the next ope- 
 ration. 
 
 Shot, patent milled, are thus made ; sheets 
 of lead, wliose thickness corresponds with 
 the size of the shot required, are cut into 
 small pieces, or cubes, of the form of a die. 
 
 A great quantity of these little cubes are 
 put into a large hollow iron cylinder, which 
 is mounted hoiizontaily and turned by a 
 winch ; when by tlieir friction against one 
 another, and against the sides of the cylin- 
 der, they are rendered perfectly round and 
 very smooth. Tlie other patent-shot are cast 
 in moulds, in the same way as bullets are. 
 
 SHRIMP, in ichthyology, the English 
 name of two different species of the squilla, 
 vAz. the common shrimp, and the smooth- 
 nosed shrimp. See Squilla. 
 
 SHROWDS, or Shrouds, in a ship, are 
 the great ropes which come down both 
 sides of file masts, and are fastened below 
 to the chains on the ship’s side, and abaft 
 to the top of the mast ; being parcelled and 
 served, in order to prevent the niast’s 
 galling them. The top-mast-shrowds are 
 fastened to the puttock-plates, by dead 
 eyes and laniards, as the others are. Some 
 of the terms relating to , tliC shrovvds are ; 
 ease the slirowds ; that is, slacken them ; 
 and, set up the shrowds ; that is, set them 
 stiffer. ,, 
 
 SHUTTLE, in the mannfacture.s, an in-4/ 
 striiment much used by weavers, in thf 
 
SID 
 
 middle of which is an eye, or cavity, where- 
 in is inclosed .the spool with the wool. See 
 Weaving. 
 
 SIBBALDIA, in botany, so nanied in 
 memory of Sir Robert Sibbald, professor ot 
 physic at Edinburgh, a genus of the ^en- 
 tandria Pentagynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Senticosae. Rosacese, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx ten cleft ; petals 
 tive, inserted into the calyx ; styles from 
 the side of the germ ; seeds five. There 
 are three species. 
 
 SIBTHORPIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Humphrey Sibthorp, M. D. pro- 
 fessor of botany at Oxford, a genus of the 
 Didynamia Anginspermia class and -order. 
 Natural order of Pediculares, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx five-parted ; co- 
 rolla five parted, .equal,; stamina in remote 
 pairs ; capsule compressed, orbicular ; two 
 celled, with the partition transverse.. There 
 is only one species, viz. S. Europcea, Cor- 
 nish money-wort, a native of Portugal and 
 England, in shady places ; it flowers in 
 July and August. 
 
 SICE ace, a game with dice and tables, 
 whereat five may play; each having six 
 men, and the last out losing. At this game, 
 they load ope another with aces ; sixes 
 .bear away ; and doublets drinks, and 
 throws again. 
 
 SICYOS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monoecia Syngenesia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Cuciirbitace®. Essential 
 character : calyx five-toothed ; corolla five- 
 parted ; male, filaments three ; female, 
 style trifid ; drupe one-seeded. There are 
 .three species. 
 
 ' SIDA, in botany, a genus of the Mona- 
 delphia Polyandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Columniferae. Malvaceae, 
 Jussieu. .Generic character : calyx pe- 
 rianth one-leafe.d, angular ; corolla, petals 
 five, wider above, emarginate, fastened be- 
 low to the tube of the stamens ; stamina, 
 filaments very-piany, united below into a 
 tube, in the apex of the tooth, divided; pe- 
 ricarpiiim, capsule roundish, apgnlar, com- 
 posed of five or more cells ; seeds solitary. 
 There ate ninety-nine species^ natives of 
 warm climates ; and most of them are 
 found in the East or West Indies. The 
 Chinese make cords of the S. abutilon. 
 This plant loves water, and may be advan- 
 tageously planted in marshes and ditches, 
 where nothing else will grow. The mace- 
 ration of the smaller stalks is finisl»ed in 
 .about fifteen days ; of the larger in a 
 jijBGnth. The strength and goodness of the 
 
 SID 
 
 thread appears to be in proportion to the 
 perfection of the vegetation, and to tlie 
 distance that the plant is kept at from other 
 plants. The fibres lie in strata, of which 
 there are sometimes six ; they are not quite 
 straight, but preserve an undulating direc- 
 tion, so as to form a net- work in their natu- 
 ral positions. Their smell resembles that 
 of hemp ; the fibres are whiter, but more 
 dry and harsh, tlian those of hemp. The 
 harshnesis is owing to a greenish gluten 
 which connects the fibres ; and the white 
 colour must always be obtained at the ex- 
 pense of having this kind of thread less 
 supple ; when of its natural hue, it is .very 
 soft and flexible. 
 
 SIDE, the half of any thing, as an ani- 
 mal, a ship, &e. The sides of an animal are 
 distinguished into the right and left side ; 
 but those of a ship, into the starboard and 
 larboard side. In geometry, the sides of a 
 rectilinear figure are the lines which form 
 its periphery. 
 
 Sides me/i, or Synod’s 7nen, persons 
 who, in large parishes, are appointed to as- 
 sist the chtirchwardens, in tlieir inquiry and 
 presentments of such offenders to the or- 
 dinary, as are punishable in the spiritual 
 court. 
 
 SIDEREAL day, is the time in which anv. 
 star appears to revolve fi om the meridian 
 to the meridian again ; which is 23 hours 
 56' 4'' 6 " of mean solar time ; there being 
 360 sidereal days in a year, or in the time 
 of 365 diurnal revolutions of the Sun; that 
 is, exactly, if the equinoctial points were at 
 rest in the heavens. But the equinoctial 
 points go backward, with respect to the 
 stars, at the rate of 50" of a degree in a Ju- 
 lian year; which causes the stars to have 
 an apparent progressive motion eastward 
 50 " in that time. And as the ^Sun’s mean 
 motion in the ecliptic is only 11 signs 29“ 
 ,45' 40' 15" in 365 days, it follows, that at 
 the end of that time he will be 14' 19 " 45'" 
 short of that point of the ecliptic from 
 which he set out at the beginning; and the 
 stars will be advanced 50" of a degree with 
 respect to that point. Consequently, if the 
 Sun’s centre be on the meridian with any 
 star on any given day of the year, that star 
 •will be 14' 19 " 45"' -1- 50" or 15' 9" 45 "' east 
 ' of the Sun’s centre, on the 365th day after- 
 ward, when the Sun’s centre is on the meri- 
 dian ; and therefore that star will not come 
 to the meridian on that day till the Sun’s 
 centre has passed it by l' 0 " 38" 5?"" of 
 mean solar time ; for the Sun takes so. much 
 time to go through an arc of 15' 9" 45"' j 
 
SIE 
 
 and then, in Oh i' 0 " 38"' 57"' the star 
 will have just completed its 366th revolu- 
 tion to the meridian. 
 
 SIDERITE, a name given by Bergman 
 to a supposed peculiar metallic substance, 
 which is the principal cause of the brittleness 
 of some kinds of bar iron. This has long 
 since been discovered as the phosphate of 
 iron. • 
 
 SIDERITIS, in botany, iron-wort, a ge- 
 nus of the Didynamia Gymnospermia class 
 and order. Natural order of Verticillatae. La- 
 biatae, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 five-cleft; corolla ringent ; upper lip bifid, 
 lower three-parted ; stamina within the tube 
 of the corolla ; stigma, the shorter involving 
 the other. There are twenty species. 
 
 SIDEROXYLON, in botany, iron-wood, a 
 genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and 
 order, Natural order of Duinosae. Sapotre, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla five- 
 cleft ; nectary five-leaved ; stigma simple; 
 berry five-seeded. There are nine spe- 
 cies, chiefly natives of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 SIEGE, in the art of war, the encamp- 
 ment of an army before a fortified place, 
 with a design to take it. Thejnethod of 
 encamping is very diflferent in a siege, from 
 that observed on a march ; as in the former 
 the army environs the place, without cannon 
 shot, that nothing may enter. If the place 
 be situated on a river, a detachment is sent 
 to the other side, and bridges of communi- 
 cation made, both above and below the 
 town. The army also encamp with their 
 backs to the town, with the battalions and 
 squadrons interlined ; and , having taken 
 possession of all the heights, whence the 
 enemy may be annoyed, the engineers trace 
 the lines ofcircumvallation and contravalla- 
 tion ; every regiment working at the place 
 appointed them. .See Fortification. 
 Captain James, in his Military Dictionai-y, 
 has given the following rules, which ought to 
 be adopted in sieges. The approaches 
 should be made without being seen from the 
 town, either directly, obliquely, or in the 
 flank. No more works should be made 
 than are necessary for approaching the 
 place without being seen ; i. e. the be- 
 siegers should carry on their approaches 
 the shortest way possible, consistent with 
 being covered against the enemy’s fire. All 
 the parts of the trenches should mutually 
 support each other ; and those which are 
 furthest advanced, should be distant from 
 those that defend them above 120 or 130 
 toises, that is, within musket-shot. The pa- 
 
 SIE 
 
 rallels, or places of arms the most distant 
 from the town, should have a greater ex- 
 tent than those which are the nearest, that 
 the besiegers may be able to take the 
 enemy in flank, should he resolve to attack 
 the nearest parallels. The trench should be 
 opened or begun as near as possible to the 
 place, without exposing the troops too 
 much, in order to accelerate and diminish 
 the operations of the siege. Care should 
 be taken to Join the attacks ; that is, they 
 should have communications, to the end 
 that they may be able to support each 
 other. Never to advance a work, unless 
 it be well supported ; and for this reason, 
 in the interval between, the second and 
 third place of arms, the besiegers should 
 make, on both sides of the trenfches, smaller 
 places of arms, extending 40 or 50 toises 
 in length, parallel to the others, and con- 
 structed in the same manner, which will 
 serve to lodge the soldiers in, who are to 
 protect the works designed to reach the 
 , third place of arms. Tak.e care to place 
 the batteries of cannon in the continuation 
 of the faces of the parts attacked, in order 
 to silence their fire ; and to the end that the 
 approaches, being protected, may advance 
 with great safety and expedition. For this 
 reason the besiegers shall always embrace 
 the whole front attacked, in order to have 
 as much space as is requisite to place the 
 batteries on the produced faces of the works 
 attacked. Do not begin the attack with 
 works that lie close to one another, or with 
 rentrant angles, which would expose the at- 
 tack to the cross fire of the enemy. 
 
 “ Stores required for a month’s siege are 
 as follow powder, as the garrison is more 
 or less strong, 8 or 900,0001ft. ; shot for 
 battering pieces, 6,000 ; shot of a lesser 
 sort, 20,000 ; battering cannon, 80 ; cannons 
 of a lesser sort, 40 ; small field-pieces for 
 defending the lines, 20 ; mortars for throw- 
 ing shells, 24 ; mortars for throwing stones 
 12 ; shells for mortars, 15 or 16,000 ; hand- 
 grenades, 40,000 ; leaden bullets, 180,000 ; 
 matchesin braces, 10 , 000 ; flints for muskets’ 
 best sort, 100,000 ; platforms complete for 
 guns, 100 ; platforms for mortars, 60 ; spare 
 carriages for guns, 60 ; spare mortar-beds, 
 
 60 ; spare spunges, rammers, and ladles, in 
 sets, 20 ; tools to work in trenches, 40,000. 
 
 Several hand-jacks, gins, sling-carts, tra- ' 
 veiling forges, and other engines proper to % 
 raise and carry heavy burdens ; spare 
 timber, and all sorts of miner’s tools, mant- 
 lets, stuffed gabions, fascines, pickets, and 
 gabions. 
 
SIG 
 
 SIENITE, in mineralogy, one of the 
 compound primitive rocks that consists es- 
 sentially of crystals and grains of hornblend 
 imbedded in felspar. Quartz and mica are 
 occasionally found in sienite, but in very 
 small quantity. It is commonly in mass, 
 and is rarely either schistose or stratified. It 
 sometimes contains metallic veins. 
 
 SIEVE, or Searce, an instrument serv- 
 ing to separate the fine from the coarse 
 parts of povfders, liquors, and the like ; or 
 to cleanse pulse from dust, light grains, &c. 
 
 It is made of a rim of wood, the circle or 
 space whereof is filled with a plexus of silk, 
 tiffany, hair, linen, wire, or even thin slices 
 of wood. The sieves which have large 
 holes are sometimes also called riddles, 
 such as the coal or lime sieve ; the garden- 
 sieve, &c. When drugs are apt to evapo- 
 rate, on being passed through the sieve, it is 
 usual to have it covered with a lid. 
 
 SIGESBECKIA, in botany, so named 
 from John George Siegesbeck, a German, 
 prefect of the Petersburg!! garden, a genus 
 of the Syngenesia Polygamia Siiperflua class 
 and order. Natural order of Compositae 
 Oppositifoli®. Corymbifer®, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx exterior, five- 
 leaved, proper, spreading ; ray halved ; 
 pappus none j receptacle caffy. There are 
 tliree species. 
 
 SIGHT, sense of. The organ of sight is 
 a globular body, which contains within it 
 transparent substances, fitted to form on 
 the back part of it a picture of the object 
 of sight. An examination of the eye of an 
 ox will give a pretty accurate idea of the 
 general structure of the human eye. We 
 see in front a horny transparent substance 
 called the cornea. Next to this is a wa- 
 tery fluid called the aqueous humour, in 
 which the iris floats like a delicate curtain, 
 with a hole in the middle called the pupil. 
 Behind the iris we find a solid body with 
 two convex surfaces ; this is called the 
 crystalline lens. Next to this is the vi- 
 treous humour, ajelly-like, transparent sub- 
 stance, which fills the ball of the eye. The 
 retina consists of exceedingly minute fibres 
 from the optic nerve, which are spread over 
 the whole of the back part of the inner 
 surface of the eye. Behind the retina is a 
 mucous or slimy matter, which in the hu- 
 man eye is of a dark colour, and serves to 
 imbibe the rays of light which pass through 
 the retina, so as to prevent the confusion 
 which would arise from the reflection of 
 them. The retina is the immediate organ 
 of sight. The rays of light, proceeding 
 
 SIG 
 
 from every visible point of the object of 
 sight, enter the eye through the cornea, 
 and pass through the pupil ; they are re- 
 fracted by the three humours of the eye, 
 so as to form upon the retina an exqui- 
 sitely beautiful and distinct, though mi- 
 nute, picture of the object. A pretty cor- 
 rect idea of the formation of this picture 
 may be obtained, by carefully cutting off 
 the back coating of an ox’s eye, and bold- 
 ing behind it a piece of paper to receive 
 the picture of a luminous object. For a more 
 minute account of the structure of the eye, 
 see Anatomy. 
 
 What effect is produced upon the optic 
 nerve by the formation of this picture upon 
 the retina is not certainly known ; it is suf- 
 ficient for our present purpose, that, by 
 means of the nerve, &c. the impression, 
 whatever it be, is communicated to the 
 mental organs, and produces in them those 
 effects which, when attended with con- 
 sciousness, are called sensations. See Men- 
 tal Philosophy, §. 11 . 
 
 If the sensation produced by the object 
 of sight be considered unblended with the 
 relics of other sensations, we find that it is 
 merely what can be communicated by a 
 minute picture on the retina. The sensa- 
 tion of colour can be thus communicated, 
 and this is the only sensation which can be 
 considered as appropriate to the sight. The 
 sensation of figure can be thus communi- 
 cated, but only of figure in two directions, 
 length and breadth ; for the picture on the 
 retina can have, only those two dimensions. 
 The sensation of magnitude can also be 
 thus communicated, but not of real magni- 
 tude ; for the visible sensation of real mag- 
 nitude cannot be conveyed by a picture, 
 which is almost indefinitely smaller than 
 the real object. To use the illustration of 
 Adam Smith : “ If you shut one eye, and 
 hold immediately before the other a small 
 circle of plain glass, of not more than half 
 an inch in diameter, you may see through 
 that circle the most extensive prospects, 
 lawns, and woods, and arms of the sea, and 
 distant mountains. You are apt to imagine 
 that the visible-picture, which you thus see, 
 is immensely great and extensive; but it 
 can be no greater than the visible circle 
 through which you see it. If, while you 
 are looking through the circle, you could 
 conceive a fairy hand and a fairy pencil 
 to come between your eye and the glass, 
 that pencil' might delineate upon that little 
 glass the outline of all those extensive lawns, 
 and woods, and arms of the sea, and distant 
 
SIGHT. 
 
 mmintains, in the dimensions with which 
 they are seen by the eye.” Again, it is ob- 
 vious, that however large, or however small, 
 the field of view, the picture occupies an 
 erpial extent on the retina. Similar obser- 
 vations may be made with respect to dis- 
 tance. The organ of sight can convey only 
 tiiat sensation of distance which may be 
 produced by a minute picture on the re- 
 tina ; that is, nothing but the sensatioij of 
 the distances of the different parts of the 
 picture, which may bear no proportion to 
 the real distances, and can only be ip 
 one direction. Similar things may be said 
 of motion, that is, change of position. The 
 visible sensation of motion is merely that 
 produced by the niotion of different parts 
 of the picture on the retina. 
 
 The fact is, that not the objects them- 
 selves, but the picture formed upon the re- 
 tina, is the immediate object pf the sight. 
 AVithout the sense of touch it is probable 
 that the picture would never have con- 
 veyed ideas of real figure, magnitude, mo- 
 tion, or position ; still more, that it would 
 never have conveyed the idea that external 
 objects produced the picture. Of colour it 
 does convey sensations, which dp not re- 
 ceive correction from the touch, and which 
 can be acquired by the sight alone. Per- 
 sons completely blind have been known to 
 distinguish objects of one colour from those 
 of another, but this is by the feel of tlie 
 surfaces of tliose Olyects. If they have ne- 
 ver at all possessed sight, though tliey may 
 speak of colours, and distinguish coloured 
 objects, and even have a remote idea of the 
 causes of our sensations of colours, yet they 
 can have no sensations nor consequently 
 ideas of colours. Mr. Locke mentions a blind 
 man, who said, that lie imagined tlie colour 
 of scarlet resembled the sound of a trumpet. 
 
 The Umits here stated of the direct power 
 of the sense of siglit may appear strange to 
 those who have not been accustomed to 
 distinguish between the sensation, and the ' 
 perception of which the sensation forms a 
 part. (See Sensation.) We seem to have 
 an immediate sensation of the real situation 
 and magnitudes, &e. of objects, but what 
 lias been before stated is an indisputable fact. 
 The case is, the compound idea, formed 
 from the sensations of touch, in connection 
 with certain visual sensations, are so early 
 formed, and so early connected with those 
 visual sensations, that we have no recollec- 
 tion of the simple idea of sensation, or of 
 the formation of the compound idea : in- 
 deed, as active agents, we had no concern 
 
 in the formation of our perceptions. Tlmre 
 are however numerous circumstances whiqb 
 prove the point j the most satisfactory are 
 those attending the obtaining of the sight, at 
 a period when recollection can register the 
 sensations. One such case fell under the 
 observation of the able Cheseldeu, and we 
 shall state some of the principal circum- 
 stances of it, . Mr, C. conched a youth of 
 thirteen years of age : when he was allowed 
 to use his sight, all objects appeared to him 
 alike to touch his eyes, as the things which 
 he felt touched his skin. He considered 
 solid bodies as planes differently coloured ; 
 and when he had learned to distinguish solids 
 by their appearances, he was greatly sur- 
 prised, when examiniqg the pictures of so- 
 lids, to find all the parts plane and smooth 
 like the rest ; Im asked which of his senses 
 deceived him, his sight or his hearing ? Be- 
 ing shown a ininiatnre of his fallier, which 
 was painted on a watch-case, be at once 
 perceived that it was a representation of 
 his father, but expressed great surprise that 
 so large a counteuante could be contained 
 in so small a space : it appeared to him as 
 impossible as for a pint to hold a hogshead. 
 Mr. Ware published in the Philosophical 
 Transactions of 1800 a case which seemed to 
 militate greatly against Mr. C.’s conclusions : 
 Mr. W.’s patient from the first had ideas of 
 distance and form. But Mr. W. liimself fur- 
 nishes a solution of this difficulty ; for wp 
 find, from his paper, that his patient had 
 always been able to distinguish light and 
 vivid colours from shade. 
 
 Sensations of colour are in the early parts of 
 life very vivid, and assist considerably in 
 the formation of onr mental pleasures ; but 
 the other seiisqtions derived from this sense 
 are principally important to us, as being by 
 association the signs ofthejdeas derived from 
 the touch ; and from thgir distinctness, well 
 calculated to serve as tlie connecting bond 
 of union, and to bring again into the view 
 of the mind those ideas. The visual sensa- 
 tions, of themselves considered, are seldom 
 the objects of reflection ; we seldom evep 
 think of them, and while we appear to give 
 to the visible appearances of objects our 
 minutest attention, we are in part attend- 
 ing only to the tangible qualities of which 
 the visible appearance is the sign. Were it 
 not therefore for association, the sight 
 would be of little more use to ns than ^ 
 beautiful picture of objects with which wp 
 have no concern. But consider its valup 
 in connection with association, and it must' 
 be regarded as the most perfect and th^ 
 
SIG 
 
 jaost permanently valuable of all the senses. 
 *rhe information obtained by the touch is 
 acquired slowly ; and the sensations must 
 be continually repeated, in order to acquire 
 information respecting new objects ; but 
 the sight takes in a vast variety of objects, 
 and, almost at a glance, can distinguish most 
 that is necessary to be known respecting 
 them. Its sensations recall the past im^ 
 pressions derived from the touch, and at 
 once suggest the size, the shape, the dis- 
 tance. of their various objects. “ If a man, 
 says Reid, “ were by feeling to find out the_ 
 figure of the Peak of Teneritfe, or even ot 
 St. Peter’s at Rome, it would be the work 
 of a lifetime.” Besides, its discovery reaches 
 further than the touch could carry us ; it 
 enables tis to range through the vault of 
 Heaven, and determine the motions of the 
 Jieavenly luminaries. It traces in the coun- 
 tenance the workings of the mind ; it dis- 
 plays the passions and affections of the soul. 
 M’ith association it is every thing ; without 
 it, it would be useless as the bright fleeting 
 visions of sleep. 
 
 Sights of a quadrant, &c. thin pieces of 
 brass, raised perpendicularly on its side, or 
 on the index of a theodolite, circumferentor, 
 &c. They have each an aperture, or slit, 
 up the middle, through which the visual 
 rays pass to the eye, and distant objects are 
 seen. 
 
 SIGN, in algebra, denotes a symbol or 
 character. Mr. Maclaurin observes, that 
 the use of the negative sign, in algebra, is at- 
 tended with several consequences that at 
 first sight are admitted with difficulty, and 
 has somefimes given occasion to notions 
 that seem to have no real foundation. This 
 sign implies that the real value of the quan- 
 tity represented by the letter to which it is 
 prefixed, is to be subtracted ; and it serves 
 with the positive sign, to keep in view 
 what elements or parts enter into the com- 
 position of quantities, and in what manner, 
 whether as increments or decrements, (that 
 is, whether by addition or subtraction) 
 which is of the greatest use in this art. See 
 N EGATivE sign. 
 
 Signs, in astronomy. The ecliptic is 
 usually divided, by astronomers, into 12 
 parts, called signs, each of which of course 
 contains 30 degrees. They are usually 
 called the signs of the zodiac ; and be- 
 ginning at the equinox, where the Sun in- 
 tersects and rises above the equator, have 
 these names and marks, Aries vf, Taurus y , 
 Gemini n, Cancer SB, Leo S\,, Virgo ng, 
 Jjibra =2=, Scoipio ITL, Sagittarius Ca- 
 
 SIG 
 
 pricornus VJ, Aquariusun S!?, Pisces X- Of 
 these signs, the first six are called northern, 
 lying on the north side of the equator ; the 
 lasf six are called southern, being situated 
 to the south of the equator. The signs 
 from Capricornus to Gemini are called as- 
 cending, the Sun approaching or rising to 
 the north pole while it passes through them 5 
 and the signs from Cancer to Sagittarius 
 are called descending, the Sun, as it moves 
 through them, receding or descending from 
 the north pole. See Zodiac. 
 
 Sign manual. The King’s signature is so 
 called. All commissions in the regular army 
 of Great Britain, army warrants, &c. bear 
 the sign manual. The appoinments of of- 
 ficers in the volunteers have been so distin- 
 guished during the present w'ar. Adjutants 
 only in the militia have their commissions 
 signed by the King ; those of the field 
 officers, captains, and subalterns, &c. are 
 signed by the lords lieutenants of counties, 
 or by their deputies for the time being, 
 sanctioned by a previous intimation from 
 the Secretary of State, that the King does 
 not disapprove of the names which have 
 been laid before him. 
 
 SIGNALS, certain signs agreed upon, 
 for suddenly conveying intelligence to 
 places, to which the voice cannot reach. 
 Thus, in some countries, fires are lighted 
 upon the hills, at the approach of danger : 
 and at the beginning of a battle or an at- 
 tack, signals are usually made with drums 
 and trumpets. At sea they are given by 
 firing cannon, or muskets; by lights, flags, 
 sails, &c. 
 
 Signals ^t sea are made by the admiral or 
 commander in chief of a squadron, either 
 in the day, or by night, whether for sailing, 
 fighting, or the better security of the mer- 
 chant ships under their convoy : these are 
 very numerous and important, being all ap- 
 pointed and determined by the Lords of 
 the Admiralty, and communicated in the 
 instructions sent to the commander of 
 every ship of the fleet or squadron, before 
 their putting to sea. Some of the principal 
 of which are as follow : when a commander 
 in chief would have them unmoor, he looses 
 his main- top-sail, and fires a gun, which, in 
 the royal navy, is to be answered by every 
 flag ship, and every ship is to get under sail 
 as soon as she can. When, in bad weather, 
 he would have them wear, and bring to the 
 other tack, he hoists a pendant on the cn- 
 sign-staif, and fires a gun : then the leeward- 
 most and stern-most ships are to wear first, 
 and bring on the other tack, and lie-by, or 
 
SIGNALS. 
 
 go on with an easy sail, till he conies a- 
 head. When any ship discovers land, he is 
 to hoist his jack and ensign, and keep it 
 abroad till the admiral answer him by hoist- 
 ing his, on sight of which he is to hawt 
 down his ensign. If any discovers danger, 
 he is to tack and bear up from it, and to 
 hang his jack abroad from the main-top- 
 mast cross trees, and to fire two gnns : but 
 if he should strike or stick fast, then, be- 
 sides the same signal with his jack, he is to 
 keep firing, till he sees all the fleet observe 
 him, aad endeavour to avoid the danger. 
 When the admiral would have the vice-ad- 
 miral to send out ships to chase, he hoists a 
 flag striped white and red on the flag-staff 
 at the fore-top-mast-head, and fires a gun : 
 hut if he would have the rear-admiral do 
 so, he hoists the same signal on the flag-staff 
 at the mizen-top-mast-head, and fires a gun. 
 When he would have them give over chase, 
 he hoists a white flag on his flag-staff at the 
 fore-top-mast-head, and fires a gun ; which 
 signal is also to be made by that flag-ship 
 ■which is nearest the ship that gives chase, 
 till the chasing ship sees the signal. When 
 the admiral would have the fleet prepare to 
 anchol', he hoists an ensign striped red, 
 blue, and white on the ensign-staff; and 
 fires a gun ; and every flag-ship makes the 
 same signal. 
 
 Besides these, there are many other sig- 
 nals used by day; and different signals, 
 upon these and other occasions, used by 
 night: and others also when a fleet sails in 
 a fog ; all of which are to be found in the 
 Book of Signals. 
 
 The signals for managing a sea-fight are 
 also very numerous, the principal of which 
 are as follow: when the admiral would 
 have the fleet form a line of battle, one 
 ship a-head of another, he hoists an union- 
 flag at the mizen peek, and fires a gun ; and 
 every flag-ship does the like. But when 
 they are to form a line of battle one a- 
 breast of another, he hoists a pendant with 
 the union-flag, &c. When he would have 
 the admiral of the white,^ or he that com- 
 mands in the second post, to tack, and en- 
 deavour to gain the wind of the enemy, he 
 spreads a white flag under the flag at the 
 main-top-mast-head, and fires a gun: and 
 when he 'would have the admiral of the 
 blue do so, he does the same with the blue 
 flag. If he would have the vice-admiral of 
 the red do so, he spreads a red flag from 
 the cap, on the main-top-mast-head down- 
 ward on the back-stay ; if the vice-admiral 
 of the blue, he spreads a blue flag, and 
 
 fires a gun : if he would have the rear-ad- 
 miral of the red do so, he hoists a red flag 
 at the flag-staff at the mizen-top-mast-head; 
 if the rear-admiral of the white, a white 
 flag; if the rear-admiral of the blue, a blue 
 flag, and under it a pendant of the same 
 colour, with a gun. If he would have him 
 that commands in the second post of his 
 squadron to make more sail, he hoists a 
 white flag on the ensign-staff; but if he 
 that commands in the third post be to do 
 so, he hoists a blue flag, and fires a gun ; 
 and all the flag-ships must make the same 
 signal. Whenever he hoists a red flag on 
 the flag-staff at the fore-top-mast-head, and 
 fires a gun, every ship in the fleet must use 
 their utmost endeavour to engage the 
 enemy in the order prescribed . When he 
 hoists a white flag on his mizen peek, and 
 fires a gun, all the small frigates of his 
 squadron, tliat are not of the line of battle, 
 are to come under the stern. If the fleet 
 be sailing by a wind in the line of battle, 
 and the admiral would have them brace 
 their head-sails to the mast, he hoists up a 
 yellow flag on the flag-staff at the mizen- 
 top-mast-head, and fires a gun, which the 
 flag-ships are to answer, and then the ships 
 in the rear are to brace first. After tliis, if 
 he would have them fall their head-sails, 
 and stand on, he hoists a yellow flag on the 
 flag-staff of the fore-top-mast-head, and 
 liras a gun, which the flag-ship must answer; 
 and then the ships in the van must fall first, 
 and stand on. If, when this signal is made, 
 the red-flag at the fore^top-mast-head be 
 abroad, he spreads the yellow flag under 
 the red-flag. If the fleets being near one 
 another, the admiral would have all the 
 ships to tack together, the sooner to lie in a 
 posture to engage the enemy, he hoists an 
 union-flag on the flag staves at the fore and 
 mizen-top-mast-heads, and fires a gun ; and 
 all the flag-ships are to do the same. The 
 fleet being in a line of battle, if he would 
 have the ship that leads the van, hoist, 
 lower, set, or hawl-up any of his sails, he 
 spreads a yellow flag under that at his 
 main-top-mast-head, and fires a gun ; which 
 signal the flag-ships are to answer : and the 
 admiral will hoist, lower, set, or hawl-up 
 the sail, which he would have the ships that 
 lead the van do ; which is to be answered 
 by the flag-ships of the fleet. When the 
 enemies run, and he would have the whole 
 fleet follow them, he makes all the sail he 
 can after them himself, takes down the sig- 
 nal for the line of battle, and fires two guns 
 out of his fore-chase, which the flag-ships 
 
SIG 
 
 answer: and then every ship is to endea- 
 vour to come up with, and board the 
 enemy. Wheh he would have the chase 
 given over, he hoists a white-flag at the 
 fore-top-mast head, and fires a gun. If he 
 would have the red squadron draw into a 
 line of battle, one a-breast of another, he 
 puts abroad a flag striped red and white on 
 the flag-staff at the main-top-mast-head, 
 with a pendant under it, and fires a gun: if 
 the white or second squadron is to do so, 
 the flag is striped red, white, and blue : if 
 the blue or third squadron is to do so, the 
 flag is a Genoese ensign and pendant : but 
 if they are to draw into a line of battle one 
 a-head of another, the same signals are 
 made without a pendant. If they are to 
 draw into the line of battle one a-stern ot 
 another, with a large wind, and he would 
 have the leaders go with the starboard-tacks 
 aboard by the wind, he hoists a red and 
 white flag at the mizen-peek, and fires a 
 gun : but if they should go by the larboard- 
 tacks aboard the wind, he hoists a Genoese 
 flag at the same place: which signals, like 
 others, must be answered by the flag-ships. 
 
 Signals, day, are usually made by flags 
 and pendants, sometimes accompanied with 
 one or more guns ; and night-signals are 
 either lanterns disposed in certain figures, 
 as lines, squares, and triangles, or are made 
 with false fires. Fog-signals consist of ope- 
 rations which emit sound, as firing cannon 
 or muskets, beating drums-, &c. 
 
 Signals, in military actions.'' Informer 
 times large pieces of wood were hung above 
 the towers of cities or castles, which, by be- 
 ing drawn up or lowered, gave intelligence 
 of what passed. This method has been suc- 
 ceeded by the invention of telegraphs, 
 which answer every purpose of communica- 
 tion, when they can be established through 
 any extent of .country. Besides those sig- 
 nals, there are others which may be called 
 vocal and demi-vocal. The vocal signals 
 are those of the human voice, which con- 
 sist in the necessary precautions that are 
 adopted to prevent a guard or post from 
 being surprised, to enounce words of com- 
 mand in action, &c. Of the first descrip- 
 tion are paroles and countersigns, which are 
 exchanged between those to whom they are 
 intrusted, and which are frequently altered, 
 during the -day and night, to prevent the 
 enemy from receiving any information by 
 means of spies. The demi-vocal signals are 
 conveyed by military instruments ; the dif- 
 ferent soundings of which indicate, instan- 
 taneously- wUpther an army is to halt or to 
 
 SIL 
 
 advance, whether troops are to confmue 
 in the pursuit of an enemy, or to retreat. 
 
 The demi-vocal signals, directed to be 
 observed in the British service, as far as 
 regards the manoeuvring of cor'vs, &c. con- 
 sist of signals for the goveri.-nent of light 
 infantry, and of cavalry regiments, squa- 
 drons, or troops : the latter are properly 
 called soundings. Light infantry signals are 
 to give notice to advance, to retreat, to 
 halt, to cease firing, to assemble, or call in 
 all parties. In the regulations printed by 
 authority it is observed, that these signals 
 are to be always considered as fixed and 
 determined ones, and are never to be 
 changed. The bugle horn of each company 
 is to make himself perfect master of them. 
 All signals are to be repeated ; and all those 
 signals which are made from the line or co- 
 lumn, are to convey the intention of the 
 commanding oflicer of the line to the offi- 
 cer commanding the light infantry, who will 
 communicate them to the several compa- 
 nies or detachments either by word or sig- 
 nal. 
 
 SIGNATURE, in printing, is a letter 
 put at the bottom of the first page at least, 
 in each sheet, as a direction to the binder, 
 in folding, gathering, and collating them. 
 The signatures consist of the capital letters 
 of the alphabet, which change in every 
 sheet : if there be more sheets than letters 
 in the alphabet, to the capital letter is 
 added a small one of the same sort, as A a, 
 B b ; which are repeated as often as neces- 
 sary. In large volumes it is usual to distin- 
 guish the number of alphabets after the 
 first two by placing a figure before the sig- 
 nature, as 3 B, 4 B, &c. 
 
 SIGNET, one of the king’s seals, made 
 use of in sealing his private letters, and all 
 grants that pass by bill signed under his 
 majesty’s hand : it is always in the custody 
 of the secretaries of state. 
 
 SILENE, in botany, catch-Jty, a genus 
 of the Decandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Caryophyllei. Caryophyl- 
 leae, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 ventricose ; j)etals five, with claws, crowned 
 at the throat; capsules three- celled. There 
 are sixty-six species. 
 
 SILICA, in mineralogy and chemistry, 
 is generally found in a stony state, and from 
 its forming nearly the entire composition of 
 flint, it has acquired the name of silica, 
 silex, or siliceous earth. This earth exists 
 in great abundance in nature, and it con- 
 stitutes the basis of some of the hardest 
 stones of which the nucleus of the globe 
 
SlUCA. 
 
 fc&nsists ; afift, on account of its great abun- 
 dance, it has been regarded as the primi- 
 tive or elementary earth, the base of all the 
 other earths. 
 
 Silica fon '.s one of the constituent parts 
 of most stony bodies ; but it exists in great- 
 est abundance in agates, jasper, fliats, 
 quartz, and rock crystal : in tlie latter it 
 exists nearly in a state of purity. To ob- 
 tain it [)erfectly pure, a quantity of quartz, 
 or rock crystal, may be exposed to a red 
 heat. When it is taken fro.m the fire, and 
 wliile it is yet hot, it is suddenly immersed 
 in cold water. It is then to be reduced to 
 powder, and if transparent rock crystal 
 has been employed, it is then in a state 
 of tolerable purity. I'o have it perfectly 
 pure, mix one part of the pounded stone 
 with three/ parts of potash, and expose 
 them in a crucible to a heat which is suffi- 
 cient for the fusion of the mixture. The 
 mass thus obtained is soluble in water. 
 Add a sufficient quantity of water for its 
 .solution, and drop in muriatic acid as long 
 as there is any precipitate. Let this be 
 repeatedly washed with water and dried. 
 The substance thus obtained is pure silica. 
 It is in the form of very fine white powder, 
 which has neither taste nor smell. The 
 particles are rough and harsh to the feel, 
 as when they are nibbed between the fin- 
 gers, or touched with the tongue. The spe- 
 cific gravity is 2.6. Light has no action on 
 silica, and it is one of the peculiar cha- 
 racters of this earth, that it resists, un- 
 changed, the greatest degree of heat. 
 There is no action between silica and oxy- 
 gen, azote, or hydrogen ; nor is it changed 
 by exposure to the air. It is not acted 
 upon by carbon, phosphorus, or sulphur. 
 It is insoluble in water ; but, in a state of 
 minute division, it absorbs a considerable 
 portion, and forms with this liquid a trans- 
 parent jelly. When it is exposed to the 
 air, the whole of the moisture is evapo- 
 rated. 
 
 Silica is frequently found in nature in the 
 crystallized form, and then it is distin- 
 guished by the name of rock crystal. It is 
 most commonly in hexagonal prisms, termi- 
 nated by hexagonal pyramids. Crystals of 
 silica have also been formed artificially. 
 In a solution of silica in fluoric acid, which 
 had remained at rest for two years, Berg- 
 man found crystals, some of which were 
 cubes, and some had truncated angles, at 
 the bottom of the vessel. Crystals of silica 
 have also been formed, by diluting largely 
 with water the combination of silica and 
 
 potash, and allowing it to remain for a long 
 time. 
 
 Silica is only acted on by a very few of 
 the acids. These are the phosphoric and 
 boracic, which combine with it by fusion, 
 and the fluoric. Which dissolves silica either 
 in the gaseous or liquid state. When silica 
 is held in solution in water by means of an 
 alkali, it is also dissolved by the muriatic- 
 acid. The alkalies have a very powerful 
 action on this earth. In the preparation of 
 the pure earth, it was combined with pot- 
 ash by means of fusion. Tliis Compound is 
 dift'erent in its nature and properties, ac- 
 cording to the proportions of the silica and 
 tlie alkali. Two or three parts of potash, 
 with one of silica, form a compound which 
 is deliquescent in the air, and soluble in 
 water. This was formerly distinguished by 
 the name liquor silicum, or liquor of flints. 
 It is now called silicated alkali. When 
 this solution is long exposed to the air, the 
 earth is deposited in a flaky gelatinous form. 
 It is decomposed by acids, which combine 
 with the alkali, and the pure earth falls to 
 the bottom iii the state of tine powder. 
 When the solution is largely diluted with 
 water, and if a greater quantity of the acid 
 be added than is sufficient to saturate the al- 
 kali, the silica remains in solution. This is 
 particularly the case when the muriatic acid 
 is employed ; but when the silica is in 
 greater proportion, a compound is formed 
 which is possessed of very different pro- 
 perties. The substance thus obtained is 
 glass. This earth also enters into combi- 
 nation with some of the earths. If to a 
 solution of the liquor of flints lime-water be 
 added, a precipitate is formed, which is 
 found to be a compound of silica and lime. 
 Silica also combines with lime by means of 
 heat, and in certain proportions a glass is 
 formed. Silicious earth eilt. rswith diffi- 
 culty into combination with magnesia ; but 
 if equal parts of silica and magnesia be 
 exposed to very strong beat, they melt into 
 a white enamel. But the most important 
 compounds of the earths are those of silica 
 and alumina. These earths may be com- 
 bined together, as appears from the expe- 
 riments of Guyton, in the humid way. He 
 mixed together equal parts of alumina dis- 
 solved by means of potash, and of silica 
 held in solution by the same alkali. When 
 the solutions came into contact, a brown 
 zone was immediately formed, which spread, 
 by agitation, through the whole mass, and 
 communicated to it a yellowish colour. The 
 mixture was no further changed during the 
 
SIL 
 
 space of an hour, although it was occasion- 
 ally stirred with a glass rod ; but at the 
 end of that time the whole mass assumed 
 the appearance of a thick, opaque white 
 jelly. Wlien the silica and alumina are 
 mixed together, and formed into a paste 
 with water, and exposed to heat, they 
 strongly cohere, and assume a considerable 
 degree of hardness. This compound forms 
 the basis of all kinds of pottery and por- 
 celain. 
 
 Barytes and strontian in some degree 
 dissolve silica as the alkalies do. Two^ 
 hundred parts of strontian, with sixty ot 
 silica, heated intensely in a crucible for an 
 hour, produced a grey sonorous rifty mass, 
 with only a slight caustic taste. This being 
 boiled in water, was partly dissolved, but 
 could not be crystallized. Saturated with 
 nitric acid, it gave, by evaporation, a copi- 
 ous jelly, which was pure silex. A similar 
 result was obtained when barytes was used 
 instead of strontian. 
 
 SILIQUA, in botany, a species of pod, 
 in which the seeds are alternately fixed to 
 either suture or joining of the valves ; in 
 this it differs from the legumen, which has 
 its seeds attached to one suture only. This 
 kind of seed vessel is found in all the 
 class Tetradynamia of Linnaeus. See Le- 
 GUMEN. 
 
 SILIQUOS.T:, in botany, the name of 
 the thirty-nintlr order in Limraeus’s Frag- 
 ments of a Natural Method, consisting of 
 plants that have a siliqua for a seed vessel. 
 It is divided into two sections : 1. Those 
 which have cross-shaped flowers with tong 
 pods, as the brassica, cabbages, raphauus, 
 radish; sinapis, mustard, &c. 2. Those 
 
 with cross-shaped flowers with short round 
 pods, as the iberis, candy-tuft. This order 
 chiefly furnishes biennial aud perennial 
 herbs of an irregular figure. The roots are 
 long, branched, crooked, and fibrous ; those 
 of the turnip and radish nre succulent and 
 fleshy ; the flowers are hermaphrodite, 
 and in the greater number disposed in a 
 spike at the extremity of the branches. 
 They are easily rendered double by culture. 
 Ti.-^ stamina are six in number, two of 
 which are of tlie length of the calyx, and 
 the remaining four somewhat longer, but 
 shorter than the petals. The seed-vessel, 
 as we have observed, is a long pod in plants 
 of the first section ; a short and round one 
 in tliose of the second. The seeds are 
 roundish, small, and attached alternately by 
 a slender thread to both sutures, or joining 
 of the valves. 
 
 SIL 
 
 SILK, the web or envelopment of tlid 
 caterpillar, of a species of moth called the 
 Phalena raori ; which being convertible to 
 various purposes of utility and elegance, 
 forms an important article in commerce, as 
 the material of a valuable manufacture. The 
 caterpillar, or silk-worm, when full grown, 
 encloses itself in a loose web, in the midst 
 of which it forms a much closer case or 
 covering, of an oval form, and varying in 
 colour from white to a deep orange, but 
 usually of a bright yellow colour. In this 
 case, or ball, the animal becomes a chry- 
 salis, and remains enclosed about fifteen 
 days ; w'heu having resumed active life, in 
 the form of a moth, it makes a hole at one 
 end of its prison and comes out. This, as 
 it destroys the silk-ball, is prevented in 
 those countries where silk is cultivated, by 
 killing the chrysalides by means of heat. 
 See Phalena. 
 
 The silk-worm is supposed to be a native 
 of China, at least the Chinese were the 
 first nation in the world acquainted with 
 the manufacture of silk. It was little known 
 in Europe before the time of Augustus. 
 Galen, who lived about the year 160, men- 
 tions silk as in use no where but at Rome, 
 and only among the rich. The Emperor 
 Heliogabalus, who died in the year 220, is 
 said to have been the first man that wore a 
 holosericum, or dress, made wholly of silk y 
 princes, as w'ell as subjects of the greatest 
 quality, wearing only a stuff made of silk 
 mixed with other materials. In the time 
 of Aurelian, silk was sold in Rome for its 
 weight in gold, and long continued to bear 
 a great value, from the expense attending 
 the mode in which it was procured. T'he 
 only silk then known was that of China, 
 which was brought from thence, in the raw 
 state, to Berytus and Tyre, in Phoenicia, 
 where it was manufactured ; but this branch 
 of commerce being interrupted by the con- 
 quests of the Scytliians, the Emperor Jus- 
 tinian became desirous of establishing the 
 culture of silk witliin his dominions; for 
 which purpose he employed tw'o Monks, 
 who had been in India, to procure the eggs 
 of the insect from China. This was accom- 
 plished about the year 555 ; the eggs were 
 hatched at Constantinople, and the breed 
 of the insect being carefully encouraged, 
 raw silk was soon produced in abundance, 
 which.was worked up into manfactures at 
 Athens, Thebes, Corintli, and other places. 
 It a))pears, however, tliat for many years 
 after the establishment of the culture of 
 silk in Greece, garments of this material 
 
SILK. 
 
 Continued to be very highly valued ; as, 
 about the year 790, Charlemagne sent two 
 silken vests as a present to OlFa, King of 
 Mercia. About the year 1130, the silk 
 manufacture had made such progress in the 
 island of Sicily as to excite the jealousy of 
 the Venetians, from its interfering with 
 their importations of, silks from Greece. — 
 From Venice and Sicily the silk manufac- 
 ture spread through Italy, from whence it 
 was introduced into the southern provinces 
 of France. 
 
 As soon as tlie worms have produced 
 their balls, or cocoons, they become an 
 article of trade, for in those countries where 
 silk is cultivated few persons reel off their 
 cocoons, but sell them to others, who make 
 this operation a separate business. The 
 silk, as formed by the worm, is so very fine, 
 that if each ball, or cocoon, was reeled se- 
 parately, it would be totally unfit for the pur- 
 poses of the manufacturer; in the reeling, 
 therefore, the ends of several cocoons are 
 joined and reeled together out of warm 
 water, which, softening their natural gum, 
 makes them stick together, so as to form 
 one strong smooth thread. As often as the 
 thread of any single cocoon breaks, or 
 comes to an end, its place is supplied by a 
 new one, so that by continually keeping up 
 the same number, the united thread may 
 be wound to any length : the single threads 
 of the newly added cocoons are not joined 
 by any tie, but simply laid on the main 
 thread, to which they adhere by their gum ; 
 and their ends are so fine as not to occasion 
 the least perceptible unevenness in the 
 place, where they are laid on. The appa- 
 ratus for reeling consists merely of a small 
 open kettle of water, under which is a fire 
 to keep it hot, and a reel of a very simple 
 construction. Care should be taken in the 
 operation, that the silk when reeled off may 
 consist of a smooth thread of equal thick- 
 ness and strength, not flat, but of a round 
 form, having the small threads of which it 
 is composed as equally stretched and firmly 
 united as possible ; and that the several 
 rounds, as they lie on the reel, should not 
 be glued together. When the skein is quite 
 dry it is taken off the reel, and a tie is made 
 with some of the refuse silk on that part of 
 the skein where it bore upon the bars of the 
 reel, and another tie on the opposite part of 
 the skein, after which it is doubled into a 
 hank, and usually tied round near each ex- 
 tremity, when it is laid by for use, or sale. 
 
 In this state, in which all the silk that is 
 brought from India, and a considerable part 
 
 of what comes from Italy and other parts, 
 arrives, it is called raw silk ; the principal 
 part of it is afterwards sent to a mill to be 
 thrown; that is, to have two ends of it 
 doubled and twisted together, by which it 
 is converted into tram, or organzine, accord- 
 ing to the fineness of the silk, and the pur- 
 poses to which it is intended to be applied 
 in the manufacture. See Organzine. 
 
 The culture of silk varies but little in dif- 
 ferent countries ; it does not require any 
 great degree of skill, or a ^eat capital : and 
 as it is well known that the silk-worm, with 
 proper care, will breed and thrive very 
 well in England, it is not surprising that ' 
 attempts should have been made to establish 
 the culture of it in this country. The suc- 
 cess of Henry the Fourth of France, in ex- 
 tending the culture of silk, which before his 
 time had been confined to a few districts of 
 that kingdom, excited in James the First an 
 active zeal for the introduction of it here. 
 With this view, in 1608, he caused a circular 
 letter, of his own writing, to be sent to the 
 Lord Lieutenant of every county, in which 
 he held forth the example of France as 
 affording ground to hope for equal success 
 here. He likewise observed, that from the 
 experience of many private persons who 
 had bred silk-worms for their pleasure, no- 
 thing had appeared to cause a doubt that 
 they may be nourished and reared in Eng- 
 land, if provision was made for planting 
 mulberry-trees ; and for this purpose, the 
 persons to whom the letter was addressed 
 were directed, at the Quarter Session, or 
 some other public meeting, to persuade and 
 require those of ability to buy and distri- 
 bute in the county the number of 10,000 
 mulberry plants, which were to be deliver- 
 ed in London at the rate of three farthings 
 a plant. The King likewise caused printed 
 instructions to be published for planting and 
 propagating the mulberry trees, and for 
 breeding and feeding the worms; and 
 though, at first, most persons were pro! ably 
 avei'se to such a new undertaking, by the 
 continuance of the royal sanction and sup- 
 port, and the consideration of the great ad- 
 vantages reaped by other European nations 
 from their silk manufactures, many people, 
 in the course of a few years, became very 
 earnest for the propagation of the silk- 
 worm, and of the white mulberry tree for 
 feeding it. 
 
 In 1629, Charles the First granted to 
 Lord Aston the keeping of the garden, 
 mulberry trees, and silk-worms, near St. 
 James’s; but this royal undertaking soon 
 
SILK. 
 
 declined, and the project does not appear 
 to have been renewed, on an extensive 
 scale, till many years after. 
 
 In 1718, a patent was granted to John 
 Appletree, Esq. for producing raw silk of 
 the growth of England, and for raising a 
 fund for carrying on the same. The capital 
 of the nndertaking was divided into shares 
 of 51. each ; a deed of trust was executed 
 and enrolled in Chancery ; Directors were 
 chosen by the subscribers for managing the 
 affairs of the company ; and, Chelsea-Park 
 being thought a proper soil for the purpose, 
 and in a convenient situation, a lease was 
 taken of it for 122 years. Here upwards of 
 2000 young mulberry trees were soon plant- 
 ed, and extensive edifices were erected for 
 carrying on the work ; this number of trees 
 was, however, but a small part of what the 
 company intended to plant, if they were 
 successful. 
 
 In 1719, Mr. Henry Barham, who w'as 
 probably a member of this company, pub- 
 lished “ An Essay upon the Silk-Worm,” 
 in which he thinks all objections and diffi- 
 culties against this “ glorious undertaking ” 
 are shown to be mere, phantoms and trifles ; 
 the event, however, proved that the company 
 met with difficulties of a real and formidable 
 nature ; for though the expectation of Mr. 
 Barham, who questioned^not that in the en- 
 suing year they should produce a consider- 
 able quantity of raw silk, may have been 
 partly accomplished :’the violent stock-job- 
 bing speculations of that period, which in- 
 volved the shares of all projects of this 
 nature, must have produced many chatiges 
 among the proprietors, and deranged the 
 original design, in consequence of which it 
 soon went to decay. From that time there 
 has been no public undertaking of the kind ; 
 but individuals have continued to rear the 
 silk-worm as an object of curiosity, and 
 have generally been successful, as it is easy 
 to bestow a degree of care and attention 
 on a small number, which could not be ex- 
 tended to a large concern. The insurmount- 
 able obstacle to raising silk in Great Britain 
 is the climate, which is too cold and wet ; 
 and though expedients might be adopted to 
 obviate these inconveniences, they would 
 render the culture of the article, on a large 
 scale, by far too expensive. 
 
 As the mulberry tree is scarce in some 
 parts of this country, attempts have been 
 made to feed the worms on other plants. 
 Miss Croft of York, in 1792, sent to the 
 Society for the encouragement of Arts, 
 Manutactures, and Commerce, a specimen 
 
 VOL. vr. 
 
 of silk produced by W'orms fed entirety 
 upon lettuce leaves. The respectable so- 
 ciety just mentioned, continue to oflfer pre- 
 miums for the production of silk in this 
 country ; but as all former attempts, made 
 at a time when land and labour were much 
 cheaper than at present, have turned out 
 unprofitable, and consequently been aban- 
 doned, there can be little ground for hope 
 that better success would attend future 
 trials. 
 
 King James the First, whose zeal for rais- 
 ing silk in this country has been noticed, 
 at the same time, extended his views to the 
 American colonies. He several times urged 
 the Virginia Company to promote the 
 cultivation of mulberry trees, and the breed- 
 ing of silk- worms, particularly by a letter 
 addressed to them, in 1622, expressly on 
 this subject, in which he charged and re- 
 quired them to see that the people there 
 used all possible diligence in breeding of 
 silk-worms, and erecting of silk-works, and 
 that they bestowed their labour in pro- 
 ducing this rich and solid commodity in 
 preference to tobacco, an article to which 
 he had a violent aversion. The company 
 appear to have been determined not to be 
 outdone by the King, in zeal for the ac- 
 complishment of this object, and accord- 
 ingly transmitted his Majesty’s letter to the 
 Governor and Council of Virginia, with 
 very particular instructions to employ all 
 their endeavours for establishing the staple 
 commodities of silk and wine ; for the bet- 
 ter accomplishment of which they sent a 
 number of copies of a book on the subject, 
 written by Mr. John Bonoeil, a member of 
 the company, who engaged earnestly in the 
 attempt, and was so fully convinced of its 
 practicability, that he says, such quantities 
 of silk might easily be made in Virginia, if 
 there were a sufficient number of hands, as 
 in a very short time would serve all Chris- 
 tendom. The misfortunes which the colony 
 of Virginia experienced, and the dissolution 
 of the company soon after, must have 
 checked the execution of this project very 
 materially ; and though a considerable num- 
 ber of trees w’ere planted, and were found 
 to flourish, but little silk appears to have 
 been produced. 
 
 In 1654, it apjjeared that the culture of 
 silk had been revived in Virginia, by Mr. 
 Edward Diggs, who was confident that he 
 had conquered all the principal difficulties 
 respecting this commodity, and made its 
 profit so evident to all the Virginians, that 
 in a short time there would be great quan- 
 I, 
 
SILK. 
 
 titles of silk made. It does not, however, 
 appear that the culture of silk has since 
 been carried to any considerable extent in 
 Virginia, which is probably owing more to 
 the attachment of the planters to the growth 
 of tobacco than to any natural impedi- 
 ment. 
 
 The settlement of the colony of Georgia 
 was begun in the year 1732, and the trus- 
 tees, soon after the commencement of their 
 undertaking, caused a common nursery gar- 
 den to be laid out for white mulberry trees, 
 for the production of silk. It was at this 
 time raised in Carolina, in small quantities, 
 some families making about forty or fifty 
 pounds weight in the year. In order to in- 
 struct the colonists of Georgia upon this 
 subject, some persons from Piedmont in 
 Italy, skilled in tending the worms and the 
 winding of silk, were sent thither; and, 
 notwithstanding the difficulties attending 
 the attempt, and the public misfortunes of 
 the colony, many persons persevered and ex- 
 perienced some success ; an act of parlia- 
 ment was in consequence passed, in 1749, 
 for encouraging the culture of raw silk in 
 the American colonies, by which raw silk, 
 certified to be the real growth and culture 
 of those colonies, was exempted from any 
 duty on importation into the port of Lon- 
 don. 'I'he culture increased gradually, 
 , though slowly, both in Georgia and the ad- 
 joining province of South Carolina; but a 
 few years after the produce became more 
 considerable. In the year 1757, l,052/6s. 
 weight of silk-balls were received at the fila- 
 ture in Georgia, and the next year pro- 
 duced no less than 7,040?Zis. w-eight thereof. 
 In 1759, tliere were received at Savannah, 
 the capital of Georgia, considerably above 
 10,000fiis. weight of raw silk, although it 
 was thought an unfavourable season. As 
 the culture of this valuable article thus ap- 
 peared to be making some progress in the 
 southern colonies, an act of parliament was 
 passed, in 1769, for the further encourage- 
 ment of the growth of raw silk in America ; 
 by which a bounty was granted of 251. for 
 every 1001. value of such raw silk for the 
 next seven years, and lesser bounties during 
 the two following periods of seven years. 
 The Society for the encouragement of Arts, 
 Manufactures, and Commerce, also olFered 
 large premiums for encouraging the same 
 object; but still the quantities raised were 
 but small, and the cost too great for com- 
 petition with silk from other parts. 
 
 There can be no doubt that in many 
 parts of the southerti states of America, the 
 
 climate is as favourable to the mulberry 
 tree and the silk-worm, as in those coun- 
 trips in Europe where they are raised ; the 
 chief difficulty the Americans have to con- 
 tend with respecting this article is, that in 
 most of I the southern states, the labourers 
 are Negro slaves, who are not sufficiently 
 attentive and skilful in this business. — 
 In Connecticut, where there is a sensible 
 and careful white population, and where 
 land is comparatively scarce and dear, the 
 culture of silk has been found to be practi- 
 cable and profitable. A project to extend 
 the wdiite mulberry tree over all the States 
 was formed a few years ago, in con.sequence 
 of which a considerable number were plant- 
 ed. An extensive nursery of these trees 
 was established near Philadelphia, in 1789 ; 
 another at Princeton, in New Jersey ; and 
 two more in New York, and Long Islands. 
 The idea upon which these nurseries were 
 principally encouraged was, tliat they pre- 
 pared the States for the reception of emi- 
 grants from silk countries ; but no consider- 
 able emigration from those countries has 
 taken place. 
 
 In the British settlements in the East 
 Indies, the culture of silk has been long 
 established, particularly in the i.sland of 
 Cossimbwzar and its neighbourhood, in the 
 province of Bengal; and since, about the 
 year 1760, when the company became the 
 rulers of the country, and adopted a new 
 system of trade for the purpose of realizing 
 the surplus revenue, the culture of raw silk 
 has been promoted, and the quantity con- 
 siderably increased. Of late years, con- 
 siderable attention has been paid both to 
 the quality of the silk, and to the mode of 
 reeling it, by which it has been very mate- 
 rially improved, so as to rival, in most re- 
 spects, the produce of Italy. 
 
 There are eight principal silk factories 
 belonging to the company in Bengal ; and 
 in every filature, or factory, there are em- 
 ployed, according to ils size, from three 
 thousand to ten thousand people ; and if 
 to these are added the mulberry-planters, 
 worm feeders, &c. from ten thousand to 
 forty thousand men, women, and children, 
 are attached to each filature. Attempts 
 have been made to introduce the silk-worm 
 in other parts of the company’s posshssions, 
 especially on the coast of Coromandel. Dr. 
 James Anderson, of Fort St. George, who 
 has been particularly zealous in promoting 
 this among other useful undertakings, in- 
 troduced mulberry trees at Madras, about 
 the year 1770, and finding they grew luxu- 
 
SILK. 
 
 riantly, afterward endeavoured to procure 
 silk worms’ eggs from Bengal : his two first 
 attempts were unsuccessful, but the third 
 in 1789 succeeded, aud the advantages likely 
 to accrue from the culture of silk soon en- 
 gaged several pessons on different parts of 
 the coasts in breeding the worms. In a letter 
 to Sir Joseph Banks, dated 26th January, 
 1792, he says, “ I have received accounts 
 of the success of the silk worms at Palam- 
 cotta and Masidipatam, as well as of the 
 recovery of those that had been diseased 
 by the late rains at Tritchinopoly ; so that 
 a breed of this insect is already established 
 in an extent of six hundred miles upon the 
 coast, but it wilt rest with the company to 
 render it productive.” 
 
 The establishment of the silk manufac- 
 toiy in Great Britain affords one of the 
 most complete instances in which an art 
 borrowed entirely fioin other nations, and 
 employed on a material entirely of foreign 
 growth, has been brought to such perfec- 
 tion in this country, as to equal, and in some 
 instances to surpass, the productions of those 
 countries from which it was derived. The 
 use of silk was introduced into this country 
 gradually, being at first confined to small 
 ornamental articles. In the year 145.5 
 there appears to have been a company of 
 silk-women in England, who most probably 
 only used silk in embroidering and other 
 kinds of needle-work, but their perform- 
 ances at least contributed to bring this ele- 
 gant material into more general notice. By 
 an act of Henry Vllth, entitled “ Silk- 
 work,” it appears that about 1504, the 
 smaller manufactures of silk were executed 
 in England, as it was among other things 
 enacted, that from thenceforth no person 
 should import into England for sale any 
 kind of silk wrought by itself or with any 
 other material in any place out of the realm, 
 in ribbands, laces, or girdles ; but none 
 of the more important branches of the 
 manufacture could then have existed here, 
 or such goods would certainly have been 
 included in the prohibition. Tlie King 
 sometimes obtained a pair of silk stockings, 
 which were broughtfrom Spain, the making 
 of silk hose not having yet been attempted 
 in England; it was, liowever, introduced 
 about the year 1561, when Queen Elizabeth 
 was,' presented with a pair of black silk 
 knit stockings, and is said to have been so 
 pleased with them, that she never wore 
 cloth hose' after. Elizabeth’s fondness of 
 dress must have inclined her to countenance 
 every branch of this manufacture; but, 
 
 little was done for its improvement till the 
 reign of her successor, whose active mea- 
 sures for establishing the culture of silk, and 
 increasing the importance of the manufac- 
 ture in this country, were by no means 
 fruitless. 'Ehe broad-silk manufacture was 
 introduced here about the year 1620; 
 and a Mr. Burlamach, a merchant much 
 employed by the King, by his direction 
 brought from abroad silk throwsters, dyers, 
 and broad weavers ; whose assistance so 
 materially contributed to the improvement 
 and increase of the manufacture, tliat in 
 1630 it was thought proper to incorporate 
 the silk throwsters of London, and within 
 four miles thereof ; aud in the following 
 year the silk-men were likewise incorporat- 
 ed: the weavers had been incorporated 
 long before. In addition to these favours 
 from Charles I. he endeavoured to protect 
 the trade from what appeared to be an 
 improper practice, by issuing a proclama- 
 tion respecting the increase of weight of 
 silk dyed black upon the gum, which was 
 then considered as a great fraud, and pro- 
 hibited accordingly ; but upon better infor- 
 mation the King thought proper, in 1638, 
 to revoke this prohibition. About the same 
 time a new charter was granted to the 
 Weavers’ Company, and by a proclamation 
 issued soon after, they were empowered to 
 admit into the freedom of their company, a 
 competent number of such persons, as well 
 strangers as natives, as had exercised the 
 trade ot weaving at least one whole year, 
 before the date of the new charter, “ who 
 shall be conformable to the laws of the 
 realm, and the constitutions of the Church 
 of England.” It has been justly asked. 
 What had the constitution of any cliurch 
 to do with the trade of weaving.’ Wliat 
 other political qualification could be re- 
 quisite but that the weaver should be a 
 peaceable subject, and, considering the 
 times, a Protestant of some denomination 
 or other? But many similar instances may 
 be found, in which bigotry and party zeal 
 imposed injudicious restrictions on trade and 
 manufactures. 
 
 In 1661 the silk throwsters petitioned 
 parliament, in order obtain the legislative 
 sanction to some regulations that were 
 thought necessary for the security of their 
 trade, which they asserted employed above 
 forty thousand men, women, aud children j 
 and, in consequence of this application, 
 the privileges of the company were ex- 
 tended to twenty miles round London, 
 and it was enacted that none should set up 
 L 2 
 
SILK. 
 
 the trade of a silk-throwster, but such as 
 had served seven years apprenticeship to it, 
 and should make tliemselves free of the 
 company. 
 
 In 1680 the Weavers’ Company petition- 
 ed the House of Commons, against the im- 
 portation of foreign silks from France, and 
 the wear of East India wrought silks, which 
 had then become very general ; but it does 
 not appear that any thing was done in 
 consequence of this application. The 
 Turkey Company about the same time 
 renewed a complaint they had before made 
 at different times against the East India 
 company for importing raw silk ; this article 
 having formerly been wdiolly imported from 
 Turkey, and being a valuable branch of the 
 commerce of that company, which they 
 were now rapidly loosing, it induced them 
 soon after to make a formal complaint to 
 the Privy Council ; on which occasion, 
 among other assertions, they denominated 
 the new silk which had been imported from 
 Bengal, “ a deceitful sort of raw silk.” The 
 India Company, unable wholly to deny this 
 charge, contented themselves with saying, 
 that, with respect to the quality of Bengal 
 silk, it was like all other commodities, good, 
 bad, and indilferent ; and rested their de- 
 fence chiefly on the more general ground 
 of the importance of the manufacture, and 
 the propriety of encouraging it, asserting 
 that raw silk had become so essential, that 
 it might be compared with sheeps’ wool 
 and cotton wool ; and that since their im- 
 portation thereof, the silk manufacture had 
 increased in the proportion of one to four. 
 This contest between the two companies 
 for the importation of raw silk, proves that 
 it was a valuable branch of trade ; and it 
 appeal’s that the manufacture was increas- 
 ing rapidly; but nothing contributed so 
 much to its Ml establishment in this country 
 as the cruel persecution of the Protestant 
 Christians in France, on the revocation of 
 the Edict of Nantes, in 1685. Of the mul- 
 titudes who fled at that period, upwards 
 of fifty thousand took refuge in Englind, 
 the greater part of whom settled in the 
 suburbs of London; those who had been 
 engaged in silk- weaving, chiefly fixed their 
 residence in Spitalfields, where they added 
 to the branches of this art already known, 
 those of modes and lustrings, which articles 
 had hitherto been imported from France ; 
 they also instructed our weavers in bro- 
 cades, satins, mantaus, and velvets. Soon 
 after the revolution, in consequence of the 
 war, an act was passed prohibiting all trade 
 
 and commerce with France, a measure 
 which must have co-operated very mate- 
 rially with the arrival of the new workmen 
 to the success of the silk trade in this 
 country, as the annual importation of French 
 silks had been very great for some years 
 before. In 1692, lustrings and modes 
 being much in fashion, and the fabrication 
 of them but recently introduced here, the 
 makers for their encouragement had a 
 patent granted them, and soon brought this 
 branch to the greatest perfection ; upon 
 which, about five years after, foreign lu- 
 strings and modes were entirely prohibited, 
 and the sole privilege of making these silks 
 confirmed to the company by Act of Par- 
 liament, for the term of fourteen years; 
 but with tlie change of fashion this com- 
 pany came to nothing. In 1697 the weavers 
 of London became very tumultuous, on ac- 
 count of the great quantities of silks, stain- 
 ed calicoes, and other Persian and Indian 
 manufactures imported by the East India 
 Company, and worn by all sorts of people. 
 
 To remedy these complaints, a bill was 
 brought into parliament to restrain the 
 w'earing of these foreign goods, and the 
 House of Lords heard council and witnesses 
 for and against it : the India Company on 
 this occasion engaged the celebrated Dr. 
 Davenant to write in their defence, who in 
 his Essay on the East India Trade, asserteil 
 that since the goods imported by the com- 
 pany had been in use, the price of silks 
 from France, Spain, and Italy, had fallen 
 at least twenty-five per cent ; and endea- 
 voured to show that the intended prohibi- 
 tion would be destructive to the India 
 trade in general, and hazard its being utter- 
 ly lost to this country. The contention 
 between the old and new East India Com- 
 panies greatly increased the importation 
 of India wrought silks and calicoes, and 
 the wear of them became universal till pro- 
 hibited by an act of parliament passed in 
 1700. 
 
 In 1713, the Weavers’ Company, alarmed 
 at the tendency of a treaty of commerce 
 which had been concluded with France, 
 under which the general introduction of 
 French silks would soon have ruined the 
 English manufacture, petitioned parliament 
 apinst the bill for rendering effectual the 
 eighth and ninth articles of the treaty, and 
 in their petition they represent the state 
 of the manufacture at that period in the 
 following words : “ That by the encourage- 
 ment of the crown, and of divers acts of 
 parliament, the silk manufacture is come to 
 
SILK. 
 
 be above twenty times as great as it was 
 in the year 1664 ; and that all sorts of as 
 good black and coloured silks, gold and 
 silver stuffs and ribbons, are now made 
 here as in France. That black silk for 
 hoods and scarfs, not made here above 
 twenty-five years ago, hath amounted an- 
 nually to above three hundred thousand 
 pounds for several years past, wliich before 
 were imported from France, &c.” As not 
 only persons concerned in the silk trade, 
 but most other manufacturers and mer- 
 chants, were against the articles of the 
 treaty whicli caused this petition, the bill 
 was rejected by the House of Commons, to 
 the great joy of the drapers, mercers, and 
 weavers of London, who expressed their 
 satisfaction at the event by bonfires and 
 illuminations. 
 
 A few years after, the art of throwing 
 fine raw silk into organzine was introduced 
 into this, country by Messrs. Thomas and 
 John Lambe ; but some impediments arising 
 to the success of the undertaking, their ma- 
 chinery was afterwards applied to throw- 
 ing train and singles. See Organzine. 
 
 The decline of the Turkey trade being 
 attributed at this period to the French ex- 
 porting woollens to Turkey and taking 
 raw silks in return, which were afterwards 
 brought from Italy into this country, an act 
 was passed prohibiting the importation of 
 raw silk the produee of Asia, from any ports 
 in the Straits or Levant seas, except such 
 ports and places as are within the domi- 
 nions of the Grand Seignior. It was also 
 thought proper to pass an act for encourag- 
 ing the consumption of raw silk, by render- 
 ing more effectual a former act respecting 
 the trifling articles of buttons and button- 
 holes. In 1721, a much more important 
 act was passed, allowing drawbacks on dif- 
 ferent descriptions of manuractured silk 
 goods, when exported. In 1750, an act 
 was passed for reducing the duties then 
 payable on the importation of China raw 
 silk to the same duty as was payable on 
 raw silk imported from Italy, which was 
 certainly an advantage to the manufacture, 
 China silk being of a quality peculiarly 
 adapted to several purposes, particularly 
 in the gauze branch, which at one time con- 
 sumed a large proportion of it, though it 
 has since, become inconsiderable. By the 
 act just mentioned the East India Company 
 were enabled to increase with advan- 
 tage their import of silk, which at that 
 time was not very considerable, raw silk 
 being still principally brought from Turkey. 
 
 Total quantity of raw silk imported inlo 
 Great Britain in the year 1750. 
 
 From Flanders i,i07lbs, 
 
 Spain and Portugal.. 2,564 
 
 Streights 14,897 
 
 Italy 36,301 
 
 Turkey 132,894 
 
 East Indies 4a,876 
 
 231,939 
 
 In 1763 an act was passed for rendering 
 more effectual the act of 19 Henry Vll. 
 by imposing fines on the importers or 
 venders of the articles therein prohibited, 
 in addition to the forfeiture of the goods. 
 This measure, though it might in some de- 
 gree check the introduction of foreign ar- 
 ticles, was by no means adequate to the 
 object it had in view, as the importation 
 still continued, which from the jealousy 
 and discontent it excited among the work- 
 men in this manufacture, appeared likely, 
 in the beg'aning of the year 1765, to be at- 
 tended with serious consequences. The 
 journeymen weavers and others connected 
 with the trade, who conceived themselves 
 injured by the common use of French silks, 
 assembled in Spitalfields and' Bloorfields 
 by beat of drum, in order to petition par- 
 liament for redress by a total prohibition 
 of such articles, and from thence proceeded 
 in different bodies to St. James’s and West- 
 minster Hall. This disposition, and the 
 report that the weavers in the inland towns 
 were coming to London to join their 
 distressed brethren, excited considerable 
 alarm ; they were, however, prevented 
 from committing any great outrage, and 
 finally appeased by a seasonable subscrip, 
 tion for their relief, and an association 
 among the principal mercers to recal all 
 the orders they had given for foreign manu- 
 factures. An act was also passed prohibit- 
 ing the importation of foreign manufactured 
 silk stockings and gloves into Great Britain 
 and the British dominions, and for ren- 
 dering more effectual the act passed in 
 1763 for prohibiting other articles. For 
 the encouragement of the throwing part of 
 this manufacture, an act was likewise pass- 
 ed in 1765, for reducing the duties then 
 payable on the importation of raw silk, for 
 allowing a drawback on the exportation of 
 raw and thrown silk to Ireland, and for pro- 
 hibiting the exportation of raw silk from Ire- 
 land. In the next year, an act was passed 
 to prohibit the importation of foreign manu- 
 factured silks and velvets, and for prevent- 
 
SILK. 
 
 ing unlawful combinations of workmen em- 
 ployed in the silk manufacture ; the pream- 
 ble to the act stated, that great quantities 
 of foreign wrought silks and velvets were 
 daily brought into and sold in Great Britain. 
 By another act a heavy additional duty was 
 imposed on Italian silk-crapes and tiffanies, 
 imported into this country. 
 
 Towards the end of the year 1767, it 
 was determined that all future court mourn- 
 ings should be shortened to one half of the 
 time, which had been usually observed. 
 This was considered particularly beneficial 
 to the silk manufacture, and the Weavers’ 
 Company presented an address to his Ma- 
 jesty on the occasion, in which they assured 
 him that his benevolent resolution would 
 “ greatly promote the silk manufactures of 
 this kingdom, give great spirit to the trade, 
 tend to the improvement of it in many 
 branches, and be the means of giving con- 
 stant employment to the workmen, many 
 of whom, owing to the late mournings, have 
 been out of employ, and in want of bread.” 
 They also expressed their obligations to the 
 Queen and the rest of the royal family, for 
 their patronage and encouragement of the 
 silk manufacture, An address was likewise 
 presented on the same occasion, signed by 
 all the principal merchants, manufacturers, 
 and others connected with the silk trade. 
 
 The journeyman weavers, probably sup- 
 posing, that by their combination and riot- 
 ous proceedings a few years before, they 
 had obtained the exclusion of foreign silks, 
 now adopted the same' mode for obtaining 
 an advance in the prices paid for workman- 
 ship, which being resisted by their employ- 
 ers, the men proceeded to the most dis- 
 graceful acts of violence and atrocity, asso- 
 ciating together under the name of cutters, 
 and going about in parties at night, dis- 
 guised and armed with pistols, cutlasses, 
 and other weapons ; breaking into the 
 houses of those workmen who did not join 
 them, but followed their employ as usual, 
 and cutting to pieces and destroying all the 
 silk they found in the looms of such work- 
 men. The value of the silks thus destroy- 
 ed was very considerable j and, in some in- 
 stances, they ill-treated or murdered those 
 whom they found at work. Several were 
 brought to justice ; but it w'as a consider- 
 able time before this lawless disposition en- 
 tirely subsided. In a dispute between mas- 
 f ters and wmrkmen, respecting pay, the op- 
 posite interests of the parties must always 
 fender jt difficult to come to an amicable 
 adjustment, and after various attempts in 
 
 this instance, an act was passed in 1773 to. 
 authorise the magistrates of the cities of 
 London and Westminster, the eounty of 
 Middlesex, and the liberty of the Tower, 
 to settle the pay of the workmen in the dif- 
 ferent branches of this manufacture, in their 
 respective districts. 
 
 On the extension of the w'ar in 1770, 
 much inconvenience was experienced from 
 the want of a sufficient supply of Italian 
 thrown silk, caused in a great measure by 
 an act of 2 William and Mary, by which tlie 
 importation of Italian thrown silk was pro- 
 hibited, unless imported according to the 
 Navigation Act, and directly by sea from 
 some of the ports of the country of its 
 growth or production : this regulation was 
 therefore now suspended, and organzine 
 silk, of the growth or production of Italy, 
 was permitted to be imported from any 
 port or place, or in any ships or vessels 
 whatsoever. In consequence of this permis- 
 sion, the silks of Italy were brought to Ensf- 
 land by a circuitous rout over land, and im- 
 ported from Ostend and other ports of Flan- 
 ders, till the peace. At a period of the 
 war when the falling off of the silk trade 
 was very considerable, Mr. John Callaway, 
 of Canterbury, fortunately introduced a 
 new article, which afforded employment to 
 many hands. It was called Canterbury mus- 
 lin, by which name it is still known, and 
 many elegant varieties having been pro- 
 duced, it gives employment to many hun- 
 dred persons in London and elsewhere. 
 
 As the prohibition of the importation of 
 foreign manufactured silks did not extend 
 to Italian crapes and tiffanies, which were 
 permitted to be imported under a heavy 
 duty, it was thought proper, in 1791, in 
 consequence of improvements in the manu- 
 facture of these articles, to restrict this 
 permission, by prohibiting the importation 
 of silk crapes and tiffanies, of the manufac- 
 ture of Italy, unless brought directly from 
 thence, and by discontinuing the allowance 
 of drawback on exportation. 
 
 The continual frauds committed by the 
 different classes of persons employed in this 
 manufacture, by purloining part of the silk 
 entrusted to them, and resorting to various 
 expedients for increasing the weight of the 
 remainder, which fiequently rendered the 
 part stolen but a small part of their em- 
 ployers’ loss ; and the difficulty of convicting 
 the persons who encouraged these practices 
 by purchasing the stolen silk, caused an act 
 to be passed in 1792, by which persons buy- 
 ing or receiving, in any manner, silk, from 
 
SILK 
 
 those employed to. work it up, knowing 
 them to be so employed, and not having 
 the consent of the employer, are liable to 
 punishment by fine, imprisonment, or whip- 
 ping, although no proof should be given 
 upon the trial, to whom the silk actually 
 i)elonged. 
 
 In the year 1793, this manufacture was 
 affected more, perhaps, than any other, by 
 the general commercial distress which tlien 
 prevailed. The merchants, and particularly 
 the East India Company, had large quanti- 
 ties of silk in their warehouses, and the ma- 
 nufacturers were over-stocked with goods, 
 which brought the trade into a state of al- 
 most complete stagnation, by which most of 
 the workmen engaged in it were thrown 
 out of employ, and experienced great dis- 
 tress. A public subscription was opened 
 for their relief, and very liberally support- 
 ed, from which the unemployed workmen 
 and their families were supplied with bread, 
 and when, from the approach of winter, 
 their necessities increased, the relief was 
 
 extended to other essential articles. By the 
 report of the committee who superintended 
 the distribution, it appeared that there were 
 given away 795 chaldrons of coals, 583 pair 
 of blankets, and in bread, 121,741 quartern 
 loaves. It was considered as a moderate 
 computation, that 5,000 persons were to- 
 tally unemployed, and that 5,000 more were 
 only about half employed. 
 
 In the course of the succeeding three or 
 four years, the manufacture recovered its 
 usual activity, and in the year 1798, was in 
 a more flonrishing situation than it had been 
 in for several years previous. In the fol- 
 lowing year, the revival of velvets, as an^r- 
 ticle of female dress, proved very favour- 
 able to the workmen, as it rendered the, em- 
 ployment of a greater number of bands ne- 
 cessary ; and in 1800, few persons in this 
 line were out of employ, altliougli the trade 
 was somewhat clrecked by a considerable 
 advance in the prices of raw and thrown 
 silks. 
 
 TOTAL QUANTITY OF SILK IMPORTED INTO GREAT BRITAIN. 
 
 In 1801 .. 
 
 Bengal Raw. 
 
 .. 351,82515s.... 
 
 China Raw. 
 
 Italian anti 
 Turkey Raw. 
 
 .. 255,95116s.... 
 
 Thrown Silk. 
 
 Total. 
 
 ... 1,014,260 16s. 
 
 1802 .. 
 
 .. 111,737 .. 
 
 
 
 ... 396,210 ... 
 
 
 1803 .. 
 
 .. 405,631 
 
 
 
 
 
 1804 .. 
 
 .. 624,878 .. 
 
 
 
 ... 449,182 ... 
 
 
 1805 .. 
 
 .. 844,659 
 
 
 
 
 
 The annual quantity imported, on an 
 average of the above years, is 1,251,629 
 pounds, from which, deducting 79,206 
 pounds, the average quantity of raw and 
 tin-own silk exported during the above pe- 
 riod, it leaves 1,172,423 pounds for the quan- 
 tity consumed in the manufacture. Hence 
 it appears, that the total annual value of 
 this manufacture must be about 3,500,0001. 
 of which but a small proportion is de.stined 
 tor exportation, the total annual value ex- 
 ported being about 700,0001. ; more than 
 half of which goes to America. During tlie 
 year 1808, the exportation to America was 
 suspended, and at the same time, the inter- 
 niption of commercial intercourse witli the 
 continent of Europe stopped, for a consi- 
 derable time, the usual supply of silk from 
 Italy • from which circumstances, the ma- 
 nufacture was brouglrt into a very miprece- 
 deiited situation ; silk being sold in Lon- 
 don at prices far greater than had ever been 
 given before, while many of the masters 
 were obliged to discharge tire principal part 
 ef their workmen, from the demand for silk 
 
 goods having, for a time, almost entirely 
 ceased. Tliese temporary embarrassments 
 all manufactures are liable to, particularly 
 such as, like this, depend on other countries 
 for thfeir materials. 
 
 Silk, in chemistry, in its natural state, 
 contains a kind of yellow, resinous matter, 
 wliich gives its fine golden colour. When 
 raw, silk is infused in water, a portion of 
 gummy matter is dissolved, and a light am- 
 ber-coloured liquor is produced. Alcohol 
 extracts a much deeper yellow, and makes 
 a tincture that loses none of its, colour by 
 long exposure to the smi-beams, which 
 bleaches the silk itself. Nitrous acid acts 
 powerfully on silk ; but, when concen- 
 trated nitric acid is distilled off silk, and 
 the remaining liquor duly evaporated, much 
 oxalic acid is obtained, and the residue, if 
 evaporated still fnrtlier, yields, with tlie re- 
 maining oxalic acid, a quantity of yellow, 
 gramdar crystals, extremely bitter, not 
 acid, and staining the saliva and liaiids of a 
 deep yellow, not easily rcsmoved. If the 
 liquor is previously saturated with potash, 
 
SIL 
 
 and evaporated, another yellow silky salt 
 separates, which detonates on coals like 
 common nitre, and appears to be a triple 
 combination of the former bitter substance 
 with nitrate of potash. 
 
 SILPHA, in natural history, the carrion 
 teetle. Antennae clavate ; the club perfo- 
 liate ; shells margined ; head prominent ; 
 thorax somewhat flattened margined. There 
 are about 140 species, divided into sections. 
 
 A. Lip dilated, bifid ; jaw one-toothed. 
 
 B. Lip rounded entire; jaw one-toothed. 
 
 C. Lip horny, entire ; jaw bifid. D. Lip 
 emarginate, conic ; jaw bifid. E. Lip heart- 
 shajjed, emarginate, crenate. F. Lip square, 
 emarginate. G. Lip long, entire ; antenna: 
 serrate. H. Lip and jaw unknown. The 
 insects of this genus are usually found among 
 decaying animal and vegetable substances ; 
 frequenting dunghills, carrion, &c. and de- 
 posit their eggs chiefly in the latter. The 
 larvae are of a lengtliened shape, roughened 
 with minute spines and protuberances. S. 
 vespillo is the most remarkable among Eu- 
 ropean species: this is not uncommon in 
 our own country. This animat is about 
 three quarters of an inch long, and is dis- 
 tinguished by having the wing-sheatlis con- 
 siderably shorter than the abdomen. It seeks 
 some decaying animal substance in which 
 it may deposit its eggs, and for the greater 
 security contrives to bury it under ground. 
 Sometimes three or four insects, working in 
 concert, have been known to drag under 
 the surface the body of a mole in the space 
 of an hour, so that no trace of it has ap- 
 peared above ground: the eggs are white 
 and oval : from these are hatched the larvre, 
 which, when full grown, are more than an 
 inch long. Each larva forms for itself an 
 oval cell in the ground, in which it changes 
 to a yellowish chrysalis, resembling that of 
 a beetle, out of which, in somewhat less 
 than three weeks, proceeds the perfect in- 
 sect. This species diffuses a strong and un- 
 pleasant smell; it flies with considerable 
 strength and rapidity, and is generally seen 
 on the wing during the hottest part of the 
 day. 
 
 SILPHIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Syngenesia Polygamia Necessaria class and 
 order. Natural order of Composite Op- 
 positifoliic. Corymbiferae, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx squarrose ; seed down, 
 margined, twohorned; receptacle chaffy. 
 There are eight species. 
 
 SILVER, which is divided by mineralo- 
 gists into three’ species,, the native, antiuio- 
 pial^ and the arsenical, has been reckoned 
 
 SIL 
 
 among the noble or perfect metals, and has 
 been known from the earliest ages of the 
 world. Its scarcity, beauty, and utility, 
 have always rendered it an object of re- 
 search among mankind, so that the nature 
 and properties of this metal have been long 
 studied and minutely investigated. In the 
 midst of the rage for the transmutation of 
 metals which for centuries fired the imagi- 
 nations of the alchymists, silver occupied a 
 great share of their attention and labour, 
 with the hope of discovering the means of 
 converting the baser and more abundant 
 metals into this, which is more highly valued 
 on account of its scarcity and durability. 
 When the dawn of science commenced, and 
 its light had dissipated the follies and extra- 
 vagancies of tliese pursuits, the earlier che- 
 mists were much employed in examining 
 the properties and combinations of silver; 
 nor has it been overlooked or neglect- 
 ed by the moderns. Silver, which is neither 
 in such abundance nor so universally dif- 
 fused as many other metals, exists in nature 
 in five different states : in the native state ; 
 in that of alloy with other metals, especially 
 with antimony ; in that of sulphuret, sulphu- 
 rated oxide, muriate, and carbonate. 
 
 1. Native silver, which is characterized 
 by its ductility and specific gravity, is fre- 
 quently tarnished on the surface, of a grey 
 or blackish colour, and appears und'er a 
 great variety of forms. In this state it is 
 not perfectly pure. It is usually alloyed 
 with a little gold or copper. 
 
 2. The alloy of silver and antimony, which 
 is the most frequent, is distinguished by its 
 brittleness and lamellated structure from 
 native silver, which it resembles in lustre 
 and colour. It crystallizes in prisms, which 
 are six-sided, and pretty regular. 
 
 3. The sulphuret of silver, which is known 
 to mineralogists by the name of vitreous 
 silver ore, is of a dark grey colour, and has 
 some metallic lustre. It is usually crystal- 
 lized in the form of cubes, octahedrons with 
 angular facets, or sometimes in the form of 
 the dodecahedron. 
 
 4. The sulphurated oxide of silver and 
 antimony. In this ore of silver the sulphur 
 is combined with the metal in this state of 
 oxide; in the former, in the metallic state. 
 This ore is called red silver ore. It is of a 
 deep red colour, sometimes transparent, 
 and sometimes nearly opaque, frequently 
 having the lustre of steel on the surface. 
 The primitive form of its crystals is the 
 rhomboidal dodecahedron. 
 
 5. The muriate of silver, which has been 
 
SILVER. 
 
 long known to mineralogists ky the name of 
 corneous silver, is found in irregular masses 
 of a greyish colour, frequently opaque, but 
 sometimes semi-transparent. It is soft, and 
 very fusible. 
 
 Native silver is generally found in irregu- 
 lar shapes ; sometimes in masses of no de- 
 terminate form, sometimes branched, occa- 
 sionally in capillary filaments, and not un- 
 commonly in leaves. Thus it appears in 
 most mines, and particularly in those of Si- 
 beria, where Patrin tells us he never met 
 with it crystallized. It is found in the 
 mines of Peru in a vegetable form, imitat- 
 ing the leaves of fern. This variety of 
 figure in native silver is occasioned by a 
 vast number of little eight-sided crystals, 
 so disposed upon each other as to give the 
 whole the appearance of a vegetable. The 
 curved cylindrical filaments, in which form 
 silver is sometimes found, are of various 
 sizes, from the thickness of a finger to the 
 diminutive size of a hair. Native silver, as 
 W'e have observed, is seldom found pure, 
 but is generally mixed with other metals ; 
 such as gold, copper, mercury, iron, lead, 
 &c. This last metal almost always con- 
 tains a portion of silver, though frequently 
 so small as not to be worth the expense of 
 separating it. In the reign of Edward the 
 First nearly 1600 pounds weight of silver 
 were obtained, in the course of three years, 
 from a mine in Devonshire, which had 
 been discovered about the year 900. The 
 lead mines in Cardiganshire have, at differ- 
 ent periods, afforded great quantities of sil- 
 ver. Sir Hugh Middleton is said to have 
 cleared from them 2000 pounds in a month. 
 The same mines yielded, about the year 
 1745, eighty ounces of silver out of every 
 ton of lead. The lead ores from Brunghill 
 and Skekorn produced also a considerable 
 quantity of silver. The lead only, in one of 
 the smelting-houses at Holywell, in Flint- 
 shire, produced no less than 31,521 ounces, 
 or 3126| pounds of silver, from the year 
 1754 to 1776. “ There are some lead-ores 
 in this country,” says Dr. Watson, “ which, 
 though very poor in lead, contain between 
 three and four hundred ounces of silver in a 
 ton of that metal. It is commonly observed, 
 that the poorest lead-ores yield the most 
 silver, so that a large quantity of silver is 
 probably thrown away in England, from 
 not having the poorest sort of lead-ores pro- 
 perly assayed.” 
 
 Silver in its mineral state occurs massive, 
 disseminated, in blunt cornered pieces, in 
 plates^ and in membranes ; , it is said to oc- 
 
 cur also in Spanish America in rolled 
 pfeces. Its crystallizations are very vari- 
 ous,. as the cube, octahedron, prism, pyra- 
 midal, &c.: the crystals are small and mi- 
 croscopic. It is chiefly found in primitive 
 earths, especially in those which are depo- 
 sited in beds, though it is not confined to 
 these alone. It is very rarely met with in 
 granite, but not uncommonly in the fissures 
 of micaceous rocks, and in other places of a 
 similar nature, but of more recent formation. 
 
 In the secondary earths silver often occurs, 
 being found in chalk, slate, &c.; but almost 
 always mineralized by sulphur or arsenic. 
 
 It is a singular fact that the situations of 
 gold and silver mines should often be dia- 
 metrically opposite in point of temperature. 
 Gold is common in the hottest parts of the 
 earth, while we generally find silver mines 
 in the cold regions. Thus, the chief parts 
 of the world where silver is to be met with 
 are, Sweden, Norway, and the higher lati- 
 tudes near the pole : if we find it in hot 
 climates, it is seldom on level ground ; but, 
 on the contrary, raised to a great height to- 
 wards the tops of mountains that are per- 
 petually covered with ice and snow. It is 
 thus situated in the alpine mountains of Eu- 
 rope and America ; and snch are the mines 
 of Allemont in France, and those of Potosi 
 in the Andes. The principal silver mine in 
 Europe is that of Konigsberg, in Norway, 
 to the north of Christiana. This is the 
 richest, the most important, and one of the 
 most singular mines in that quarter of the 
 globe. The district in which it is situated 
 is mountainous ; and the mines are divided 
 into superior and inferior, on account of 
 their relative position. The earth is com- 
 posed of beds nearly in a vertical position, 
 and running from north to south. Some 
 are composed of quartz mixed with mica, of , 
 granite, and of chalk : while others are form- 
 ed of whitish-grey quartz, mixed with fine 
 blackish mica, or else consist of ferruginous 
 rock. These beds are of very considerable 
 thickness, and contain a great quantity of 
 native as well as of mineralized silver. The 
 veins are richer in mineral, and their pro- 
 duce more considerable,where they traverse 
 the beds of ferruginous rock, than in any 
 other part. The most remarkable mine of 
 silver in Spain is that of Guadalcanal, in 
 Andalusia, which was formerly very rich, 
 and well known to the Romans. It is situ- 
 ated in tlie Sierra Morena, or black moun- 
 tain, on the confines of Andalusia and Es- 
 tramadura, fifteen leagues to the north of 
 Seville, and several miles to the north-cast 
 
of the famous quicksilver mine at Aid Al- 
 maden. The mineral obtained here is the 
 ruby silver ore. But it is in the centre of 
 the Andes, in situations which, though im- 
 mediately exposed to the peri)endicHlar 
 rays of the sun, are constantly covered with 
 snow, that nature has most abundantly dis- 
 tributed this metal. In twenty degrees of 
 southern latitude, within the torrid zone, 
 we find the famous mountain- of Potosi, 
 situated near the source of the Rio de la 
 Plata. This mountain is one of the most 
 considerable in Peru ; its height is immense ; 
 and it appears from the description of, tra- 
 vellers, that from top to bottom it is full of 
 veins of silver. When these mines were first 
 discovered, in the year 1545, the veins were 
 so rich as to be almost entirely composed of 
 silver without any mixture. At present, 
 however, the produce is very different, 
 scarcely more than five drams being obtain- 
 ed from a hundred weight of ore ; still, from 
 the great abundance of mineral, the pro- 
 duce is very considerable. According to 
 the observations of several Spanisli natura- 
 lists, the mountain of Potosi alone, from 
 the time it was first discovered, in 1545, till 
 the year 1638, that is in the space of ninety- 
 three years, yielded four hundred millions 
 of pesos, or ounces of silver. 
 
 The analysis of silver ore varies accord- 
 ing to its nature and combinations. Native 
 silver, after being broken down and washed, 
 is rubbed with liquid mercury, which by 
 strong trituration dissolves and combines 
 with the silver. This amalgam is subjected 
 to pressure, to separate the excess of mer- 
 cury. It is then distilled, and afterwards 
 heated in a crucible, to volatilize the mer- 
 cury, and the silver remains pure. When 
 silver is combined witli antimony and sul- 
 phur, the ore is to be strongly roasted, to 
 separate the antimony or sulphur. It is 
 then melted with a proper quantity of alka- 
 line flux. The sulphurated oxide of silver 
 and antimony may be treated in the same 
 way. See Assaying. 
 
 Silver is of a fine white colour and great 
 brilliancy. The specific gravity is 10.4, and 
 according to some, when it is hammered, 
 10.5, and sometimes nearly 11. The hard- 
 ness of silver is intermediate between iron 
 and gold. The elasticity of silver is consi- 
 derable, and it is one of the most sonorous 
 of the metals. It possesses very great duc- 
 tility and malleability. It may be beaten 
 out into leaves of of an inch thick, 
 and a grain of silver may be so extended as 
 to be formed into a hemispherical vessel of 
 
 sufficient capacity to hold an ounce of wa- 
 ter, or to be drawn out into a wire four 
 hundred feet in length. The tenacity of 
 silver is very great. A wire .078 of an inch 
 in diameter, will support a weight of one 
 hundred and eighty-seven pounds avoirdu- 
 pois. Silver is a good conductor of calo- 
 ric. Its expansive power is less than that 
 of lead and tin, and greater than that of 
 iron. When it is exposed to a white heat 
 it melts. The temperature necessary to 
 bring it to fusion has been calcidated at 
 the 1000° of Fahrenheit; bht, according to 
 Kirwan, it requires a higher tempeiature 
 than 28“ Wedgwood to melt it,'^ although 
 at that temperature it continues in a state 
 of fusion. When it is cooled slowly after 
 fusion, it exhibits some marks of crystalli- 
 zation. It assumes the form of four-sided 
 pyramids, or of octahedrons. If the heat 
 be increased after the silver is melted, it 
 boils, and may be reduced to vapour. The 
 surface of melted silver is so extremely 
 brilliant, that it seems to throw out spaiks, 
 which is called coruscation by the work- 
 men. Silver is a good conductor of elec- 
 tricity. It has no perceptible taste or 
 smell. 
 
 Silver is not altered by exposure to the 
 air, although it is soon tarnished, which is 
 owing, as Proust ascertained, to a thin 
 covering of sulphuiet of silver, which is 
 formed by sulphureous vapours to which it 
 is exposed ; but when it is subjected to a 
 strong heat for a long time, in an open ves- 
 sel, it combines with the oxygen of the at- 
 mosphere, and is converted into an oxide. 
 In the experiments of Macquer, the oxyda- 
 tion of silver was effected by exposing it 
 for twenty times successively in a crucible, 
 to the strong heat of a porcelain furnace. 
 At last perceptible traces of oxidation were 
 observed, and a vitreous matter of an olive 
 colour was obtained. In other experiments 
 silver being acted on by the heat of a burn- 
 ing-glass, was covered with a white pow- 
 der, which was afterwards converted into a 
 crust of a green colour. Van Marum pass- 
 ed electric shocks through silver wire, 
 whicli was instantly reduced to a kind of 
 powder, wdth a greenish white flame, aijd 
 the oxide which w^as formed was dissipated 
 in vapour. The oxide of silver, which is 
 formed by these processes, is of a greenish 
 or yellow colour. It is composed of about 
 ten parts of oxygen, and ninety of silver. 
 The oxide of silver is very easily reduced, 
 for the affinity of oxygen for this metal is 
 very feeble. It is decomposed by the 
 

 SIL 
 
 application of heat, and even when it is ex- 
 posed to the light. By heating it in close 
 vessels, pure oxygen gas is obtained, and 
 the metal is converted to the metallic state, 
 by melting it in a crucible. 
 
 Silver combines with phosphorus, form- 
 ing a phosphuret. One part of silver in til- 
 ings, with two of phospboi'ic glass, and 
 half a part of charcoal, exposed to heat in 
 a crucible, yielded a phosphuret ot silver 
 which had acfjuired one fourth of its primi- 
 tive weight of silver. This phosphuret is ot 
 a white colour, brittle, of a granulated 
 texture, and may be cut with a knife. By 
 throwing pieces of phosphorus on silver red 
 hot in a crucible, the metal is instantly 
 melted, and the phosphuret which is formed 
 remains at the bottom. At the moment 
 when the surface becomes solid, a quantity 
 of phosphorus is thrown out with a kind of 
 explosion, and the surface of the metal 
 then exhibits a maniellated appearance. 
 Pelletier, wdio first made this experiment, 
 concludes from it, that silver is susceptible 
 of retaining a greater proportion of phos- 
 phorus, in combination with it, when it is in 
 fusion, than in the solid state, and that the 
 separation of the phosphorus is owing to the 
 sudden contraction of the silver. A hun- 
 dred parts of silver in fusion retain twenty- 
 five of phosphorus, but only fifteen when it 
 becomes solid. 
 
 Phosphorus has the property of reducing 
 the oxides of silver, and of precipitating 
 them from this solution in acids, in the me- 
 tallic form. Sulphur combines readily with 
 silver, both in the dry and humid way. By 
 stratifying in a crucible, plates of silver 
 alternately with sulphur, and melting them 
 rapidly, a deep violet-coloured mass is ob- 
 tained, which is more fusible than silver, 
 brittle, crystallized, and has a metallic lus- 
 tre. It may be cut with a knife, ami has a 
 good deal of resemblance to vitreous ore of 
 silver. When this sulpburet of silver is ex- 
 posed to heat for a considerable time, the 
 sulphur is gradually dissipated, and the sil- 
 ver remains pure and ductile. Silver com- 
 bines very readily with sulphur, when it is 
 long exposed to those matters which gra- 
 dually deposit tliis substance. This effect 
 is immediately produced when silver is 
 brought into contact with sulphurated hy- 
 drogen gas, or when it is immersed in wa- 
 ter impregnated with this gas, as in natural 
 sulphureous waters. Dr. Thomson thinks 
 it is owing to the same cause that a silver 
 spoon is tarnished by a boiled egg, and par- 
 ticularly if the egg has begun to spoil. 
 
 SIL 
 
 Sulphureted hydrogen gas, which is ex- 
 haled by the egg, is decomposed ; the sul- 
 phur combines with the- silver, and forms a 
 thin layer of sulphuret of silver, which is 
 of a dark or violet colour; other writers 
 have ascribed this to the action of galvan- 
 ism. The same thing happens when silver 
 is exposed in places that are much fre- 
 quented, as in churches and theatres. Sil- 
 ver forms alloys with most of the metals, 
 and salts with the acids. Hence its use in 
 coinage, and also in medicine. 
 
 Antimonial silver, in colour, is between 
 silver white and tin white ; sometimes in- 
 clining more to the one, sometimes more to 
 the other. It occurs massive, dissemi- 
 nated, and crystallized. Specific gravity be- 
 tween 9 and 10. Heated on charcoal before 
 the blow pipe, the antimony is volatilized 
 with the odour peculiar to it, and there re- 
 mains a mass of silver, surrounded with a 
 brown slag. It consists, according to Vau- 
 
 quelin, of 
 
 Silver 78 
 
 Antimony •••••_££ 
 
 100 
 
 It occurs in veins which are composed of 
 calc-spar, heavy-spar, and is accompanied 
 with lead glance, and native silver. It is 
 distinguished from native silver by its bi it- 
 tleness, and a foliated fracture. 
 
 Arsenical silver is of a tin white colour, 
 which passes into silver white, and verges 
 .on light lead grey. It is always more or 
 less tarnished with a blackish colour. It 
 occurs massive, disseminated, and globular. 
 It consists of 
 
 Arsenic 35 
 
 Iron 44.25 
 
 Silver 12.75 
 
 Antimony 7 
 
 too 
 
 Before the blow pipe the arsenic and an- 
 timony are volatilized, and they emit a gar- 
 like smell. The silver remains moie or less 
 pure in shape of a globule. This is a very 
 rare mineral, and does not tarnisli so quick- 
 ly as native arsenic ; it passes on the one 
 side into native arsenic; on the other into 
 native silver. 
 
 SILVERING, in the arts, consists in co- 
 vering the surfaces of substances witli a thin 
 coating of silver ; either for the purpose of 
 beauty, silver being so much more hand- 
 some than the inferior metals ; or, on ac- 
 
SIL 
 
 count of its superior wholesomeness, com< 
 pared with copper, brass, or lead, for culi- 
 nary purposes, it resisting the corroding 
 power of vinegar and other weak acids. The 
 metals that are usually covered with silver, 
 are copper and brass, and sometimes iron, 
 and there are three distinct modes of per- 
 forming the operation. 1 . Silvering by amal- 
 gamation, is thus performed : to a solution 
 of nitrated silver add some plates of copper, 
 which will throw down the silver in its me- 
 tallic state, and very finely divided ; scrape 
 it from the surface of the copper, wash it 
 well and diy it. Of this powder take half 
 an ounce, of common salt and sal ammo- 
 niac two ounces, and of corrosive sublimate 
 one drachm, rub them well together, and 
 make them into a paste with a little water. 
 Then take the vessel to be silvered, and 
 clean it by means of a little very dilute 
 aquafortis, or by scouring it with a mixture 
 of common salt and tartar. When it is per- 
 fectly clean, rub it with the above-mention- 
 ed paste till it is entirely covered with a 
 white metallic coating; this coating is an 
 amalgam produced by the decomposition of 
 the corrosive sublimate, by means of the 
 copper, to the surface of which it applies 
 very closely and expeditiously. The cop- 
 per being thus silvered over, is to be wash- 
 ed, dried, and afterwards heated nearly red, 
 in order to drive oif the mercury ; the sil- 
 ver remains behind, adhering firmly to the 
 copper, and capable of being highly polish- 
 ed. 2. Silvering by luna cornea. Prepare 
 the luna cornea in the usual manner, by 
 pouring a solution of common salt into ni- 
 trate of silver, as long as any precipitation 
 takes place, and boiling the mixture ; the 
 white curdy matter, thus obtained, is to be 
 mixed with three parts of good pearl-ash, 
 one part of washed whiting, and somewhat 
 more than one part of common salt. The 
 surface of the brass being cleared from 
 scratches, is to be rubbed with a piece of 
 old hat and rotten stone, to remove any 
 grease, and then is to be moistened with 
 salt and water ; a little of the composition 
 being now rubbed on with the finger, the 
 surface of the metal will presently be co- 
 vered with silver. Then wash it well, rub 
 it dry with soft rag, and, as the coat of sil- 
 ver is extremely thin, cover it with transpa- 
 rent varnish, to preserve it from tarnish. 
 This kind of silvering is very imperfect, 
 and is only used for the faces of clocks, the 
 scales of barometers, and similar objects. 
 
 3. Silvering by silver in substance. There 
 are three ways of performing this. The 
 
 SIL 
 
 first is, by mixing together twenty grains of 
 silver, precipitated by copper, two drachms 
 of tartar, two drachms of common salt, and 
 half a drachm of alum; this composition 
 being rubbed on a perfectly clean surface 
 of copper or brass, will cover it with a thin 
 coating of silver, which may afterwards be 
 polished with a piece of soft leather. A 
 still better way is that which is called 
 French plating, which consists in burnish- 
 ing down upon the surface of tlie copper 
 successive layers of leaf-silver to any re- 
 quired thickness. In this the silver has 
 much more solidity than in any of the for- 
 mer, but the process is tedious, and the 
 junctures of the leaves of silver cannot al- 
 ways be entirely concealed. The English 
 method of plating (in those works to 
 which it is applicable) appears to be the 
 best of all. It is thus performed : one of 
 the surfaces of an ingot of copper is render- 
 ed quite smooth and clean, and is sprinkled 
 over with glass of borax ; upon this is laid 
 a plate of fine silver, about one-twelfth of 
 the weight of the copper, and the two are 
 carefully bound together by wire ; the mass 
 is now exposed to a full red heat, which 
 melts the borax, and causes the silver to ad- 
 here to the copper ; the ingot is now passed 
 through a rolling press, and formed into a 
 plate ; both the silver and copper extend- 
 ing uniformly during the whole process, at 
 the conclusion of which, the two metals are 
 inseparably fixed to each other. See Aikin’s 
 “ Dictionary.” 
 
 SILURUS, the silure, in natural history, 
 a genus of fishes of the order Abdominales. 
 Generic character : head large, naked, and 
 depressed ; mouth extremely wide, and fur- 
 nished with long feelers or tentacula ; eyes 
 small, body lengthened, caked ; first ray of 
 the pectoral or dorsal fin, serrated with re- 
 versed spines. There are twenty-nine spe- 
 cies, of which the following most deserve 
 notice. 
 
 S. glanis is generally about three feet 
 long, though it has been seen of twelve, and 
 of the weight of three hundred pounds, and 
 consequently is one of the very largest of 
 European river fishes. It is most plentiful 
 in the north, is seldom seen in motion, and 
 commonly lies ingulfed in mud at the bot- 
 toms, with its mo\ith open, and its long ten- 
 tacula moving about in every direction. 
 These last being similar in appearance to 
 worms, are mistaken for such by many 
 fishes, which are, by this deception, drawn 
 within the jaws of destruction. Its flesh is 
 used for its cheapness, rather than its ex- 
 
SIMIA. 
 
 cellence ; and its skin, by some simple pro- 
 cess, is converted into a hard, transparent 
 substance, which accomplishes the purposes 
 of horn and glass. 
 
 SIMIA, the ape, in natural histoi-y, a ge- 
 nus of Mammalia, of the order Primates. 
 Generic character : front teeth in each jaw 
 four, near together ; canine teeth solitary, 
 longer than the others, distant from the 
 grinders ; grinders obtuse. Animals of this 
 genus are commonly divided into such as 
 have no tails ; such as have only very short 
 ones ; such as have very long ones ; and, 
 lastly, such as have prehensile tails, with 
 which they can lay Jiold of any object 
 at pleasure. These four classes are call- 
 ed respectively apes, baboons, monkeys, 
 and japajous. In the whole genus tliere are 
 enumerated by Gmelin sixty-three species, 
 of which we shall notice some of the most 
 important, 
 
 S. satyrus, or tlie orang-outang. Tliis 
 animal is said to grow in its native woods 
 of Africa and India to the height of six feet, 
 and to subsist, like most other species, on 
 fruits. It flies from the haunts of mankind, 
 leads a solitary life, and displays great 
 strength, agility, and swiltness, which ren- 
 der it extremely difficult to be taken. It 
 has been known to attack and destroy ne- 
 groes, wandering at a distance from their 
 habitations, and to carry off women to its 
 wretched habitation, watching them with 
 such extraordinary vigilance, as scarcely to 
 admit the possibility of their escape. Its 
 general resemblance to the human figure 
 and countenance is particularly and morti- 
 fyingly strong, yet minute observation and 
 dissection have pointed almost innume- 
 rable differences, the detail of which is here 
 impossible. It is capable of being tamed 
 and domesticated, and, many years since, 
 one was exhibited in London which had 
 been disciplined to sit, and work, and eat, 
 like a human being, using a knife and fork 
 for the latter purpose. Its disposition was 
 pensive ; its manners were gentle ; and it 
 appeared to possess, for its keepers, and 
 those to whom: it had been long familiar- 
 ized, a high degree of genuine gratitude and 
 attachment. For the orang-outang, see 
 Mammalia, Plate XIX. fig. 1. 
 
 S. inuUs, the Barbary ape, is about four 
 feet in height, and is the species most com- 
 monly exhibited in public shows, and is 
 trained to the performance of a great va- 
 riety of tricks, calculated to attract popular 
 admiration. The discipline it passes throtigh 
 is often severe, and this species is consider- 
 
 ed, in its natural state, as being more fero- 
 cious, and less sagacious, than several others 
 of the class. See Mammalia, Plate X^X. 
 fig. 2. 
 
 S. sphynx, or the great baboon, is be- 
 tween three and four feet high, of a grey- 
 brown colour, and is particularly muscular 
 in the upper part of its body j its hands and 
 feet have sharp nails, like claws ; but on its 
 thumbs there are nails formed like those on 
 the human fingers. It is an animal incapa- 
 ble of domestication, and has, in no in- 
 stance, been observed to be divested of 
 great malignity and fierceness of disposi- 
 tion. The female produces only one young 
 one at a birth, which she suckles at her 
 breast, and carries about with her in her 
 arms. Baboons inhabit the hottest climates 
 of Africa, and are often seen in very consi- 
 derable numbers. The plantations of fruits 
 and roots are frequently much injured by 
 their depredations. They are scarcely, in 
 any species, susceptible of attachment. In 
 confinement, they display incessant rest- 
 lessness and irritation, and in their form 
 and manners they present a complication 
 of ferocity and hideousness. See Mamma- 
 lia, Plate XIX. fig. 3. 
 
 S. hamadryas, or the dog-faced baboon, 
 is very large, and often greater than the. 
 common baboon. It is distinguished by a 
 vast quantity of hair, spreading from each 
 side of the head down the shoulders, and 
 covering the animal to the waist, like a 
 mantle. Its colour is a mixture of grey and 
 brown. It is a ferocious and dangerous 
 animal, is found in the most torrid regions 
 of Africa, and, though more rare than the 
 common species, is yet seen occasionally in 
 large companies. Its general aspect, when 
 in an undisturbed state, is that of profound 
 meditation ; but when molested, its looks 
 indicate the most perturbed and malignant 
 feelings. In confinement, it is turbulent, 
 untractable, and filthy. The tail of this ba- 
 boon is nearly as long as its body. 
 
 S. leonina, or the leonine monkey, is 
 supposed to be an inhabitant of Abyssinia, 
 and is two feet in length, from tlie nose to 
 the tail ; along the face is a great quantity 
 of long hair, extending nearly from the eyes 
 back over the forehead and crown of the 
 head, and from the chin over the neck, and 
 this bushment of hair gives it, in addition to 
 the general form and countenance of the 
 animal, no slight resemblance to the lion, 
 from which it derives its designation. See 
 Mammalia, Plate XIX. fig. 4. 
 
 S. mona, or the varied monkey, is one of 
 
SIM 
 
 the largest species, and is nearly two feet 
 in length. It is found in various parts of 
 Africa, and differs much in individuals in 
 respect to colours, which are sometimes 
 bright, and at others dull. In general it is 
 of a dark olive-grey. See Mammalia, Plate 
 XIX. fig. B. 
 
 S. nasalis, or the proboscis monkey, is 
 one of the most curious in its aspect, and 
 most ludicrous of the class. It is about 
 two feet in length. The face is of an incur- 
 vated form, and of a brown colour, and the 
 nose, whicli is its great singularity, is of 
 such a length and shape, as to give the ani- 
 mal an appearance highly grotesque. By a 
 groove or furrow running down it, from the 
 beginning to the tip, it is nearly divided 
 into two lobes, and, on a side view, its ex- 
 treme projection is nearly as striking and 
 singular, as the former circumstance ren- 
 ders a full one. It is found in the East In- 
 dies, where, however, it is somewhat rare. 
 It is said to be more numerous in Cochin 
 China. It feeds on fruits, and is highly un- 
 tractable and savage. 
 
 S. beelzebul, or, the preacher monkey, 
 is as large as a fox, and is extremely com- 
 mon in the woods of Brasil. Travellers 
 have stated, that it is usual for one of these 
 to ascend a tree, and, by certain sounds, to 
 collect vast multitudes beneath hijn, when 
 he commences a howl so loud as to be 
 heard to a vast distance. After this has 
 continued for some time, he, by a particu- 
 lar signal, induces those around him to join 
 in the noise, which then becomes most hi- 
 deous and intolerable. This united clamour 
 at lengtli ceases, and the original howler 
 again proceeds undisturbed in his address. 
 The throat-bone of this monkey appears, 
 from dissection, to be particularly con- 
 structed for the utterance of strong 
 sounds. 
 
 The S. seuicplus, or royal monkey, is 
 about the size of a squirrel, and inhabits the 
 damp, woody districts of Cayenne, being 
 never found on the mountains. In its sounds 
 and manners, it resembles the last species. 
 In the morning and evening, and sometimes 
 on several occasions in the interval, these 
 animals produce such rattling, teriitie, and 
 varied noises, as excite the idea of every 
 native of the forest being in open cry. And 
 even the sounds of a single one are so pow- 
 erful, as to impress the idea of peril very 
 strongly on the hearer. These creatures are 
 extremely tenacious of life. They will often 
 sustain parts of several discharges from 
 guns, before they drop from the tree, which 
 
 S I M 
 
 they cling to with the last efforts of ex-- 
 istence, sometimes, indeed, maintaining 
 their hold, it is said, by the hands and tail, 
 even after death. The two last species be- 
 long to the class of monkeys with prehen- 
 sile tails, or japajous. The greater number 
 of the animals of this comprehensive genus 
 are said to be remarkably fond of snuff, 
 mustard^ and tobacco, which they will eat 
 in coi.fjderable quantities. A great num- 
 ber of species are furnished with cheek- 
 bags, or pouches, where they may deposit, 
 for the convenience of carriage, a supply of 
 food, which will last ffor several days after 
 they have finished their immediate repast. 
 Monkeys are, in some parts of Africa, nsed 
 for food, and several species are said to 
 be excellent and delicate for this pur- 
 pose. 
 
 SIMILAR, in arithmetic and geometry, 
 the same with like. Those things are said 
 to be similar or like, which cannot be distin- 
 guished but by their compresence, that is, 
 either by immediately applying the one to 
 the other, or some other third to them both, 
 so tha there is nothing found in one of the 
 similar things but is equally found in the 
 other, notwithstanding their similitude may 
 differ in quantity ; and since, in similar 
 things, tiiere is nothing wherein they differ 
 besides the quantity : quantity itself is the 
 internal difference of similar things. In ma- 
 thematics, similar parts have the same ratio 
 to their wholes, and if the wholes have the 
 same ratio to the parts, the parts are simi- 
 lar. See Part. 
 
 Similar angles are also equal angles. In 
 solid angles, when the planes under whieh 
 they are contained are equal, both in num- 
 ber and magnitude, and are disposed in the 
 same order, they are similar, and conse- 
 quently equal. Similar arches of a circle are 
 such as are like parts of their w'hole circum- 
 ferences, and consequently equal. Similar 
 plane numbers, are those numbers which may 
 be ranged into the form of similar rectangles, 
 that is, into rectangles whose sides are pro- 
 portional; such are 12 and 48, for the sides 
 of 12 are 6 and 2, and the sides of 48 are 
 12 and 4; but 6 : 2 12 : 4, and therefore 
 
 those numbers are similar. Similar poly- 
 gons are such as have their angles severally 
 equal, and the sides about those angles pr o- 
 portional. Similar rectangles are those 
 which have their sides about the equal an- 
 gles proportional : hence, 1 . All squares 
 are similar I'ectangles. 2. All similar rec- 
 tangles are to each other as the squares of 
 their homologous sides. Similar right-lined 
 
M A M yi A L I A 
 
 eiat^ xrr. 
 
 Fig.-L. Simla .-fatyriLS : Onuig- outw^ . Fig . ‘Z.S. imis.HoJ'biuy ape . Fig.g . S. spJLvn.r : (a'rat haboon . 
 Fig . .j. . S . leonina : leonine monkn' . Fig . 5 . S . menu : varied monkey, 
 
 IhihUshcd f)(’c'!i'‘!h8oS. h\' Lotynmn, Hurst. Rces.li: Orme.J^idrriwstpr Ron'. 
 

 
 ■/ -r.y 
 
 '■-V ■ 
 
 SIM 
 
 figui'es are such as have equal angles, and 
 the sides about tiiose equal angles propor- 
 tional. Similar segments of a circle are 
 such as contain equal angles. Similar 
 curves : two segments of two curves are 
 called similar, if, any right lined figure be- 
 ing insCTibed within one of them, we can 
 inscribe always a similar right-lined figure 
 in the other. Similar conic sections : two 
 coriic sections are said to be similar, when 
 any segment being taken in the one, we 
 can assign always a similar segment in the 
 other. Similar diameters of two conic sec- 
 tions : the diameters in two conic sections 
 are said to he similar, when they make the 
 same angles with their ordinates. Similar 
 ^solids are such as are contained under equal 
 numbers of similar planes, alike situated. 
 Similar triangles are such as have their 
 three angles respectively equal to one ano- 
 ther : hence, 1. All similar triangles have 
 the sides about their angles proportional. 
 
 2. Ail similar triangles are to one another 
 as the squares of their homologous sides. 
 
 Similar bodies, in natural philosophy, are 
 such as have their particles of the same 
 kindiand nature with one another. 
 
 Similar figures, in geometry, such as 
 have their angles respectively equal, and 
 the sides, about the equal angles, propor- 
 tional. 
 
 Similar parts, in anatomy, are those 
 parts of the body which at first sight appear 
 to consist of like parts, or parts of the 
 same nature, texture, and conformation ; of 
 these we usually reckon ten, riz. the bones, 
 cartilages, ligaments, membranes, fibres, 
 nerves, arteries, veins, flesh, and skin. 
 
 SIMILE, or Similitude, in rhetoric, a 
 comparison of two things, which, though 
 'different in other respects, yet agree in 
 some one. The difference between a si- 
 mile and comparison, is said to consist in 
 this, that the simile properly belongs to 
 whatever we call the quality of the thing, 
 and the comparison to the quantity. 
 
 SIMIIATUDE, in arithmetic, geometry, 
 &c. denotes the relation of two thingS simi- 
 lar to each other. 
 
 SIMONY, is the corrupt presentation of 
 any one to an ecclesiastical benefice, for 
 money, gift, reward, or ' benefit. It was 
 not an cfi’ence punishable criminally at the 
 common law, it being thought sufficient to 
 leave the clerk to ecclesiastical censures. 
 But as these did not affect the simouiacal 
 patron, none were efficacious enough to 
 repel the notorious practice of the thing 
 Several acts of parliament have, therefore, 
 
 SIM 
 
 been made to restrain it, by means of civil 
 forfeitures, which the modern prevailing 
 usage with regard to spiritual preferments 
 call aloud to put in execution. 
 
 By one of the canons of 1603, every per- 
 son, before his admission to any ecclesiasti- 
 cal promotion, shall,- before the ordinary, 
 take an oath, that he hath made no simonia- 
 cal contract, promise, or payment, directly 
 or indirectly, by himself or any other, for 
 the obtaining of the said promotion ; and 
 that he will not afterwards perform or satis- 
 fy any such kind of payment, contract, or 
 promise, by any other without his know- 
 ledge or consent. 
 
 To purchase a presentation, the living 
 being actually vacant, is open and notorious 
 simony ; this being expressly in the face of 
 the statute. But the sale of an advowson 
 during a vacancy is not within the statute 
 of simony, as the sale of the next presenta- 
 tion is ; but it is void by the common law. 
 
 A bond of resignation is a bond given by 
 the person intended to be presented to a 
 beiiefipe, with condition to resign the same ; 
 and is special or general. The condition of 
 a special one is, to resign the benefice in 
 favour of some certain person, as a son, 
 kinsman, or friend of the patron, when he 
 shall be capable of taking the same. By a 
 general bond, the incumbent is bound to 
 resign on the request of the patron. A 
 bond, with condition to resign within three 
 months after being requested, to the intent 
 that the patron might present his son when 
 he should be capable, was held good; and 
 the judgment was affirmed in the exchequer- 
 chamber : for that a man may, without any 
 colour of simony, bind himself for good 
 reasons ; as if he take a second benefice, or 
 if he be non-resident, or that the patron 
 present his son, to resign ; but if the condi- 
 tion had been to let the patron have a lease 
 of the glebe or tithes, or to pay a sum of 
 money, it had been simoniacal. 
 
 SIMOOM. A wind or haze was observed 
 by Mr. Bruce, in the course of his travels 
 to discover the sources of the Nile, which is 
 supposed to be in some respects analogous 
 to the sirocco. It is called by him the 
 simoom, and from its effects upon the 
 lungs, we can entertain but little doubt, that 
 it consists chiefly of carbonic acid gas in a 
 very dense state, and perhaps mixed with 
 some other noxious exhalations. 
 
 Mr. Bruce, who, in his Journey through 
 the desart, felt the effects of tlie simoom, 
 gives of it the following graphical descrip- 
 tion : “ At eleven o’clock, while we con- 
 
 
 
 % 
 
 
 
SIM 
 
 templated with great pleasure the rugged 
 top of Chiggre, to which we were fast ap- 
 proaching, and where we were to solace 
 ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris, 
 our guide, cried out, with a loud voice, fall 
 upon your faces, for here is the simoom. I 
 saw from the south-east a haze coming, in 
 colour like the purple part of the rainbow, 
 but not so compressed or thick. It did not 
 occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was 
 about twelve feet high from the ground. 
 It was a kind of blush upon the air, and it 
 moved very rapidly ; for I scarce could turn 
 to fall upon the ground with my head to the 
 northward, when I felt the heat of its cur- 
 rent plainly upon my face. We all lay flat 
 on the ground as if dead, till Idris told us it 
 was blown over. The meteor or purple 
 haze which I saw was indeed passed; but 
 the light air that still blew was of heat to 
 threaten suffocation. For my part, I found 
 distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a 
 part of it, nor was I free from an asthmatic 
 sensation till I had been some months in 
 Italy, at the baths of Poretta, near two 
 years afterwards.” Though the severity of 
 this blast seems to have passed over them 
 almost instantaneously, it continued to blow 
 so as to exhaust them till twenty minutes be- 
 fore five in the afternoon, lasting through all 
 its stages very nearly six hours, and leaving 
 them in a state of the utmost despondency. 
 
 SIMPLE, something not mixed or com- 
 pounded, in which sense it stands opposed 
 to comppund. 
 
 ' Simple, in pharmacy, a general name 
 given to all herbs or plants, us having each 
 its particular virtue, whereby it becomes a 
 simple remedy. 
 
 Simple Contract, in law, debts by simple 
 contract, are such where the contract upon 
 which the obligation arises is neither ascer- 
 tained by matter of record, nor yet by spe- 
 cial deed or instrument, but by mere oral 
 evidence, or by notes unsealed; wliereas 
 debts by speciality are such whereby the 
 contract is ascertained by deed or instru- 
 ment, under seal. Simple contract debts 
 are to be paid by executors after debts by 
 speciality. 
 
 SIMPSON (Thomas), in biography, 
 professor of mathematics at the Royal Aca- 
 demy at Woolwich, fellow of the Royal 
 Society, and member of the Royal Acade- 
 mv, at Stockholm, was born at Market 
 Bosworth, in Liecestershire, in 1710. His 
 father, a stuff-weaver, taught him only to 
 read English, and brought him up to his 
 own business; but meeting with ascienti- 
 
 SIM / 
 
 fic pedlar, who also practised fortune- 
 telling, young Simpson, by his assistance 
 and advice, left off weaving, and professed 
 astrologyl As he improved in knowledge, 
 however, he grew disgusted with his pre- 
 tended art, and, renouncing it, was driven 
 to such difficulties for the subsistence of his 
 family, that he came up to London, where 
 he worked as a weaver, and taught mathe- 
 matics at his spare hours. As his scholars 
 increased, his abilities became better known, 
 and he published his Treatise on Fluxions, 
 by subscription, in 1737 ; in 1740 he pub- 
 lished his Treatise on the Nature and Laws 
 of Chance ; and Essay in Speculative and 
 Mixed Mathematics. After these appeared 
 his Doctrine of Annuities and Reversions ; 
 Mathematical Dissertations ; Treatise on 
 Algebra ; Elements of Geometry ; Trigono- 
 metry, Plane, and Spherical ; Select Exer- 
 cise ; and his Doctrine and Application of 
 Fluxions, which he professes to be rather a 
 new work, than a second edition of his for- 
 mer publication on fluxions. In 1743, he 
 obtained the mathematical professorship at 
 Woolwich Academy; and soon after was 
 chosen a member of the Royal Society, 
 when the president and council, in consi- 
 deration of his moderate circumstances, 
 were pleased to excuse his admission-fees, 
 and his giving bonds for the settled future 
 payments. At the academy he exerted all 
 his abilities in instructing the pupils, who 
 were the immediate objects of his duty, 
 as well as others whom the superior offi- 
 cers of the ordnance permitted to be board- 
 ed and lodged in his house. In his manner 
 of teaching he had a peculiar and happy 
 address, a certain dignity and perspicuity, 
 tempered with such a degree of mildness, 
 as engaged the attention, esteem, and friend- 
 ship, of his scholars. He therefore Required 
 great applause from his superiors in the 
 discharge of his duty. 
 
 Mr. Simpson’s Miscellaneous Tracts, 
 printed in 4to., 1757, were his last legacy 
 to the public : a most valuable bequest, 
 whether we consider the dignitj' and im- 
 portance of the subjects, or his sublime 
 and accurate manner of treating them. 
 
 The first of these papers is concerned in 
 determining the Precession of the Equinox, 
 and the different Motions of the Earth’s 
 Axis, arising from the Attraction of the 
 Sun and Moon. It was drawn up about 
 the year 1752, in consequence of another 
 on the same subject, by M. de Sylvabelle, 
 a French gentleman. Though this gentle- 
 man had gone through one part of the sub- 
 

 SIMPSON. 
 
 ject with success and perspicuity, and his 
 conctesions were perfectly conformable to 
 Dr. Bradley’s observations, it neverthel^s 
 appeared' to Mr. Simpson, that he had 
 greatly failed in a very material part, and that 
 indeed the only very ditfrcult oue-j that is, 
 4n the determination of the momentary alte- 
 ration of the position of the Earth’s axis, 
 caused by the forces of the Sun and Moon ; 
 of which forces, the quantities, but not the 
 effects, are truly investigated. The second 
 paper contains the Investigation of a very 
 exact Method or Rule for finding the Place 
 of a Planet in its Orbit, from a Correction 
 of Bishop Ward’s circular Hypothesis, by 
 Means of certain Equations applied to the 
 Motion about the upper Focus of the Ellipse. 
 By this method the result, even in the orbit 
 of Mercury, may be found within a second 
 of the 'truth, and that without repeating the 
 operation. The third shows the Manner of 
 transferring the Motion of a Comet from a 
 parabolic Orbit, to an elliptic One ; being 
 of great use, when the observed places of a 
 (new) comet are found to differ sensibly 
 Jiom those computed on the Hypothesis of 
 a parabolic orbit. The fourth is an Attempt 
 to show, from Mathematical Piinciples, the 
 Advantage arising from taking the Mean of 
 a Number of Observations, in practical As- 
 tronomy ; wherein the odds, that the result 
 in tills way is more exact than from one 
 single observation, is evinced, and the uti- 
 lity of the method in practice clearly made 
 appear. The fifth contains the Determina- 
 tion of certain Fluents, and the Resolution 
 of some very useful Equations, in the liigher 
 Orders Of Flu/ions, by meaiis of the mea- 
 sures of angles and ratios, and the right and 
 versed sines of circular arcs. The sixth 
 treats of the Resolution of algebraical 
 Equations, by the Method of Surd-divi- 
 sors ; in which the grounds of that method, 
 as laid down by Sir Isaac Newton, are in- 
 vestigated and explained. The seventh ex- , 
 hibits the Investigation of a general Rule 
 for the Resolution of Isoperimetrical Pro- 
 blems of all Orders, with some examples of 
 the use and application of the said rule. The 
 eighth, or last part, comprehends the Reso- 
 lution of some general and very important 
 Problems in Mechanics and Physical Astro- 
 nomy ; in which, among other things, tire 
 principal parts of the third and ninth sec- 
 tions of the first book of Newton’s Prin- 
 cipia are demonstrated in a new and con- 
 cise hianner. But what may perhaps best 
 recommend this excellent tract, is the ap- 
 plication of the general equations, thus de- 
 VOL. YI. 
 
 rived, to the determination of the lunar 
 orbit. 
 
 According to what Mr. Simpson had in- 
 timated at the conclusion of his Doctrin 
 of Fluxions, the greatest part of this ardu- 
 ous undertaking was drawn up in the year 
 1750. About that time M. Clairaut, a very- 
 eminent mathematician of the French aca- 
 demy, had started an objection against New- 
 ton’s general law of gravitation. This was 
 a motive to induce Mr. Simpson (among 
 some others) to endeavour to discover whe- 
 ther the motion of the Moon’s apogee, on 
 which that objection had its whole weight 
 and foundation, could not be truly ac- 
 counted for, without supposing a change 
 in the received law of gravitation, from the 
 inverse ratio of the squares of the distances. 
 The success answered his hopes, and induced 
 him to look further into other parts of the 
 theory of the Moon’s motion than he at first 
 intended : but before he had completed his 
 design, M. Clairaut arrived in England, and 
 made Mr. Simpson a visit ; from whom he 
 learned, that he had a little before printed 
 a piece on that subject, a copy of which 
 Mr. Simpson afterwards received as a pre- 
 sent, and found in it the same things de- 
 monstrated, to which he himself had di- 
 rected his enquiry, besides several others. 
 
 The facility of the raetliod Mr. Simpson- 
 fell upon, and the extensiveness of it, will 
 in some measure appear from this, that it 
 not only determines the motion of the apo- 
 gee in the same manner, and with the same 
 ease, as the other equations, but utterly 
 excludes all those dangerous kind of terms 
 that had embarrassed the greatest mathe- 
 maticians, and would, after a great number 
 of revolutions, entirely change the figure of 
 the Moon’s orbit. From whence this im- 
 portant consequence is derived, that the 
 Moon’s mean motion, and the greatest quan- 
 tities of the several equations, will remain 
 unchanged, unless disturbed by the inter- 
 vention of some foreign or accidental cause. 
 These tracts are inscribed to the Earl of 
 Macclesfield, President of the Royal So- 
 ciety. 
 
 Mr. Simpson’s extreme application in this 
 difficult pursuit greatly injured his healtli. 
 Exercise and a proper regimen were pre- 
 scribed to him, but to little purpose ; for his 
 spirits sunk gradually, till he became incapa- 
 ble of performing his duty, or even of reading 
 the letters of his friends. The effects of this 
 decay of nature were greatly increased by 
 vexation of mind, owing to the haugh- 
 ty and insulting behaviour of his siipe- 
 M 
 
, SIMSON. 
 
 fior, the first professor of mathematics. 
 This person, greatly his inferior in mathe- 
 maticaf accomplishments, did what he could 
 to make his situation uneasy, and even to 
 depreciate him in the public opinion ; hut 
 it was a vain endeavour, and only served to 
 injure himself. At length his physicians 
 advised his native air for his recovery, and 
 he set out in February, 1761 ; but was so fa- 
 tigued by his journey, that upon his arrival 
 at Bosworth, he betook himself to his cham- 
 ber, and grew continually worse till the 
 day of his death, which happened on the 
 Ktli of May, in the 51st year of his age. 
 
 SIMSON (Dr. Robert), in biography, 
 professor of mathematics in the university 
 of Glasgow, was born in the year 1687 of a 
 respectable family, which had held a small 
 estate in the county of Lanark for some ge- 
 nerations. He was, we think, the second 
 son of the family. A younger brother was 
 professor of medicine in the university of 
 St. Andrew’s, and is known by some works 
 of reputation, particularly “ A Dissertation 
 on the Nervous System,” occasioned by 
 the dissection of a brain completely os- 
 sified. 
 
 Dr. Simson was educated in the univer- 
 sity of Glasgow under the eye of some of his 
 relations who were professors. Eager after 
 knowledge, he made great progress in all 
 his studies ; and as his mind did not, at the 
 very first openings of science, strike into 
 that path which afterwards so strongly at- 
 tracted him, and in which he proceeded so 
 far almost without a companion, he ac- 
 quired in every walk of science a stock of 
 information, which, though it had never 
 been much augmented afterwards, would 
 have done credit to a professional man in 
 any of his studies. He became, at a very 
 early period, an adept in the philosophy 
 and theolosy of the schools, was able to 
 supply the place of a sick relation in the • 
 class of oriental languages, was noted for 
 historical knowledge, and one of the most 
 knowing botanists of his time. As a relief 
 to other studies, he turned his attention to 
 mathematics. Perspicuity and elegance he 
 thought were more attainable, and more 
 disceinible in pure geometry, than in any 
 other branch of the science. To this there- 
 fore he chiefly devoted himself; for the 
 same reason he preferred the ancient me- 
 thod of studying pure geometry. He con- 
 sidered algebraic analysis as little better 
 than a kind of mechanical knack, in which 
 we proceed without.ideas, and obtain a re- 
 sult without meaning, and without being 
 
 conscious of any pi’oeess of reasoning, and 
 therefore without any conviction of its 
 truth. Such was the ground of the strong 
 bias of Dr. Siinson’s mind to the analysis 
 of the ancient geometers. It increased as 
 he advanced, and his veneration for the an- 
 cient geometry was carried to a degree of 
 idolatry. His chief labours were exerted in 
 efforts to restore the works of the ancient 
 geometers. The inventions of fluxions and 
 logarithms attracted the notice of Dr. Sim- 
 son, but he has contented himself with de- 
 monstrating their truth on the genuine prin- 
 ciples of ancient geometry. 
 
 About the age of twenty-five. Dr. Simson 
 was chosen Regius Professor of Mathematics 
 in the university of Glasgow. He went to 
 London immediately after his appointment, 
 and there formed an acquaintance with the 
 most eminent men of that bright era of 
 British science. Among these he always 
 mentioned Captain Halley (the celebrated 
 Dr. Edmund Halley) with particular, re- 
 spect ; saying, that he had the most acute 
 penetration, and the most just taste in that 
 science, of any man he had ever known. 
 And, indeed. Dr. Halley has strongly ex- 
 emplified both of these in his divination of 
 the work of “ Apollonius de Sectione 
 Spatii,” and the eighth book of his “ Conics,” 
 and in some of the most beautiful theorems 
 of Sir Isaac Newton's “ Principia.” Dr. 
 Simson alsp admired the wide and masterly 
 steps which Newtpn was accustomed to 
 take in his investigations, and his manner of 
 substituting geometrical figures for the 
 quantities which are observed in the pheno- 
 mena of nature. It was from Dr. Simson 
 that his biographer, to whom we are in- 
 debted for this article, learnt, “ That the 
 thirty-ninth proposition of the first book 
 of the Principia was the most important 
 proposition that had ever been exhibited to 
 the physico-mathematical philosopher 
 and he used always to illustrate to his more 
 advanced scholars the superiority of the 
 geometrical over the algebraic analysis, by 
 comparing the solution given by Newton of 
 the inverse problem of centripetal forces, in 
 the forty-second proposition of that book, 
 with the. one given by John Bernoulli in the 
 Mjsmoirs of the Academy of Sciences at 
 Paris for 1713. He had heard him say, 
 that to his own knowledge Newton fre- 
 quently investigated his propositions in the 
 symbolical way; and that it was owing 
 chiefly to Dr. Halley that they did not 
 finally appear in that dress. But if Dr. 
 Simson was well informed, we think it a 
 

 
 
 -f -r-7 
 
 ,r-v 
 
 
 SIMSON. 
 
 gfeat argument in favour of the symbolic 
 analysis when this most successful practical 
 artist (for so we must call Newton when 
 engaged in a task of discovery) found it con- 
 ducive either to dispatch or perliaps to his 
 very progress. Returning to liis academical 
 chair. Dr. Simson discharged the duties of 
 a professor for more than fifty years with 
 great honour to the university and to him- 
 self. It is almost needless to say, that in 
 his prelections he followed strictly the Eu- 
 clidian method in elementary geometry. 
 He made use of Theodosius as an introduc- 
 tion to spherical trigonometry. In the 
 higher geometry he lectured from his own 
 Conics ; and he gave a small specimen of 
 the linear problems of the ancients, by ex- 
 plaining the properties, sometimes of the 
 conchoid, sometimes of the cissoid, with 
 their application to the solution of such 
 problems. Iii the more advanced class he 
 Mas accustomed to give Napier’s mode of 
 conceiving logarithms, i. e. quantities as ge- 
 nerated by motion ; and Mr. CoAs’s view 
 of them, as the sums of raliuncute ; and to 
 demonstrate Newton’s lemmas concerning 
 the limits of ratios ; and then to give the 
 elements of the fluxionary calculus ; and to 
 fiiiish his course M’ilh d select set of propo- 
 sitions in optics, gnomonics, and central 
 forces. His method of teaching was sim- 
 ple and perspicuous, his elocution clear, 
 and his manner easy and impressive. He 
 had tlie respect, and still more the affec- 
 tion, of his scholars. 
 
 It was chiefly owing to the celebrated 
 Halley that Dr. Simson so early directed his 
 efforts to the restoration of the ancient geo- 
 meters. He had recommended this to liira, 
 as the most certain way for him, at that time 
 very young, both to acquire reputation, and 
 to improve his own knowledge and taste, 
 and he presented him with a copy of 
 Pappus’s Mathematical collections, enriched 
 with his own notes. Hence he undertook 
 the restoration of Euclid’s porisms, a work 
 of .some difficulty, that his biographer says 
 nothing but success could justify in so young 
 an adventurer. From this he proceeded to 
 other works of importance, which he exe- 
 cuted with so much skill, as to obtain the 
 reputation of being one of the most elegant 
 geometers of the age. His edition of Eu- 
 clid’s “ Elements” has long been reckoned 
 the very best that exists. Another woik, 
 on which Dr. Simson bestowed much la- 
 bour, was the “ Sectio determinata,” 
 which was published after his death, by the 
 late Earl Stanhope, witli the great work, 
 
 “ The Porisms of Euclid.” This nobleman 
 had kept up a correspondence with Dr. Sim- 
 son till his death in 176a, when he engaged 
 Mr. Clow, to whoso care the Doctor had left 
 his papers, to make a selection of such as 
 would serve to support and increase his re- 
 putation, as the restorer of ancient geo- 
 metry. This selection Lord Stanhope printed 
 at his own expense, 
 
 “ The life of a literary man rarely teems 
 with anecdote ; and a mathematician, de- 
 voted to his studies, is perhaps more ab- 
 stracted than any other person from the or- 
 dinary occurrences of life, and even the or- 
 dinary topics of conversation. Dr. Simson 
 was of this class ; and, having never mar- 
 ried, lived entirely a college life. Haying 
 no occasion for the commodious house to 
 which his place in the university intitled 
 him, he contented himself with chambers, 
 good indeed, and spacious enough for his so- 
 ber accommodation, and for receiving his 
 clioice collection of mathematical writers, 
 but without any decoration or commodious 
 furniture. His official servant sufficed for 
 valet, footman, and chambermaid. As this 
 retirement was entirely devoted to study, 
 he entertained no company in his chambers, 
 but in a neighbouring house, wliere his 
 apartment w'as sacred to him and his guests. 
 Having in early life devoted himself to the 
 restoration of the works of the ancient geo- 
 meters, he studied them with unremitting 
 attention ; and retiring from the promiscu- 
 ous intercourse of the world, he contented 
 himself with a small society of intimate 
 friends, with whom he could lay aside 
 every restraint of ceremony or reserve, and 
 indulge in all the innocent frivolities of life. 
 Every Friday evening was sp,»nt in a party 
 at whist, in which he excelled, and took de- 
 light in instniefing others, till increasing 
 years made him less patient with the dull- 
 ness of a scholar. The card-party was fol- 
 lowed by an hour or two, dedicated solely 
 to playful conversatiou. In like manner, 
 every .Saturday he had a less select party to 
 dinner at a house about a mile from town. 
 The Doctor’s' long life gave him occasion 
 to see the dramatis personae of this little 
 theatre several times completely changed, 
 while he continued to give it a personal 
 identity ; so that, without any design or 
 wish of his own, it became, as it were, his 
 own house and his own ffimily, and went by 
 his name. Dr. Simson was of an advanta- 
 geous stature, with a fine countenance ; 
 and even in his old age liad a graceful car- 
 riage and manner, and always, except when 
 M 2 
 
 < - 
 
 
SIN 
 
 in monrnfng, dressed in vvliite cloth. He 
 vvas of a cheeiftd disposition ; and though 
 he did not make the first advances to ac- 
 quaintance, had the most atfable manner, 
 and strangers were at perfect ease in his 
 company. He enjoyed ^ long course of 
 Huinterriipted health •; but towards the 
 close of life sutFered from an acute disease, 
 and was obliged to employ an assistant in 
 his professional labours for a few years pre- 
 ceding his death, which happened in 1768, 
 at the age of eighty-one. He left to the 
 university his valuable library, which is 
 now arranged apart from the rest of the 
 hooks, and the public use of it is limited by 
 particular ndes. It is considered as the 
 most choice collection of mathematical 
 hooks and manuscripts in the kingdom, 
 and many of them are rendered doubly va- 
 luable by Df. Simson’s notes.” For a more 
 particular account of the life and writings of 
 tills great man, tlie reader is referred to the 
 article in tiie Encyclopedia Britannica, 
 vol. xvii. 
 
 SINAFIS, in botany, mustard, or char- 
 lock, a genus of the Tetradynamia Siliquosa 
 class and order. Natural order of Siliqposm 
 or Crnciforraes. Cruciferte, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character: calyx spreading) corolla 
 claws erect ; gland between the shorter sta- 
 mens and pistil, and between the longer 
 stamens and calyx. There are nineteen 
 species. 
 
 SINE, orright Sine of anarch, in trigono- 
 metry; is a right line di awn from one end of 
 that arch, perpendicular to the radius drawn 
 to the other end of the arch ; being always 
 equal to half the chord of twice the arch. 
 See Trigonometry. 
 
 SINECURES, ecclesiastical benefices 
 without cure of souls. No church, where 
 there is but one incumbent, can properly be 
 a sinecure: ami though the church being 
 down, or the parish being become destitute 
 of parishioners, theinemnbentmay be there- 
 by necessarily acquitted from the, actual 
 performance of public duty ; yet he is still 
 under an obligation to do it whenever a 
 church shall be built, and there are a com- 
 petent number of inhabitants : and in the 
 mean time, if the ciiureh be presentative, 
 as most such churches are, the incumbent ia 
 instituted into the cure of souls; such bene- 
 fices are ratlier depopulations than sine- 
 cures, and it will be proper for the new in- 
 cumbent to read the thirty-nine articles, 
 and the liturgy in the ebbreh-yard, &c. and 
 to do wliatever other incumbents usually do. 
 But a rectory, or portion of it, may proper- 
 
 glN 
 
 ly be a sinecure, if there be a vicar nnefer 
 tlie rector, endowed and charged with the 
 cure, in w hich case it does not come withiir 
 the statute 'of pluralities, 21 Henry VIII. 
 c. 13. Here, therefore, no dispensation is 
 necessary to hold the sinecure with a former 
 living, nor need the incumbent read the 
 articles, or divine service, as required by 
 13 Elizabeth, c. 12, which extends only to 
 a benefice with cure. By the above-men- 
 tioned statute of Henry VIII. not only pre> 
 bends and rectories, with vicarages endowed, 
 but deaneries, and arch-deaneries, are de- 
 clared to be benefices without cure. 
 
 SINGING, the art of producing with 
 the voice the sounds of any melody, toge- 
 ther w’ith the words to which that melody is 
 set. To perform this with justness and 
 good eSect, a fine voice, sensible car, great 
 natural taste, and a knowledge in the 
 science of mnsie, are indispensable requi- 
 sites. 
 
 SINGULAR number, in grammar, that 
 number of nouns and verbs which stand* 
 opposed to plural ; and is used when we 
 only speak of a single, or one, person, or 
 thing. ' 
 
 SINISTER, in heraldry. The sinister 
 side of an escutcheon is the left hand side ; 
 the sinister chiefj the. left angle of the chief ; 
 the sinister base, the left hand part of ths 
 base. 
 
 SINKING FUND, a portion of the 
 public revenue set apart .to be applied to 
 the reduction or discharge of the public 
 debts. The appropriation of a part of tli« 
 revenue to this purpose is a measure wdiich 
 had been adopted in other countries, lou,^ 
 before any necessity for it existed in Eng- 
 land ; a provision of this kind iiaving been 
 established in Holland in 1 635, and in the 
 Ecclesiastipal State in 1685. Both these 
 funds originated in a reduction of the in- 
 terest payable on the public debts, which 
 was the means afterwards adopted for the 
 estalilishment of a similar fund in this coun- 
 try. 
 
 At the commencement of the funding 
 system, the loans were chiefly raised on 
 terminable annuities, which are in them- 
 selves a species of sinking fund ; but when 
 tlie present mode of borrowing on perpetual 
 annuities was preferred, it soon became 
 evident that a continual accumulation of 
 public debts would in time involve the go- 
 vernmenr in much embarassmeut, if it was 
 not attended with still worse consequences. 
 Various projects were therefore oflered for 
 the discharge of the public debts, or for 
 
SINKING FUND. 
 
 confining them within moderate bounds; 
 and among others, the plan of such a sink- 
 ing fund as was afterwards actually esta- 
 blished was clearly laid down in a pamphlet, 
 entitled, A Letter to a Member of the 
 late Parliament concerning the Debts of 
 the Nation,” published in 1701. In I?!.", 
 Mr. A. Hutcheson presented to the King a 
 plan for payment of the public debts. In 
 1715, different projects for this purpose 
 were published by Edward Leigh, Mr. As- 
 gill, and others. And, in 1716, a plan for 
 the gradual discharge of the debt was actu- 
 ally adopted, which was afterwards general- 
 ly known by the appellation of the sinking 
 fund. Sir Robert Walpole claimed great 
 merit as the father of this fund, though it cer- 
 tainly required very little knowledge or in- 
 dention to copy apian which had been found 
 enccessful in other countries, and which had 
 been publicly recommended many years be- 
 fore; but whatever claims Sir R. Walpole 
 mightbaveto tbeformation of the plan, he in- 
 tlisputably has all the disgrace of having per. 
 verted and destroyed it. The act by wiiich 
 it was established was worded as strong as 
 possible, and expressly ordained, that the 
 fund should be applied to flie discharge of 
 the public debts, and to no other use or- 
 purpose whatsoever; but, in 1.722, it was 
 made a collateral security for the interest of 
 a million raised on exchequer bills, which 
 prepared the way for raoi-e direct encroach- 
 ments. In 1724, a sum was taken from the 
 fund to make good the loss to the treasury 
 from the reduction of the value of gold coin ; 
 and in 1727 the whole produce of the civil 
 list revenues were settled on the King, by 
 which the sinking fund was deprived of 
 about 100,000^. per annum, to which the 
 surplus of these revenues had usually amount- 
 ed. In 1733 the gross sum of half a million 
 was taken from the fund towards the cur- 
 rent supplies, at which time the medium 
 annual produce of the fund for five years 
 bad been 1,212,000; but the alienation of 
 it being continued by charging it with the 
 interest of new loans, taking sums from it 
 towards the supplies, and even anticipating 
 its produce, little progress was made in the 
 reduction of the debt, and at length the sink- 
 ing fund became a mere nominal distinction. 
 
 The ruinous tendency of a continual ac- 
 cumulation of public dejjts was strongly 
 pointed out by various writers on subjects 
 cf policy and finance; but by none with 
 more zeal and ability than the late Dr. 
 Price, who, about the year 1769, offered to 
 the public some observations on the national 
 ^bt, ia the third chapter of hit Observa- 
 
 tions on Reversionary P<Synients,” in which 
 he particularly recommended the establish- 
 ment of a permanent sinking fund, on the 
 principle of that established by Sir Robert 
 Walpole, but of which the efficacy had 
 been so soon destroyed. In 1771, in an 
 “ Appeal to the Public on the Subject of 
 tlie National Debt,” be showed that the 
 best scheme for paying off the debt, was 
 that wiiich bad long been known, which 
 had been adopted, but unhappily cruslitd 
 in its infancy; and in 1773, in the prefaefe 
 to the third edition of his “ Treatise on Re- 
 v'ersionary Payments,” lie took the opportu- 
 nity of again enforcing the necessity of re- 
 storing the plan formerly established, -aiid 
 securing it from future perversion. This 
 advice w-as reiieatedly urged on subsequent 
 occasions ; and in 1785, when Mr. Pitt was 
 delilierating on the best means of establish- 
 ing a new sinking fimd, he particularly 
 sought the advice and assistance of Dr. 
 Price, who communicated three plans, which 
 appeared to liim the best adapted for carry- 
 ing into execution a measure he bad so long 
 and so earnestly recommended. It was 
 one of the three plans thus coinraiinicated 
 which was afterwards adopted ; but w'ith 
 some alterations which considerably affected 
 its effifcacy, and wliicli it has since been 
 found necessary to correct. 
 
 By the act pas.sed in 1786, for establish- 
 ing the new sinking fund, the annual sum of 
 one million was placed in the hands of 
 commissioners, wlio are, the Speaker of the 
 House of Commons, the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer, the Master, of the Rolls, the. 
 Aceomptaut General of the Court of Chan- 
 eery, and the Governor and Deputy Go- 
 vernor of the Bank of England for the time 
 being respectively. This niiilion was to be 
 issueil in four equal quarterly payments, and 
 to be applied either in paying off such re- 
 deemajjle- annuities as shall be at or above 
 par, in such manner as may be directed by 
 future acts of parliament, or in the purchase 
 of annuities below par at the market price. 
 The dividemis on the sums redeemed or 
 purchased, with the annuities for lives or 
 terms of years that fall in or expire, ant} the 
 sums which may be saved by any reduction 
 of interest, were to be added to the fimd, 
 vfhich, according to the original act, was to 
 continue thus increasing till it amounted to 
 four millions per annum ; which it was then 
 computed would be about the year 1812, 
 when upwards of fifty-six millions of stock 
 would be redeemed. From this time the 
 dividends on such capital as should in future 
 be paid off ov purchased by the commit 
 
SINKING FUND. 
 
 sioners, with such annuities as might after- 
 wards fall in, were to be at the disposal of 
 Parliament. 
 
 The commissioners were directed by the 
 act to make ttieir purchases ‘‘ in equal por- 
 tions, as nearly as may be, on every day 
 (Saturdays and Mondays excepted) on 
 which the same shall be transferrable.” 
 They were empowered to subscribe towards 
 any public loan, to be raised by act of Par- 
 liament, upon perpetual annuities, subject to 
 redemption at par; and an account of the 
 sums issued to them, and of the stock pur- 
 chased to the first of February in every 
 year, was directed to be annrrally laid before 
 Parliament, on or before the loth of Fe- 
 bruary, The pitrcbases at first: were all 
 made in the 3 per cents, probably with the 
 view of redeeming the 5 per cents, if the 
 state of the ptrblic fiords should render such 
 a measure practicable, or of inducing the 
 proprietors to agree to a reductron of the 
 interest at the time when they would be- 
 come redeemable. 
 
 On the 17th February, 1792, the minister- 
 proposed, for the purpose of accelerating the 
 operatron of the fund, that the sum of 
 400,000i. shotrld be issued in addition to the 
 annual million ; and stated, that, irt corrse- 
 qirence of this and futirre intended addrtions, 
 it might be expected that twerrty-tive mil- 
 lions of 3 per cents, would be paid off by 
 the year 1800 : and that in the year 1808 
 the ftrnd would have •arisen to four millions 
 per annum, being the sum to which it was 
 restricted by the original act. The accu- 
 mulation, however, was not to cease till the 
 interest of the capital discharged, and the 
 amount of expired annrrities, should, toge- 
 ther with the annual million only, and ex- 
 clusive of the proposed additions, amount to 
 four millions. But the most important im- 
 provement was a provision, that, whenever in 
 
 future any sums shall be raised by loans, on 
 perpetual redeemable annuities, a sum, equal 
 to one per cent, on the stock created by 
 such loans, should be issued out of the pro- 
 duce of the consolidated fund quarterly, to 
 be placed to the account of the commis- 
 sioners; and if the loan, or any part, is 
 raised by annuities, for a longer term than 
 forty five years, or for lives, a computation 
 is to be made, of what will be at the end of 
 forty five years, the actual value of such part 
 of the annuities as may be then oiitstanamg, 
 and the sum to be placed to the account of 
 the commissioners is to be equal to one per 
 cent, on this computed future value. By this 
 means the immediate progress of the fund 
 was accelerated, and future loans were put 
 into a regular course of redemption. 
 
 This appropriation of one per cent, was 
 to form a distinct fund; and a separate ac- 
 count was directed to be kept of the pro- 
 gress of each fund, by. which it appealed, 
 that on the first of February, 1802, the ori- 
 ginal fund had increased to 2,534,187k Is. 9d, 
 
 ' and the new fund to 3,275,143k 2s. 3d. 
 It was now deemed expedient to imite the 
 two funds, and to apply the wlirde amount 
 indiscriminately to the reduction of the to- 
 tal debt. With this view, the former inju- 
 dicious limitation of a fund established pro- 
 fessedly on the principle of componnd in- 
 terest was done away ; the fisuai annual 
 grant of 200,000i<. per annum was made a 
 jierinanent charge upon the consoiidai^ed 
 fund ; and the Whole amount of the sinking 
 fund was directed to be regularly applied to 
 the purch.tse or redemption of stock, “ so 
 •as that the whole of the several redeemable 
 public annuities, now charged upon the 
 public funds of Great Britain, shall be paid ' 
 off within forty five years from the respec- 
 tive periods of the creation of such respec- 
 tive charges and pnblic annuities.” 
 
 Particulars of the Sums constituting the Sinking Fund, as it Stood on 1st February, 1808. 
 
 ■£. s. d. 
 
 Original annniial cl'.arge 1,000,000 0 0 
 
 Additional issue by act of 1802.... 200,000 0 o 
 
 Exchequer annuities, wbich expired in 1792 54,880 14 6 
 
 Short annuities of 1777, which expired 1787 25,000 0 0 
 
 Life annuities fallen in, or unclaimed 49,786 18 1. 
 
 Dividend on £ 124,428,213 stock, at 3 per cent 3,732,846 7 9^ 
 
 Eitto on.... 2,617,400 stock, at 4 per cent 104,696 0 0 
 
 N Ditto .on.... 142,000 stock, at 5 per cent 7,100 0 0 
 
 One per cent, on the principal part of the capitals ere- ? „ 
 
 ated since 1st February, 1793 S ’ 
 
 Appropriation for reduction of the loan of 1807 646,752 5 41 
 
 Total 9,312,392 18 7 
 
SIP 
 
 
 
 
 
 -frt 
 
 SIR 
 
 Amount of the different Descriptions of Stock redeemed. 
 
 £. . 
 
 Consolidated 3 per cent annuities 54,912,000 
 
 Reduced 3 per cent, annuities. 62,611,702 
 
 Old and new South Sea annuities ” 
 
 Three per cent annuities 1751 7.53,000 
 
 Consolidated 4 per cent, annuities ^.617,400 
 
 Consolidated 5 per cent, annuities 
 
 Total 127,937,102 
 
 The total sum which has been paid for 
 the amount of stock thus bought up was 
 79,465,8771. Os. lOd. 
 
 The above statement is exclusive of the 
 fund for the reduction of that part of the 
 debt of Ireland which has been funded in 
 Great Britain, by which 4,628,9261. 3 per 
 cent stock had been redeemed ; and like- 
 wise of the appropriation for the reduction 
 of the Imperial debt, by which, at the above 
 period, 829,4261. stock had been redeemed. 
 
 SINNET, on board a ship, a line or 
 string made of rope yarn, consisting gene- 
 rally of two, six, or nine strings, which are 
 divided into three parts, and are platted 
 over one another, and then beaten smooth 
 and flat with a wooden mallet. Its use is 
 to save the ropes, or to keep them from 
 galling. 
 
 SINUATED leaf. See Botany. 
 
 SINUS, denotes a cavity of certain 
 bones, and other parts, the entrance whereof 
 is narrow, and tlie bottom wider and more 
 spacious. 
 
 Sinus, in surgery, a little cavity, or sac- 
 culus, frequently formed by a wound or 
 ulcer, wherein pus is collected. 
 
 SIPHON, or Syphon, in hydraulics, a 
 bended pipe, one end of which being put 
 into a vessel of liquor, and the other hanging 
 out of the said vessel over another, the 
 liquor will run out from the first into the last, 
 after the air has been sucked out of the 
 external or lower end of the siphon, and 
 that as long as the liquor in the upper vessel 
 is above the upper orifice of the siphon. 
 See Hydraulics. 
 
 SIPHONANTHUS, in botany, a genus 
 of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Borragineae, Jussieu. 
 Essential character; corolla one-petalled, 
 funnel-form, very long, inferior ; berries 
 four, one-seeded. There are two species, 
 viz. S. indica, and S. angustifolia, natives of 
 South America. 
 
 SIPHONIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 
 Monoccia Monadelphia class and order. 
 Essential character : calyx one-leafed ; co- 
 rolla none : male, anthers five, growing be- 
 low the top of the column : female, style 
 none ; stigmas three ; capsule tricoccoiis ; 
 seed one, sometimes two or three. There 
 is but one species, viz, S.'elastica, elastic 
 gum tree. ' 
 
 SIPUNCULUS, in natural history, tube^ 
 worm, a genus of the Vermes Intestina class 
 and order. Body round, elongated ; mouth 
 cylindrical at the end, and narrower than 
 the body ; aperture at the side. There are 
 two species, viz. S. nudus ; body covered 
 with a close skin, and globular at the lower 
 end ; it inhabits European Seas, under stones ; 
 and is eight inches long : and S. saccatus ; 
 body covered with a loose skin, and rounded 
 at the lower end; this is foundinthe Ameri- 
 can and Indian Seas ; in shape it is like the 
 former, except in being enclosed in a loose 
 bag, and in not having the lower end glo- 
 bular. 
 
 SIREN, in natural history, a genus of 
 Amphibia of the order Reptiles, or of the 
 order Meantes an older instituted by 
 Linnseus on account of this genus of animals 
 alone. Generic character ; body naked, 
 with two feet, and without a tail ; feet with 
 arms and nails. 
 
 S. lacertina, or the eel-shaped siren, is 
 most nearly allied to the lizard tribe, but 
 differs from it in having only two feet, and 
 those armed with claws ; the body is shaped 
 like an eel; its colour is a dark brown, 
 speckled with white ; it is often more than 
 two feet long, and inhabits the stagnant 
 waters of South Carolina, sometimes, how- 
 ever, quitting water for the land. This 
 curious animal was discovered by the inge- 
 nious Dr. Garden; who presented severe 
 specimens of it to Linnaeus, and excited the 
 attention and curiosity of that great man, on 
 this particular subject, to so high a degree 
 that he asserted few things would more 
 gratify him than a particular knowledge of 
 
 
 b--, 
 
 
SIR 
 
 tlie nature and habits of a creature so ex- 
 traordinary. The siren, if thrown with 
 great force upon the ground, will break in 
 several places, resembling, in this instance, 
 a species of the anguis. See Amphibia, 
 Plate II. fig. 3. 
 
 S. anguina, or the anguine siren, is a na- 
 tive of a particular lake in Carniola, from 
 ■which the water regularly drains off during 
 the summer ; during which time the bottom 
 produces corn, or pasture. In autumn the 
 water returns with considerable rapidity, 
 flowing principally from springs in the 
 neighbouring mountains. In this lake this 
 siren is found, of the length of eleven inches, 
 and of a pale rose colour. It has both fore 
 and hind legs. Its movements are extremely 
 slow and weak when it is placed in a ves- 
 sel, whether with or without water ; but in 
 its native situation it is far more active. It 
 is, by some, supposed to be die larva of a 
 lizard, and by others imagined to be a com- 
 ■plete animal. Its habits are predatory, 
 and it subsists on the smaller inhabitants ot 
 the water. 
 
 S. piscifoimis, or the fish-formed siren, is 
 concluded to be a native of Mexico. In 
 its general appearance it greatly resembles 
 the larva of the paradoxical frog; it pos- 
 sesses, however, gills with outward open- 
 ings, and thus resembles a fish. The feet 
 are unfurnished with the slightest degree of 
 web. Shaw appears strongly inclined to the 
 idea of its being the tadpole, or larva, of 
 some large lizard, 
 
 SIREX, in natural history, taUed-wasp. 
 iVIouth with a thick, horny, truncate, short, 
 denticulate mandible; four feelers, the hind 
 ones longer and thicker upwards ; antennae 
 filiform, of more than twenty-four equal ar- 
 ticulations ; sting exsertedt serrate, stiff ; 
 abdomen sessile, terminating in a point ; 
 wings lanceolate, incumbent, the lower ones 
 shorter. There are twenty-six species. The 
 larvas of, this genus are six-footed, soft, and 
 cylindrical ; the head rounded ; tliey perfo-' 
 rate wood, and frequently eat their way into 
 the bowels of other insects, and their larv® 
 living upon and consuming their vitals ; the 
 pupa folliculate ; the perfect insect lives on 
 the nectar of flowers. The largest species 
 is S. gigas, which surpasses the hornet in 
 size, and is principally observed in the 
 neighbourhood qf pines : it is black, with 
 the eyes, the base, and lower half of the ab- 
 domen, bright orange yellow. The larva^ 
 inhabits decayed pines and firs. It changes 
 to a chrysalis in July, first enveloping itself 
 in a slight silken web, of a whitish colour ; 
 
 SIS 
 
 the chrysalis is of a lengthened shape, with 
 antenn®, legs, and tube, very distinctly 
 characterised. If the change to chrysalis 
 takes place in summer, the fly proceeds 
 from it in about three weeks ; but if at the 
 close of autumn, the animal continues in 
 the chrysalis state the whole winter. The 
 male is much smaller than the female : 'the 
 eggs are deposited by the female in the 
 decayed parts of trees. See Plate IV. Ento-^ 
 mology, fig, 5. 
 
 , SIRIUS, the dog-star ; a very bright star 
 of the first magnitude, in the mouth of the 
 constellation Canis Major, or the Great 
 Ilog. This is the brightest of all the stars 
 in our firmament, and therefore probably, 
 says Dr. Maskelyne, the astronomer royal, 
 the nearest to us of them all. Some, how- 
 ever, suppose Arcturus to be the nearest. 
 This is one of the earliest named stars in 
 the whole heavens. Hesiod and Homer 
 jiiention only four or five constellations, or 
 stars, and this is one of them. Sirius and 
 Orion, the Hyades, Pleiades, and Arcturus, 
 are almost the whole of the old poetical 
 astronomy. The three last the Greeks 
 formed of their own observation, as appears 
 by the names ; the two others were Egyp- 
 tian. Sirius was so called from the Nile, 
 one of the names of that river being Siris ; 
 and the Egyptians, seeing that river begin 
 to swell at the time of a particular rising of 
 this stai', paid divine honours to the star, 
 and called it by a name derived from tliat 
 of the river, expressing the star of the 
 Nile. 
 
 SIROCCO, a periodical wind which ge- 
 nerally blows in Italy and Dalmatia, every 
 year, about Easter. It blows from the 
 south-east by south ; it is attended with 
 heat, but not rain ; its ordinary period is 
 twenty days, and it usually ceases at sun-set. 
 When the sirocco does not blow in this 
 manner, the summer is almost free from 
 westerly winds, whirlwinds, and storms. 
 This wind is prejudicial to plants, drying 
 and burning up their buds; though it hurts 
 not men any otherwise than by causing an 
 extraordinary weakness and lassitude; in- 
 conveniences that are fully compensated by 
 a plentiful fishing, and a good crop of corn 
 on the mountains. In the summer time, 
 when the westerly wind ceases for a day, it 
 is a sign that the sirocco will blow the day 
 following, which usually begins with a sort 
 of whirlwind. 
 
 SISON, in botany, hone-wort, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Digynia class and order, 
 Natural order of Umbellat®, or Unibelli-j 
 
SIU 
 
 ferae. Essential character ; involncres mostly 
 four-leaved ; fruit ovate, striated, 'lliere 
 are seven species. 
 
 SISYMBKIUM, in botany, water-cress, 
 or water-rocket, a genus of the Tetradynamia 
 Siliqnosa class and order. Natural order of 
 SiliquosEB, Cruciforraes, or Cruciferae. Es- 
 sential character ; silique opening, with 
 straigbtish valves ; calyx and corolla spread- 
 ing. There are fifty-three species. 
 
 SISYRINCHIUM, in botany, a genus of 
 the Monodelphia Triandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Ensate. Irides, Jussieu. 
 Essential character: spathe two-leaved; 
 calyx none ; petals six, almost equal ; style 
 one; capsule tliree-ceiled, inferipr. Tliere 
 are ten species. 
 
 SITE, or SciTE, denotes the situation of 
 an house, messuage, &c, and sometimes the 
 ground-plot, or spot of earth it stands on. 
 In logic, situs is one of the predicaments 
 declaring a subject to be so and so placed : 
 and in geometry and algebra, it denote^ the 
 isituation of lines, surfaces, &c. 
 
 SITTA, the nut-hatch, in natural history, 
 a genus of birds of the order Pic®. Generic 
 character: bill straight; upper mandible a 
 little longer; nostril small, and covered with 
 bristles; tongue short, jagged, and horny 
 at the tip ; four toes, the back one as large 
 as the middle fore one. Latham notices 
 seven species, and Gmelin twelve. The 
 following is the principal: S. Europea, or 
 the European nut hatch. This bird weighs 
 about an ounce. Its manners much resem- 
 ble those of the wood-pecker, in whose de- 
 serted nests it often builds. When the fe- 
 male is in a state of incubation, if she be at 
 all annoyed by the touch of a stick, she will 
 ntter a violent kind of serpentdike hiss. 
 She is supplied with food, in ample abun- 
 dance during her sitting, by the most active 
 assiduity of her companion. The food of 
 these birds consists of caterpillars, and all 
 sorts of beetles and insects, as well as nuts, 
 the last of which they are said to lioard ; 
 and they crack them by the stroke of their 
 bill with extreme dexterity. They run up 
 and down trees in restless pursuit, like the 
 wood-pecker. They are not migratory from 
 England, but, like many other birds, change 
 their haunts, from the open country, as win- 
 ter approaches, to reside during the cold sea- 
 son in gardens, orchards, and other warm 
 inclosures. In a state of confinement they 
 rarely perch like other birds'; and almost 
 always slyep standing on the flooring of their 
 cage. 
 
 SIUM, in botany, water-parsn^, a gepus 
 
 SKA 
 
 of the Pentandria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Ur.ibellatae, or Umbelli- 
 ferae. Essential character : involucre many- 
 leaved ; petals cordate; fruit sub-ovate, 
 striated. There are nineteen species. 
 
 SIZE, is a sort of glue, used by painters, 
 &c. The shreds and parings of leather, 
 parchment, or vellum, being boiled in water 
 and strained, make size. This substance i* 
 used in many trades. Mr. Boyle mentions, 
 among other uses, that fine red stands and 
 hanging shelves are coloured wifli ground 
 Vermillion tempered with size, and when 
 dry are laid over with common varnish. 
 There is also a size made of isinglass, in 
 the same manner, and for the like pur- 
 poses ; but this size will not keep above 
 three or four days, so that no more should 
 be made of it at once than present occasion 
 requires. 
 
 The manner of using size is to melt some 
 of it over a gentle fire, and scraping as much 
 whiting into it as may Only colour it, let 
 them be well incorporated together ; after 
 which you may whiten frames, &c. with it. 
 After it dries, melt the size again, and put 
 more whiting, and whiten the frames, &c. 
 seven or eight times, letting it dry between 
 each time : but before it is quite dry, be, 
 tween each washing, you must smooth and 
 wet it over with a clean brush pencil in fair 
 water. 
 
 SKAITE, ill ichthyology, the variegated 
 raia, with the middle of the back smooth, 
 and one row of spines on the tail. See 
 Raia. 
 
 SKATING, an exercise on ice, both 
 graceful and healthy. Although the an-* 
 cients were remarkable for their dexterity 
 in most of the athletic sports, yet skating 
 seems to have been unknown to them. It 
 may therefore be considered as a modern 
 invention, and probably it derived its origin, 
 in Holland, where it was practised, not 
 only as a graceftfl and elegant amusement, 
 but as an expeditions mode’ of travelling 
 when the lakes and canals were frozen up 
 during winter. In Holland long journeys 
 are made upon skates with ease and expe- 
 dition; but in general less attention is there 
 paid to graceful and elegant movements, 
 than to the expedition and celerity of what 
 is called journey skating. It is only in 
 those countries where it is considered as an 
 amusement, that its graceful attitudes and 
 movements can be studied ; and there is no 
 exercise whatever better^calculated to set 
 off the human figure to advantage. The 
 acquirement of most exercises may be at- 
 
 I i- 
 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
SKA 
 
 tained to an advanced period of life ; but 
 to become an expert skater, it is necessary 
 to begin the practice of the art at a very 
 early age. It is difficult to reduce the art 
 of skating to a system. It is principally by 
 the imitation of a good skater that a young 
 practitioner can form his own practice. 
 Those who wish to be proficients, should 
 begin at an early period of life, and should 
 first endeavour to throw off the fear which 
 always attends the commencement of an 
 apparently hazardous amusement. They 
 will soon acquire a facility of moving on the 
 inside; when they have done this, they 
 must endeavour to acquire the movement 
 on the outside of the skates, which is no- 
 thing more than throwing themselves upon 
 the outer edge of the skate, and making 
 the balance of their body tend towards that 
 side, which will necessarily enable them to 
 form a semicircle. In this much assistance 
 may be derived from placing a bag of lead 
 shot in the pocket next to the foot em- 
 ployed in making the outside stroke, which 
 wilt produce an artificial poise of the body, 
 which afterwards will become natural by 
 practice. At the commencement of the 
 outside stroke, the knee of the employed 
 limb should be a little bended, and gradu- 
 ally brought to a rectilinear position when 
 the stroilie is completed. When the prac- 
 titioner becomes expert in forming the 
 semicircle with both feet, he is then to join 
 them together, and proceed progressively 
 and alternately with both feet, which will 
 carry him forward with a graceful move- 
 ment. Care should be taken to use very 
 little muscular exertion, for the impelling 
 motion should proceed from the mechanical 
 impulse of the body thrown into such a po- 
 sition as to regulate the stroke. At taking 
 the outside stroke, the body ought to be 
 thrown forward easily, the unemployed 
 limb kept in a direct line with the body, 
 and the face and eyes directly looking for- 
 ward; the unemployed foot ought to be 
 stretched towards the ice, with the toes in 
 a direct line with the leg. In the time of 
 making the curve, the body must be gradu- 
 ally, and almost imperceptibly raised, and 
 the unemployed limb brought in the same 
 manner forward ; so that, at finishing the 
 curve, the body will bend a small degree 
 backward, and the unemployed foot will 
 be about two inches before the other, ready 
 to embrace the ice, and form a correspon- 
 dent curve. The muscular movement of 
 the whole body must correspond with the 
 Bioyement of the skate, and should be re- 
 
 SKY 
 
 gulated so as to be almost imperceptible to 
 the spectators. Particular attention should 
 be paid in carrying round the head and 
 eyes with a regular and imperceptible mo- 
 tion ; for nothing so much diminishes the 
 grace and elegance of skating as sudden 
 jerksand exertions, which are too frequently 
 used by the generality of skaters. The 
 management of the arms likewise deserves 
 attention. There is no mode of disposing 
 of them more gracefully in skating out- 
 side, than folding the hands into each other, 
 or using a muffi 
 
 SKELETON, in anatomy, an assem- 
 blage or arrangement of all the bones of a 
 dead animal, dried, cleansed, and disposed 
 in their, natural situation, and kept in tliat 
 order by means of wires, tSec. 
 
 Skkleton, natural. This is so termed 
 in opposition to an artificial skeleton, when 
 the bones are retained in their proper places 
 by their natural ligaments, which are dried 
 upon the articulations. Natural skeletons 
 of frogs, mice, birds, and other small ani- 
 mals, are easily made by putting them into 
 a box, perforated with holes, and burying 
 them in or near a large ant hill. The larger 
 ihe species of ant, tlie more quickly will 
 the work be performed. These animals will 
 completely remove the muscular parts, and 
 leave the skeleton in the posture in which 
 it was originally placed. 
 
 SKIFF, or Squiff, the least of two 
 ship-boats, serving chiefly to go ashore in, 
 when the ship is in harbour. 
 
 SKIMMIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : calyx four-parted ; pe- 
 tals four, concave; berry four-seeded. There 
 is but one species, viz. S. japonica, a native 
 of Japan, near Nagasaki. 
 
 SKIN. See Cutis. 
 
 SKINNER, one who works in skins. 
 
 SKIRMISH, in war, a disorderly kind 
 of combat or encounter, in presence of 
 two armies, between small parties or per- 
 sons, who advance from the body for that 
 purpose, and introduce to a general and 
 regular fight. See Tactics. 
 
 SKULL, in anatomy, that part of the 
 head which forms its great bony cavity ; 
 and in a living subject contains the brain. 
 See Anatomy. 
 
 SKY, the blue expanse of air and at- 
 mosphere. The azure colour of the sky 
 Sir Isaac Newton attributes to vapours be- 
 ginning to condense there, arid which have 
 got consistence enough to reflect the mos^ 
 reflexible rays. 
 
SLA 
 
 SLAG, is a term used by the persons 
 employed in working minerals, to express 
 any hard vitrescent generally coloured 
 opaque mass, produced by the fusion of 
 any stony or metallic mixture. It gene- 
 rally consists of the matrix of the ore, and 
 any saline or earthy flux that may have 
 been used. The slag of iroK founderies is 
 for the most part composed of the earthy 
 part of the ore, of the lime used as a flux, 
 and the whole coloured with a part of the 
 oxide of iron. Slag differs from scoria, in 
 being more dense, and more completely 
 vitrified ; whereas the scoria, or dross is 
 lighter and porous. When the slag is very 
 opaque and heavy, it contains a considerable 
 quantity of metal, and in that case it may 
 be worth while to work it over again. 
 Slag in many parts of the country is used 
 for mending roads, for which it makes a 
 capital material when a little worn down, 
 being hard, and almost impenetrable by 
 water. 
 
 SLATE, a well known neat, convenient, 
 and dnralrle material, for the covering of 
 tlie roofs of buildings. Tliere are great 
 varieties of tliis substance, and it likewise 
 differs very greatly in its qualities and co- 
 lours. In some places it is found in tliick 
 lamina or flakes, while in others it is thin 
 and light. The colours are white, brown, 
 and blue. It is so durable in some cases, as 
 to have been known to continue sound and 
 good for centuries. However, unless it should 
 be brought from a quarry of well reputed 
 goodness, it is necessaiy to try its proper- 
 ties, which may he done by striking the 
 slate shaiply against a large stone, and if it 
 produce a complete sound, it is a mark of 
 goodness ; but if in hewing, it does not 
 shatter before the edge of the sect, or 
 instrument commonly used for that pur- 
 pose, the criterion is decisive. The good- 
 ness of the slate may be further estimated 
 by its colour : the deep black blue is apt 
 to imbibe moisture, but the lighter blue is 
 always the least penetrable : the touch also 
 may be in some degree a guide, for a good 
 firm stone feels somewhat hard and rough, 
 wliereas an open slate feels very smooth, 
 and as it were greasy. And another me- 
 thod of trying the goodness of slate, is to 
 place tlie slate stone lengthwise, and per- 
 pendicular in a tub of water, about half a 
 foot deep, care being taken that the upper 
 or uniramersed part of the slate be not 
 accidentally wetted by the hand, or other- 
 wise : let it remain in this state twenty- 
 fpur hours j if good and firm stone, it will 
 
 SLA 
 
 not draw water more than half an inch 
 above the surface of the water, and that 
 perhaps at the edges only, those parts hav- 
 ing been a little loosened in the hewing ; 
 but a spongy defective stone will draw wa- 
 ter to the very top. There is still another 
 mode, held to be infallible. First weigh 
 two or three of the most suspected slates, 
 noting the weight ; then immerge them in 
 a vessel of water twelve hours, take them 
 out, and wipe them as clean as possible 
 with a linen cloth, and if they weigh more 
 than at first, it denotes that quality of slate 
 which imbibes water ; a drachm is allow- 
 abie in a dozen pounds, and no more. In 
 the laying of this material, a bushel and a 
 half of lime, and three bushels of fresh water 
 sand, will be sufficient for a square of work, 
 but if it be pin plastered, it will take above, 
 as much more : but good slate well laid 
 and plastered to the pin will lie an hundred 
 years, and on good timber a much longer 
 time. It has been common to lay the slates 
 dry, or on moss only. When they are to 
 be plastered to the pin, then about the first 
 quantity of lime and sand will be sufficient 
 for the purpose. Se,e Thonschiefer. 
 
 SLAVES and SLAVERY. Pure and 
 proper slaves do not, nay cannot, subsist 
 in England; such, that is, whereby an ab- 
 solute and unlimited power is given to the 
 niaster, over the life and fortune of the 
 slave. And indeed, it is repugnant to 
 reason, that such a state should subsist any 
 where ; and the law of England abhors, and 
 will not endure, tlie existence of slavery 
 witliin this nation, so that when an attempt 
 was made to introduce it, by statute 1 
 Edward VI. cap. 3, wliich ordained, that'" 
 all idle vagabonds sliould be made slaves, 
 and fed upon bread and water, .on small 
 drink, and refuse meat, should wear a ring 
 of iron round tlieir necks, arms, or legs ; 
 and should be compelled by beating, chain- 
 ing, or otherwise, to perform the work 
 assigned them, were it never so vile; the 
 spirit of the nation could not brook this 
 condition, even in the most abandoned 
 rogues ; and therefore tliis statute was re- 
 pealed in two years afterwards, by statute 
 3 and 4 Edward VI. cap. 16. And now 
 it is laid down, that a slave, or negro, the 
 instant he lands in England, becomes a free 
 man, that is, the law will protect him in the 
 enjoyment of his person and his property. 
 Vet, witli regard to any right which the 
 master may have lawfully acquired to the 
 perpetual' service of John, or Thomas, this, 
 says Blackstone, will remain exactly in the 
 
SLA 
 
 same state as before: [what that right is 
 not, we shall presently see]: hence too it 
 follows, that the infamous and unchristian 
 practice of withholding baptism from negro 
 servants, lest they should thereby gain their 
 liberty, is totally without foundation, as 
 well as without excuse. The law of Eng- 
 land acts upon general and extensive prin- 
 ^ ciples : it gives liberty, rightly understood, 
 that is, protection, to a Jew, a Turk, dr a 
 Heathen, as well as to those who profess 
 the true religion of Christ ; and it will not 
 dissolve a civil obligation between master 
 and servant, on account of the alteration 
 of faith in either of tlie parties ; but the 
 ^slave is entitled to the same protection in 
 England before, as after baptism ; and, 
 •whatever, service the Heathen negro owed 
 of right to his American master, by general 
 not by local law, the same (whatever it be) 
 is he bound to render when brought to 
 England and made a Christian. 
 
 In the celebrated case of James Somer- 
 sett, it was decided, that a Heathen negro, 
 when brought to England, owes no service 
 to an American, or any other master. 
 James Somersett had been made a slave 
 in Africa, and was sold there : from thence 
 be was carried to Virginia, where he was 
 bought, and brought by his master to Eng- 
 land. 
 
 Here he ran away from his master, who 
 seized him and carried him on board a ship, 
 where he was confined, in order to be sent 
 to Jamaica to be sold as a slave. Whilst he 
 was thus confined, a habeas corpus wns 
 granted, ordering the captain of the ship 
 to bring np the body of James Sometsett, 
 witli the cause of his detainer the above 
 mentioned circumstances being stated on 
 the return to the writ, after much discus- 
 sion in the Court of King’s Bench, the 
 court were unanimously of opinion, that 
 the return was insufficient, and that Somer- 
 sett ought to be discharged. 
 
 In consequence of this decision, if a sliip 
 ]aden with slaves was obliged to put into 
 an English harbour, all the slaves on board 
 might (and Mr. Chnstian says ought to) 
 be set at liberty. Though tliere are acts of 
 parliament which recognise and regulate 
 the slavery of negroes, yet it exists not 
 |n the contemplation of tlie common law : 
 and the reason they are not declared free 
 before they reach an English harbour, is 
 only because their complaints cannot sooner 
 be heard and redressed by the process of 
 an English court of justice. 
 
 Liberty^ by the English law, depends not 
 
 SLE 
 
 on the complexion ; and what was said 
 even in the time of Queen Elizabeth is now 
 substantially true, that the air of England 
 is too pure for a slave to breathe in. 
 
 By statute 30 George III. c. 33, (con- 
 tinued and amended by statute 31 George 
 III. c. 54, 32 George III. c. 52, and sub- 
 sequent acts ; and explaining and amending 
 a former staf.utfe of 29 George III. c. 66) ; 
 several humane provisions were made to 
 restrain the cruelties practised in the Afri- 
 can slave trade, bounties were given to the 
 masters and surgeons of ships delivering the 
 slaves well at their destined port, &c. 'This, 
 perhaps, was a happy prelude to the aboli- 
 tion of that detestable commerce which has 
 been so gloriously accomplished. See also 
 statute 35 George III. c. 90 : aad the 
 Journals of the House of Commons. 
 
 An African company was also established 
 by statute 31 George HI. c. 65, for carry- 
 ing on a trade between Great Britain and 
 the coasts and countries of Africa ; and a 
 colony w'as for that purpose established on 
 the peninsula of Sierra Leone. Tin’s com- 
 pany was intended to supersede, in time, 
 the necessity of the African slave trade, by 
 raising sugars tiiere by native Africans; it 
 being one of the conditions of the act, that 
 the company shall not deal in nor employ 
 slaves. The company is to last for thirty- 
 one years from July 1st, 1791. At length, 
 as a last act of the administration to which 
 Mr. Fox had belonged, the abolition of the 
 slave trade as respects the subjects of 
 Great Britain, and her colonies was effect- 
 ed by act of parliament in the year 1807, 
 May this brilliant example of justice be 
 followed by other nations. 
 
 SLEDGE, a kind of carriage without 
 wheels, for the conveyance of very weiglity 
 things, as'hiige stones, &c. 
 
 This is also the name of a loxge smith’s 
 hammer, to be used with both hands. Of 
 this there are two sorts ; the nphand-sledge, 
 which is used by under-workmen, when the 
 work is not of the larger sort ; it is used 
 with the hands before, and they seldom 
 raise it higher than their head ; but the 
 other, which is called the about sledge, and 
 which is used for battering or drawing out 
 the largest work, is held by the handle with 
 both hands, and swung round over their 
 beads, at their arru’s end, to strike as hard 
 a blow as they can. 
 
 SLEEPERS, in a ship, timbers lying be- 
 fore and aft, in the bottom of the ship, as 
 •the rung-heads do ; the lowermost of the«i| 
 
SLli 
 
 IS bolted to the rnng-heads, and the iipjia' 
 most to the futtocks and rungs. 
 
 SLINO, an instrument serving for cast- 
 ing stones with great violence. The in- 
 habitants of tlie Balearic islands were famous 
 in antiquity, for the dexterous management 
 Of the sling; it is said they bore three 
 kinds of slings, some longer, others slidrterj 
 which they used according as their enemies 
 were either nearer or more remote. It is 
 added, that the first served them for a head 
 band, the second for a girdle, and that a third 
 
 they constantly carried with tliemm tliehand. 
 
 Slings of a yard, ropes fixed round its 
 middle, and serving to suspend it for the 
 greater ease of working, or for security in 
 an engagement ; in the latter case they 
 usually add iron chains to the slings of the 
 lower yards. Boat-slings, are strong ropes 
 furnished with hooks and iron thimbles, by 
 which to hook tiie tackle, in order to hoist 
 the boats in or out of the ship ; tlie hooks of 
 the slings are applied to ring bolts fixed in 
 the keel, and extremities of the boat. 
 
 SLINGING is used variously at sea, hut 
 chiefly for tlie hoisting up casks, or other 
 heavy things, with slings, i. e. contrivances 
 of ropes spliced into tliemselves, at either 
 end, with one eye big enough to receive 
 the cask, or other thing, to be slung. 
 
 SLOANEA, in botany, so named in me- 
 mory of Sir Hans Sloane, Bart,, a genus of 
 the Polyandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Amentacea. Tiliaceae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx, one- 
 leafed,from five to nine- cleft ; corolla none ; 
 anthers growing to tJie filaments, below the 
 top ; capsule echinate, from tliree to six 
 celled, from three to six valved ; seeds two 
 in a berried aril. There are three species. 
 SLOATH or Sloth. See Bradypus. 
 SLOOP, in naval affairs, a small vessel, 
 furnished with one mast, the main sail of 
 which is attached to, a gaff above, to the 
 mast on its foremost edge, and to a boom 
 below, it differs from a cutter by having a 
 fixed steering how-sprit, and a jib-stay: 
 the sails also are less in proportion to the 
 size of the vessel. Sloops of war are vessels 
 commanded by officers in a middle rank 
 between a lieutenant and a post captain: 
 these are styled masters and commanders. 
 They carry from ten to eighteen guns, and 
 are variously rigged as ships, brigs, schoon- 
 ers, and sometimes cutters. 
 
 SLUICE, in hydraulics, a frame of tim- 
 ber, stone, earth, &c. serving to retain and 
 raise the water of the sea, a river, &c. 
 
 SLtf 
 
 and on occasion to let it pass: such is the 
 sluice of a mill, which stops and collects 
 the water of a rivulet, &c. in order to dis- 
 charge it at length, in greater plenty, upon 
 the mill-wheel : such also are those used in 
 drains, to discharge water off lands ; and 
 such are the sluices of Flanders, &c. which 
 serve to prevent the waters of the sea over* 
 flowing the lower lands, except when there 
 is occasion to drown them. Sometimes 
 there is a canal between two gates or 
 sluices, in artificial navigation, to save the 
 water, and render the passage of boats 
 equally easy and safe, upwards and down- 
 wards; as in the sluices of Briare, in 
 France, which are a kind of massive walls, 
 built parallel to each other at the distance 
 of twenty or twenty-four feet, closed with 
 strong gates at each end, between which is 
 a kind of canal or chamber, considerably 
 longer than broad, wherein, a vessel being 
 inclosed, the water is let out at the first 
 gate, by which the vessel is raised fifteen 
 or sixteen feet, and passed out of this canal 
 into another much higher. By such means 
 a boat is conveyed out of tlie Loire into 
 the Seine, thougti the ground between 
 them rise above one hundred and fifty feet 
 higher than either of those risers. 
 
 Tlie construction of sluices ought to bo 
 conducted by an able engineer, who is well 
 acquainted with the action of fluids in gene- 
 ral; and particularly wiflt the situation of 
 the place, the nature of the soil, &c. whore 
 the sluice is to be erected ; if on the sea- 
 shore, he ought to be perfectly well ac- 
 quainted with the effects of the sea on that 
 coast, and the seasons when it is calm or 
 stormy, that he may be able to prevent the 
 fatal accidents thence arising : and, if in a 
 river, it is necessary to know whether it 
 usually overflows its banks, and at what 
 seasons of the year itS waters are highest 
 and lowest. The machines for driving the 
 piles should be placed about forty yards 
 from the side of tlie sluice, above and be- 
 low it. As to the depth of sluices, it must 
 be regulated by the uses for which they are 
 designed ; thus’ if a sluice is to be erected 
 at tlie entrance of a bason for shipping, its 
 depth must correspond with the draught of 
 water of the largest ship that may, at any 
 time, have occasion to enter thereby. The 
 rule usually observed, is to make the sur- 
 face of the bottom of the canal on a level 
 with the low water mark : but if the bot- 
 tom of the harbour and canal be such, as 
 to be capable of becoming deeper by the 
 action of the water, Belidor very justly oh- 
 
SLU 
 
 serves, that the bottom of the sluice-work 
 should be made deeper than either. 
 
 When a sluice is to be placed at the bot- 
 tom of an harbour, in order to wash away 
 the filth that may gather in it, by means of 
 the waters of a river or canal, in this case 
 the bottom of the slnice-work should be 
 two feet or, eighteen inches higher than the 
 bottom of the harbour, that the water may 
 run with the greater violence. 
 
 An engineer ought always to have in his 
 view, that the faults committed in the con- 
 struction of sluices are almost always irre- 
 parable. We shall therefore lay down 
 some rules, from Belidor, for avoiding any 
 oversight of this kind: 1. In order to ad- 
 just the level of the sluice-w'ork with the 
 utmost exactness, the engiueer ought to de- 
 termine how much deeper it must be-than 
 a fixed point : and this he should mark 
 down in his draught, in the most precise 
 terms possible. 2. When the proper depth 
 is settled, the foundation is next to be exa- 
 mined; and here the engineer cannot be 
 too cautious, lest the apparent goodness of 
 the soil deceive him: if the foundation is 
 judged bad, or insufficient to bear the su- 
 perstructure, it must be secured by driving 
 piles, oragrate-work of carpentry. 3. There 
 should be engines enough provided for 
 draining the water; and these should be 
 entirely under the direction of the engineer, 
 who is to take care that they be so placed 
 as not to be an obstacle to the work ; and 
 also cause proper trenches to be cut, to 
 convey the water clear off from the founda- 
 tion. <1. When the sluice is to be built in 
 a place where the workmen will be un- 
 avoidably incommoded by the waters of the 
 sea, &c. all the stones for the mason-work, 
 as well as the timbers for that of carpentry, 
 should be prepared before-hand; so that 
 when a proper season offers for beginning 
 the work, there remains nothing to be done, 
 but to fix every thing in its place. 5. In 
 order to show the state of the work, an 
 exact journal should be kept of the mate- 
 rials employed, to be signed every week by 
 tbe chief engineer and undertaker ; observ- 
 ing to distinguish the different pieces of 
 materials, and the places where they were 
 employed. 6. When an undertaker is 
 found, who is not only able to be at the ex- 
 pense of providing all the materials, but 
 1 likewise vigilant and active to execute 
 whatever is judged necessary for the perfec- 
 tion of the work, it would be the worst of 
 policy to give the preference to others, 
 who, through' ignorance, or dishonesty, 
 
 SMA 
 
 bring in estimates lower than it is possible 
 to execute the work as it ought. However, 
 that the conditions of the contract may be 
 properly executed, the chief engineer, or 
 other persons of unquestionable understand- 
 ing and honesty, commissioned for that pur- 
 pose, should take care that able workmen 
 be employed, and that they execute their 
 several parts in a proper manner. 
 
 Sluices ai’e made different ways, accord- 
 ing to the uses they are intended for : when 
 they serve for navigation, they are shut 
 with two gates, presenting an angle towards 
 the stream ; but when nsade near the sea, 
 there are two pair of gates, one to keep 
 the water out, and the other to keep it in, 
 as occasion requires: the pair of gates next 
 the sea present an angle that way, and the 
 other pair the contrary way; the space.in- 
 closed by these gates is called a chamber. 
 AVhen sluices are designed to detain the 
 water in some parts of the ditch of a for- 
 tress, they are made with shutters to slide 
 up and down in grooves; and when they 
 are made to cause an inimdation, they are 
 then shut by means of square timbers let 
 down into cullises, so as to lie close and 
 firm. Particular care must be taken, in 
 the building of a sluice, to lay the founda- 
 tion in the securest manner possible; to 
 lay tlie timber-grates and floors in such a 
 manner, that the water cannot penetrate 
 through any part, otherwise it will under- 
 mine tlie work ; and, lastly, to make the 
 grates of a proper strength, in order to sup- 
 port the pressure of the water ; and yet to 
 use no more timber than is necessary. 
 
 SMACK, a small vessel with but one 
 mast. Sometimes they are employed as 
 tenders on a man of war, and are used for 
 fishing upon the coast, &c. 
 
 SMALT, a kind of glass of a dark-blue 
 colour, which, when levigated, appears of a 
 most beautiful colour ; and if it could be 
 made sufficiently fine, would be an excel- 
 lent succedaneum for ultramarine, as not 
 only resisting all kinds of weather, but even 
 tlie most violent fires. It is prepared by 
 melting one part of oxide of cobalt with 
 two of flint-powder, and one of potass. At 
 the bottoms of the crucibles in which the 
 smalt is manufactured, we generally find a 
 regulus of a whitish colour inclining to red, • 
 and extremely brittle. This is melted 
 afresh, and, when cold, separates into two 
 parts ; that at the bottom is the cobaltic 
 regulus, which is employed to make more 
 of the smalt ; the other is bismuth. 
 
 SMARAGDITE, in mineralogy. This 
 
SMEATON. 
 
 stone was called smaragdite, by M. Saus- 
 sure, from some resemblance which it has 
 to the emerald. Never crystallized. Its 
 texture is foliated. Easily divided into 
 plates. The lamin® are inflexible. , Frac- 
 ture even. Specific gravity 3. Colour , in 
 some cases, fine green ; in others it has the 
 grey colour and metallic lustre of mica : it 
 assumes all the shades of colour between 
 these two extremes. 
 
 SMEATON (John), in biography, an 
 eminent civil engineer, was born the 28th 
 of May, 1724, O. S. at Austhorpe, near 
 Leeds, in a house built by his grandtather, 
 and where his family have resided ever 
 Since. The strength of his understanding 
 and the originality of his genius appeared 
 at an early age ; his playthings were not the 
 playthings of children, but the tools which 
 men employ ; and he appeared to have 
 greater entertainment in seeing the men in 
 the neighbourhood work, and asking them 
 questions, than in any thing else. One day 
 he was seen, to the distress of his family, 
 on the top of his father’s barn, fixing up 
 something like a windmill. Another time 
 he attended some men fixing a pump at a 
 neighbouring village, and observing them 
 cut off a piece of hored pipe, he was so 
 lucky as to procure it, and he actually made 
 with it a working pump that raised water. 
 These auecdotes refer to circumstances that 
 are said to have happened while he was in 
 petticoats, and most likely before he attained 
 his sixth year. 
 
 About his fourteenth and fifteenth year he 
 had made for himself an engine for turning, 
 and wrought several presents to his friends 
 of boxes in ivory or wood, very neatly 
 turned. He forged his iron and steel, and 
 melted his metal ; he had tools of every sort 
 for working in wood, ivory, and metals. 
 He had made a lathe, by which he had cut 
 a perpetual screw in brass, a thing little 
 known at that day, which was the invention 
 of Mr. Henry Hindley, of York, with whom 
 Mr. Smeaton soon became acquainted, and 
 they spCnt many a night at Mr. Hindley’s 
 house till day light, conversing on those 
 subjects. Thus had Mr. Smeaton, by the 
 strength of his genius and indefatigable in- 
 dustry, acquired, at the age of eighteen, an 
 extensive set of tools, and the art of working 
 in most of the mechanical trades, without 
 the assistance of any master. A part of 
 every day was generally occupied in form- 
 ing some ingenious piece of mechanism. 
 
 Mr. Sraeaton’s father was an attorney, 
 and desirous of bringing him up to the same 
 
 profession ; Mr. Smeaton therefore came up 
 to London in 1742, and attended the courts 
 in Westminster Halt ; but finding, as his 
 common expression was, that the law did ' 
 not suit the bent of his genius, he wrote a 
 strong memorial to his father on that sub- 
 ject ; whose good sense from that moment 
 left Mr. Smeaton to pursue the dictates of 
 his genius in his own way. 
 
 In 1751, he began a course of experi- 
 ments to ti-y a machine of his invention to 
 measure a ship’s way at sea, and also made 
 two voyages in company with Dr. Knight, 
 to try it, and a compass of his own inven- 
 tion and making, which was made magne- 
 tical by Dr. Knight’s artificial magnets. The 
 second voyage was made in the Fortune 
 sloop of war, commanded at that time by 
 Captain Alexander Campbell. 
 
 In 1763, he was elected member of the 
 Royal Society : the number of papers pub 
 lished in their Transactions will show the 
 universality of his genius and knowledge. 
 
 In 1759, he was honoured by an unani- 
 mous vote with their gold medal, for his 
 paper intitled “ An experimental Inquiry 
 concerning the natural Powers of Water 
 and Wind to turn Mills, and other Machines, 
 depending on a circular Motion.” This 
 paper, he says, was the result of experi- 
 ments made on working models in the year 
 1752 and 1753, but not communicated to 
 the Society till 1759 ; before which time he 
 had an opportunity of putting the effect of 
 these experiments into real practice, in a 
 variety of cases, and for various purposes, 
 so as to assure the Society he had found 
 them to answer. 
 
 In December, 1755, the Eddystone light- 
 house was burnt down. Mr. Weston, the 
 chief proprietor, and flie others, being de- 
 sirous of rebuilding it in the most substan- 
 tial manner, inquired of the Earl of Maccles- 
 field, then President of the Royal Society, 
 whom he thought the most proper to re- 
 build it ; his Lordship recommended Mr, 
 Smeaton. Mr. Smeaton undertook the 
 work, and completed it in the summer of 
 1759. Of this Mr. Smeaton gives an am- 
 ple description in the volume he published 
 in 1791. 
 
 Though Mr. Smeaton completed the 
 building of the Eddystone light-house in 
 1759, a work that docs him so much credit, 
 yet it appears he did not soon get into full 
 business as a civil engineer ; for in 1764, 
 while in Yorkshire, he offered himself a 
 candidate for one of the receivers of the 
 Derwentwater estate ; and on the thirty. 
 
SMEATON. 
 
 fij-st of December, in that year, lie was ap- 
 pointed, at a full board of Greenwich Hos- 
 pital, in a manner highly flattering to him- 
 self, when two other persons strongly re- 
 commended, and powerfully supported, 
 were candidates for the employment. In this 
 appointment he was very happy, by the as- 
 sistance and abilities of his partner, Mr. 
 Walton, one of the receivers, who taking 
 upon himself the management and accounts, 
 left Mr. Smeaton leisure and opportunity to 
 exert his abilities on public works, as well 
 as to make any improvements in the mills, 
 and in the estates, of Greenwich Hospital. 
 By the year 1775, he had so much busi- 
 ness as a civil engineer, that he w’ished to 
 resign this appointment ; and would have 
 done it then, had not his friends, the late 
 Mr. Stuart, the hospital surveyor, and Blr. 
 Ibbetsoh, their secretary, prevailed upon 
 him to continue in tire office about two 
 years longer. 
 
 Mr. Smeaton having now got into full 
 business as a civil engineer, performed 
 many works of general utility. He marie 
 the river Calder navigable, a work that re- 
 quired great skill and judgment, owing to 
 the very impetuous floods in that river. He 
 planned and attended the execution of the 
 great canal in Scotland, for conveying the 
 trade of the country either to the Atlantic 
 or German Ocean j and having brought it 
 to the place originally intended, he declined 
 a handsome yearly salary, in order that he 
 might attend to the multiplicity of his other 
 business. 
 
 On the opening of the great arch at Lon- 
 don bridge, the excavation around and un- 
 der the starlings was so considerable, that 
 the bridge was thought to be in great dan- 
 ger of falling. He was then in Yorkshire, 
 and was sent for by express, and arrived 
 with the utmost dispatch. “ I think” says 
 Mr. Holmes, the author of his Life, “itw'as 
 on a Saturday morning, when the appre- 
 hension of the bridge was so general that 
 few would pass over or under it. He ap- 
 plied himself immediately to examine it, 
 and to sound about the starlings as mi- 
 nutely as he could ; and the committee be- 
 ing called together, adopted his advice, 
 which was to repurchase the stones that 
 had baen taken from the middle pier, then 
 lying in Moorfieids,,and to throw them into 
 the river to guard the starlings.” Nothing 
 shows the appreiiensions concerning the 
 falling of the bridge more than the alacrity 
 with wliicli this advice was pursued; the 
 stones were repurchased that day, horses, 
 
 carts, and barges were got ready, and they 
 began tlie work on Sunday morning. Tims, 
 Mr. Smeaton, in all limnan probability, 
 saved London bridge from falling, and se- 
 cured it till more effectual methods could 
 be taken. 
 
 The vast variety of mills which Mr. 
 Smeaton constructed, so greatly to the sa- 
 tisfaction and advantage of the owners, will 
 show the great use which he made of his 
 experiments in 1753 and 1753 ; for lie ne- 
 ver trusted to theory in any ease where he 
 could have an opportunity to investigate it 
 by experiment. He built a steam engine 
 at Austhorpe, and made experiments there- 
 on, purposely to ascertain the power of 
 Newcomen’s steam engine, wbich be im- 
 proved and brought to a far greater degree 
 of perfection, botii in its construction and 
 powers, than it was before. 
 
 BIr, Smeaton, during many years of bis 
 life, was a frequent attendant on parlia- 
 ment, his opinion being continually called 
 for. And here his strength of judgment and 
 perspicuity of expression had its full dis- 
 play. It was his constant custom, when 
 applied to plan or support any measure, 
 to make himself fully acquainted witli it, 
 to see its merits, before he would engage 
 in it. By this caution, added to the clear- 
 ness of his description and the integrity of 
 his heart, he seldom failed to obtain for the 
 biil which he supported an act of parlia- 
 ment. No one was heard with more atten- 
 tion, nor had any one ever more confidence 
 placed in liis testimony. In the courts of 
 law he had several compliments paid him 
 from the beach by Lord Mansfield and 
 others, for the new light which he threw oa 
 difficult subjects. 
 
 About the year 1785, BIr. Smeaton's 
 health began to decline ; and he then took 
 the resolution to endeavour to avoid all the 
 business he could, so that he might have 
 leisure to publish an account of his inven- 
 tions and works, which was certainly the 
 first wish of his heart; for he has often 
 been beard to say, that “ he thought he 
 could not render so much service to his 
 country as by doing that.” He got only his 
 account of the Eddystone light-house com- 
 pleted, and some preparations to his in- 
 tended Treatise on Mills ; for he could not 
 resist the solicitations of his friends in va- 
 rious works : and BIr. Aubert, whom he 
 greatly loved and respected, being chosen 
 chairman of Ramsgate harbour, prevailed 
 upon him to accept the 'place of engineer ta 
 tliat harbour ; and to Uieir joint efforts the 
 
SME 
 
 public is chiefly indebted for the improve- 
 ments that have been made there within 
 these few years, which fully appears in a 
 report that Mr. Sinealon gave in to the 
 board of trustees in 1791, which they im- 
 mediately published. 
 
 Mr. Smeaton being at Austliovpe, walk- 
 ing in his garden, on tlie 16th of September, 
 1792, was struck with the palsy, and died 
 the 28th of October. “ In his illness,” says 
 Mr. Holmes, “ I had several letters from 
 him, signed with his name, but written and 
 signed by another’s pen ; the diction of 
 them showed that the strength of his mind 
 had not left him. In one written the §6th 
 of September, after minutely describing 
 his health and feelings, he says, ‘ In conse- 
 quence of the foregoing, I conclude myself 
 nine-tenths dead ; and the greatest favour 
 the Almighty can do me, as I think, will 
 be to complete the other part ; but as it is 
 likely to be a lingering illness, it is only in 
 his power to say when that is likely to hap- 
 pen’.” 
 
 Mr. Smeaton had a warmth of expression 
 that might appear to those who did not 
 know him well to border on harshness ; but 
 those more intimately acquainted with him 
 knew that it arose from the intense applica- 
 tion of his mind, which was always in the 
 pursuit of truth, or engaged in investigating 
 difficult subjects. He would sometimes 
 break out hastily, when any thing was said 
 that did not tally with his ideas ; and he 
 would not give up any thing he argued for, 
 till his, mind was convinced by sound rea- 
 soning. In all the social duties of life he 
 was exemplary ; he was a most affectionate 
 husband, a good father, a warm, zealous, 
 and sincere friend, always ready to assist 
 those he respected, and often before it was 
 pointed out to him in what way he could 
 serve them. He was a lover and encou- 
 rager of merit wherever he found it ; and 
 many men are in a great measure indebted 
 to his assistance and advice for their present 
 situation. As a companion, he was always 
 entertaining and instructive ; and none 
 could spend any time in his presence with- 
 out improvement. 
 
 As a civil engineer, he was perhaps unri- 
 valled, certainly not excelled by any one, 
 either of the present or former times. His 
 building the Eddystone light house, were 
 there no other monument of his fame, 
 would establish his character. The Eddy- 
 stone rocks have obtained their name from 
 the great variety of contrary sets of the 
 tide or current in their vicinitv. They are 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 
 SME 
 
 situated nearly S. S. W. from the middle of 
 Plymoutli Sound. Their distance from the 
 port of Plymouth is about 14 miles. They . 
 are almost in the line which joins the Start 
 and the Lizard Points ; and as they lie 
 nearly in the direction of vessels coasting 
 up and down the channel, they were un- 
 avoidably, before the establishnient of a 
 light-house there, very dangerous, and ofteri 
 fatal to ships. Their situation with reprd 
 to the Bay of Biscay &nd the Atlantic is 
 such, that they lie open to the swells of the 
 bay and ocean, from all the south-western 
 points of the compass ; so that all the heavy 
 seas from the south-west quarter come un- 
 controlled upon the Eddystone rocks, and 
 break upon them with the utmost fury. 
 Sometimes, when the' sea is to all appear- 
 ance smooth and 6ven, and its surface un- 
 ruffled by the slightest breeze, the ground 
 swell meeting the slope of the rocks, the 
 sea beats upon them in a frightful manner, 
 so as not only to obstruct any work being 
 done on the rock, or even landing upon it, 
 when, figuratively speaking, you might go 
 to sea in a walnntTshell. That circum- 
 stances fraught with danger surrounding it 
 should excite mariners to wish for a light- 
 house, is not wonderful; but the danger at- 
 tending the erection leads us to wonder 
 that any ohe could be found hardy enougli 
 to undertake it. Such a man was fii-st 
 found in the person of Mr. H. Winstanley, 
 who, in the year 1696, was furnished by th« 
 Trinity House with the necessary powers. 
 
 In 1700 it was finished ; but in the great 
 storm of November, 1703, it was destroyed, 
 and the projector perished in the ruins. In 
 1709 another, upon a different construction, 
 was erected by a Mr. Rudyerd, which, in 
 1755, was unfortunately consumed by fire. 
 
 The next building was, as we have seen, un- 
 der the direction of Mr. Smeaton, who, 
 having considered the errors of the former 
 constructions,hasjudiciously guarded against 
 them, and erected a building, the demoli- 
 tion of which seems little to be dreaded, 
 unless the rock on which it is erected 
 should perish with it. Of his works, in 
 constructing bridges, harbours, mills, en- 
 gines, &c. &c. it were endless to speak. 
 
 Of his inventions and improvements of phi- 
 losophical instruments, as of the air pump, 
 the pyrometer, hygrometer, &c. &c. some 
 idea may be formed from the list of his 
 writings. See Hutton’s Diet. 
 
 SMELL, sense of. The sense of smell is 
 very nearly allied to that of taste, and in- 
 deed many of those pleasurable sensations 
 N 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
t 
 
 SME 
 
 which are usually referred to the taste, as 
 being received during the act of eating and 
 swallowing, really belong to the smell. The 
 organ of smell is a membrane or skin, over- 
 spread with nerves, which line the internal 
 cavity of the nostrils, and the surface and 
 cavities of the bones which join the nostrils. 
 This is affected both by the odorous parti- 
 cles which proceed from external substances 
 tlu'ough the nose, and by those which come 
 from the substances which are eaten ; for 
 there is a communication between the nose 
 and tlie back part of the mouth. The 
 pains of smell are obviously designed to as- 
 sist us in the proper choice of food, and 
 prompt us to avoid such noxious vapours, as 
 may render the air injurious to health or 
 life. It appears also, that offensive odours, 
 in various circumstances, contribute to ge- 
 nerate the sense of shame, decency, &c. 
 The pleasures of smell have a direct connec- 
 tion with those of taste. It is only neces- 
 sary, therefore, to add to what has been 
 said respecting the latter, that the pleasures 
 of smell which arise from the various pro- 
 ductions of nature, have a great share in the 
 formation and vividness of some of our men- 
 tal pleasures; particularly those which arise 
 from the view of rural objects and scenes, 
 and from the representations of them by 
 poetry and painting. 
 
 SMELTING, in metallurgy,, the fusion 
 or melting of the ores of metals, in order to 
 separate the metalline part from the earthy, 
 stony, and other parts. The art of fusing the 
 ores after roasting, is the principal and most 
 important of metallurgic operations, all the 
 other being preliminary or preparative to 
 this. The whole attention of the miner is 
 directed towards this process ; to this alt 
 his efforts are applied, because it affords 
 the truly useful product to which his hopes 
 are directed. Though it consists, in gene- 
 ral, in fusing the roasted ore to extract the 
 metal, and in this point of view it seems to 
 present a simple and uniform operation, 
 there is, nevei theless, no operation which 
 differs so much in its circumstances, accord- 
 ing to the nature of the metal, and the ore, 
 required to be treated, and according to 
 the furnaces made use of, the nature and 
 quantity of the combustible employed, the 
 energy, duration, and administration of the 
 fire, the addition of an appropriate flux, the 
 heat being applied in the midst of the coal, 
 or in crucibles, the period, the length of 
 time, and the mode of casting the fused 
 metal ; every thing, even the form of tlie 
 metal which flows out, varies, and pre- 
 
 SMO 
 
 sents to tlie observer very remarkable dif 
 ferencos. 
 
 SMILAX, in botany, a genus of the Dio- 
 ecia Hexandria class and order. Natural 
 order of Sarmentace®. Asparagi, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx six-leaved ; co- 
 rolla none : female, styles three ; berry 
 three celled ; seeds two. There are twenty- 
 three species; of these, the S. sarsapa- 
 rilla, which affords the sarsaparilla root, is 
 tlie most valuable. This species has stems 
 cf the thickness of a man’s finger ; tliey are 
 jointed, triangular, and beset with crooked 
 spines ; the leaves are alternate, smooth, 
 and shining on the upper side ; on the other 
 side are three nerves or cost®, with sundry 
 small crooked spines ; the flower is yel- 
 low, mixed with red ; the fruit is a black 
 berry, containing several brown seeds. Sar- 
 saparilla delights in low moist grounds, 
 and near the banks of rivers. The roots 
 run superficially under the surface of the 
 ground. The gatherers have only to loosen 
 the soil a little, and to draw out the long 
 fibres with a wooden hook. In this man- 
 ner they proceed till the whole root is got 
 out : it is then cleared of the mud, dried, 
 and made into bundles. The sensible qua- 
 lities of sarsaparilla are mucilaginons and 
 farinaceous, with a slight degree of acri- 
 mony ; the latter, however, is so slight, as 
 not to be perceived by many ; and it i» 
 thonglit that its medicinal powers may fairly 
 be ascribed to its demulcent and farinaceous 
 qualities. The China, or oriental species 
 of China root, has roundish, prickly stalks, 
 and red berries, and is a native of China 
 and Japan. The pseudo-China, or occiden- 
 tal species, has rounder, smooth stalks, and 
 black berries, grows wild in Jamaica and 
 Virginia, and bears the colds of our own 
 climate. At present the Cliina root is very 
 rarely made use of, having, for some time, 
 given place to sarsaparilla, which is sup- 
 posed to be more effectual. Prosper Alpi- 
 nus informs us, that this root is in great es- 
 teem among the Egyptian women for pro- 
 curing fatness and plumpness. 
 
 SMITHIA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of James Edward Smith, M.D.P.L. S. 
 a genus of the Diadelphia Decandria class 
 and order. Natural order of Papilionace® 
 or Leguminosoe. Essential character: le- 
 gume with distinct, one-seeded joints, con- 
 nected by the style ; stamina divided into 
 two equal bodies. There is only one spe- 
 cies, viz. S. sensitiva, annual smithia, a na- 
 tive of the East Indies. 
 
 SMOKE ioc/c, is a very simple and com- 
 
SMY 
 
 aiodioiis machine in a kitchen ; so called 
 from its being moved by means of tlie 
 smoke, or rarefied air, moving np the chim- 
 ney, and striking against the tail of the ho- 
 rizontal wheel, which, being inclined to the 
 horizon, is thereby moved about the axis of 
 the wheel, together with the pinion which 
 carries the wiiecl, and this carries the cliain 
 which turns the spit. The wheel should be 
 placed in the narrow part of the chimney, 
 where the motion of the smoke is swiftest, 
 and the greatest part of it must be made 
 strike upon the sails. 
 
 The manner of operation of this useful 
 machine is easily understood. The air which 
 contributes to the burning of the fuel, and 
 passes through the midst ol it, is greatly 
 heated, and expanding prodigiously in bulk, 
 becomes lighter than the neighbotiriug air, 
 and is therefore pushed by it up the chim- 
 ney. In like manner, all the air which 
 comes near the fire is heated, expanded, be- 
 comes lighter, and is driven up the chim- 
 ney. This is called the draught or suction ; 
 but would, with greater propriety, be term- 
 ed the drift of the chimney. As the chim- 
 ney gradually contracts in its dimensions, 
 and as the same quantity of heated air 
 passes through every section of it, it is plain 
 that the rapidity of its ascent must be 
 greatest in the narrowest place. There 
 the fly should be placed, because it will 
 there be exposed to the strongest current. 
 This air, striking the fly vines obliquely, 
 pushes them aside, and thus turns them 
 round with a considerable force. If the 
 joint of meat is exactly balanced on the 
 spit, it is plain, that the only resistance to 
 the motion of the fly is what arises from the 
 friction of the pivots of the upright spindle, 
 the friction of the pinion and wheel, the 
 friction of the pivots of the horizontal axis, 
 the friction of the small end of the spit, and 
 the friction of the chain in the two pulleys. 
 The whole of this is but a mere trifle. But 
 there is frequently a considerable inequality 
 in the weight of the meat on difierent sides 
 of the spit: there must therefore be a suf- 
 ficient overplus of force in the impulse of 
 the ascending air on the vanes of the fly, to 
 overcome this want of equilibrium occa- 
 sioned by the unskilfulness or negligence of 
 the cook. 
 
 SMUT, a disease in corn, which destroys 
 entirely the germ and substance of the 
 grain. 
 
 SMYRNIUM, in botany, Alexanders, a 
 genus of the Pentandria Digynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Umbellatse, or 
 
 SNO 
 
 Umbelliferaj, Essential character : petals 
 acuminate, keeled; fruit oblong, striated. 
 There are seven species. 
 
 SNAFFLE, in the manege, is a very 
 slender bit-mouth, without any branches, 
 much used in England ; the true bridles be- 
 ing reserved for the service of war. 
 
 SNAIL. See Limax. 
 
 SNAKE. See Anguis. The common 
 snake is a harmless and iiioifensive animal, 
 and might even be kept tame in houses to 
 destroy vermin. 
 
 SNAKING, in naval affairs, is the wind- 
 ing small ropes spirally round a large one, 
 the former lying in the intervals between 
 the strands of the latter, and is frequently 
 termed w'orming. 
 
 SNOW, a well-known substance, formed 
 by the freezing of the vapours in the atmos- 
 phere. It differs from hail and hoar-frost, 
 in being cis it were crystallized, which they 
 are not. This appears on examining a 
 flake of snow' by a magnifying glass ; vvheii 
 the whole of it will appear to be composed 
 of fine shining spicula, diverging like rays 
 from a centre. As the flakes fall down 
 through the atmosphere, they are conti- 
 nually joined by more of these radiated 
 spicula, and thus increase in bulk like the 
 drops of rain or hail-stones. Dr. Grew, in 
 a discourse of the nature of snow, observes, 
 that many parts thereof are of a regular 
 figure, for the most part stars of six points, 
 and are as perfect and transparent ice as 
 any we see on a pond, &c. Upon each of 
 these points are other collateral points, set 
 at the same angles as the main points them- 
 selves : among which there are divers other 
 irregular, which are chiefly broken points, 
 and fragments of the regular ones. Others 
 also, by various winds, seemed to have 
 been thawed, and frozen again into irre- 
 gular clusters; so that it seems as if the 
 whole body of snow were an infinite mass 
 of icicles irregularly figured : that is, a 
 cloud of vapours being gathered into drops, 
 the said drops forthwith descend ; upon 
 which descent, meeting with a freezing air as 
 they pass through a colder region, each drop 
 is immediately frozen into an icicle, shootifig 
 itself forth into several points ; but these 
 still continuing their descent, and meetiug 
 with some intermitting gales of warmer 
 air, or in their continual waftage to and fro 
 touching upon each other, some of them 
 are a little thaw'ed, blunted, and agaiu 
 frozen into clusters, or entangled so as to 
 fall down in what we call flakes. The 
 lightness of snow, although, it is firm iee, 
 N 2 
 
SNO 
 
 is owing to tlie excess of its snrface in com- 
 ,parison to the matter contained under it : 
 as gold itself may be extended in surface 
 till it will ride upon the least breaitb of air. 
 The whiteness of snow is owing to the small 
 particles into which it is divided ; for ice, 
 when ponnded, will become equally white. 
 According to Beccaria, clouds of snow dif- 
 fer in nothing from clouds of rain, but in 
 the circumstance of cold that freezes them. 
 Botli the regular diffusion of the snow, and 
 the regularity of the structure of its parts, 
 (particularly some figures of snow or bail 
 wliich fall about Turin, and which he calls 
 rosette), show that clouds of snow are acted 
 iiI)on by some uniform cause like electri- 
 city ; and lie endeavours to show how elec- 
 tricity is capable of forming these figures. 
 He was confirmed in his conjectures by ob- 
 serving, tliat his apparatus for observing 
 the electricity of the atmosphere never 
 failed to be electrified by snow as well 
 as rain. Piofessor Winthrop sometimes 
 found his apparatus electrified by snow 
 when driven about by the wind, though 
 it had not been affected by it when the 
 snow itself was falling. A more intense 
 electricity, according to Beccaria, unites 
 the particles of hail more closely than the 
 more moderate electricity does those of 
 snow, in the same manner as we see, that 
 the drops of rain which fail from thunder- 
 clouds are larger than those which fall from 
 others, though the former descend through 
 a less space. 
 
 AVere we to judge from appearances 
 only, we might imagine, that so far from 
 being useful to the earth, the cold humi- 
 dity of snow would be detrimental to ve- 
 getation. But the experience of all asres 
 asserts the contrary. Snow, particularly 
 in those northern regions where the giound 
 IS covered with it for several months, fruc- 
 tifies the earth, by guarding the corn or 
 other vegetables from the intenser cold of 
 the air,' .and especially from the cold pierc- 
 ing winds. It has been a vulgar opinion, 
 veiy generally received, that snow fertilizes 
 the land on which it falls more than rain, 
 in consequence of the nitrous salts, which it 
 is stqrposed to acquire by freezing. But it 
 appears from the experiments of Margraaf, 
 in the year 1731, that the chemical differ- 
 ence between rain and snow water is ex- 
 ceedingly small ; that the latter is somewhat 
 less nitrons, and contains a somewhat le.'s 
 proportion of earth than the former; but 
 lieitlier. of them contain either earth, or any 
 kind of salt, in any quantity which can be 
 
 SNO 
 
 sensibly efficacious in promoting vegeta- 
 tion. Allowing, therefore, that nitre is a 
 fertilizer of land, which many are upon 
 good grounds disposed utterly to deny, yet 
 so very small is the quantity of it contained 
 in snow, that' it cannot be supposed to pro- 
 mote the vegetation of plants upon which 
 the snow has fallen. The peculiar agency 
 of snow, as a fertilizer in preference to rain, 
 may admit of a very rational explanation, 
 without recurring to nitrous salts, supposed 
 to be contained in it. It may be ascribed 
 to its furnishing a covering to the roots of 
 vegetables, by which they are guarded from 
 the influence of the atmospherical cold, and 
 the interna! heat of the earth is prevented 
 from escaping. The internal parts of the. 
 earth is heated uniformly to the forty- 
 •eighlh degree of Fahrenreit’s thermometer. 
 This degree of heat is greater than that 
 in which the w'atery juices of vegetables 
 freeze, and it is propagated from the inward 
 parts of the earth to the surface, on which 
 the vegetables grow. The atmosphere be- 
 ing variably heated by the action of the sun 
 in different climates, and in the same cli- 
 mate at different seasons, communicates to 
 the snrface of the earth, and to some dis- 
 tance below it, the degree of heat or cold 
 which prevails in itself. Different vegeta- 
 bles are able to preserve life under different 
 degrees of cold, but all of them perish when 
 the cold which reaches their loots is ex- 
 treme. Providence has, therefore, in the cold- 
 est climates, provided a covering of snow for 
 the roots of vegetables, by which they are 
 protected from the influence of the atmos- 
 pherical cold. The snow keeps in the in- 
 ternal lieat of the earth, which surround* 
 the roots of vegetables, and defends them 
 from the cold of the atmosphere. 
 
 Snow grotto, an excavation made by 
 the waters on the side of Mount Etna, 
 by making their way under the layers of 
 lava, and by canying away the bed of puz- 
 zolana below them. It occurred to the 
 proprietor, tliat this place was very suit- 
 able for a magazine of snow : for in Sicily, 
 at Naples, and particularly at Malta, they 
 are obliged, for want of ice, to make use 
 of snow for cooling their wine, sherbet, and 
 other liquors, and for making sweetmeats. 
 This grotto was hired or bought by the 
 Knights of Malta, who having neither ice 
 nor snow on the burning rock wliich they 
 inhabit, have hired several caverns on Et- 
 na, in which people, whom they employ, 
 collect and preserve quantities of snow, to 
 be sent to Malta when needed. This grotto 
 
SNO 
 
 has therefore been repaired within at the 
 expense, of that order : flights of steps are 
 cut into it, as well as two openings from 
 above, by which they throw in the snow, 
 and through which the grotto is enlight- 
 ened. Above the grotto they have also 
 levelled a piece of ground of considerable 
 extent ; this they have inclosed with thick 
 and lofty wails, so that when the winds, 
 which at this elevation blow with great vio- 
 lence, carry the snow from the higher parts 
 of the mountain, and deposit it in this en- 
 closure, it is retained and amassed by the 
 walls. The people then remove it into the 
 grotto through the two openings, and it is 
 there laid up, and preserved in such a man- 
 ner as to resist the force of the summer 
 beats ; as the layers of lava with which the 
 grotto is arched above prevent them from 
 making any impression. 
 
 When the seasbn for exporting the snow 
 eomes on, it is put into large bags, into 
 which it is pressed as closely as possible ; 
 it is then carried by men out of the grotto, 
 and laid upon mules, which convey it to the 
 shore, where small vessels are waiting to 
 carry it away. But before those lumps of 
 snow' are put into bags, they are wrapped 
 in fresh leaves ; so that while they are con- 
 veyed from the grotto to the shore, the 
 leaves may prevent the rays of the sun from 
 making any impression upon them. The 
 Sicilians carry on a considerable trade in 
 snow, which affords employment to some 
 thousands of mules, horses, and men. They 
 have magazines of it on the summits of their 
 loftiest mountains ; from which they distri- 
 bute it through all their cities, towns, and 
 houses ; for every person in the island 
 makes use of snow. They consider the 
 practice of cooling their liquors as abso- 
 lutely necessary for the preservation of 
 health ; and in a climate the heat of which 
 is constantly relaxing tlie fibres, cooling 
 liquors, by communicating a proper tone 
 to the fibres of the stomach, must greatly 
 strengfhen them for the performance of 
 their functions. 
 
 Snow, iu naval affairs, a vessel equipped 
 with two masts, resembling the main and 
 fore-masts of a ship, and a third small mast 
 just abaft the main-mast, carrying a sail 
 nearly similar to a ship’s mizen ; the foot of 
 this mast is ft.-ied in a block of wood, iqton 
 deck, and the. lead is attached to the after- 
 part of the main top. The sail is called 
 a try-sail, and hence the mast is termed 
 a try sail-mast. When sloops of w'ar are 
 rigged as snows, they are furnished with 
 
 SOA 
 
 a strong rope, called a horse, instead of the 
 try-siiil-mast, the fore pat t of the sail being 
 attached by rings to it. This is generally 
 the largest of all two masted vessels em- 
 ployed by Europeans, and is reckoned the 
 most convenient for navigation. See Fal- 
 coner’s Marine Dictionary. 
 
 SNUFF, a powder chiefly made of to- 
 bacco, the use of which is too well known 
 to need any description here. However, 
 though tobacco be the basis of snuff, yet 
 a multiplicity of other matters are often 
 added, to give it an agreeable scent. The 
 kinds of snuff being endless, we shall only 
 observe, that there are three grand sorts, 
 viz. that which is only granulated, and 
 called rappee ; that which is reduced to a 
 very flue powder, and called Scotch, Span- 
 ish, &c. snuff ; and the third, a coarse kind, 
 remaining after sifting the second sort, 
 
 SO.\P, a composition of caustic fixed al- 
 kaline salt and oil, or other grease. It is 
 sometimes hard and dry, sometimes soft and 
 liquid ; much used in washing, and other 
 purposes, as well in the arts and manufac- 
 tures as in domestic purposes. The manu- 
 facture of soap in and near London first 
 began iu the year 15S!4: before this our 
 countrymen imported the best soap from 
 foreign parts, though they were supplied 
 with an inferior sort from Bristol, 
 
 The materials used in soap-making arc, 
 oil of any kind, vegetable or animal; and 
 fixed alkali, either soda or potash. These 
 (that is, oil and alkali) enter into the com- 
 position of every soap, and, besides, lime is 
 e.ssential to give the alkali the requisite de- 
 gree of causticity : common salt is also em- 
 ployed in most of the pota.sh soaps. 
 
 The general process for soap-making ii>. 
 on the whole very simple; and consists, 
 fir st, in making a caustic, or partly caustic, 
 ley, with the alkali and lime ; next, of boil- 
 ing the ley with the oil till they are perfectly 
 united into a smooth uniform soap; and 
 Iqstly, of drying the soap till it is become of 
 a proper consistence for use. But though 
 the genei al process is simple, and success to 
 a certain degr ee may be insured by any one 
 who prrts the. proper ingredients together'in 
 the plainest manner, ther e are a consider- 
 able ttrtnrber of precarttions, and many nri- 
 mite atlentiorrs, required to make the best 
 and most per feet article with tire greatest 
 economy. The simirlest, and on the whole 
 tire most bearttifirl, soap is the fine white 
 soap prepared from olive oil and soda, ex- 
 tracted from the best barilla, which is ma- 
 nufactured very largely in the corriitries 
 
so A 
 
 where the olive grows, especially in the 
 south of France, in some parts of Italy, and 
 in Tripoli. 
 
 Soap is manufactured in this country prin- 
 cipally from tallow, or any other fat ; and 
 the alkali employed is either barilla or 
 pearl-ash, or a mixture of the two, according 
 to the price and practice of the manufactu- 
 rer. But as potash alone will not make a 
 stiff soap, recourse is had to the action of 
 common salt, which, when added after the 
 potash and oil are united, produces a separa- 
 tion of the compound from the water incor- 
 porated with it, hardens it, and renders it 
 equal to the soda soaps. The following is 
 the usual method of making the common 
 white and yellow soap used in domestic 
 purposes. White hard soap is generally 
 made with three separate charges of ley. 
 The potash (supposing this to be the alkali) 
 is previously dissolved with water in a small 
 boiler, with a little fire, and the solution is 
 poured over a vat, containing common wood 
 ashes mixed with lihie, which makes the 
 first and strongest ley. As soon as this has 
 run off, the ashes are turned, more lime is 
 added, and water is pumped on, which 
 forms the second, or weak ley. The large 
 boiler is then charged with the tallow, and 
 about two-thirds of the strong ley being 
 added, a moderate fire is kept up to incor- 
 porate the materials, which is known by 
 their running into a stiff glue. If this does 
 not take place in about seven hours (with 
 S9 cwt. of tallow in the boiler) more alkali 
 must be added. The tallow is then killed, 
 or saturated, and the fire is drawn, and the 
 materials allowed to remain at rest for a 
 short time. Common salt is then thrown 
 in, and stirred up wi^h long poles till it is 
 thoroughly incorporated, and till the matter 
 changes from a dark coloured glue to a thin 
 soapy substance. A brisk fire is then made, 
 and the materials boiled for a few minutes, 
 when the fire is again drawn, and the mate- 
 rials inf the boiler allowed to settle for an 
 hour and a half, during which the spent lees 
 sink to the bottom of the boiler, and are 
 pumped off. The second operation begins 
 with raising the fire, and adding to the 
 soapy mass the weak ley, which is to be 
 managed the same as at first, and again 
 brings it to the state of a glue, which a very 
 little salt will restore to the saponaceous 
 state, and after boiling and cooling the se- 
 cond lees are pumped off. In the third 
 operation, tire third part of the strong ley 
 which was reserved is added, which, as be- 
 fore, changes the mass to a thick glue, that 
 
 soc 
 
 must be grained with salt as before. The 
 contents are then boiled strongly for three 
 hours, more or less, till by taking samples 
 occasionally with a trowel, the soap feels 
 sufficiently hard and dry to the touch, and 
 the ley will be seen to run quite clear from 
 the soap on the trowel, leaving this latter in 
 round lumps. The boil of soap is then 
 finished, by pumping off the spent ley, and 
 scraping off a quantity of light froth from 
 the top of the soap, and the soap is fit for 
 framing. 
 
 Soap is soluble in alcohol. The solution 
 of soap is decomposed by all the acids, 
 which curdle it, or separate thp oil in the 
 form of white lumps. An excess of acid 
 re-dissolves the curd, and the oil is trans- 
 ferred to the acid ; but on boiling this solu- 
 tion, the oil separates entirely, and rises to 
 the surface. The solution is also curdled by 
 lime, barytic, or strontian water, and in this 
 case the curd consists of the oil united with 
 the earth, and concreted by this union. All 
 the soluble salts of these and the other 
 earthy bases equally deeompose soap water, 
 and form a curdy precipitate, which is the 
 reason why hard water, that always con- 
 tains sulphate of lime, and often other 
 earthy salts, immediately curdles soap, in- 
 stead of forming an uniform solution. The 
 metallic salts will produce the same effect,/ 
 and a combination of the oil and metallic 
 oxide is produced. See Aikin’s Diet. 
 
 SOCAGE, a tenure of lands by or for 
 certain inferior services of husbandry to be 
 performed to the lord of the'fee. This was 
 a tenure of so large an extent, that all the 
 lands in England, which were not held in 
 knight-service, were held in socage. Since 
 the time of Charles II. all the lands in Eng- 
 land are reduced to socage tenures. 
 
 SOCIETIES. This word includes a vast 
 circle of associations of men, calculated in 
 some instances to promote the cause of 
 science and literature, and in others intend- 
 ed for the benefit of the individuals and their, 
 families who compose them. 
 
 Of the former class are the Koyal and 
 Antiquarian Societies, and the more recent 
 establishments, under the term of institu- 
 tions. 
 
 Society, Royal, had its origin from 
 the voluntary intercourse of learned men, 
 who conceived that their pursuits might be 
 improved and forwarded by the communi- 
 cation of their thoughts and observations to 
 each other during their leisurehours. Dr.Wil- 
 kins, of Wadham College, Oxford, who en- 
 tertained the resident philosophers of tha^ 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 'Siniversity at his lodgings weekly, to this 
 feast of reason, deserves the honour of 
 founding the Society, as it was there the 
 jnore expanded idea ot future benefit to 
 the comnaunity was generated and matured, 
 and which would probably have been car- 
 ried into effect, had not the unhappy civil 
 war, during the reign of Charles I. banished 
 every laudable public intention from the 
 minds of the learned, and converted the 
 seat of learning into a military post. 
 
 Thus expelled from Oxford, we find that 
 ■many of the members of this infant society 
 afterwards resided in London, and still che- 
 rishing the plan, they contrived to meet at 
 Gresham C-ollege between the years 1658 
 and 1663. The evident advantages likely 
 to be derived from the labours of the philo- 
 sopher,, who was by this means compelled 
 to exert his best tacuUies to escape free 
 from the scrutinizing observations of his 
 brethren in science, to whom they were 
 -submitted, soon attracted the notice of 
 those who had sufficient influence at court 
 to procure a charter of incorporation, from 
 a monarch whose pursuits were widely dif- 
 ferent, and whicii was dated April 1663. 
 This act reflecting equal honour on the age 
 and nation, was accompanied by a declara- 
 tion from the King expressed witliin it, that 
 he wished to be considered in the threefold 
 cliaracter of founder, patron, and compa- 
 nion. 
 
 Thus the Society received the royal pro- 
 tection, and became a body politic, under 
 the direction of a president and council, 
 who were elected by the fellows or mem- 
 bers ; the latter also cannot obtain admis- 
 ■sion without the routine of being proposed 
 by persons already admitted, who, by this 
 meatis, become responsible for the propriety 
 of the recommendation ; and a formal ballot, 
 which takes place after a sufficient time has 
 elapsed, to enable the Society to judge 
 whether the candidate has just pretensions 
 to the honourable and learned distinction of 
 Fellow of the Koyal Society, “ for pro- 
 moting the knowledge of natural things and 
 useful experiments.” The liberality which 
 almost universally distinguishes the genuine 
 philosopher, soon furnished their apart- 
 ments with valuable and interesting, natu- 
 ral and artificial productions ; and they wer« 
 sufficiently numerous at the commencement 
 of the eighteenth century to compose a 
 folio catalogue, for which the public are 
 indebted to Dr. Grew ; since that period 
 the contributions have greatly multiplied, 
 and form a most important collection. 
 
 The meetings are now held weekly, for 
 the general purposes of the Society, 
 from the middle of November till July, 
 on Thursday evenings, between the hours 
 of eight and nine o’clock, when those 
 papers are read which the secretary re- 
 ceives in the interval between eacn meet- 
 ing, and exhibits such curiosities as may 
 be sent to liim for that purpose. Their 
 own declaration, made very long since, will 
 contribute to explain the nature of the 
 communications to this valuable institution, 
 which is calculated to “ make faitliful re- 
 cords of all the w'orks of nature or art 
 which come within their reach ; so that the 
 present, as well as after ages, may be enabled 
 to put a mark on errors which have been 
 strengthened by long prescription; to re- 
 store truths that have been neglected ; to 
 put those already known to more various 
 uses, and to make the way more passable to 
 what remains unrevealed,” 
 
 Society of Antiquarians. Though the ob- 
 ject of this body is of rather less importance 
 than that of the Royal Society, yet it has ob- 
 tained a celebrity little inferior, as much has 
 been done by it towards ascertaining the 
 changes which have taken place in the sur- 
 face of the earth, exclusive of the principal 
 purpose of the association, which is to gene- 
 rate a liking for the study of our national an- 
 tiquities ; so that, in the sequel, genuine his- 
 tory shall be preferred to the superficial in- 
 formation gleaned from monastic writers ; 
 this w ill be still further explained by the 
 preamble of the charter, which asserts that 
 the study of antiquity, and the history of 
 former times, has ever been esteemed 
 highly commendable and useful, not only to 
 improve the minds of men, but also to in- 
 cite them to virtuous and noble actions, 
 and such as may hereafter render them fa- 
 mous and worthy examples to late poste- 
 rity. 
 
 When we recollect, that from the time of 
 Henry VIII. learning began to be more ge- 
 nerally diffused throughout all ranks of peo- 
 ple, and that Leland, Stowe, Camden, Dng- 
 dale, Speed, Sir Robert Cotton, and many 
 other eminent antiquarians, used every en- 
 deavour to rouse their countrymen into a 
 relish for their pursuits, it may be readily 
 supposed, that attempts were made to form 
 a society which might more effectually pro- 
 mote individual views ; that such attempts 
 occurred we have sufficient evidence, but 
 that some adverse cause existed to prevent 
 their fruition equal proof exists, in the fact, 
 that the society did not receive the royal 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 sanction til! 1751, when George II. granted 
 the infant association a charter of incorpo- 
 ration, dated November 2, in the above 
 year ; this instrument declared the mo- 
 narch to be the founder and patron of the 
 society, which is enabled to receive and hold 
 in perpetuity any antiquities, books, manu- 
 scripts, &c. and lands, tenements, and here- 
 ditaments, not exceeding the yearly value 
 of one thousand pounds, which the genero- 
 sity of individuals may prompt them to 
 bestow on the members collectively ; or the 
 society may purchase property of the same 
 description, to the same amount, without li- 
 cence of alienation in mortmain. 
 
 The government of the society consists 
 of twenty-one persons, of whom one is con- 
 stituted the president, and the first so ho- 
 noured was the celebrated Martin Folkes, 
 Esq. who held that office till the 23d of 
 April, the day appointed for all subsequent 
 elections, which the charter declares shall 
 be annual. The first council under the 
 act of incorporation contained the names 
 of Viscount Fitz william, Lord Willoughby 
 of Parham, James West, Esq. Mr. Gale, 
 Mr. Wray, Dr. Browne Willis, Dr. Rawlin- 
 son, and Andes and Vertue, names that re- 
 flected honour on the nation, and were well 
 calculated to confirm the credit and stabi- 
 lity of the society, which the King ordained 
 should be composed of men of aeknow- - 
 ledged abilities, judging from the following 
 excellent criterion of their pretensions, 
 
 “ by how much any person shall be more 
 excelling in the knowledge of the antiquities 
 and history of this and other nations ; by 
 how much the more they are desirous to 
 promote the honour, business, and emolu- 
 ments of this society ; and by how much 
 the more eminent they shall be for piety, 
 virtue, integrity, and loyalty ; by so much 
 the more fit and worthy shall such person 
 be judged of being elected and admitted 
 into the said society.” 
 
 Their transactions, as a body, are under 
 the control of an elective director, who 
 superintends the progress of intended works, 
 of which the Society have published fifteen 
 quarto volumes under the title Archaeologia, 
 illustrated with engravings, three of Ve- 
 tusta Monumenta, and a very considerable 
 number of separate prints, and particularly 
 of elevations of cathedrals. 
 
 The general meetings of the society are 
 held on every Thursday evening between 
 the months of November and July, and im- 
 piediately before the sitting of the Royal 
 gociety, whose apartments are separated 
 
 by an anti-room, common to both, from 
 those belonging to the Antiquarians, in So- 
 merset House; in the left wing of which 
 the latter have an excellent library, open 
 to the fellows from ten till four o’clock 
 every day, who have the further privilege 
 of borrowing books for any time not ex- 
 ceeding a month, by a written application 
 at a general meeting, or to the secretary 
 during tlie recess. 
 
 Similar to the proceedings of the Royal 
 Society, all communications mast be made 
 to the secretary', who reads those thought 
 to possess sufficient merit, and in the same 
 manner exhibits fragments of antiquity and 
 drawings, all which are heard and exa- 
 mined in profound silence. 
 
 Society for the encouragement of Arts, 
 Manufactures, and Commerce. This institu- 
 tion originated from the truly patriotic 
 views of several w'orthy members of the 
 community, who were, sensible that rewards 
 from a society formed of the noble, the 
 rich, and the learned, were better calcu- 
 lated to produce emulation in every de- 
 partment of the pursuits mentioned in the 
 title of it, than the mere prospect of advan- 
 tage to be derived from the employment of 
 individuals. The idea seems to have met 
 the approbation of the public, and a very 
 short time elapsed ere sufficient sums of 
 money were procured to set this useful 
 and respectable body in motion : we now 
 find them fixed in a superb mansion, part 
 of the Adelphi Buildings, splendidly adorn- 
 ed with paintings presented by the late Mr. 
 Barry, the work of his own pencil, and sur- 
 rounded by imraerons models of articles, 
 which render their inventors memorable, 
 and their patrons more honourable mem- 
 bers of society than the most adventurous 
 military heroes of ancient or modern 
 times. 
 
 Subscriptions for life, and by the year, and 
 some other resources, supply the wants of 
 the institution, which are confined to the 
 actual expenses of their hall, their officers, 
 and servants, and the rewards honorary and 
 pecuniary. In explaining their motives, 
 they say their object is to promote the 
 arts, manufactures, and commerce of this 
 kingdom, by giving rewards for all such 
 useful inventions, discoveries, or improve- 
 ments, as tend to that purpose ; and in 
 piii’suance of this plan, the society has 
 already expended between forty and fifty 
 thousand pounds, advanced by the volun- 
 tary subscription of their members, and 
 legacies bequeathed. The inauner in which 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 the above vast sum has been distributed 
 is most honourably explained by the secre- 
 tary and other officers at the hall, and the 
 register, exhibited at the same time, will 
 show the very great advantages which the 
 public derives from the institution. Ihe 
 meetings of the society are held evety 
 Wednesday, at seven o’clock in the even- 
 ing, from October to June, and the various 
 committees on other evenings during the 
 session. Each member has the privilege, 
 on any weekly meeting, of proposing a can- 
 didate for admission, provided three mem- 
 bers sign -the written instrument prescribed 
 for that purpose. Peers of the realm, or 
 lords of parliament, are ballotted for imme- 
 diately upon being proposed, but the names 
 of all others must be inserted in a list which 
 the secretary suspends in the meeting room ; 
 the person is then ballotted for, and if two 
 thirds of the members present vote in his 
 favour, he becomes a perpetual member 
 on paying twenty guineas, or a subscribing 
 member upon payment of any sum amount- 
 ing to not less than two guineas per annum. 
 Every member is admitted to participate 
 in all the transactions of the society, and 
 may attend and vote at the several com- 
 mittees; besides which, he has the privi- 
 lege, at the weekly meetings, of proposing 
 two persons as auditors of the general ac- 
 counts, and, by addressing a note to the 
 registrar, of introducing his friends to ex- 
 amine the numerous models, machines, and 
 productions, in different branches of arts, 
 manufactures, and commerce, for which 
 rewards have been bestowed ; and to in- 
 spect the magnificent series of moral and 
 historical paintings, so happily contrived 
 and completed by James Barry, Esq. 
 which, with some valuable busts and sta- 
 tues, decorate the great room. He has 
 also the use of a valuable library, and is 
 entitled to the annual volume of tlie So- 
 ciety’s Transactions. 
 
 Our limits will not permit us to give 
 more than the heads of the subjects for 
 which premiums are offered, as the ramifi- 
 cations of each are very numerous, in order 
 to render the operations of the society 
 as useful as possible. They are for plant- 
 ing and husbandry, containing fifty-seven 
 classes; for discoveries and improvements 
 in cliemistry, dying, and mineralogy, in 
 twenty eight classes; for promoting the 
 polite arts, including one class offered by 
 the will of John Stock, Esq. for sculpture, 
 twenty-two classes ; for encouraging and im- 
 proving manufactures, six classes; for in- 
 
 ventionti in mechanics, twelve classes ; ani 
 to these are added premiums for tlie advan- 
 tage of the British colonies, and the British 
 settlements in the East Indies, in thirty- 
 four classes. The premiums alluded to are 
 medals of gold and silver, gold and silver 
 pallets, and purses of ten, twenty, or thirty, 
 &c. guineas. 
 
 As the primary object of the society, in 
 offering these rewards, i,s to rouse the ener- 
 gy of individuals, and to give currency to 
 tlieir inventions and improvements which 
 appear to promise general benefit ; tlie so- 
 ciety is careful to acquaint tlie candidates 
 for them, “ that if tlie means by which the 
 respective objects are effected do require 
 an ejcpense or trouble too great for general 
 purposes, the society will not consider 
 itself as bound to give the offered reward ; 
 hut though it thus reserves the power of 
 giving, in all cases, such part only of any 
 premium as the performance shall be ad- 
 judged to deserve, or of withholding the 
 whole, if there be no merit; yet the candi- 
 dates may be assured, the society wi:l 
 always judge liberally of their several 
 claims.” The society requires that the 
 subjects, offered for obtaining the premi- 
 ums, should be delivered at tlieir house 
 without the names of the inventors or im- 
 provers, or any intimation by which they 
 may he discovered, and tliat each subject 
 thus offered shall liave some private mark 
 affixed, which mark must appear upon tlia 
 outside of a sealed paper, containing within 
 the claimant’s name, and address, to be de- 
 livered with the model, machine, &c, and 
 they very properly refuse to perform tlieir 
 part of this liberal compact, unless the can- 
 didate literally complies with these judi- 
 cious and necessary rules to preserve the 
 strictest impartiality. 
 
 The society open no papers except that cor- 
 responding to the mark wliich obtains a pre- 
 mium, unless it should in some case become 
 necessary for the determination of the claim ; 
 tlie remainder of the papers are returned 
 with the articles they belong to, if inquired 
 after by the mark within two years ; should 
 they not be detjiandcd at the close of that 
 period, they are publicly burnt, in the state 
 in wliich they were sent, during the sitting 
 of the society. The models that are consi- 
 dered wortliy of a premium, or bounty, be- 
 come the property of the Society, and when 
 either is granted f or a machine, tl.e pat ty 
 receiving it is expected to present the Insti- 
 tution with a perfect model. As it cannot 
 he expected that the funds of the society 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 sSiould amount to a sum equal to the claims 
 of very numerous applicants, its bounties 
 are necessarily confined to the residents of 
 Great Britain and Ireland, except an ex- 
 press intimation to the contrary occursj nor 
 can any person receive a premium who 
 has obtained a patent for his discovery or 
 improvement ; besides,' every person claim- 
 ing is expected to act in the same open and 
 ingenuous manner adopted by the society, 
 for should he be detected in any unfair 
 attempts to secure success, he not only for- 
 feits all pretensions for the time, but is ren- 
 dered incapable of future apjjlication. 
 
 The performances sent each year, which 
 have obtained rewards, are left in the pos- 
 session of the institution till after the pub- 
 lic distribution of them, but no member 
 can be a candidate for any thing more than 
 the honorary medal of the society. “ The 
 candidates are, in all cases, expected to 
 furnish a particular account of the subject 
 of their claims ; and where certificates are 
 required to be produced in claim of pre- 
 miums, they are to be expressed as clearly 
 as possible in the words of the respective 
 advertisements, and to be signed by per- 
 sons who have a positive knowledge of the 
 facts stated. Where premiums or bounties 
 are obtained, in consequence of specimens 
 produced, the society retains such part of 
 those specimens as it judges necessary ; at 
 the same time, making reasonable compen- 
 sation to the party concerned, who cannot 
 be admitted to any of the meetings of the 
 society, or its committees, or at their rooms, 
 after they have delivered their claims, un- 
 less they are summoned by the latter. The 
 stated periods for distributing the rewards 
 produce a most interesting series of spec- 
 tacles, which are not perhaps equalled by 
 the operations of any other society. 
 
 Were we to follow the subject of this 
 article to the extent it deserves, we should 
 enter into an account of the 
 
 SociETY/or the relief of persons confined 
 for small debts, which originated in the be- 
 nevolent mind of Dr. Dodd, and has been 
 .continued to the present moment with great 
 success : and of the 
 
 Society, Royal Humane, for the recovery 
 of persons from supposed death, and of various 
 .others under different denominations, ex- 
 clusive of the 
 
 Societies, benefit, which have recently, 
 jmder the authority of an act of parliament, 
 been established throughout the kingdom ; 
 iand which deserve every possible encourage- 
 pent, as by their operation the poorest la- 
 
 bourer may, by the weekly deposit of a very 
 small portion of his earnings, assist in form- 
 ing a fund that will, in the event of illness, 
 afford him every comfort, and a decent fu- 
 neral should it prove fatal. 
 
 Several most respectable and laudable 
 societies have lately been founded, as the 
 London Institution, the Surry Institution, 
 the Russell Institution, and the Royal Insti- 
 tution; of the Royal and London Institu- 
 tions we shall proceed to give some account. 
 
 Royal Institution. Tlie immediate 
 origin of this important society will be best 
 explained by the following short extract 
 from a letter written by Count Rumford, 
 in 1799, to the Committee of the society, 
 for “ bettering the condition of the poor.” 
 “ Inclosed I have the honour to send you 
 a corrected copy of the proposals I took 
 the liberty of laying before you on Thurs- 
 day last, for forming in this capital, by 
 private subscription, a public institution 
 for diffusing the knowledge, and facilitating 
 the general and speedy introduction of new 
 and useful mechanical inventions and im- 
 provements ; and also for teaching, by re- 
 gular courses of philosophical lectures and 
 experiments, the application of the new dis- 
 coveries in science, to the improvement of 
 arts and manufactures, and in facilitating 
 the means of procuring the comforts and 
 conveniencies of life.” 
 
 The Committee made use of the first op- 
 portiinity of communicating the above pro- 
 posal to the society of which they were the 
 acting members ; the society immediately 
 appointed a new Committee to confer with 
 the Count, and they reported, “ that they 
 were satisfied that the institution proposed 
 by him would be extremely beneficial and 
 interesting to the community;” and they 
 recommended that, in order to procure the 
 necessary sum of money for establishing it, 
 subscribers of fifty guineas each should be- 
 come perpetual proprietors of the new in- 
 stitution ; and that each of those persons 
 should have perpetual transferable tickets 
 for the lectures, besides admission to the 
 apartments; further proposing, that when 
 thirty such subscribers were obtained they 
 should be invited to meet to receive the 
 plan, and elect managers for the future pro- 
 ceedings. This report was favourably re- 
 ceived and adopted, and a paper was im- 
 mediately printed, explaining the proposed 
 institution, and inviting those to whom it 
 was communicated to become subscribers 
 on the above terms ; fifty-eight names were 
 instantly procured, of the highest respect* 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 ability ; the usual measures were pursued in 
 order to give permanency and consequence 
 to the undertaking ; they were completely 
 successful, and we now find it flourishing 
 under the royal sanction, an honour to the 
 nation and inventor, to whom we should be 
 highly ungrateful did we omit to give an 
 outline of his original plan, which must of 
 course be the basis of all present and future 
 operations. 
 
 Spacious and airy rooms he considered 
 absolutely necessary for tlie reception and 
 exhibition of mechanical inventions and im- 
 provements, and those are to be confined 
 to such as tend to increase the csnveniencies 
 and comforts of life, to establish domestic 
 economy, improve taste, and useful indus- 
 try ; and in order to promote this part of 
 the views of the institution to the utmost, 
 he purposed that the best models should be 
 procured and shown in action, or actual 
 use, of cottage fire-places, and kitchen uten- 
 sils for cottagers, a complete kitchen for a 
 farm-house, with all the necessai’y utensils ; 
 a complete kitchen, with the utensils for 
 the family of a man of fortune ; a complete 
 laundry for a gentleman’s family ; and a 
 public hospital, including all the usual ap- 
 paratus; Russian, Swedish, and German 
 stoves ; open fire-places, on the best prin- 
 ciples, with fires in them ; ornamental and 
 economical grates ; stoves in elegant forms, 
 for halls, drawing and eating rooms, &c. 
 He next proposed to exhibit working mo- 
 dels of the steam-engine, on a reduced scale, 
 and of all the varieties of boilers for manu- 
 factories, hospitals, and ships, with improv- 
 ed fire places ; models of ventilatory for 
 rooms and ships; models of hot-houses, of 
 lime-kilns, of boilers, steam boilers, &c. for 
 preparing food for cattle stall-fed ; of cot- 
 tages, spinning-wheels, and looms, calculat- 
 ed for the advantage of the poor, or any 
 other machinery to employ them at home ; 
 models of all newly -invented machines and 
 implements likely to become beneficial in 
 husbandry ; models of variously constructed 
 bridges, and any others which the managers 
 may hereafter deem worthy of a place in so 
 extensive a collection : that this part of the 
 establishment may be rendered as useful as 
 possible, the Count proposed that illustra- 
 tive drawings should accompany the models, 
 &c. with a written description, and the 
 prices affixed at whicli the articles may be 
 procured. 
 
 Tlie second object of tlie institution is 
 the teaching the application of science to 
 the useful purposes of life; for this branch a 
 
 lecture room was to be provided, which 
 might serve at the same time for philosophi- 
 cal experiments, with a complete laboratory 
 and philosophical apparatus ; the room he 
 wished to contain convenient places for the 
 subscribers, which he recommends should 
 be well warmed and perfectly ventilated ; 
 the lecturers to be chosen by the managers, 
 with tlie utmost circumspection, that none 
 but men of eminence, in their respective 
 pursuits, should officiate in that most im- 
 portant and most distinguished situation ^ 
 and, he adds, “ no subjects will ever be 
 permitted to be discussed at these lectures 
 but such as are strictly scientifical, and im- 
 mediately connected with that particular 
 branch of science, publicly announced, as 
 the subject of the lecture.” Persons, by his 
 plan, are to be permitted to attend the lec- 
 tures on being recommended by a subscri- 
 ber, and paying a smalt sum. The subject 
 of tlie lectures he proposed should be on 
 the application of heat to the various pur- 
 poses of life ; the combustion of inflam- 
 mable bodies, and the relative quantities of 
 heat producible by the different substances 
 used as fuel, the management of fire, and 
 the economy of fuel ; the principles of the 
 warmth of clothing ; the effects of heat and 
 col(j, and of winds of each description on 
 the human body, in health and illness ; the 
 effects of vitiated air ; the means of render- 
 ing dwelling-houses healthy and comfortable ; 
 the procuring and preserving of ice, and con- 
 struction of ice-houses ; preserving food in 
 different seasons and climates ; cooling fluids 
 without the assistance of ice ; on’ vegetation, 
 and of the specific nature of those that are 
 produced by manures ; of composing the lat- 
 ter, and adapting it to particular soils ; the 
 nature of those changes that are produced on 
 substances used as food, and of that which 
 takes place in its digestion; the chemical 
 principles of tanning hides, and their im- 
 provement ; the chemical principles of the 
 art of making soap ; of the art of bleaching, 
 dying ; and, in general, of all the mecha- 
 nical arts, as they apply to the various 
 branches of manufacture. 
 
 At the first meeting of the managers, held 
 at the house of Sir Joseph Banks, March 9, 
 1799, when that gentleman presided, it was. 
 proposed and resolved, “ that the proposals 
 for forming the institution, as published by 
 Count Rumford, be approved and adopted 
 by the managers; subject, however, to such 
 partial modifications as shall be' by them 
 found to be necessary or useful.” 
 
 A Committee of Managers, chosen by 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 ballot from the proprietors, direct and go- 
 vern all the concerns of the institution ; the 
 three first of wliom serve three years, the 
 second two years, and the third one year ; 
 the whole nine being eligible for re-election, 
 as no emolumeiit whatever accrues to the 
 managers, they are considered as having 
 pledged their lionour to preserve the esta- 
 blishment inviolate ; they are required to 
 insure the effects under tlieir care from fire ; 
 to keep an exact account of all the pro- 
 perty, of the receipts and expenditure, 
 and minutes of all their proceedings ; be- 
 sides preserving the utmost order, and exer- 
 cising the strictest economy in all their pecu- 
 niary arts ; and they are forbidden to give 
 premiums, or rewards, to those who invent 
 any things usefiil, the design of the institu- 
 tion being exclusively for improvement and 
 the diffusion of knowledge. 
 
 A Committee of Visitors, selected from 
 the proprietors, totally distinct fiom the 
 managers, are appointed to inspect the pro- 
 ceedings of the latter. Such is the Royal 
 Institution ; from which we shall now turn 
 cur attention to the 
 
 London Institution, for the advance- 
 ment of Literature and the diffusion of useful 
 Knowledge. The original object of the pro- 
 moters of this undertaking was the acquisi- 
 tion of an extensive and valuable library, 
 to diffuse useful knowledge by the means 
 of lectures and experiments, and to esta- 
 blish a reading room for the reception and 
 use of foreign and domestic journals, perio- 
 dical works, pamphlets, and new publica- 
 tions. Having accomplished this, procured 
 H charter, and fairly set the machine in 
 motion, the following regulations were 
 adopted : aH the concerns of the institution 
 are governed by a Committee of Managers, 
 composed of the President, four Vice Pre- 
 sidents, twenty Managers, and tlie Secre- 
 tary, who are chosen by and from tlie pro- 
 prietors, one fourth of whom vacate their 
 offices annually, but may be re-elected. A 
 Committee of Visitors, consisting of tho 
 President and twelve other persons, none 
 of whom are managers, elected by the pro- 
 prietors from their own body, one foiii th 
 vacating their offices, as in the case of the 
 managers, have authority to examine, at 
 any time, every department of the institu- 
 tion, making tlieir report, at their own 
 option, either to the Corumittee of Mana- 
 gers, or Court of Proprietors; and five of 
 those concurring in the propriety of the 
 measure, may convene a special general 
 
 meeting of the proprietors, after giving 
 eight days previous notice. 
 
 An annual meeting is held in April, when 
 five auditors are appointed by and from the 
 proprietors, who are to examine the ac- 
 counts of the institution, and prepare a re- 
 port to be printed, and presented to each 
 proprietor previous to the next annual 
 meeting ; and at this meeting the election 
 of the president, one vice-president," five 
 managers, three visitors, the treasuier, and 
 secretary, takes place. The president, or a 
 vice-president, takes the chair ; but if neither 
 should happen to be present, a manager is 
 to preside : the secretary makes minutes of 
 the proceedings, which are read at the next 
 meeting, and if then approved of as correct, 
 are to be signed by the president, or chair- 
 man : notice is given eight days befpre the 
 meeting in four of the morning papers, and 
 papers for the intended ballot are prepared 
 at the house of the institution : many other 
 regulations are established on this head, and 
 for calling special meetings, whicii are high- 
 ly useful and proper, but are too long for 
 this article. The managers are empowered 
 to engage professors and lecturers, who are 
 to enter into courses on experimental philo- 
 sophy, chemistry, and on the different de- 
 partments of literature and the arts, which 
 are to be given annually, or more frequent- 
 ly if thought proper, at the rooms of the 
 establishment, at whicli time the managers 
 are required to be careful that no other 
 subjects are treated of except such as are 
 decidedly connected with the objects of it. 
 The managers are besides to elect and ap- 
 point annually, or otherwise, the professors, 
 lecturers, librarians, the assistant secret<iries, 
 and other officers, who are subject to iheir 
 control, and may be dismissed by them ; 
 and they have the same powers with all the 
 domestic servants of the institution; they 
 also direct all the affairs of the house,- and 
 make such regulations for it as tliey may 
 think proper; appoint a superintendant of 
 the inferior officeis, and their expenses ; 
 and may permit such attendants as they 
 please to reside in the house. Tlie mana- 
 gers are required to keep registers of all 
 their receipts and payments, their ow’u 
 transactions, and those of their agents, &c. 
 which, with the necessary vouchers, are to 
 be completed to the 31st of December an- 
 nually, and laid before the auditors by the 
 25th of March following. They have addi- 
 tional powers to admit foreigners of liigh 
 rank, or of distinguished scientific acquire- 
 
SOCIETIES. 
 
 fl<ents> to the lectures, library, ami other 
 rooms of the establishment. 'I heir meet- 
 ings must be' held in the bouse, nor can any 
 business be transacted by them unless three 
 members at least are present. Those meet- 
 ings are monthly; and .special meetings 
 may be called on the requisition of the pre- 
 sident, or two vice-presidents, or any three 
 managers ; the president, a vice-president, 
 or a manager, may preside on each of these 
 occasions ; and the president, or chairman, 
 is allowed a double vote when an equal di- 
 vision takes place on a question. 
 
 The visitors cannot act unless tliree are 
 assembled ; and they meet in March, June, 
 September, and December; but other spe- 
 cial meetings of them may be convened ; 
 they are to elect from their own body a 
 secretary, who is to make minutes of their 
 proceedings , but his office is entirely ho- 
 norary. 
 
 The number of proprietors is limited at 
 present to 1000: after the charter was ob- 
 tained, the sum to be demanded of such is 
 100 guineas ; and the method observed in 
 supplying the vacancies hitherto, has been 
 by vesting that power in the temporary 
 committee of managers, who deliheiately 
 add to the list persons whose merit and 
 abilities are likely to prove advantageous 
 to the institution ; their qualilication, how- 
 ever, is but seventy-five guineas. A candi- 
 date for this honour must be proposed by a 
 manager at the monthly meeting of that 
 body ; the name is suspended in the room 
 for one month,wben a ballot takes place, and 
 a majority of two thirds is required in favour 
 of tlie admission ; after he has thus become 
 a proprietor, he is entitled to his certificate, 
 the printed catalogue, other papers of the 
 institution, and tickets of admission, free of 
 any further expense. 
 
 The property of the institution is exclu- 
 sively vested in the proprietors, who, in 
 their collective state, are enabled to dispose 
 of it; consequently no sale, mortgage, or 
 any kind or manner of involving its interests, 
 can possibly occur, unle.ss by consent of the 
 •whole. In return for this, tliey, and the 
 subscribers and honorary members, have 
 the common right of admission to the lec- 
 tures, library, and reading rooms, -Ac. &c. 
 every day, and at all hours, from edgbt 
 o’clock in the morning till eleven at night, 
 with the usnal exceptions of Sundays, holi- 
 days, and Saturdays, when the doors are 
 closed at three o’clock in the afternoon ; the 
 proprietors have, besides, one transferrable 
 ticket each, which admits to the places al- 
 
 ready enumerated. A proprietor, who may 
 be desirous of transferring his right in the 
 institution, must inform the committee of 
 managers of the name and residence of the 
 intended purchaser in writing, who is bal- 
 lotted for at their next meeting, unless the 
 transfer should he to the possessor’s son, 
 who is admitted without that ceremony : if 
 the person should he rejected, another may 
 be proposed: and. if he also should be dis- 
 approved of, the proprietor wishing to sell 
 may claim from the funds of the institution 
 such sum as may then be fixed in the bye- 
 laws as the qualification of a proprietor. 
 Upon the decease of a proprietor, his execu- 
 tors may proceed, with some little varia- 
 tion, in the same manner prescribed for the 
 sale of a proprietorship. 
 
 Persons of rank and superior qualifica- 
 tions, both natives and foreigners, may be 
 elected honorary members ; but two nega- 
 tives will exclude them upon the ballot. 
 The rights of life and annual subscribers 
 necessarily extend no further than to the 
 use of the rooms and library, nor can they 
 be admitted such without the ceremony of 
 proposing and electing. Subscribers to the 
 library, or to particular courses of lectures, 
 are admitted upon terms fixed by the ma- 
 nagers, who also admit ladies in the same 
 way, but to the lectures only. ^ 
 
 A meeting of the proprietors was held in 
 October, 1805, when it was resolved, that 
 the sum of 40,0001. should as speedily as 
 possible be invested in the funds, in order 
 that a permanent basis might be founded to 
 secure the success of the institution ; other 
 sums were at the same time directed to be 
 placed in floating public securities, to be 
 disposed of when the produce should be 
 wanted. The rents, revenues, and annual 
 iqcome, to be applied for rent, taxes, sala- 
 ries, repairs, &c. &c. and in purchasing fo- 
 reign and domestic journals, periodical and 
 other new works, for the use of the reading 
 room : the surplus beyond these purposes 
 was directed by the meeting to be used for 
 augmenting the library and the philosophi- 
 cal apparatus. 
 
 We shall conclude our account of tliis ex- 
 cellent institution in the words of the rules 
 for the use of the library. “ No person 
 shall take down any of the books in the 
 library ; hut a note or card, containing the 
 name of the person applying, and the title 
 of the book, must be given to the librarian, 
 . or attendant, who shall supply him with the 
 hook required. No person shall take away 
 any book, belonging to the library.” A 
 
 I 
 
SOD 
 
 tnaniiscript catalogue is kept for the sub- 
 scribers in the room ; but a printed one is 
 hereafter to be prepared and delivered. 
 “No librarian, or attendant, or any other 
 olBcer or servant of the institution, shall re- 
 ceive any fee,, perquisite, or gratuity, on ac- 
 count of, or during the execution of their 
 office, under penalty of immediate dismis- 
 sion from the service of the institution.” 
 
 SOCMEN, or Sokemen, such tenants 
 as held their lands and tenements in socage ; 
 but the tenants in ancient demesne, seem 
 most properly to be called socmans. 
 
 SOCRATIC philosophy, the doctrines 
 and opinions, with regard to morality and 
 religion, maintained and taught by Socrates. 
 By the character of Socrates, left us by the 
 ancients, particularly by his scholar Plato, 
 Laertius, &.C. he appears to have been one 
 of the best and the wisest persons in all the 
 heathen world. To him is ascribed the 
 first introduction of moral piiilosophy, which 
 is what is meant by that usual saying, 
 “ that Socrates first called philosophy 
 down from heaven to earth that is, from 
 the contemplation of the heavens and hea- 
 venly bodies, he led men to consider them- 
 selves, their own passions, opinions, facul- 
 ties, duties, actions, &c. He wrote nothing 
 himself, yet all the Grecian sects of philo- 
 sophers refer their origin to his discipline, 
 particularly the Platonists, Peripatetics, 
 Academics, Cyrenaics, Stoics, &c. but the 
 greatest part of his philosophy we have in 
 the works of Plato. 
 
 SODA, in mineralogy and chemistry, is 
 a species of fossil salts, divided by mine- 
 ralogists into common and radiated natron. 
 Common natron is of a yellowish grey co- 
 lour ; it occurs in fine flakes, or in dusty 
 particles ; it has a sharp alkaline taste ; effer- 
 vesces with nitric acid ; is easily soluble in 
 water, and its solution changes blue vege- 
 table tinctures to a green ; it is fusible be- 
 fore the blow-pipe. It is found either as 
 an efflorescence on the surface of the soil ; 
 or on decomposing certain rocks ; or on 
 the sides and bottoms of lakes, that, become 
 dry by the heat and drought of summer. 
 It is obtained in great abundance in many 
 parts of Geiibany, and also in Egypt. That 
 from Egypt has, according to Klaproth, 
 yielded to analysis the following substances : 
 
 Carbonate of soda 32.6 
 
 Sulphate of soda 20.8 
 
 Min iate of soda 15.0 
 
 Water 31.6 
 
 100.0 
 
 SOH 
 
 The radiated natron is of a yellowisfe 
 grey colour : it occurs in crusts, and in 
 capillary or acicular crystals, which aie 
 aggregated on one another ; it is glistening 
 and translucent. This is found native abou 
 tw'o days journey from Fezzan, at the bot- 
 tom of a rocky mountain, forming crusts, 
 usually the thickness of a knife, and some- 
 times even an inch thick on the surface of 
 the earth. It is always crystalline. Be- 
 sides the great quantity carried to Egypt 
 and other parts, there are said to be fifty 
 tons annually sent to Tripoli. It is nort 
 adulterated with salt. Though there is 
 abundance of salt in this part of Africa, it 
 must be observed that the salt mines are 
 situated on the sea coast, whereas the radi- 
 ated natron, called trona, occurs at the dis- 
 tance of twenty-eight days journey up the 
 country. It is principally employed in the 
 manufacture of glass and soap, and also for 
 the washing of linen. This species has 
 been analyzed by Klaproth, and found to 
 
 consist of 
 
 Sulphate of soda 2.5 
 
 Pure soda 37.0 
 
 Carbonic acid .$ 8.0 
 
 Water of crystallization 22^.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 Soda was long regarded as a simple body ; 
 it has, however, at length been decomposed 
 by Mr. Davy. ■ See the article Potash, 
 where a brief account is given of the disco- 
 very. 
 
 SOFFITA, or Soffit, in architecture, 
 any plafond, or ceiling, formed of cross 
 beams of flying corniches, the square com- 
 partiments or pannels of which are enriched 
 with sculpture, painting, or gilding. 
 
 SOHO, the name of a set of works, or 
 manufactory of a variety of hard wares be- 
 longing to Mr. Boulton, situated on the 
 bordem of Staffordshire, within two miles 
 of Birmingham, now so justly celebrated as 
 to claim a short notice in this place. About 
 thirty or forty years ago the premises con- 
 sisted pf a small mill and a few obscure 
 dwellings. Mr. Boulton, in conjunction 
 with Mr. Fothergill, then his partner, at 
 ail expense of nine thousand pounds, erect- 
 ed 3 handsome and extensive edifice, with a 
 view of manufacturing metallic toys. The 
 first productions consisted of buttons, buc- 
 kles, watch-chains, trinkets, and such other 
 articles as were, peculiar to Birmingham. 
 Novelty, taste, and variety were, however, 
 always conspicuous j and plated wares, 
 
SOL 
 
 known by the name of Sheffield plate, 
 comprising a great variety of useful and 
 ornamental articles, became another per- 
 manent subject of manufacture. To open 
 channels for the consumption of these com- 
 modities, all the northern part of Europe 
 was explored by the mercantile partner, 
 Mr. Fothergill. A wide and extensive 
 correspondence was tlius established, the 
 nndertaking became well known, and the 
 manufacturer, by becoming his own mer- 
 chant, eventually enjoyed a double profit. 
 Impelled by an ardent attachment to the 
 arts, and by the patriotic ambition of form- 
 ing his favourite Soho into a fruitful semi- 
 nary of artists, the proprietor extended his 
 views, and men of taste and talents were 
 now sought for and liberally patronised. 
 A successful imitation of the French or 
 moulic ornaments, consisting of vases, tri- 
 pods, candelabra, &c. &c. extended the 
 celebrity of the works. Services of plate, 
 and other works in silver, both massive and 
 airy, were added, and an assay office was 
 established in Birmingham. Mr. Watt, 
 the ingenious improver of the steam-engine, 
 is now in partnership with Mr. Boulton, 
 and they carry on at Soho a manufactory 
 of steam-engines, not less beneficial to the 
 public than lucrative to themselves. This 
 valuable machine, the nature and excellen- 
 cies of which are described in another place, 
 (see Steam-engine), Mr. Boulton has ap- 
 plied to the operation of coining ; and to 
 the rolling of iron from bars into thin 
 sheets ; to the purposes of button-making, 
 and a number of other mechanical opera- 
 tions of the highest utility to the national 
 wealtli and prosperity. 
 
 SOIT FAIT COMMEIL EST DESIRe', he it 
 done as it is desired, a form used when the 
 king gives the royal assent to a private bill 
 preferred in parliament. 
 
 SOL, or Sou, a French coin made up of 
 copper mixed with a little silver. 
 
 Son, the sun, in astronomy, astrology, 
 &c. See Sun. 
 
 Son, in chemistry, is gold; tlius called 
 from an opinion that this metal is in a parti- 
 cular manner under the influence of the 
 sun. 
 
 Son, in heraldry, denotes Or, the golden 
 colour in the arms of sovereign princes. 
 
 SOLANDRA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Daniel Charles Solander, a Swede, 
 a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Essential character: calyx 
 bursting; corolla clavate, funnel form, very 
 large; berry four-celled, many-seeded. There 
 
 SOL 
 
 is but one species, viz. S. grandiflora, great 
 flowered Solandra, a native of Jamaica. 
 
 SOLANUM, in botany, nightshade, a 
 genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Luridse. So- 
 lanesB, Jussieu. Essential character: co- 
 rolla wheel-shaped; anthers subcoalescent, 
 opening at top by a double pore; berry 
 two-celled. There are ninety-three spe- 
 cies, of which the following are the most 
 remarkable. S. dulcamora, woody night- 
 shade, a native of Britain and of Africa, is a 
 slendSr climbing plant, rising to six or more 
 feet in height. The leaves are generally 
 oval, pointed, and of a deep-greeri colour ; 
 the flowers hang in loose clusters, of a pur- 
 ple colour, and divided into five pointed 
 segments. It grows in hedges W'ell sup- 
 plied with water, and flow’ers about the 
 end of June. On chewing the roots, we 
 first feel a bitter, then a sweet taste ; hence 
 the name. The berries are said to be poi- 
 sonous, and may easily be mistaken by 
 children for currants. The younger branches 
 are directed for use, and may be employed 
 either fresh or dried ; they should be gather- 
 ed in the autumn. This plant is generally 
 given in decoction or infusion. Several au- 
 thors take notice, that the dulcamora par- 
 takes of the milder powers of the night- 
 shade, joined to a resolvent and sapona- 
 ceous quality. S. nigrum, garden nightshade, 
 common in many places in Britain about 
 dunghills and waste places. It rises to 
 about two feet in height. The stalk herba- 
 ceous; the leavfes alternate, irregularly oval, 
 indented, and clothed with soft hairs. The 
 flowers are white; the berries black and 
 shining. It appears to possess the delete- 
 rious qualities of the other nightshades in a 
 very high degree, and even the smell of the 
 plant is said to cause sleep. The berries 
 are equally poisonous with the leaves, caus- 
 ing cardialgia and delirium, and violent dis- 
 tortions of the limbs in children. In an- 
 cient times it was employed externally as a 
 discutient and anodyne in some cutaneous 
 affections, tunrefactions of the glands, ul- 
 cers, and disorders of the eyes. A variety 
 of tlie solannm nigrum, a native of the West 
 Indies, is called guma by the negroes. It 
 is so far from having any deleterious qua- 
 lity, that it is daily served up at table as 
 greens or spinach. It has an agreeable bit- 
 ter taste. S. lycopersicnm, the love-apple, 
 or tomato, is cultivated in gardens in the 
 warmer parts of Europe, and in all tropical 
 countries. Tiie stalk is herbaceous: the 
 leaves pinnated, oval, pointed, and deeply 
 
SOL 
 
 >tUvided. The flowers are on simple race- 
 mi ; they are small and yellow. The berry 
 is of the size of a plum ; tliey are smooth, 
 shining, soft ; and are either of a yellow or 
 reddish colour. 
 
 S. tuberosum, or common potatoe, is a 
 species of this genus, which is too well 
 known to require description. 
 
 SOLAR, something belonging to the sun ; 
 tints the solar system is that system of the 
 world wherein the heavenly bodies are 
 made to revolve round the sun as tlie cen- 
 tre of their motion. Also the solar year is 
 that consisting of three hundred and sixty- 
 five days, five hours, and forty-nine mi- 
 nutes, in opposition to the lunar year, con- 
 sisting of three hundred and fifty four days. 
 
 SOLDANELLA, in botany, a germs of 
 the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Precise. Lysimachias, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla bell- 
 shaped, lacero multifid ; capsule one-celled, 
 many-toothed at the top. There is only 
 one species, tiz. S. alpina, Alpine splda- 
 nelia. 
 
 .SOLDER, SoDDER, or Sower, a metal- 
 lic or mineral composition used in soldering, 
 or joining together, other metals. See the 
 next article. Solders are made of gold, sil- 
 ver, copper, tin, bismuth, and lead; usually 
 observing, that in the composition tl-.ere he 
 some of the metal that is to be soldered 
 mixed with some higher and finer metals. 
 Goldsmiths usually make four kinds of 
 solder, viz. solder of eight, where to seven 
 parts of silver there is one of brass or cop- 
 per ; solder of six, w'here only a sixth part 
 is copper; solder of four, and solder of 
 three. It is the mixture of copper in the 
 solder that makes raised plate come always 
 cheaper than flat. The solder used by 
 plumbers is made of two pounds of lead to 
 one of block-tin. Its gopdness is tried by 
 melting it and pouring the bigiiess of a 
 crown-piece upon a table ; for if good, 
 there will arise little bright shining stars 
 therein. The solder for copper is made 
 like that of the plumbers, only with copper 
 and tin ; for very nice works, instead of tin 
 they sometimes use a quantity of silver. 
 Solder for tin is made of two thirds of tin 
 and one of lead ; but where the work is 
 any thing delicate, as in organ pipes, w'here 
 the juncture is scarce discernible, it is made 
 of one part of bismuth and three parts of 
 pewter. 
 
 SOLDERING, among mechanics, the 
 joining and fastening together two pieces of 
 the same metal, or of two diflercnt metals, 
 
 SOL 
 
 by the fusion and application of some mtv 
 talic composition on the extremities of the 
 metals to be joined. 
 
 SOLE, in natural history. See Pleuro- 
 
 NECTES. 
 
 SOLECISM, in grammar, a false man- 
 ner of speaking contrary to the nse of lan- 
 guage and the rules of grammar, either in 
 respect of declension, conjugation, or syn- 
 tax. 
 
 SOLEN, in natural history, razor-sheath, 
 a genus of the Vermes Testacea class and 
 order. Animal an ascidia ; shell bivalve, 
 oblong, open at both ends ; hinge with a 
 subulate reflected tooth, often double, and 
 not inserted in the opposite valve. There 
 are about twenty-four species, some where- 
 of are straight, others crooked, some red, 
 others variegated with brown and blue, 
 some brown and w'hite, others of a violet- 
 pnrple colour. This last is a beautiful 
 smooth shell, from three to six inctujs long, 
 and flora one- third to' three quarters of an 
 inch in diameter. There is also another not 
 inelegant species, variegated with brown 
 and blue, and a little arcuated. The S. 
 anatiiius has the shell ovate, membranace- 
 ous, hairy, with a falcate rib at the hinge ; 
 the shell is pellucid, white, thin like papei ; 
 one end rounded and closed, the other 
 gaping like tlie beak of a bird ; tooth in 
 each valve resembling an ear-picker. 
 
 SOLID, in philosophy, a body vs'hose 
 parts are so firmly connected together, as 
 not to give way, or slip from each other 
 upon the smallest impression ; in which sense 
 solid stands opposed to fluid. Geometri- 
 cians define a solid to be the third species 
 of magnitude, or tliat which has three di- 
 mensions, viz. length, breadth, and thick- 
 ness or depth. A solid may be conceived 
 to be formed by the revolution, or direct 
 motion, of a superficies of any figure what- 
 ever, and is always terminated or contained 
 under one or more planes or surfaces, as a 
 surface is under one or more lines. 
 
 Solids are commonly divided into regular, 
 and irregular. The regular solids are those 
 terminated by regular and equal planes, and 
 are only five in number, viz, the tetrahe- 
 dron, which consists of four equal trian- 
 gles ; the cube, or hexahedron, of six equal 
 squares; tlie octahedron, of eight equal tri- 
 angles ; the dodecahedron, of twelve ; and 
 the icosihedron, of twenty equal triangles. 
 Tlie irregular solids are almost infinite, com- 
 prehending all such as do not come nnder 
 the definition of regular solids ; as tlie sphere, 
 
SOL 
 
 cylinder, cone, parallelogram, prism, paraL 
 lelopiped, &c. 
 
 Solid numhers, ai;e those which arise 
 from the multiplication of a plane number, 
 by any other whatsoever ; as 18 is a solid 
 number made of 6 (which is plane) multi- 
 plied by 3 ; or of 9 multiplied by si. 
 
 Solid prohlem, in mathematics, is one 
 whicli cannot be geometrically solved un- 
 less by the intersection of a circle and a 
 conic section ; or by the intersection of two 
 other conic sections, besides the circle. 
 As to describe an isosceles triangle on a 
 given right line, whose angle at the base 
 shall be triple to that at the vertex. This 
 will help to inscribe a regular hepfagonin a 
 given circle ; and may be resolved by the 
 intersection of a parabola, and a circle. 
 This problem also helps to inscribe a nona- 
 gon in a circle, and may be solved by the 
 intersection of a parabbla, and an hyper- 
 bola between its asymptotes, mz. to de- 
 scribe an isosceles triangle, whose angle at 
 the base shall be quadruple of that at the 
 vertex. And such a problem as tliis hath 
 four solutions, and no more ; because two 
 conic sections can cut one another but in 
 four points. 
 
 SOUDAGO, in botany, golden rod, a 
 genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Super- 
 fiua class and order. Natural order of Com- 
 posite Discoide®. Corymhifer®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx scales imbricate, 
 closed ; corollets of the ray about five ; 
 seed down simple, receptacle naked. There 
 are thirty species. The golden rods are 
 natives of North America, excepting two 
 species, which are found in Europe, and 
 two others which were discovered by Hou- 
 ston in New Spain, and have not been 
 adopted by Linnaeus or any other author. 
 
 SOLIDITY, that property of matter, or 
 body, by which it excludes all other bodies 
 from the place which itself possesses : and 
 as it would be absurd to suppose that two 
 bodies could possess one and the same place 
 at the same time, it follows, that the softest 
 bodies are equally solid with the hardest. 
 Among geometricians the solidity of a body 
 denotes the quantity or space contained in 
 it, and is called also its solid content. 
 
 Solidity, in rchitecture, is applied 
 both to the consistence of the ground, 
 whereon tlie foundation of a building is 
 laid ; and to a massive in masonry, of ex- 
 traordinary thickness, without any cavity 
 within. 
 
 SOLSTICE, in astronomy, that time 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SOM 
 
 when the Sun is in one of the solstitial 
 points ; that is, when he is at his greatest 
 distance from the equator, thus called, be- 
 cause he then appears to stand still, and 
 not to change his distance from the equator 
 for some time ; an appearance owing to the 
 obliquity of our sphere, and which those 
 living under the equator are strangers to. 
 The solstices are two in each year, the aesti- 
 val, or summer solstice ; and the hyemal, or 
 winter solstice. The summer solstice is 
 when the Sun seems to describe the tropic 
 of Cancer, which is on June 22, when he 
 makes the longest day ; the winter solstice 
 is when the Sun enters the first degree, or 
 seems to describe the tropic of Capricorn,- 
 which is on December 22, when he makes 
 the shortest day. This is to be understood 
 as in our northern hemisphere ; for in the 
 southern the Sun’s entrance into Capricorn 
 makes the summer solstice, and that into 
 Cancer the winter solstice. The two points 
 of the ecliptic, wherein tlie Sun’s greatest 
 ascent above the equator, and his descent 
 below it, are ternihiated, are called the sol- 
 stitial points ; and a circle, supposed to pass 
 through the poles of the world and these 
 points, is called the solstitial colure. The 
 summer solstitial point is in the beginning 
 of the first degree of Cancer, and is called 
 the aestival, or summer point ; and the win- 
 ter solstitial point is in the beginning of the 
 first degree of Capricorn, and is called the 
 winter point. These two points are diaine- 
 trically opposite to each other. 
 
 flOLUM planfarum, in botany and gar-' 
 dening, the natmal soil of plants, or tliat 
 which is best adapted to theii' growth. In 
 the culture, therefore, of plants, it is of 
 importance to have a distinct knowledge of 
 those kinds of soil which are adapted to the' 
 several genera and species. 
 
 SOLUTION, in chemistry, is the per- 
 fect union of a solid substance with a fluid, 
 so as apparently to form one homogeneous 
 liquid. The fluid is termed the solvent, or 
 menstruum, A solution is distinguished 
 from a mixture by being perfectly clear, 
 and from the particles of the solid not sepa- 
 rating from the mass when remaining at 
 rest. 
 
 SOMMETI, a mineral named from the 
 mountain Somma, where it was first found. 
 It is usually mixed with volcanic produc- 
 tions. . It crystallizes in prisms, sometimes 
 terminated by pyramids. Colour white, 
 and somewhat transparent. It cuts glass. 
 The specific gravity is 3.27. Infusible by 
 O 
 
SON 
 
 (be blow pipe ; and according to Vauque- 
 lin, it is composed of 
 
 Aluniina 49 
 
 Silica 46 
 
 Lime : 3 
 
 Oxide of iron 1 
 
 "is 
 
 Loss 2 
 
 too 
 
 SONCHUS, in botany, sow~thistle, a 
 genus of the Syngenesia Polygainia jEqualis 
 class and order. Natural order of Compo- 
 sitae Semifloscnlosa>. Cichoraceas, Jussieu. 
 Essential chaiacter : calyx imbricate, ven- 
 tricose ; down hairy ; receptacle naked. 
 There are nineteen species. 
 
 SONG, in poetry, a little composition, 
 consisting of easy and natural verses, set to 
 a tune in order to be sung. 
 
 Song nf birds. The song of birds Las 
 been defined to be a succession of three or 
 four different notes, which are continued 
 ■without interruption through the same in- 
 tervals, in a bar of tour, crotchets, adagio, or 
 while a pendulum swings four seconds. It 
 is observed, that notes in birds are no more 
 innate than language in man, and that they 
 depend entirely on the master under which 
 they are bred, as fiir as their organs will 
 enable them to imitate the sounds which 
 they have frequent opportunities of hearing; 
 and their adhering so steadily, even in a 
 wild state, to the same song, is entirely 
 owing to the nestlings attending only to the 
 instruction of the parent-bird, whilst they 
 disregard the notes of all others that may 
 perhaps be singing round them. Birds in a 
 wild state do not commonly sing more than 
 six or seven months out of the twelve ; but 
 birds that are caged and have plenty of food 
 sing the greatest part of the year ; and we 
 may add, that the female of no species of 
 birds ever sings. It has been remarked, 
 that there is no instance of any bird singing 
 whose size exceeds that of our blackbird ; 
 and this is supposed to arise from the dif- 
 ficulty it would have of concealing itself, 
 did it call the attention of its enemies, not 
 only by its bulk, but by the proportionable 
 lomhiess of its notes. It has been noticed 
 by some writers, that certain passages of the 
 song in a few kinds of birds correspond with 
 the intervals of onr scale, of which indeed 
 the cuckoo affords a striking and well 
 known mstance ; but much the greater part 
 of such song is not capable of musical nota- 
 tii))) ; part'y because the rapidity is often so 
 
 soo 
 
 great, and it is also so uncertain when they 
 may stop, that we cannot reduce the pas- 
 sages to the form of any musical bar what- 
 soever ; partly also because the pitch of 
 most birds is considerably higher than that 
 of the shrillest notes of our highest instru- 
 ments ; and principally because the. inter- 
 vals used by birds are commonly so minute, 
 and consequently so different from the 
 more gross intervals into which we divide 
 our octave, that we cannot judge of then*. 
 Most people, who have not attended (o the 
 notes of birds, suppose that all those of the 
 same species sing exactly the same notes 
 and passages, which is by no means true, 
 though it must be admitted that there is a 
 general resemblance. Thus the London 
 bird-catchers prefer the song of the Kentish 
 goldfinches, and Essex chaffinches; but 
 some of the nightingale-fanciers prefer a 
 Surry bird to one of Middlesex. The 
 nightingale has been almost universally 
 esteemed the most capital of singing birds ; 
 and its superiority chiefly consists in the fol- 
 lowing particulars : its tone is much more 
 mellow than that of any other bird, though 
 by the exertion of its powers it can be ex- 
 tremely brilliant. Another point of supe- 
 riority is its continuance of song without a 
 pause, which is often extended to twenty- 
 seconds. 
 
 Song, in music, is applied in general to a( 
 single piece of music, whether contrived for 
 the voice or an instrument. A song has 
 been compared to an oration ; for as, in this 
 latter, there is a subject, viz. some person 
 or thing the discourse is referred to, and 
 which is always to be kept in view through 
 the whole ; so, in every regular and melo- 
 dious song, there is one note which regulates 
 the rest ; wherein the song begins, and at 
 last ends'; and which is, as it were^ the 
 principal matter, or musical subject, to be 
 regarded in the whole course of the song ; 
 and this principal or fundamental note is 
 called the key of the song. 
 
 SONNERATIA, in botany, so named in 
 memory of Mons. Sonnerat, a genus of the 
 Icosandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Hesperidese. Myrti, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx six-cleft ; 
 petals six, lanceolate ; berry many-celled, 
 with several seeds in each cell. There is 
 but one species, cis. S. acida, a native of the 
 Molucca islands, and the bogs of New 
 Guinea ; also of Cochin China, on the banks 
 of rivers. 
 
 SOOT, a volatile matter, arising from 
 wood, and other fuel, along with the 
 
SOP 
 
 smoke ; or rather, it is the smoke itself, 
 fixed and gatliered on the sides of the 
 chimney. 
 
 SOPHISM, in logic, &c. an argument 
 which carries much of the appearance of 
 truth, and yet leads into error. There is 
 some need of a particular description of 
 these fallacious arguments, that we may 
 with more ease and readiness detect and 
 solve them. 1. The first sort of sophism is 
 called “ ignoratio elenchi or a mistake of 
 the question. 2. The next sophism is called 
 “ petitio principii,” or a supposition of what 
 is not granted. 3. That sort of fallacy 
 which is called a circle, is very near a kin to 
 the “ petitio principii.” 4. The next sort 
 of sophism is called “ non causa pro causa,” 
 or the assignation of a false cause, .'i. The 
 next is called “ fallacia accidentis,” or a 
 sophism, wherein we pronounce concerning 
 the nature and essential properties of any 
 subject, according to something which is 
 merely accidental to it. 6. The next sophism 
 borders upon the former ; and that is when 
 we argue from that which is true, abso- 
 lutely, simply, and abstracted from all cir- 
 cumstances ; this is called, in the schools, a 
 sophism “ a dicto secundum quid ad dictum 
 simpliciter.” This sort of sophism has also 
 its reverse ; as, when we argue from that 
 which is true, simply and absolutely, to 
 prove the same thing true in all particular 
 circumstances whatsoever. 7. The sophisms 
 of composition and division come next to 
 be mentioned. The sophism of composi- 
 tion is, when we infer any thing concern- 
 ing ideas in a compound sense, which is only 
 true in a divided sense. The sophism of di- 
 vision is, when we inl^r the same thing con- 
 cerning ideas in a divided sense, which is 
 only true in a compounded one. This sort 
 of sophism is committed when the word all 
 is taken in a collective and distributive 
 ^ense, without a due distinction. It is the 
 same fallacy, when the universal word all, 
 or no, refers to species in one proposition, 
 and to the individuals in another. 8. The 
 last sort of sophisms arises from our abuse 
 of the ambiguitv of words, which is the 
 largest and most extensive kind of fal- 
 lacy ; and, indeed, several of the former fal- 
 lacies might be reduced to this head. When 
 the words or phrases are plainly equivocal, 
 they are called sophisms of equivocation. 
 I'his sophism, aS well as the foregoing, and 
 all of the like nature, are solved by showing 
 the dift'erent senses >of the words, terms, or 
 phrases. 
 
 But, where such gross equivocations and 
 
 SOR 
 
 ambiguities appear in arguments, there is 
 little danger in imposing on ourselves or 
 others ; the greatest danger, and what we 
 are perpetualljf exposed to, in reasoning, 
 is, where the two senses or significations of 
 one term are near a- kin, and not plainly dis- 
 tinguished ; and yet are sufficiently dif- 
 ferent in their sense to lead us into great 
 mistakes, if we are not watchful. And, 
 indeed, the greatest part of controversies, 
 in the sacred or civil life, arise from the dif- 
 ferent senses that are put upon words, and 
 the different ideas conveyed by them. 
 
 SOPHORA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Decandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Papilionace® or Leguminosas. 
 Essential character : calyx five-toothed, 
 gibbous above ; corolla papilionaceous, with 
 the wings of the same length with the 
 standard ; legume. There are twenty-five 
 species. 
 
 SORBUS, in botany, mountain-ash, a 
 genus of the Icosaodria Trigynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Pomace®. Rosa- 
 ce®, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 five-cleft; petals five ; berry inferior ; three- 
 seeded. There are three species. 
 
 SOREX, the shrew, in natural history, a 
 genus of Mammalia of the order Fer®. 
 Generic character : in the upper jaw two 
 front teeth long and bifid ; in the lower 
 two or four, tlie intermediate ones shorter ; 
 several tusks on each side ; giinders cuspi- 
 dated. This genus of animals is most 
 nearly allied to that of the mouse. Its 
 teeth, however, constitute an important 
 variation, and class it rather with the carni- 
 vorous tribes. There are seventeen species, 
 of which the following most deserve atten- 
 tion. S. araneus, or the fetid shrew, is 
 found throughout Europe and the north of 
 Asia, and inhabits fields, gardens, and out- 
 houses, and measures about two inches and 
 a half in length, exclusively ofits tail. It is 
 distinguished from a mouse chiefly by a 
 long and sharp snout. It breeds in holes 
 under banks, feeds on roots and grain, as 
 well as on every species of putrid animal 
 substance, and has a very rank and disa- 
 gi eeable odour, whence it derives its desig- 
 nation. 
 
 S. moschatus, or the musky shrew', abounds 
 in the north of Europe and Asia, and inha- 
 bits principally the river Volga, rarely ap- 
 pearing on land. It is about seven inches 
 long, to the tail, and of a cinereous brow'n 
 colour. Its snout is extremely prolonged, 
 and apparently cartilaginous. It feeds on 
 worms, water-insects, and leeches, and 
 0 2 \ 
 
 ; 
 
SOR 
 
 sometimes on vegetables. These animals 
 are often observed swimming on rivers and 
 lakes in large companies. On land their 
 motions are particularly slow. I'hey are 
 destroyed in Russia to be placed in drawers 
 oi; chests, from which they effectually keep 
 moths at a distance. See Mammalia, Plate 
 XX. fig. 3. 
 
 S. radiatus, or the radiated shrew, is a 
 native of Canada, and is remarkable for 
 having on the extremity of its snout a circle 
 of sharp pointed processes, somewhat like 
 the radius of a boot-spur, for having its tail 
 most curiously knotted, somewhat resem- 
 bling what are called Queen’s garters, and 
 for having its feet with five toes, each co- 
 vered with scales. It burrow's like the 
 mole, but is seen far more fi eqnently above 
 ground. See Mammalia, Plate XX. fig. f . 
 
 S. cmnileus, or the perfuming shrew, is 
 found in India, and is stated to leave an in- 
 tolerable musky scent on every shbstance 
 over which it passes, and it has been assert- 
 ed by gentlemen of respectability, that a 
 corked bottle of wine has been so com- 
 pletely penetrated by this effluvium, as 
 totally to spoil the liquor. The great 
 strength and subtlety of the perfume are, 
 at all events, unquestionable. This animal 
 prefers rice to almost all other food, living 
 chiefly in the rice fields, but occasionally 
 entering houses. 
 
 S. exilis, or the pygmy shrew, abounds in 
 Siberia, is shaped and coloured like the 
 common shrew, and is noticed here for 
 being, probably the very smallest of Euro- 
 pean quadrupeds, being about half a dram 
 only in weight. See Mammalia, Plate XX. 
 fig. 1. 
 
 SORITES, in logic, a species of reason- 
 ing, in which a great number of propo- 
 sitions are so linked together, that the predi- 
 cate ofthe one becomes continually the sub- 
 ject of the next following, till at last a con- 
 clusion is formed by bringing together the 
 subject of the first proposition and the pre- 
 dicate of the last ; such is the following ar- 
 gument, “ God is omnipotent ; an omnipo- 
 tent being can do every thing possible ; a 
 being that can do every thing possible, can 
 do whatever involves not a contradiction ; 
 therefore, God can do whatever involves 
 not a contradiction.” This combination of 
 propositions may be continued to any length 
 we please, without in the least weakening 
 the ground upon which the conclusion rests; 
 and the rpason is, because tlie sorites may 
 be resolved into as many simple syllogisms 
 as tliere are middle terms in it ; and the 
 
 SOU 
 
 conclusion of the last syllogism is universally 
 found to be the same witli the conclusion of 
 the sorites. 
 
 , SOUND or. Hearing, sense of. The 
 sense of sight is effected by rays of light, 
 proceeding from the different objects to the 
 retina. The sense of feeling is effected by 
 the contact of its various objects with the 
 body, or by the vigorous or unsound state 
 of the parts of the body. The sense of taste 
 is affected by certain particles of substances 
 which are dissolved by the saliva, and thus 
 brought into contact with the organs of 
 taste. The sense of smell is affected by 
 particles which various'substances are con- 
 tinually sending into the air, and which im- 
 press the membrane which lines the cavity 
 and bones of the nose. The sense of hear- 
 ing is affected by the pulsations or vibra- 
 tions of the air, which are caused by its 
 own expansion, or by the vibrations of 
 sounding bodies. These sensations, or vi- 
 brations in the air, are called sounds, as are 
 also the sensations which they produce. The 
 organ of hearing is much more complicated, 
 and much less understood, than that of 
 sight. We shall here give a very general ac- 
 count of it , and refer those who wish for 
 further information to the article Anato- 
 my. The external ear collects and modi- 
 fies sounds ; and by a long channel commu- 
 nicates them to the internal ear : this con- 
 sists, in the first place, of what is called the 
 drum ot the ear, which is a small cavity, 
 closed towards the opening of the ear by a 
 delicate membrane. In the drum are three 
 or four very small bones, furnished with 
 muscles, and joints. From the drum are 
 several openings, one of which is to the 
 mouth ; the others communicate into the dif- 
 ferent recesses of the ear. One of these leads 
 into the labyrinth, which consists first, of a 
 small irregular cavity, next of three semi- 
 circular canals, and lastly of a winding spi- 
 ral canal, not unlike some sea shells. All 
 tliese parts of the cavity are lined with a 
 very delicate membrane, and filled with 
 a watery fluid, which conveys to the por- 
 tions of the nerve in contact with it, the 
 vibrations received from the membrane 
 which separates the labyrinth from the 
 drum of the ear. The vibrations of the air 
 act upon the drum, and thus set in motion 
 the series of small bones in the cavity of 
 the drum ; these communicate the vibra- 
 tions to the membrane which separates the 
 drum from the labyrinth, and- this (as be- 
 fore mentioned) produces vibrations in the 
 watery fluid, in the several parts of the 
 
SOUND. 
 
 iabyrintli, and conveys to the nervous 
 branches, which line the Iabyrintli, tlie 
 vibrations originally produced on the drum. 
 The mechanism is complicated, but what 
 we understand must increase our reveren- 
 tial admiration of the skill which produced 
 it. 
 
 There are colours which of themselves, 
 without associated ideas, are agreeable to 
 the sight ; so it is reasonable to believe; 
 that there are sounds which of themselves, 
 without associated ideas, are agreeable to 
 the ear. This is authorised also by direct 
 experience. All moderate and tolerably 
 uniform sounds please young children ; and 
 during the whole of life, various combined 
 and simple sounds give pleasure to the mind, 
 without any reference' to the associated 
 ideas. Hence it appears that the pleasures 
 of hearing aid considerably in the forma- 
 tion, or at least in the increase, of the men- 
 tal pleasures : indeed, in connection with 
 tiiose of sight, they constitute nearly the 
 whole of the pleasures of sublimity and 
 beauty. 
 
 It is a well known fact, that the ideas 
 left by the sensations of sight are the most 
 vivid and distinct of any : next to these are 
 tliose produced by tho sensation of hearing. 
 Few can form a distinct, certainly not a 
 vivid, conception of the feel of any substance 
 which has presented sensations through 
 the medium of the touch, and not many 
 more can of a taste, or of a smell, though 
 thinking of particular taste produces a con- 
 siderable effusion of the saliva. Of ob- 
 jects of the sight we are able to form con- 
 ceptions, which often approach in vividness 
 and distinctness to the original sensations, 
 and which sometimes overpower those ac- 
 tually present in the mind, so as in many 
 cases to lead to the belief of a real object, 
 and consequently to lead to the belief of 
 apparitions, &e. Few, we believe, possess 
 the power of forming conceptions of sounds 
 nearly equal in vividness and distinctness 
 with the original sensation ; but they are 
 frequently perceptible. After we have 
 heard music, or conversed much with a per- 
 son, trains of audible ideas frequently pass in 
 the mind. So, when we are thinking or read- 
 ing slowly and carefully, we can generally 
 trace the relicts of the audible impressions of 
 the words suggested by the thoughts, or the 
 sight of the letters ; that is, we have faint 
 conceptioris of the sounds of these words. 
 
 The necessity of hearing to man, consi- 
 dered as a social being, is obvious, its im- 
 portance to him, considered as. a being 
 
 ■ whose pleasures and pains are by degrees 
 to be purely mental, is not inferior. The 
 means of knowledge are greatly diminished 
 by the loss of sight; but the loss of sight 
 only impedes the progress of the mind from 
 sensation to thought and feeling. Those 
 who have never heard have mucl\ greater 
 disadvantages to undergo. Theii deficien- 
 cies can never be fully supplied. Words, 
 as Hartley suggests, are highly important, 
 and even necessary, to the full improve- 
 ment of intellect, and the enlargement of 
 the affections ; and thei’efore the ear is of 
 much more importance to us, as spiritual 
 beings, than the eye. 
 
 To illustrate the cause of sound, it is to 
 be observed, 1st, That a motion is neces- 
 sary in the sonorous body for the produc- 
 tion of sound. 2dly, That this motion 
 exists first in the small and insensible parts 
 of the sonorous bodies, and is excited in 
 them by their mutual collision against each 
 other, whicli produces the tremulous motion 
 so observable in bodies that have a clear 
 sound, as bells, musical chords, &c. 3dly, 
 That this motion is communicated to, or 
 produces a like motion in the air, or such 
 parts of it as are fit to receive and propa- 
 gate it. Lastly, That this motion must be 
 communicated to those parts that are the 
 proper and immediate instruments of hear- 
 ing. Now that motion of a sonorous body, 
 which is the immediate cause of sound, 
 may be owing to two different causes ; ei- 
 ther the percussion between it and other 
 hard bodies, as in drums, bells, chords, &c. 
 or the beating and dashing of the sonorous 
 body and the air immediately against each 
 other, as in flutes, trumpets, &c. But in 
 both these cases, the motion, which is the 
 consequence of the mutual action, as well 
 ' as the immediate cause of the sonorous mo- 
 tion which the air conveys to the ear, is sup- 
 posed to be an invisible, tremulous or undu- 
 lating motion, in the small and insensible 
 parts of the body. 
 
 The sonorous body having made its im- 
 pression on the contiguous air, that impres- 
 sion is propagated from one particle to an- 
 other, according to the laws of pneumatics. 
 A few particles, for instance, driven from 
 the surface of the body, push or press their 
 adjacent particles into a less space; and 
 the medium, as it is thus rarefied in one 
 place, becomes condensed in the other ; but 
 the air thus compressed in the second place, 
 is, by its elasticity, returned back again, 
 both to its former place and its former 
 state ; and the air contiguous to that is 
 
SOUND, 
 
 compressed ; and the like obtains when the 
 air less compressed, expanding itself, a new 
 compression is generated. Theiefore from 
 each agitation of the aii there arises a mo- 
 tion in it, analogous to the motion of a 
 wave on the surface of the water; which is 
 called a wave or undulation of air. In 
 each wave, the particles go and return back 
 again through very short equal spaces ; the 
 motion of each particle being analogous to 
 the motion of a vibrating penduhnn while 
 it performs two oscillations; and most of 
 the laws of the pendulum, with very little 
 alteration, being applicable to the former. 
 
 Sounds are as various as are the means 
 that concur in producing them. The chief 
 varieties result from the figure, constitution, 
 quantity, &c. of the sonorous body ; the 
 manner of percussion, with the velocity &c. 
 of the consequent vibrations; the state and 
 constitution of the medium ; the disposi- 
 tion, distance, &c. of the organ : the ob- 
 stacles between the organ and the sonorous 
 object and the adjacent bodies. The most 
 notable distinction of sounds, arising from- 
 the various degrees and combinations of the 
 conditions above mentioned, are into loud 
 and 16w (or strong and weak) ; into grave 
 and acute (or sharp and flat, or high and 
 low); and into long and short. The ma- 
 nagement of which is the office of music. 
 
 Euler is of opinion, that no sound making 
 ffe'wer vibratioiijs than 30 in a second, or 
 more than 7520, is distinguishable by the 
 human ear. According to this doctrine, 
 the limit of our hearing, as to acute and 
 grave, is an interval of eight octaves. The 
 velocity of sound is the same with that^of 
 the aerial waves, and does not vary much, 
 whether it go with the wind or against it. 
 By the wind indeed a certain quantity of 
 air is carried from one place to another; 
 and the sound is accelerated while its waves 
 move through that part of the air, if their 
 direction be the same as that of the wind. 
 But as sound moves vastly swifter than the 
 vvind, the acceleration it will hereby re- 
 ceive is but inconsiderable ; and the chief 
 effect we can perceive from the wind is, 
 that it increases and diminishes the space 
 of the waves, so that by help of it the 
 sound may be heard to a greater distance 
 than otherwise it would. 
 
 That the air is the usual medium of 
 sound, appears from various experiments in 
 rarefied and condensed air. In an unex- 
 hausted receiver, a small bell may be heard 
 to some distance ; but when exhausted, it 
 can scarce be heard at the smallest dis- 
 
 tance, When the air is condensed, the 
 sound is louder in proportion to the con- 
 densation, or quantity of air crowded in; 
 of which there are many instances in Hauks- 
 bee’s experiments, in Dr, Priestley’s, and 
 others. Besides, sounding bodies commu- 
 nicate tremors to distant bodies; for ex- 
 ample, the vibrating motion of a musical 
 string puts others in motion, whose tension 
 and quantity of matter dispose their vibra- 
 tions to keep time with the pulses of air, 
 propagated from the string that was struck. 
 Galileo explains this phenomenon by ob- 
 serving, that a heavy pendulum may be put 
 in motjon by the least breath of the mouth, 
 provided the blasts be often repeated, and 
 keep time exactly with the vibrations of the 
 pendulum ; and also by the like art in rais- 
 ing a large bell. 
 
 It is not air alone that is capable of the 
 impressions of sound, but water also ; as is 
 manifest by striking a bell under water, the 
 sound of which may plainly enough be 
 heard, only not soToud, and also a fourth 
 deeper, according to good Judges in musical 
 notes. And Mersenne says, a sound made 
 under water is of the same tone or note, as 
 if made in air, and heard under the water. 
 The velocity of sound, or the space through 
 which it is propagated in a given time, has 
 been very differently estimated by authors 
 who have written concerning this subject. 
 Roberval states it at the rate of 560 feet in 
 a second; Gassendus at 14f3; Mersenne 
 at 1474; Diihamel, in the History of the 
 Academy of Sciences at Paris, at 1338; 
 Newton at 968; Derham, in whose mea- 
 sure Flamsteed and Halley acquiesce, at 
 1142, The reason of this variety is as- 
 cribed by Deiham, partly to some of those 
 gentlemen using strings and plummets in- 
 stead of regular pendulums; and partly to 
 the too small distance between the sono- 
 rous body and the place of observation ; 
 aud partly to no regard being had to the 
 winds. But by the account since publish- 
 ed by 91. Cassini de Thury, in the Memoirs 
 of the Royal Academy of Sciences at 
 Paris, 1738, where cannon were tired at 
 various as well as great distances, under 
 many varieties of weather, wind, arfd other 
 circumstances, and where the measures of 
 the different places had been settled with 
 the utmost exactness, it was found that 
 sound was propagated, on a medium, at the 
 rate of 1038 French feet in a second of 
 time. But the French foot is in proportion 
 to the English as 15 to 16: and 'coilse- 
 queiitly 1038 French feet are equal to HQ? 
 

 sou sou 
 
 English feet Therefore the difference of sea-lead, and the hand-lead line. The hand- 
 tlie measures of Derham and Cassini is 35 lead line, which is generally twenty fathoms 
 English feet, or 33 French feet, in a second, in length, is marked at every two or three 
 The medium velocity of sound therefore is fathoms, so that the depth of water may be 
 nearly at the rate of a mile, or 5280 feet, ascertained either in the day or night. At 
 in 4| seconds, or a league in 14 seconds, or the depth of two and three fathoms, there 
 13 miles in a minute. But sea miles are to are marks of black leather ; at five fathoms, 
 land miles nearly as 7 to 6 j and therefore there is a white rag ; at seven, a red mg , 
 sound moves over a sea mile in 51 seconds at ten, black leather ; at thirteen, black 
 nearly, or a sea league in 16 seconds. Fur- leather; at fifteen, a white rag; and at se- 
 ther, it is a common observation, that per- venteen, a red rag. 
 
 sons in good health have about 75 ptdsa- Sounding with the hand-lead, vvhich is 
 tions, or beats of the artery at the wrist, in called heaving the lead by seamen, is gehe- 
 a minute; consequently in 75 pulsations, rally performed by a man who stands in the 
 sound flies about 13 laud miles, or 111 sea main-chains to windward. Having the line 
 miles, which is about 1 land mile in 6 all ready to run out without interi uption, he 
 pulses, or one sea mile in 7 pulses, or a holds it nearly at the distance of a fathom 
 league in 20 pulses. And hence the dis- from the plummet, and having swung the 
 tance of dbjeets may be found, by knowing latter backwards and forwards three or four 
 the time employed by sound in moving times, in order to acquire tlie greater velo- 
 from those objects to an observer. For city, he swings it round his head, and thence 
 example: Oh seeing the flash of a gun at la*' forward as is necessary ; so that, by 
 sea, if 54 beats of the pulse at the wrist H*® leads sinking while the ship advances, 
 were counted before the report was heard ; *1*® 1***® n*ay be almost per])endicular when 
 
 the distance of the gun will easily be found H reaches the bottom. The person sound- 
 by dividing 54 by 20, whicli gives 2.7 ;**« H*®” Pfoclaims the depth of the water 
 leagues, or about 8 miles. See Acocstics. i** ® kind ot song, resembling the ciies of 
 Sound, in geography, denotes in general London hawkers. Thus, it the mark of 
 any streight, or inlet, of the sea, between H''® fathoms is close to the surface of the 
 two head lands. However, the name sound water, he calls, “ By the mark five,” and 
 is given, by way of eminence, to tlie streight there is no mark at fonr, six, eight, &c. 
 between Sweden and Denmark, joining the 1*® estimates those numbers, and calls, “ By 
 German Ocean to the Baltic, being about H*® *1*1’ four.’’ If he judges it to be a quar- 
 four miles over. 1®*“ e*' 1**11 niore than any particular 
 
 Sound board, in an organ, is a reser- number, he calls, “And a quarter five and a 
 
 voir into which the wind, drawn in by the half four,” &c. If he conceives the depth 
 bellows, is conducted by a port-vent, and 1® 1*® tl**'®® quarters more tlian a particular 
 hence distributed into the pipes placed number, he calls it a quarter less than the 
 over holes in its upper part : this wind en- next : thus, at four fathoms and three quar- 
 ters them by valves, which open by press- ters, he calls, “ A quarter less five, ’ &c. 
 ing upon the stops or keys ; after drawing The deep-sea-lead is marked with two 
 the registers, which prevent tlie air from knots at twenty fathoms, three at forty, four ‘ 
 entering any of the pipes, except those it is at fifty, and so on to' the end. It js also 
 
 required in. marked with a single knot in the middle 
 
 SOUNDING, the operation of trying each interval, as at twenty-five, tliirty- 
 the depth of the water, and the quality of forty-five fathoms, &c. To use this 
 
 the ground, by means of a plummet sunk 1®**1 more effectually at sea, or in deep vva- 
 froin a sliip to ttie bottom. For sounding f®*' ®** fl*® *®* coast, it is usual previously 
 there are two plummets used, one of which f® bring-to the ship, in order to retard her 
 is called the hand-lead, weighing about eight course ; the lead is then thrown as far as 
 or nine pounds ; and tlie other, tlie^ deep- possible from tlie ship, on the line of her 
 sea lead, weighing from twenty-live to tliir- drift, so that as it sinks, the ship drives 
 ty pounds, and both are shaped like the mor® perpendicularly over it. The pilot, 
 frustriim of a cone or pyramid. The for- feeling the lead stiike the bottom readily, 
 mer is used in shallow wa'ters, and tlielat-, discovers the depth of the water by the 
 ter at a great distance from tlie shore, par- mark on the line nearest its surface, 
 ticularly on approaching the land after a S.OUP, a strong decoction of flesh or 
 sea voyage. Accordingly, the lines em- other substances. Portable or dry soup Is 
 ployed for this purpose are called tlie deep- a kind of cake formed by boiling the geia- 
 
SPA 
 
 tinoHS parts of animal subsanoes till the 
 watery parts are evaporated. This species 
 of soup is chiefly used at sea, and has been 
 found of great advantage. Tlie following 
 receipt v/iil show how it is prepared : Of 
 calves feet take four, leg of beef twelve 
 pounds, knuckle of veal three pounds, and 
 leg ot mutton ten pounds. These are to 
 be boiled in a suflicient quantity of water, 
 and the scum taken off as usual ; after 
 which the soup is to be separated from the 
 meat by straining and pressure. The meat 
 is then to be boiled a second time in other 
 water ; and the two decoctions, being added 
 together, must be left to cool, in order that 
 the fat may be exactly separated. The 
 soup must then be clarified with five or six 
 whites of eggs, and a sufficient quantity of 
 common salt added. The liquor is then 
 .stiained through flannel, and evaporated 
 on the water-biith to the consistence of a 
 very thick paste'; after which it is spread 
 rather thin upon a smooth stone, then cut 
 into cakes, and lastly dried in a stove till it 
 becomes brittle : t!ie,se cakes are kept in 
 well-closed bottles, flhe same process may 
 bo used to make a portable soup of the 
 flesh of poultry ; and aromatic herbs may 
 be used as a seasoning, if thought proper. 
 These tablets, or cakes, may be kept four or 
 fiveyfears: when intended to be used, the 
 quantity of half an ounce is put into a 
 large glass of boiling water, wliicli is to be 
 covered, and set upon hot ashes for a quar- 
 ter of an hour, or until the whole is entirely 
 dissolved. It forms an excellent soup, and 
 requires no addition but a small quantity of 
 salt. 
 
 SOUTHING of the Moon, the time at 
 which the. Moon passes the meridian of any' 
 particular place. 
 
 SOW, in zoology, the female of the hog- 
 kind. See Sus. 
 
 Sow, ill the iron-works, iJie name of the 
 block or lump of metal they work at once 
 in tlie iron furnace. The size of these sows 
 of iron is very different, even from the same 
 workmen, and the same furnace. These 
 furnaces havjng sand stones for their iiearths 
 and sides up to the height of a yard, and 
 the rest being made of brick, the hearth 
 by the force of the fire is continually grow- 
 ing w'ider, so that if it at first contains as 
 much metal as will make a sow of six or 
 seven hundred w'eight, it will at last con- 
 tain as much as will iiiake a sow of two 
 thousand weight. 
 
 SPACE, is defined by Mr. Lpeke, to be 
 a simple idea, which we attain both by pur 
 
 SPA 
 
 siglit and tpueb. The medes whereef are 
 distance, capacity, extensipn, duration, &c. 
 Space, considered barely in length between 
 two bodies, is the same idea which we have 
 of distance. If it be considered in length, 
 breadth, and thickness, it is properly called 
 capacity; when considered between the 
 extremities of matter which fills the capa- 
 city of space, with something solid, tangi- 
 ble, and moveable, it is then called exten- 
 sion, so that extension is an idea belonging 
 to a body, but sp^ce, it is plain, may be 
 conceived without it. Each different dis- 
 tance is a different modification of space, 
 and each idea of any dift'erent space is a 
 simple mode of this idea : such are an inch, 
 foot, yard, &c. which are the ideas of cer- 
 tain stated lengths, which men settle in 
 their minds for the use, and by the custom 
 ot measuring. When these ideas are made 
 familiar to men’s thoughts, they can repeat 
 them as often as they will, witliont joining 
 to them the idea of body, and frame to 
 themselves the ideas of feet, yards, or fa- 
 thoms, beyond the utmost bounds of all 
 bodies, and by adding these still pne to an- 
 other, enlarge their idea of space as much 
 as they please. From this powder of re- 
 peating any idea of distance without ever 
 coming to an end, we come by the idea of 
 immensity. Another modification of space 
 is taken from the relation of the termina- 
 tion of the parts of extension, or circum- 
 scribed space, amongst themselves; and 
 this is what we call figure. This the touch 
 discovers in sensible bodies, whose extremi- 
 ties come within our reach; and the eye 
 takes, both from bodies and colours, whose 
 boundaries are within its. view; where ob- 
 serving how the extremities terminate, ei- 
 ther in straight lines, which meet at ’dis- 
 cernible angles ; or in crooked ones, where- 
 in no angles can be perceived; by consi- 
 dering these as they relate to one another 
 in all parts of the extremities of any body 
 or space, it has that idea we call figure 
 which affords to the mind infinifa variely! 
 Another mode belonging to this head isj 
 that of place. There is another mode of 
 space, the idea of which we get from the 
 fleeting and perpetually perishing parts of 
 succession, which we call diiiation. Space 
 is usually divided into absolute and rela- 
 tive. Absolute space is that considered in 
 its own nature, without regard to any thing 
 external, which always remains the' same, 
 and is infinite and immoveable. Relative 
 space, is that moveabJe dimension, or mea- 
 sure of the former, which our senses define 
 
SPA 
 
 by its positions to bodies within it, and this 
 is the vulgar use for immoveable space. 
 Relative space, in magnitude and figure, is 
 always the same with absolute ; but it is 
 not necessary it should be so numerically ; 
 as if you suppose a ship to be, indeed, in 
 absolute rest, then the places of all things 
 within her will be the same, absolutely and 
 relatively, and nothing will change its. 
 place : but suppose the ship under sail, or in 
 motion, and she will continually pass through 
 new parts of absolute space ; but all things 
 on board, considered relatively in respect 
 to the ship, maybe, notwithstanding, in the 
 same places, or have the same situation and 
 position in regard to one another. 
 
 Space, in geometry, denotes the area of 
 any figure, or that which fills the inter- 
 val or distance between the lines that ter- 
 minate it. 
 
 Space, in mechanics, the line a moveable 
 body, considered as.a poipt, is conceived to 
 describe by its motion. 
 
 SPADIX, in botany, a term formerly ap- 
 plied to the receptacle of the palms : it is 
 now used to express every flower stalk that 
 is protruded out of a spatha or sheath. 
 
 SPAN, a measure taken from the space 
 between the thumb’s end and the tip of the 
 little finger, when both are stretched out. 
 The span is estimated at three hand’s 
 breadths, or nine inches. 
 
 Span, in naval affairs, a small line or 
 cord, the middle of which is usually attach- 
 ed to a stay, whence the two ends branch 
 outwards to the right and left, liaving eitlier 
 a block or thimble attached to their extre- 
 mities. ' 
 
 SPAR; a name given to those earths 
 which break easily into rhomboidal, cubi- 
 cal, or laminated fragments, with polished 
 surfaces. As the term spar is thus applied 
 to stones of different kinds, wdthout any 
 regard to the ingredients of which they are 
 composed, sorpe additional terra must be 
 used to express the constituent parts as 
 well as the figure. The spars found in 
 Britain and Ireland are of four different 
 species ; opauiue, refracting, diaphanous, 
 and stalactical. A species of spar has 
 also been found in the East Indies, which, 
 from its extreme hardness, approaching to 
 that of a diamond, is called adamantine 
 spar. It was discovered by Dr. Black, of 
 Edinburgh, to be a distinct species. There 
 are two varieties ; one of them comes from 
 China, and crystalizes in hexagonal prisms 
 without pyramids, the length of the sides 
 
 SPA '' 
 
 varying from six to twelve lines, their 
 breadth being about nine, of a grey colour 
 with different shades. Though the entire 
 pieces are opaque, tlie thin lamm® are 
 transparent, and when broken, its surfaces 
 appear slightly striated. Its crystals are 
 covered with a very fine and strongly ad- 
 hering crust, composed of scales of silvery 
 mica, mixed with particles of red felspar. 
 Sometimes the surface has martial pyrites 
 or yellow sulphuret of iron adhering to it. 
 Its hardness is so great, that it not only 
 cuts glass as easily as the diamond, but 
 even scratches rock crystal and other very 
 hard stones. Its specific gravity is to that 
 of water as 2.7 to 1.0. Sometimes it con- 
 tains crystalized grains of magnetic oxide 
 of iron, which may be separated from the 
 stpne, when pidverised, by means of the 
 loadstone. The otirer kind, found in Ilin- 
 doostan, is of a whiter colour, and of a 
 more laminated texture than tlie former. 
 The grains of iron contained in it are like- 
 wise a smaller size than those of the for- 
 mer j they are not diffused through its 
 substance, but only adhere to its surface. 
 This spar is exceedingly difficult to analyze. 
 M. Morveau appears to have ascertained 
 that this stone is also found in France. A 
 small bit of it was tried in the presence of 
 Mr. Wedgewood, and he found that its spe- 
 cific gravity was superior to the spar of 
 China, being no less than 4,18, and the 
 true adamantine spar of China gave 3.82. 
 
 Although the word spar seems to include 
 almost all the earthy crystalized minerals 
 that are met with in metallic veins ; yet 
 mineralogists liave generally agreed to ap- 
 ply the term to those minerals, whether 
 earthy or metallic, which are crystalized, 
 and have a visible foliated texture. Hence 
 we have felspar-spar, fluor-spar, &c. Seme 
 of the spars have already been described in 
 their alphabetical order; others we shall 
 enumerate here. 
 
 Spar, cube, is of a milk-white colour, 
 which passes sometimes into a greyish-white, 
 and even into a reddish-white. It is mas- 
 sive ; the lustre is shining, passing to splen- 
 dent, and perfectly pearly. The fragments 
 are cubical. Specific gravity is 2.9. It is 
 found in salt rocks in the Archbishopric of 
 Salzbourg. 
 
 Spar, diamond, is of a dark brown co- 
 lour ; it occurs massive, disseminated, in 
 rolled pieces, and crystalized in six sided 
 prisms and pyramiJs ; mternaliy its lustre is 
 splendent, and generally pearly, approach- 
 
 I 
 
S P A 
 
 ing in a slight degree to adamantine. Spe- 
 cific gravity nearly 4. • Its constituent parts 
 are, according to Klaproth, 
 
 Alumina 84.0 
 
 Silica fi.3 
 
 Oxide of Iron 7.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 It is found in China, and supposed to oc- 
 cur in granite. It is used in cutting and 
 polishing hard minerals. It is reckoned to 
 belong to the flint genus. 
 
 Spar, fel, or Feldspar, is a species of 
 the clay genus, divided by Werner into 
 four sub-species, viz. the compact and 
 the common felspar, adularia and labrador 
 stone. 
 
 Compact felspar is of a grey colour, pass- 
 ing to the white, blue, green, and red. It 
 occurs massive, disseminated in rolled 
 pieces, and in crystals ; internally its lustre 
 is sometimes glistening, sometimes glimmOr- 
 ing. It is fusible, without addition, before 
 the blow-pipe. It is found in Germany, 
 and many parts of this country, particu- 
 larly in .Scotland, at the Pentland hills, and 
 Salisbury craigs, near Edinburgh. It is one 
 «f the constituent parts of primitive, tran- 
 sition, and floetz green stone slate, and is 
 also imbedded in crystals in antique por- 
 phyry. 
 
 The common felspar is one of the most 
 abundant of fossils, and forms a constituent 
 part of granite and gneiss; it occurs also in 
 sienite, in greenstone, and in imbedded 
 crystals in poiphyry, basalt, and porphyry- 
 slate. Its specific gravity is from 2.4 to 
 2.7. It melts before the blow pipe, with- 
 out addition, into a white glass. A speci- 
 men, analyzed by Kirwan, was found to 
 
 consist of 
 
 Silica 67,0 
 
 Alumina 14.0 
 
 Barytes 11.0 
 
 Magnesia 8.0 
 
 1 00.0 
 
 Adularia is of a greenish white : is found 
 massive, in rolled pieces, and crystalized. 
 Specific gravity from 2..5 to 2.6. It melts, 
 without addition, before the blow-pipe into 
 a whitish glas.s. It is found in veins and 
 cavities, in gneiss and mica slate, and is 
 accompanied with quartz, mica, common 
 
 SPA 
 
 felspar, and tourmaline. It consists, ac- 
 coi'diug to the analysis of Vauquelin, of 
 
 Silica 64 
 
 Alumina 20 
 
 Lime 1... 2 
 
 Potash ' 14 
 
 too 
 
 It is found in the mountain of St. Go- 
 thard in Switzerland, and j)articHlarly in the 
 summit named Adula, hence its name. See 
 Labrador stone. 
 
 Spar, fluor. See Fluoric add. 
 
 Spar, keavy. See Barytes. See also 
 Rhomb spar, &c. 
 
 Spars, in ship building, large round 
 pieces of timber, fit for making top masts. 
 
 SPARG.4lNIUiVI, in botany, bur-reed, 
 a genus of the Monoecia Triandria class and 
 order. Natural order of Calamaria. Ty- 
 ph®, Jussieu. Essential charaeter : male 
 and female ; ament roundish ; calyx three- 
 leaved ; corolla none : female, stigma bifid ; 
 drupe juiceless, one-seeded. Tliere are 
 three species. 
 
 SP.4RGEL stone, or Spargelstein j 
 called also Asparagus stone, which see. 
 
 SPARRMANNIA, in botany, so named 
 in memory of Anders, or Andrew Sparr- 
 man, a Swede, a genus of the Polyandria 
 Monogynia class and order. Natural order 
 of Columnifer®. Filiace®, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx four-leaved ; corolla 
 of four reflexed petals ; nectary several, 
 torulose ; capsule angular, five-celled, echi- 
 nate. There is only one species, viz. S. Afri- 
 cana, a native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 SPARROW, in ornithology, a species of 
 the fringiila. See Fringilla. 
 
 SPARITUM, in botany, faoom, a genus 
 of the Diadelphia Decandria class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Papilionace®, or . 
 Leguminos®. Essential character : calyx 
 produced downwards; filaments adhering 
 to the germ; stigma longitudinal, villose 
 above. There are twenty-seven species. 
 The S. scoparium, or common broom, is 
 used for a variety of purposes. It has been 
 of great benefit sometimes in dropsical com- 
 plaints. The manner in which Dr. Cullen 
 administered it was this^. he ordered half 
 an ounce of fresh broom tops to be boiled 
 in a pound of water till one half of the wa- 
 ter was evaporated. He tircn gave two 
 table-spoonsfuil of the decoction every 
 hour till it operated both by stool and 
 urine. By repeating these doses eveiy 
 day, or every second day, he says sonic 
 
 
SPA 
 
 dropsies have been cured. Dr. Mead 
 relates, that a dropsical patient, who, had 
 taken the usual remedies, and had been tap- 
 ped three times without effect, w'as cured by 
 taking half a pint of the decoction of queen- 
 broom tops, with a spoonful of whole mus- 
 tard seed, every morning and evening. 
 “An infusion of the seeds drunk freely 
 (says Mr. Withering) has been known to 
 produce similar happy effects ; but who- 
 ever expects these effects to follow in every 
 dropsical case will be greatly deceived. I 
 knew them succeed in one case that was 
 truly deplorable ; but out of a great num- 
 ber of cases in which the medicine had a 
 fair trial, this proved a single instance.” 
 
 The flower- buds are in some countries 
 pickled, and eaten as capers ; and the seeds 
 have been used as a bad substitute for cof- 
 fee. The branches are used for making 
 besoms, and tanning leather. They are 
 also used instead of thatch to cover houses. 
 The old wood furnishes the cabinet-maker 
 with beautiful materials for veneering. The 
 tender branches are in some places mixed 
 with hops for brewing, and the macerated 
 bark may be manufactured into cloth. 
 
 SPARUS, in natural history, a genus of 
 fishes of the order Thoracici, Generic 
 character ; teeth strong, sometimes arranged 
 in a single row, and sometimes in two 
 rows or more ; grinders generally convex, 
 smooth, and thickly planted in the moirth 
 like a species of pavement ; lips doubled ; 
 gi!} covers unarmed, smooth, and scaly. 
 There are forty species, but little is known 
 of their habits and manners, and in some 
 instances, Shaw observes, that they are con- 
 founded by naturalists with the genus Labrus. 
 S. auratus, or gilt-headed sparus, is found 
 in the European, American, and Indian 
 seas, is about fifteen inches long, and was 
 admired as a great delicacy by the an- 
 cients, by whom it was also consecrated to 
 Venus. 
 
 SPATHA, in botany, a sheath, a species 
 of calyx which bursts lengthways, and pro- 
 trudes a stalk supporting one or more flow- 
 ers, which commonly have no perianthium 
 or proper flower-cup. The spatlia opens 
 on one side, from bottom to top, and con- 
 sists either of one piece, as in the narcis- 
 sus, snow drop, and the greater number of 
 spathaceous plants : of two, as in the marsh 
 aloe ; or of a number of scales laid over 
 one another like tiles, as in the plaintain- 
 tiee. 
 
 SPATHACEiE, the name of the ninth 
 order in Linnaeus’s Fragments of a Natural 
 
 SPE 
 
 Method, consisting of plants, the flowers of 
 which are protruded from a sheath : among 
 these are the allium, onion, galanthus, snow- 
 drop, and narcissus daffodil. The plants of 
 this order are nearly allied in habit and 
 structure to the liliaceous plants, from 
 which they are distinguished by the spatha, 
 or sheath, out of which their flowers are 
 protruded. 
 
 SPATHELIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Trigynia class and order. Na- 
 tural. order of Bicornes. Terebintacea;, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 leaved ; petals five ; capsule three-cornered, 
 three-celled; .seeds solitary. There is only 
 one species, viz. S. simplex, rhus-leaved 
 spathelia, a native of Jamaica. 
 
 SPATULiV, an instrument used by sur- 
 geons and apothecaries. 
 
 SPAYING, an operation performed on 
 the females of several kinds of animals, 
 to prevent any farther conception, and pro- 
 mote their fattening. 
 
 SPEAKER of the Houeetof Commons, a 
 member of the house elected by a majority 
 of the votes thereof, to act as chairman or 
 president in putting questions, reading 
 briefs or bills, keeping order, reprimanding 
 the refractory, adjourning the house, &c. 
 The first thing done by the commons, upon 
 the first meeting of a parliament, is to 
 choose a Sp.-'aker, who is to be approved of 
 by the king, and who, upon his admission, 
 begs his Majesty that the commons, during 
 their sitting, may have free access to his 
 Majesty, freedom of speech in their own 
 house, and security from arrests. The 
 Speaker is not allowed to persuade or dis- 
 suade in passing a bill, but only to make a 
 short and plain narrative; nor to vote un- 
 less the house be equally divided. 
 
 SPECIES, in logic, a relative term, ex- 
 pressing an idea which is comprised under 
 some general one, called a genus. The 
 idea of a species is formed, by adding a 
 new idea to the genus ; thus if the genus be 
 a circumscribed space, and we suppose this 
 circumscription to be by lines, we shall ob- 
 tain the notion of that species of figures 
 which are called plain figures; but if we 
 conceive the circumscription to be by sur- 
 faces, we get an idea of the species of solid 
 figures. This superadded idea is called the 
 specific dilference, not only as it serves to 
 distinguish the species from the genus ; but 
 because being different 'in all the several 
 subdivisions, we thereby also distinguish the 
 species one from another : and as this super- 
 added conception completes the notion of 
 
SPE 
 
 §PE 
 
 tlie species, it is plain that the genus and 
 specific dilFerence arc the proper and con- 
 stituent parts of the species. If we trace 
 the progress of the mind still further, and 
 observe it advancing through the inferior 
 species, we shall find its manner of pro- 
 ceeding to be always the same ; since every 
 lower species is formed, by superaddiiig 
 some new idea to the species next above : 
 thus if animal be the genus, by superadding 
 the notion of four limbs, we obtain the idea 
 of quadrupeds ; if to this we add further, 
 the peculiar form and characters which dis- 
 tinguish mankind, we get the idea of the 
 human species; and by adding the pecu- 
 liarities wliich distinguish a particular per- 
 son fropi all others, we form the notion of 
 an individual, which is called the last spe- 
 cies, or species specialissinmm. 
 
 For the use of the genus, species, and 
 specific difference in defining things. See 
 Definition. 
 
 Species, in logic, is one of the five words 
 cglled by Porphyry universals. See Uni- 
 versal. 
 
 Species, in rhetoric, is a particular thing, 
 contained under a more universal one. 
 
 Species, in commerce, are the several 
 pieces of gold, silver, copper, &c. xvhich 
 having passed their full preparation and 
 coinage are current in public. 
 
 Species, in algebra, the c'.-aracters or 
 symbols made use of td represent quantities. 
 
 SPECIFIC, in philosophy, that which is 
 peculiar to any thing, and distinguishes it 
 from all others. 
 
 Specific, in medicine, a remedy whose 
 virtue and effect is pecnliarly adapted to 
 some certain disease, is adequate thereto, 
 and excris its whole force immediately 
 thereon. 
 
 Specific gravity, is that by wdiich one 
 body is lieavier than another of the same 
 dimension, and is always as the quantity of 
 matter under that dimension. As to the 
 method of finding the specific gravities of 
 bodies. See Hydrostatics. 
 
 SPECTACLE. See Vision. 
 
 SPECTRA, ocular. See Retention. 
 
 SPECTRUM, in ojitics. ■ When a ray of 
 light is admitted through a small liole, and 
 received on a white surface, it forms a lu- 
 minous spot. If a dense, transparent body 
 be interposed, tlie light will be refracted, 
 in proportion to the density of tiie medium ; 
 but if a triangular glass prism be inter- 
 posed, tlie Uglit is not merely refracted, but 
 it is divided into seven different rays. The 
 ray of light no longer forms a luminous 
 
 spot, but has assumed an oblong shape, terj 
 minating in semicircular arches, and exhi- 
 biting seven different colours. This image 
 i.s called the spectrum, and, from being pro- 
 duced by the prism, the prismatic spec- 
 trum. These different coloured rays ap- 
 pearing in different places of the spectrum, 
 show that their refractive power is differ- 
 ent. Those which are nearest the middle 
 are tlie least refracted, and those which are 
 the most distant, tlie greatest. The order 
 of the seven rays of the spectrum is the fol- 
 lowing : red, orange, yellow, green, blue, 
 indigo, violet. The red, which is at one 
 end of the spectrum, is tlie least, and the 
 violet, which is at the other end, is the most 
 refracted. Sir Isaac Newton found, if the 
 whole spectrum was divided into 360 parts, 
 the number of the parts occupied by each 
 of the colours to be the following : 
 
 Red 
 
 
 Orange 
 
 
 Yellow 
 
 
 Green 
 
 60 
 
 Blue 
 
 
 Indigo 
 
 ........ 40 
 
 Violet 
 
 
 These different coloured rays are not 
 subject to further division. No change is 
 effected upon any of them by being further 
 refracted or reflected ; and, as they differ 
 in refrangibility, so also do tliey differ in 
 the power of inflection and reflection. The 
 violet rays are found to be the most reflex- 
 ible and inflexible, and the red the least. 
 
 SPECULATIVE, something relating to 
 the theory of some art or science, in con- 
 tradistinction to practical. 
 
 SPECULUM, a looking glass, or mirror, 
 capable of reflecting the rays of tke sun, 
 &c. See Mirror and Telescope. 
 
 Speculum, in surgery, an iiistnimeiit for 
 dilating a wound, or the like, in order to 
 exaniiiie it attentively. 
 
 SPERGULA, in botany, spurrey, a ge- 
 nus of tlie Decandria Peiitagynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Caryophyllei. Es- 
 sential character : calyx five-leaved ; petals 
 five, entire ; capsule ovate, one-celled, five- 
 valved. There are seven species. The S.ar- 
 veusis, corii spiirrey, has linear-furrowed 
 leaves, from eight to twenty in a whorl. 
 The flowers are small, white, and terminal. 
 It is frequent in corn-fields. In Holland it 
 is cultivated as food for cattle, and has the 
 advantage of growing on the very poorest 
 soils, but does not afford a! great deal of 
 food. Poultry are fond of the seeds ; and 
 the inhabitants of. Finland and Norway 
 

 SPE 
 
 make bread of them when their crops of 
 corn fail. 
 
 SPERMACETI is found in the hejjd of 
 the Physeter macrocephalus, a species of 
 whale ; it is obtained in an unctuous mass, 
 from which oil is obtained by expression. 
 Spermaceti is also found in other cetaceous 
 fishes, and in other parts of the body, mix- 
 ed with the oil. It is a fine white substance 
 of a crystalized texture, very brittle, and 
 has little taste or smell. It crystalizes in 
 the form of shining silvery plates. It melts 
 at the temperature of 112°. With a greater 
 heat it may be distilled without change; 
 but, by repeated distillation, it is decom- 
 posed, and partly converted into a brown 
 acid liquid. It is soluble in boiling alcohol, 
 but it separates when the solution cools. 
 It is also soluble in ether, both cold and 
 hot. In the hot solution it concretes on 
 cooling into a solid mass. Spermaceti 
 is scarcely at all soluble in the acids. It 
 combines readily with the pure alkalies, 
 with sulphur, and with the fixed oils. By 
 exposure to the air it becomes rancid. The 
 uses of spermaceti are well known, and par- 
 ticularly in the manufacture of candles. 
 Spermaceti differs chiefly from oil, by its 
 solubility in alcohol and ether. According 
 to Dr. Bostock, it requires 150 times its 
 weight of alcohol, boiling hot, to dissolve it, 
 and, as the fluid cools, the spermaceti pre- 
 cipitates. 
 
 Spermaceti candles are of modern manu- 
 facture ; they are made smooth, with a fine 
 gloss, free from rings and scars, superior to 
 the finest wax-candles in colour and lustre ; 
 and, when genuine, leave no spot or stain 
 on the finest silk, cloth, or linen. A me- 
 thod has been lately proposed by Dr. Smith 
 Gibbes, of Magdalen College, Oxford, to 
 convert animal muscle into a substance 
 much resembling spermaceti. The process 
 is remarkably simple : nothing more is ne- 
 cessary than to take a dead carcase and ex- 
 pose it to a stream of running water: it will 
 in a short time be changed to a mass of fat- 
 ty mattej. To remove the offensive smell, 
 a quantity of nitrous acid may then be 
 poured upon it, which, uniting with the fe- 
 tid matter, the fat is separated in a pure 
 state. This acid indeed turns it yellow, 
 but it may be rendered white and pure by 
 the action of the oxygenated muriatic acid. 
 Dr. Gibbes brought about the same change 
 in a much shorter time. He took three 
 lean pieces of mutton, and poured on them 
 the three mineral acids, and he perceived, 
 that at the end of three days each was much 
 
 SPH 
 
 altered j that in the nitrous acid w’as much 
 softened, and, on separating the acid from 
 it, he found it to be exactly the same with 
 that which he had before got from the wa- 
 ter; that in the muriatic acid was not in 
 that time so much altered ; the vitriolic 
 acid had turned the other black. See the 
 article Adipocire. 
 
 SPERMACOCE, in botany, button weed, 
 a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Stellatre. Ru- 
 biacese, Jussieu. Essential character : co- 
 rolla one-petalled, funnel-shaped ; seeds 
 two, two-toothed. Thefe are twenty spe- 
 cies. 
 
 SPHiERANTHUS, in botany, a genus 
 of the Syngenesia Polygamia Segregata 
 class and order. Natural order of Conipo- 
 sit® Capital®. Cinarocephal®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx eight-flowered ; 
 corolla tubular, hermaphrodite, and indis- 
 tinct : female, receptacle scaly ; down none. 
 There are four species. 
 
 SPHjERIA, in botany, a genns of the 
 Cryptogamia Fungi. Generic character : 
 fructifications mostly spherical, opening at 
 the top, whilst young filled with jelly, when 
 old with a blackish powder. They grow on 
 the bark or wood of other plants; capsules 
 often immersed, so that their orifices only 
 are visible : most of the species are without 
 a stem. 
 
 SPHflEROCARPUS, in botany, a genus 
 of the Cryptogamia Hepatic®. Generic 
 character : calyx ventricose, undivided ; 
 seeds numerous, collected into a globe. 
 
 SPHAGNUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Cryptogamia Musci. Generic character : 
 male, flower club-shaped ; anthers flat ; cap- 
 sule on the same plant, sessile, covered 
 with a lid, without any entire veil ; mouth 
 smooth". 
 
 SPHERE, is a solid contained under one 
 uniform round surface, such as would be 
 formed by the revolution of a circle about 
 a diameter thereof, as an axis. Thus the cir- 
 cle A E B D (see Plate XIV. Miscel. fig. 2,) 
 revolving about the diameter AB, will 
 generate a sphere, whose surface will be 
 formed by the circumference of the circle. 
 
 Definitions, l. The centre and axis of a 
 sphere, are the same as the centre and dia- 
 meter of the generating circle: and as a 
 ciicle has an indefinite number of dia- 
 meters, so a sphere may be considered as 
 having also an indefinite number of dia- 
 meters, round any one of which the sphere 
 may be conceived to be generated. 2. Cir- 
 ' cles of the sphere are those circles describ- 
 
 
 i 
 
SPHERE. 
 
 ed on its surface, by the motions of tlie ex- 
 tremities of the chords E D, F G, I H, &c. 
 at right angles to AB; the diameters of 
 which circles are equal to those chords. 
 3. Tlie poles of a circle on the sphere, are 
 those points on its surface, equally distant 
 from tlie circumference of that circle : thus 
 A and B are the poles of the circles de- 
 scribed on the sphere by the ends of the 
 chords E D, F G, I H, &c. 4. A great cir- 
 cle of the sphere is one equally distant from 
 both its poles ; as that described by the ex- 
 tremities of the diameter E D, which is 
 equally distant from both its poles A and 
 B. 5. Lesser circles of the sphere are those 
 which are unequally distant from both their 
 poles; as those described by the extre- 
 mities of the chords F G, H I, &c. because 
 unequally distant from their poles A and B. 
 See Circle. 
 
 Axioms. 1. The diameter of every great 
 circle passes through the centre of the 
 sphere : but the diameters of ail lesser cir- 
 cles do not pass through the same centre : 
 hence also the centre of the sphere is the 
 common centre of all the great circles. 
 2. Every section of a sphere by a plane, is 
 a circle. 3. A sphere is divided into two 
 equal parts, or hemispheres, by the plane 
 of every great circle ; and into two un- 
 equal parts, called segments, by the plane 
 of every lesser circle. 4. The pole of 
 every great circle is 90° distant from it on 
 the surface of the sphere ; and no two great 
 circles can have a common pole. 5. The 
 poles of a great circle are the two extre- 
 mities of that diameter of the sphere, 
 which is perpendicular to the plane of that 
 circle. 6. A plane passing through three 
 points on the surface of the sphere, equally 
 distant from any of tire poles of a great cir- 
 cle will be parallel to the plane of that 
 great circle. 7. The shortest distance be- 
 tw'een two points, on the surface of a 
 sphere, is the arch of a great circle passing 
 through these points. 8. If one great cir- 
 cle meets another, the angles on either side 
 are supplements to each other ; and every 
 spherical angle is less than lSO”. 9. If two 
 circles intei-sect each other, the opposite 
 angles are equal. 10. All circles 'on the 
 sphere, having the same pole, are cut into 
 similar arches, by great circles passing 
 through that pole. 
 
 Sphere, properties of the. 1. All spheres 
 are to one another as the cubes of their 
 diameters. 2. The surface of a sphere is 
 equal to four times the area of one of its 
 great circles, as is demonstrated by Archi- 
 
 medes in his book of the Sphere and Cy- 
 linder, lib. i. prop. 37. hence, to find the 
 superfices of any sphere, we have this easy 
 rule; let the area of a great circle bo mul- 
 tiplied by 4, and the product will be the 
 superficies; or, according to Euclid, lib. vi. 
 prop. 20. and lib. xii. prop. 2. the area of a 
 given sphere, C E B D (fig 3) is equal to 
 that of a circle, whose radius is equal to 
 the diameter of the sphere B C. There- 
 fore, having measured the circle described 
 with the radius B C, this will give the sur- 
 face of the sphere. 3. The solidity of a 
 sphere is equal to the surface multiplied 
 into one third of the radius : or, a sphere is 
 equal to two thirds of its circumscribing 
 cylinder, having its base equal to a great 
 circle of the sphere. Let A B E C (fig. 4 
 and 5), be the quadrant of a circle, and A B 
 D C the circumscribed square, equal twice 
 the tiiangle ADC: by the revolution of 
 the figure about the right line A C, as an 
 axis, a hemisphere will be generate^ by the 
 quadrant, a cylinder of the same base and 
 height of the square, and a cone by the tri- 
 angle : let these three be cut any how by 
 the plane H F, parallel to the base A B ; 
 and the section of the cylinder will be a 
 circle, whose radius is F H ; in the hemi- 
 sphere, a circle wdiose radius is F E ; and 
 in the cone, a circle of the radius FG. 
 But EAM = HF^) = EF^ + FA^": but 
 A F^ = F G% because A C = C D ; and 
 therefore H F^ = E F^ -{- F G* ; or the cir- 
 cle of the radius H F, is equal to a circle of 
 the radius E F, together with a circle of the 
 radius GF: and since this is true every 
 where, all the circles together described by 
 the respective radii HF, that is the cy- 
 linder, are equal to all the circles described 
 by the respective radii E F and F G, that 
 is, to the hemisphere and cone taken to; 
 gether. But by Euclid, lib. xii. prop. 10. 
 the cone generated by the triangle D A C, 
 is one third part of the cylinder, generated 
 by the square B C, whence it follows, that 
 the hemisphere generated by the rotation 
 of the quadrant A B E C, is equal to the re- 
 maining two thirds of the cylinder, and that 
 the whole sphere is two thirds of the cy- 
 linder circumscribed about it. Hence it 
 follows, that a sphere is equal to a cone 
 whose height is equal to the semi-diameter 
 of the sphere, and its base equal to the su- 
 perficies of the sphere, or to the area of 
 tour great circles of the sphere, or to that 
 of a circle, whose radius is equal to the 
 diameter of the sphere. 
 
 Sphere, in astronomy, that concave orb. 
 

 j -y 
 
 SPII 
 
 or expanse, which invests our globe, and in 
 wliich the heavenly bodies appear to be fix- 
 ed, and at an equal distance from the eye. 
 Tlie better to determine tlie places of the 
 heavenly bodies in the sphere, several cir- 
 cles are supposed to be described on the 
 surface thereof, hence called the circles of 
 the sphere : of these, some are called great 
 circles, as the equinoctial, ecliptic, meri- 
 dian, &c. and others, small circles, as the 
 tropics, parallels, &c. See each under its 
 proper article. 
 
 SPHERICS, is that part of geometry 
 which treats of the position and mensura- 
 tion of arches of circles, described on the ' 
 surface of a sphere. See Sphere. 
 
 SPHEROID, in geometry, a solid, ap- 
 proaching to the figure of a sphere. 
 
 The spheroid is generated by the entire 
 revolution of a semi-ellipsis about its axis. 
 Tims, if the semi-ellipsis A H F B (Plate 
 XIV. Miscel. fig. 6,) be supposed to re- 
 volve round its transverse axis A B, it will 
 generate the oblong spheroid A H F B C. 
 Now as all circles are as the squares de- 
 scribed upon their radii ; that isj the circle 
 of the radius E H, is to the circle of the ra- 
 dius EG, as C F- to C D^, becaiise E H : 
 E G : : C F ; C D, and since it is so every 
 where, all the circles described with the re- 
 spective radii EH, (that is, the spheroid 
 made by the rotation of the semi ellipsis A 
 F B about the a.xis A B) will be to all the 
 circles described by the respective radii EG, 
 (that is, the sphere described by the ro- 
 tation of the semi-circle A D B on the axis 
 A B) as F to C that is, as the sphe- 
 roid is to the sphere on the same axis, so is 
 the other axis of the generating ellipsis to 
 the square of the diameter or axis of the 
 sphere: and this holds whether the sphe- 
 roid beiformed by a revolution around the 
 greater or lesser axis. 
 
 Hence it appears, that the half of the 
 spheroid, formed by the rotation of the 
 space A H F C, around the axis A C, is dou- 
 ble of the cone generated by the triangle 
 A F C, about the same axis. Hence, also, 
 is evident the measure of the segments of 
 the spheroid, cut by planes perpendicular 
 to the axis: for the segment of the sphe- 
 roid, made by the rotation of the space 
 A N H E round the axis A E, is to the seg- 
 ment of the sphere, having the same axis A 
 C, and made by the rotation of the seg- 
 ment of the circle A M G E, as C F^ to 
 C D^. But the measuie’of this solid may be 
 found with less ttwible by this analogy ; 
 j;is. as B E: A C -f- E B ; : so is the cone 
 
 SI’H 
 
 generated by the rotation of the triangle 
 A HE round the axis A E : to the segment 
 of the sphere made by the rotation of the 
 space A N H E round the same axis A E, 
 as is demonstrated by Archimedes of co- 
 noids and spheroids, prop. 34. This agrees 
 as well to the oblate as to the oblong sphe- 
 roid, A spheroid is also equal to two thirds 
 of its circumscribing Cylinder. As to the 
 superficies of a spheroid, M. Huygens 
 gives the two following constructions in Ids 
 Horolog. Oscill.' For describing a circle 
 equal to the superficies of an oblong and 
 prolate spheroid: 1. Let an oblong sphe- 
 roid be generated by the rotation of the 
 ellipsis • A D B E, (fig. 7) about its trans- 
 verse axis A B, and let D E be its conju- 
 gate; make D F equal to C B, or let F be 
 one of the foci, and draw B G parallel to F 
 D, and about the point G, with the radius 
 B G, describe an arch, B H A, of a circle; 
 then between the semi-conjugate C D, and 
 a right line equal to 13 E -j- the arch A H 
 B, find a mean proportional, and that will 
 be the radius of a circle equal to the super- 
 ficies of the oblong spheroid. S. Let a 
 prolate spheroid be generated by the rota- 
 tion of the ellipsis A D B E (fig. 8) about 
 its conjugate axis A B. Let F be one of 
 the foci, and bisect C F in G, and let A G B 
 be the curve of the common parabola 
 whose base is the conjugate diameter A B, 
 and axis C G. Then if between the trans- 
 verse axis D E, and a right line equal to 
 the curve A G H of the parabola, a mean 
 proportional be taken, the same will be the 
 radius of a circle equal to the surface of 
 that prolate spheroid. 
 
 SPHEX, in natural history, a genus of 
 insects of the order Hymenoptera. Month 
 with an entire jaw, the mandibles horny, 
 incurved, toothed; tip horny, membrana- 
 ceous at the tip ; four feelers ; antenn® 
 with about ten articulations ; wings, in each 
 sex, plane, incumbent, and not folded; sting 
 pungent and concealed within the abdo- 
 men. There are about one hundred and fifty 
 species, divided into sections. A. antenn®, 
 setaceous ; and entire lip and no tongue. 
 B. antenn® filiform ; lip einarginate, with 
 a bristle on each side; tongue inflected, 
 trifid. The insects of this genus are the 
 most savage and rapacious of this class of 
 beings : they attack whatever comes in 
 their way, and by means of their poisonous 
 sting overcome and devour others far be- 
 yond their own size. Those belonging to 
 section B are found chiefly on umbellate 
 plants ; the larva is without feet, soft, and 
 
SPH 
 
 SPH 
 
 inliabits the body of some othei' insect, on 
 whose juices it exists; the pupa lias rudi- 
 ments of wings. 
 
 S. macnlata, is found in England. Thorax 
 spotted; first segment of the abdomen with 
 a white dot on each side ; second, edged witli 
 white. See Plate IV. Entomology, fig. 6. 
 
 S. fignlus, an inhabitant of Ilpsal, is 
 smooth and black ; segments of the abdo- 
 men at the edges and lip lucid. It is found 
 in holes of wooden partitions, abandoned 
 by other insects ; these it cleanses by gnaw- 
 ing round them, and placing a piece of 
 moist clay at the bottom sticks a spider 
 upon it ; in the body of this spider it depo- 
 sits its eggs, and then closes np the entrance 
 with clay, and leaves it to be devoured by 
 the larva. 
 
 S. spirifex, is black ; thorax hairy, im- 
 maculate ; petiole of one joint, yellow, as 
 long as the abdomen. This insect is found in 
 Egypt, and in several parts of Europe, in 
 cylindrical cavities, wrought wdthin like a 
 honey-comb, on the sides of clifi's, and in 
 the mud walls of cottages. 
 
 S. figulus, is one of the species mention- 
 ed by br. Shaw. Tliis insect having found 
 some convenient cavity, seizes a spider, arid 
 having killed it.,, deposits it at the bottom ; 
 then layiijg her egg in it, she closes up the 
 orifice of the cavity with clay; the larva, 
 which resembles the maggot of a bee, hav- 
 ing devoured tlie spider, spins itself up in a 
 dusky silken web, and changes into a chry- 
 salis, out of which, within a certain number 
 of days, proceeds the complete insect. The 
 female of this species prepares several sepa- 
 rate holes, or nests, in each of w'hich she 
 places a dead insect and an egg ; each cell 
 costing her the labour of about tw'o days. 
 
 SPHINCTER, in anatomy, a tefm ap- 
 plied to a kind of circular muscles, or mus- 
 cles in form of rings, which serve to close 
 and draw np several orifices of the body, 
 and prevent the excretion of the contents: 
 thus the sphincter of the anus closes the ex- 
 tremity of the intestinum rectum. 
 
 SPHINX, in natural history, hawk-moth, 
 a genus of insects of the order Lepidoptera. 
 Antennae somewhat prismatic, tapering at 
 each end ; tongue mostly exserted ; two 
 feelers, reflected ; wings deflected. There 
 rare about two hundred species; these fly 
 abroad in the morning and evening, are 
 very slow on tlie wing, and often make a 
 humming kind of noise ; they extract the 
 nectary of flowers with the tongue ; the 
 larva has sixteen feet, and is pretty active. 
 The name of the sphinx is applied to the 
 
 genus on account of the posture assumed 
 by the larvae of several of the larger species, 
 which are said to be seen in an attitude 
 much resembling that of the Egyptian 
 sphinx. Tliis numerous genus is divided 
 into sections: A. antennae scaly; feelers 
 hairy ; tongue spiral. B. antennae cylindri- 
 cal; tongue exserted, truncate; wings en- 
 tire. C. antennae thicker in the middle ; 
 tongue exserted. The largest, and perhaps 
 the most beautiful of the European species, 
 is S. atropos ; of this, the_ upper wings are 
 of a fine dark grey, with a few slight vari- 
 gations, of dull orange and white ; the body 
 is orange coloured, with the sides marked 
 with black bars, while along the top of the 
 back, from the thorax to the tail, runs a 
 broad blue-grey stripe ; on the top of the 
 thorax is a very large patch, of a most sin- 
 gular appearance, exactly resembling the 
 usiial figure of a skull. When in the least 
 disturbed, or irritated, this insect emits a 
 sound like the squeaking of a mouse or a 
 bat. In many pans of Europe it is held 
 much ill dread by the vulgar, and regarded 
 as the harbinger of misfortune. The cater- 
 pillar, from which this curious sphinx pro- 
 ceeds, is in tlie Highest degree beautiful, 
 and surpasses in size every other European 
 insect of the kind, being sometimes five 
 inches in length: its colour is a bright 
 yellow, tli9 sides marked by a row of seven 
 most elegant broad stripes, of a mixed vio- 
 let and sky-blue colour; on the last joint 
 of the body is a horn, or process, hanging 
 over the joint in the manner of a tail, hav- 
 ing a rough or muricated surface, and a 
 yellow colour. This caterpillar is princi- 
 pally found on the potatoe and the jas- 
 mine ; it usually changes into a chrysalis in 
 the month of September, retiring for that 
 purpose pretty deep under the surface of 
 the earth ; the complete insect emerging in 
 the following summer. This species is ge- 
 nerally considered as a very rare insect ; 
 and as the caterpillar feeds chiefly by night, 
 concealing itself during the day, it is not 
 often seen. See Plate IV. Entomology, 
 fig. 7. 
 
 S. ligiistri, or privet hawk-moth, is a 
 large insect, measuring nearly four inches 
 and a half from wing’s end to wing’s end : 
 the upper wings of a brown colour, most 
 elegantly varied or shaded with deeper and 
 lighter streaks and patches ; the under wings 
 and body are of a fine rose colour, barred 
 with transverse black stripes. The cater- 
 pillar, which is very large, is smooth, and of 
 a fine green, with seven oblique purple and 
 
 
SPI 
 
 Isihite stripes along each side ; at the extre- 
 mity of the body, or top of the last joint, is 
 a horn or process pointing backwards. This 
 beautiful cateipillar is often found in the 
 months of July and August feeding on the 
 privet, the lilac, the poplar, and some other 
 trees, and generally changes to a chrysalis 
 in August or September, retiring for that 
 purpose to a considerable depth beneath 
 the surface of the ground, and, after casting 
 its skin, continuing during the whole winter 
 in a dormant state, the sphinx emerging 
 from it in the succeeding June. 
 
 S. ocellata, is perhaps still more beauti- 
 ful : it is rather a smaller insect than the 
 preceding, and has the upper wings and 
 body brown ; the former finely clouded with 
 different shades, while the lower wings are 
 of a bright rose-colour, each marked with a 
 large ocellated black spot, with a blue 
 interior circle and a black centre. This 
 insect proceeds from a green caterpillar, of 
 a rough or shagreen-like surface, marked 
 on each side by seven oblique yellowish- 
 white streaks, and furnished, like the pre- 
 ceding, with a horn at the tail. It is prin- 
 cipally found on- the willow; retires under 
 ground, in order to undergo its change into 
 the chrysalis State, in the month of August 
 or September; and in the following June 
 appears the complete insect. 
 
 SPICA, in botany, a term applied to a 
 particular mode of flowering, in which the 
 flowers are ranged alternately upon both 
 sides of a simple common flower stalk. The 
 flowers in the spica are seated immediately 
 upon the stalk, without any partial foot- 
 stalk, in which it differs from a racemus, or 
 cluster. A spica is said to be single rowed 
 when the flowers are all turned towards 
 one side; and to be double rowed when 
 they look to both sides, or stand two ways. 
 
 SPIDER. See Aranea. 
 
 SPIELMANNIA, in botany, so named 
 in honour of James Reinbold Spielmann, a 
 genus of the Didynamia Angiospermia class 
 and order. Natural order of Personatae. 
 Vitices, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 five-cleft; corolla bearded at the throat, 
 with a five-cleft almost equal border; drupe 
 with a two-celled, two-seeded nut. There 
 is only one species, eiz, S. Africana, silex 
 leaved Spielmannia, or lantana, a native of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 SPIGELIA, in botany, so named in 
 memory of Adrian Spigelius, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Stellatae. Gentianae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character; corolla funneb 
 VOL. VI, 
 
 SPI 
 
 shaped ; capsule twin, two-celled, many- 
 seeded. There are two species, viz. S. an- 
 thelmia, annual worm-grass; and S. mari- 
 landjca, perennial worm-grass. 
 
 SPIKING up the ordnance, a sea phrase, 
 used for fastening a quoin with spikes to 
 the deck close to the breech of the car- 
 riages of great guns, that they may keep 
 close and firm to the ship’s sides, and not 
 get loose when tlie ship rolls, and by that 
 means endanger the breaking out of a butt 
 head of a plank. 
 
 SPILANTHUS, in botany, a genus of 
 the Syngenesia Polygamia .Squalis class 
 and order. Natural order of Compositae 
 Oppositifoliae. Corymbiferae, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx almost equal ; down 
 two-toothed ; receptacle conical, chaffy. 
 There are nine species. I’liis genus is made 
 up chiefly of those species of bidens and 
 verbe^iua which do not properly belong to 
 those genera ; they are natives of the East 
 and West Indies. 
 
 SPINA, in botany, a thorn, a species of 
 offensive weapon, protruded from the wood , 
 of the plant, and which is therefore of a 
 stronger and harder nature than prickles, 
 which are detached portions of the bark. 
 Thorns, which are an expansion of the lig- 
 neous body, are compared to the horns of 
 animals, which adhere to the bones of the 
 skull, and are protruded from them. 
 
 SPINACIA, in botany, spinach, a genus 
 of the Dioecia Pentandria class and order. ' 
 Natural order of Holoraceas. Atriplices, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : male, calyx 
 five-parted ; corolla none : female, calyx 
 four-cleft ; corolla none ; styles four ; seed 
 fine, within the hardened calyx. There are 
 two species ; viz. S. oleracea, garden spi- 
 nach ; and S. fera, wiid spinach. There are 
 also two varieties. 
 
 SPINDLE, in the sea language, is the 
 smallest part of the ship’s capstan, which is 
 between the two decks. The spindle of the 
 jeer-capstan has wl\elps to heave the viol. 
 The axis of the wheel of a watch or clock, 
 is also called the spindle. Among miners, 
 the spindle is a piece of wood fastened into 
 either stow blade. 
 
 SPINELLE, in mineralogy, a species of 
 the flint genus; its principal colour is red, 
 from which it passes on the one side into 
 blue, and even into green, on the other into 
 yellow and brown. Its colours are mostly 
 deep, and they have always a shade of black. 
 Sometimes it is enveloped in an opaline 
 crust; sometimes it exhibits an opalescent 
 iridescence. It occurs in grains, which, 
 P 
 
SPl 
 
 from their aspect, show that they have been 
 rolled, and also crystallized. Its specific 
 gravity is from 3.5 to 3.7. It is unalterable 
 before the blow-pipe without addition ; but 
 is fusible with borax ; it consists, accord- 
 ing to Klaproth, 
 
 Alumina..' 74.5 
 
 Silica 15.5 
 
 Magnesia 8.35 
 
 Oxide of iron 1.50 
 
 Lime 75 
 
 100.5 
 
 Vauquelin gives a somewhat different ana- 
 lysis. It is found in the kingdom of Pegu, 
 and in the island of Ceylon,accompanied with 
 zircon, hyacinth, tourmaline, and ceylanite. 
 It is employed as a precious stone, and is of 
 considerable value ; but it is not so highly 
 esteemed as the oriental ruby : from tliis it 
 is distinguished by being harder, and of a 
 greater specific gravity. 
 
 SPINET, or Spinnet, a musical instru- 
 ment ranked in the second or third place 
 among harmonious instruments. See Mu- 
 sical Instruments. 
 
 SPINIFEX, in botany, a genus of the 
 Polygamia Dioecia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Gramina, Gramineas, or Gras- 
 ses. Essential character: hermaphrodite, 
 calyx glume two-valved, two-flowered; 
 valves parallel to the rachis ; corolla two- 
 valved, awnless; stamens three; styles 
 two : male, calyx common with the herma- 
 phrodite ; corolla and stamens similar. 
 There is only one species ; viz. S. squarro- 
 sus, a native of the East Indies, China, and 
 Cochinchina, on sandy coasts. 
 
 SPINNING, the act of reducing silk, 
 flax, hemp, hair, wool, or other matter, into 
 thread. Spinning is either performed on 
 the wheel, or with a distaff and spindle, or 
 with other machines proper for the several 
 kinds of working. Hemp, flax, nettle-thread, 
 and other like vegetable matters, are to 
 be wetted in spinning : silks, wools, &c. are 
 spun dry, at least they do not stand in need 
 of water : there is, however, a way of spin- 
 ning or reeling silk as it comes off the cases 
 or balls, where hot, or even boiling, water 
 is to be used. The vast variety and impor- 
 tance of these branches of our manufac- 
 tures, which are produced from cotton, 
 wool, and flax, spun into yarn, together with 
 the cheapness of provisions, and the low 
 price of labour, in many foreign countries, 
 which are the rivals of our trade, have occa- 
 sioned many attempts at home to render 
 
 SPI 
 
 spinning more easy, cheap, and expeditious. 
 Mr. Arkwright has carried the invention to 
 a high degree of perfection. He not only 
 contrived methods for spinning cotton, but 
 obtained a patent for making cotton, flax, 
 and wool, into yarn. See Manufacture 
 of Cotton, 
 
 SPINTHERE, in mineralogy, one of the 
 earthy fossils, of a greenish colour: it oc- 
 curs crystallized, in irregnlar, double, four- 
 sided pyramids, which are obliquely trun- 
 cated. The crystals are small, and the frac- 
 ture foliated. It melts very easily before 
 the blow-pipe. 
 
 SPIO, in natural history, a genus of the 
 Vermes Mollusca class and, order: body 
 projecting from a tube, jointed, and fur- 
 nished with dorsal fibres ; peduncles, or feet, 
 rough with bristles, and placed towards the 
 back ; feelers two, long, simple ; two eyes, 
 oblong. There are two species; niz. S. se- 
 ticornis : feelers thin and striate : is found 
 in the ocean, principally where there is a 
 clayey bottom: it is about three inches 
 long: the tube is composed of agglutinated 
 particles of earth, thin, erect, and thrice as 
 long as the body ; from this the animal pro- 
 jects its capillary white feelers in search of 
 food, which consists of small marine worms : 
 body whitish, with a tinge of green, and a 
 red line down the middle of the back ; the 
 hind part sea-green ; the fore pai t blackish 
 grey, with transverse white strim : head pale. 
 The other species is S. filicornis : feelers 
 thick and annulate: it inhabits the seas 
 about Greenland ; it is about an inch long, 
 and from its tube projects its feelers in 
 search of Planariae, and other small marine 
 worms. 
 
 SPIRiEA, in botany, a genus of the Ico- 
 sandria Pentagynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Pomaceae. Rosace®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx five-cleft ; petals 
 five ; capsule many-seeded. Tliere are 
 twenty-two species. 
 
 SPIRAL, in geometry, a curve line of the 
 circular kind, which, in its progress, recedes 
 from its centre. 
 
 A spiral, according to Archimedes, its 
 inventor, is thus generated : if a right line, 
 as A B, (Plate Miscel. XIV. fig. 9) having 
 one end fixed at B, be equally moved round, 
 so as with the other end A to describe the 
 periphery of a circle; and, at the same 
 time, a point be conceived to move forward 
 equally from B towards A, in the right line 
 B A, so as that the point describes that 
 line, while the line generates the circle: 
 then will tlie point, with its two motions, 
 
SPL 
 
 describe the curve line B 1, 3, 4, 6, &c. 
 
 which is called the helix or spiral line ; and 
 the plane space contained between the spi- 
 ral line and the right line B A is called the 
 spiral space. 
 
 It also you conceive the point B to move 
 twice as slow as the line A B, so as that it 
 shall get but half way along the line B A, 
 when that line shall have formed the circle; 
 and if then you imagine a new revolution to 
 be made of the line carrying the point, so 
 that they shall end their motion at last to- 
 gether, there will be formed a double spiral 
 line, and the two spiral space.', as you see in 
 the figure. From the genesis of this curve, 
 the following corollaries may be easily 
 drawn. 1. The lines B 12, B 11, B 10, 
 &c. making equal angles with the first and 
 second spiral (as also B 12, B 10, B 8, &c.) 
 are in arithmetical proportion. 2. The lines 
 B 7, B 10, &c. drawn any how to the first 
 spiral, are to one another as the arches of 
 the circle intercepted between B A and 
 those lines. 3. Any lines drawn from B to 
 the second spiral, as B 18, B 22, &c. are to 
 each other as the aforesaid arches, together 
 with the whole periphery added on both 
 sides. 4. The first spiral space is to the 
 first circle as one to 3. And, 5, The first 
 spiral line is equal to half the periphery of 
 the first circle; for the radii of the sec- 
 tors, and consequently the arches, are in a 
 simple arithmetical progression, while the 
 peripher 3 ' of the circle contains as many 
 arches equal to the greatest ; wherefore the 
 periphery to all those arches is to the spiral 
 lines as 2 to 1. 
 
 Spiral, in architecture and sculpture, 
 implies a curve that ascends, winding about 
 a cone or spire, so as all the points thereof 
 continually approach the axis. It is distin- 
 guished from the helix, by its winding 
 around a cone, whereas the helix winds in 
 the same manner around a cylinder. 
 
 Spirals, proportional, are such spiral 
 lines as the rhumb lines on the terrestrial 
 globe, which, because they make equal 
 angles with every meridian, must also make 
 equal angles with the meridians in the ste- 
 reographic projection on the plane of the 
 equator ; and therefore will be, as Dr. Hal- 
 ley observes, proportional spirals about the 
 polar point. 
 
 SPIRE, in architecture, was used by 
 the ancients for the base of a column,, and 
 sometimes for the astragal, or tore. But, 
 among the modems, it denotes a steeple 
 that continually diminishes as it ascends, 
 whether conically or pyramidallj’. , 
 
 SPO 
 
 SPLACHNUM, in botany, a genus of 
 the Cryptogamia Mrsci class and order. 
 Generic character: capsule cylindrical; 
 veil and receptacle very large ; fringe with 
 eight teeth. Male, a bud on a different 
 plant; circular, terminating. 
 
 SPLEEN. See Anatomy. 
 
 SPLENTS, or Splints, in surgery, 
 pieces of wood, used in binding up broken 
 limbs. 
 
 SPLICING, in the sea language, is the 
 untwisting the ends of two cables or ropes, 
 and working the several strands into one 
 another by a- fidd, so that they become as 
 strong as if they were but one rope. 
 
 SPLINTER, a small shiver of wood, or 
 the like. The splinters of fractured bones, 
 if loose, are to be carefully removed, other- 
 wise replaced. 
 
 SPODUMENE, in mineralogy, one of 
 the earthy fossils, of a greenish- white colour, 
 passing into apple-green. It occurs in small 
 masses, is .shining, and of a pearlj' lustre. 
 Specific gravity about 3.2. It splits before 
 the blow pipe into smallish yellowish folia, 
 and at length melts into a greyish white 
 transparent glass. It is found in the mines 
 of Upton, in Sweden, accompanied with 
 quartz >and black mica. 
 
 SPONDEE, spondcEus, in ancient poetry, 
 a foot consisting of two long syllables, as 
 omnes. 
 
 Some give the appellation spondaic to 
 verses composed wholly of spondees, or at 
 least that end with two spondees ; as, 
 
 Constitit, atque oculus Phrygia agtnina dr- 
 cumspexit, 
 
 SPONDIAS, in botany, hog-plum, a ge- 
 nus of the Decandria Pentagynia class and 
 order. Natural , order of Terebintaceas, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 toothed; corolla five-petalled ; drupe with 
 a five-celled nut. There are four species. 
 
 SPONDYLUS, in natural history, a ge- 
 nus of the Vermes Testacea class and order : 
 animal a tethys : shell hard, solid, with un- 
 equal valves; on© of the valves convex, the 
 other rather flat : hinge with two recurved 
 teeth, separated by a small hollow. There 
 are four species : the shell of the S. gaedaro- 
 pns is slightly eared, and spinpus : it inha- 
 bits the Mediterranean, Indian, and other 
 seas, and is found in almost infinite varieties 
 as to size, thickness, and colours ; some- 
 times entirely purple, orange, white, or 
 bloom colour; sometimes marked with va- 
 rious streaks, spots, dots, or bands. 
 
 SPONGIA, in natural history, sponge, a 
 genus of the Vermes Zooelivta class and 
 PS 
 
SPO 
 
 Older: animal fixed, torpid, of various 
 forms, composed either of reticulate 'fibres, 
 or masses of small spines, interwoven toge- 
 ther, and clothed with gelatinous flesh, full of 
 small mouths on its surface, by which it ab- 
 sorbs and rejects water. Between fifty and 
 sixty species have been enumerated. S. of- 
 ficinalis is irregularly formed, porous, tough, 
 lobed, and woolly : It is found in the Archi- 
 pelago, Mediterranean, and Indian seas, 
 adhering to rocks by a broad base : it is of- 
 ten found inclosing small stones, shells, and 
 particles of sand : variety of marine animals 
 pierce and gnaw it into irregular winding 
 cavities, which appear on the outside by 
 large holes higher than the rest : its colour 
 varies from a pale to a deep yellow : the 
 internal part, when cut perpendicular, con- 
 sists of small tubes, composed of reticulate 
 fibres, and ending on the outside in an infi- 
 nite number of small circular holes, w'hich 
 are the bibulous mouths of the animal, each 
 of which is surrounded by a few erect point- 
 ed fibres. Tliis is the common sponge of 
 the shops. 
 
 S. ventilabrum, is fan-shaped, regular, 
 soft, with reticulate woody veins, covered 
 with pores like a honeycomb. This species 
 inhabits the Norway and American seas: is 
 about six inches high, and five broad : ex- 
 actly resembles a small Gorgonia flabellum 
 in its shape and ramifications, except that 
 the pores ai'e angular, and the substance is 
 spongy. 
 
 S. cristata, or cock’s-comb sponge, is flat, 
 erect, and soft, growing in the shape of 
 cock’s-combs, with rows of little holes along 
 the tops, which project a little.. It abounds 
 on the rocks to the eastward of Hastings, 
 in Sussex, where it may be seen at low- 
 water. It is commonly about three inches 
 long, and two inches high, and of a pale 
 yellowish colour. When put into a glass 
 vesselmf sea water, it has been observed to 
 suck in and squirt out the water through 
 little months along the tops, giving evident 
 signs of life. 
 
 S. tomentosa, or nrens, stinging sponge, 
 or crumb of bread sponge, is of many forms, 
 full of pores, very brittle and soft, and in- 
 terwoven with very minute spines. It is 
 flill of small protuberances, with a hole in 
 each, by which it sucks in and throws out 
 the water. It is very common on the 
 British coast; and is frequently seen sur- 
 
 SPO 
 
 of gelatinous flesh; but when dry, it be- 
 comes whitish, and when broken has the 
 appearance of crumbs of bread. If rubbed 
 on the hand, it will raise blisters ; and if 
 dried in an oven, its power of stinging is 
 much increased, especially that variety of it 
 which is found on the sea coast of North 
 America. 
 
 S. fluviatilis, river sponge, is green, erect, 
 brittle, and irregularly disposed in numer- 
 ous branches. It abounds in many parts of 
 Europe, in the fresh rivers of Russia and 
 England, but particularly in the river 
 Thames. It scarcely exhibits any symp. 
 toms of life ; is of a fishy smell : its pores, 
 or mouths, are sometimes filled with green 
 gelatinous globules. 
 
 So early as the days of Aristotle sponges 
 were supposed to possess animal life ; the 
 persons employed in collecting tliem hav- 
 ing observed them shrink w'hen torn from 
 the rocks, thus exhibiting symptoms of 
 sensation. The same opinion prevailed 
 in the time of Pliny. But no attention 
 was paid to this subject, till Count Mar- 
 sigh examined them, and declared them 
 vegetables. Dr. Peysonell,in a paper which 
 he sent to the Royal Society in the year 
 1752, and in a second in 1757, affirmed 
 they were not vegetables, but the produc- 
 tion of animals; and has accordingly des- 
 cribed the animals, and the process which 
 they performed' in making the sponges. 
 Mr. Ellis, in the year 1762, was at great 
 pains to discover these animals. For this 
 purpose he dissected the spongia urens, and 
 was surprised to find a great number of 
 small worms of the genus nereis, or sea sco- 
 lopendra, which had pierced their way 
 through the soft substance of the sponge in 
 quest of a safe retreat. That this was really 
 the case, he w’as fully assured of, by in- 
 specting a number of specimens of the same 
 sort of sponge, just fresh from the sea. He 
 put them into a glass filled with sea water ; 
 and then, instead of seeing any of the little 
 animals which Dr. Peysonell described, he 
 observed the papill®, or small holes, with 
 which the papillae are surounded, contract 
 and dilate themselves. He examined ano- 
 ther variety of the same species of sponge, 
 and plainly perceived the small tubes in- 
 spire and expire the water. He therefore 
 concluded, that the sponge is an animal, and 
 that the ends, or openings, of the branched 
 
 rounding tucuses. It is found also on the 
 shores of North America, Africa, and in the 
 East Indies. When newly taken out of the 
 sea, it is of a bjight orange colour, and full 
 
 tubes, are the mouths by which it receives 
 its nourishment, and discharges its excre- 
 ments. 
 
 SPOON-iill. See Pi.atea. 
 
SPO 
 
 SPOONING, in tlie sea langnage, is said 
 of a sliip, whicli, being under sail in a storm 
 at sea, is unable to bear it, and consequent- 
 ly forced to put right before the wind. 
 
 SPORTING. Although we have not 
 omitted to notice what generally appertains 
 to the winged, finny, or quadruped parts 
 of nafuye, it appeared to us better to collect 
 the whole of the matter relating to sporting 
 in general, under one head ; thereby to 
 preclude the necessity for reverting to other 
 volumes for such information as might be 
 sought. The reader will, however, remark, 
 that we have, under the article Anijung, 
 furnished an ample detail of that diversion : 
 therefore we shall i)roceed to the discus- 
 sion of what relates to Fowling. The 
 first item presenting itself to our considera- 
 tion is the gun ; which ought always to be 
 suited to the occasion. For ordinary field 
 excursions, that is to say when questing 
 for pheasants, or partridges, the piece ought 
 to be conveniently light, and of rather a 
 small bore ; the barrel from two feet four 
 to two feet six, or perhaps eight, inches 
 in length. Chambered guns undoubtedly 
 strike hardest, and in most instances will 
 be found to scatter least. Hence a good 
 marksman will prefer such ; but taking 
 care to allow full thirty yards distance to 
 the bird, unless in cases of emergency, be- 
 fgre the .trigger is drawn. When this pre- 
 caution is neglected, the chance of missing 
 is greater ; while, on the other hand, such 
 birds as may be hit, are absolutely spoiled 
 by the column of shot which brings them 
 down. The gun requisite for cocking, that 
 is for wood cock shooting, is of a very light 
 construction, and very short ; because the 
 birds generally rise well within shot, and 
 that the branches of trees, &c. may be less 
 in the way of the gun’s motion while taking 
 aim. We have seen some guns made for 
 this branch of shooting that have been little 
 heavier than a large horse-pistol. With re- 
 gard to such birds as are found on plains, 
 or are aquatics, guns of a larger calibre, and 
 more strongly fortified, so as to resist a 
 large charge of powder without recoiling 
 /severely, are indispensably necessary. The 
 selection of a gun must after all, depend on 
 various circumstances, for instance, a power- 
 ful man, in the prime of life, and of a large 
 stature, would be no ways incommoded by 
 such a one, as would prove highly distress- 
 ing to an elderly person, of a weak frame, 
 and of a diminutive size. Again, we neces- 
 sarily make a distinction according to the 
 nature of the sport ; hence, when shooting 
 
 SPO 
 
 in a punt, or when laying wait for water- 
 fowl, a heavy gun may be used. In truth, 
 without a very strong charge, some of the 
 more shy, or more full feathered birds are 
 not easily brought down. Some experienc- 
 ed persons find that with u stout barrel, 
 weighing from ten to fourteen pounds, they 
 can bear the recoil of even two drachms of 
 powder j which in an ordihary piece would 
 produce, atleast an highly unpleasant recoil, 
 if not some damage to eitlier the piece or 
 the .sportsman. Every barrel ought to be 
 chambered; because the piece is thereby 
 strengthened, and the force, or impetus, 
 of the shot, considerably increased. With 
 respect to the kind of chamber, a variety 
 of opinions exist ; for the most part purely 
 theoretical, and in support of some fa- 
 vourite hypothesis, started by way of no- ' 
 velty, by some maker anxious to obtain 
 celebrity. Aftet mature consideration, we 
 are rather disposed to accord with a num- 
 ber of old sportmen in commending the 
 plain cylindrical chamber, made in the butt 
 screw, or by a very small screw stump 
 added to the butt of the piece : the latte# 
 being preferable in respect to security 
 against lodging fire in the worm of the 
 screw ; but rather more expensive. 
 
 The lock of a gun is a most important 
 object. It cannot well be too small and 
 compact, provided space be allowed for 
 the free movement of the several parts- 
 We all know that thelock of a pistol will 
 answer its purpose as well as that of a mus- 
 ket. The great consideration is, that friction 
 should be avoided by every possible means, 
 which is best etfected by the most simple 
 movements, and by keeping them clear 
 from the plates. Every part subject to the 
 action of another should be well steeled and 
 hardened ; and where practicable friction- 
 rollers should be employed. The pan, above 
 all things, ought to shut very close, and 
 to spring up in a smart manner, when struck 
 by the flint. The trigger should not be 
 subject to action at half-cock ; but at full- 
 cock ought to draw with little resistance : 
 at least, it should not require such force as 
 might derange the aim, or delay the dis- 
 charge. 
 
 Such guns as have double barrels, are 
 commonly provided with a trigger for each 
 lock ; though some are made with but one 
 trigger. In the former case, either barrel 
 may be discharged at pleasure, which is not 
 always the case in the latter mode of con- 
 struction ; which, though apparently more 
 simple, is by no means so convenient. The 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 allpged reason of having but one is, that the 
 interior is simplified, while the sportsman 
 is less bewildered in regard to the choice of 
 triggers, and in the application of the finger 
 thereto ; but we conceive, that no cool or 
 expert sportsman is ever at a loss in those 
 particulars. 
 
 We now come to speak of the sizes of 
 shot in ordinary nse, as they are appro- 
 priated to various kinds and sizes of birds : 
 observing, that many old sportsmen and 
 game-keepers consider it advantageous to 
 mix No. 4, 5, 6, and in nearly equal 
 quantities. This, however, does not seem 
 to be warranted. The application of par- 
 ticular sizes to corresponding purpose,s, ap- 
 pears to us more proper ; nor can we re- 
 ject that which rests on the solid basis of 
 reason, in favour of a system but partially 
 supported, even in vvords, and without a 
 sufficient course of experiment under the 
 eye of impartiality. We have, indeed, the 
 assertions of various gentlemen, of the most 
 candid dispositions, and versed in those ex- 
 perimental tests requisite to sanction a prac- 
 tice, whereby it should appear that no mix- 
 ture should ever take place ; but that where 
 large, shy game is sought (such as wild 
 geese, bustards, &c.) No. 1 should be used ; 
 or in default of that, No. %: that where 
 wild ducks, and other hard-feathered birds 
 are in view. No. 3, or 4, should be used ; 
 that for hares, pheasants, and partridges. 
 No. 4 and 5 ought to be employed; that 
 for woodcocks, No. 6 ami 7 suit well; while 
 for snipes and quails. No. 7 and 8 answer 
 admirably. As for ortolans, larks, &c. 
 No. 9 and 10 should be used, where the 
 birds are not very shy ; otherwise No. 8. 
 
 From this it will be seen, that No. 4, 5, 
 6, and 7, certainly constitute the, general 
 expenditure of the regular sportsman ; hut 
 we cannot, from that, deduce, that they 
 ought to be mixed. However much we may 
 differ, in the above point, from the Rev. 
 W. B. Daniel, author of the celebrated 
 “ Rural Sports.” Such is. the opinion we 
 entertain of that work, that we. shall pre- 
 sent our rsadevs w'ith the following passage 
 extracted from his second volume. He 
 gives the i’ollowing table. 
 
 , Grains. 
 
 One ounce of common shot, No. 4, 
 
 contains jgg 
 
 Charge for double gun 317 
 
 One ounce of patent shot, No,, 4, 
 
 contains oyg 
 
 Charge for double gun 375 
 
 The difference of charge, between the 
 patent, and the common shot, is 
 therefore 58 grains in the ounce. 
 
 One ounce of No. 5, common .shot, 
 
 contains 230 
 
 Charge for ditto 437 
 
 One ounce of patent ditto g7i 
 
 Charge for ditto 512 
 
 Difference 75 grains. 
 
 One ounce of No. 6, common shot, 
 
 contains y.... 300 
 
 Charge for ditto 554 
 
 One ounce of patent ditto 327 
 
 Charge for ditto 
 
 Difference 76 grains. 
 
 One qunce of No. 7, common shot, 
 
 contains ggg 
 
 Charge for ditto 703 
 
 One ounce of patent ditto sgg 
 
 Charge of ditto 757 
 
 Difference 49 grains. 
 
 MIXED SHOT. 
 
 One ounce of No. 4, 5, 6, common 
 
 shot, contains 
 
 Charge for ditto 
 
 One ounce of patent ditto. No 4 
 
 5, 6 ’ J 
 
 Charge for ditto 
 
 Difference 59 grains. 
 
 232 
 
 434 
 
 263 
 
 493 
 
 One ounce of No. 5, 6, and 7, com- 
 mon shot, contain 297 
 
 Charge for ditto ’ ’ ggg 
 
 One ounce of patent. No. .5, 6, 7 .... 330 
 
 Charge for ditto ggp 
 
 Difference 17 grains.” 
 
 Our readers cannot fail to perceive, that 
 the word “ charge” is, in the above’ case, 
 purely arbitrary ; we nece.ssarily conclude, 
 that Mr. Daniel found such answer well for 
 the double barrel gun which he used ; which 
 might be of a large, or of as mall, bore. Tak- 
 ing the average, we compute his charges to 
 weigh about 9 or 10, to the pound ; and this 
 we may, perhap.^, find to be tolerably cor- 
 rect, as a standard on common occasions - 
 since it is found, in general, that a bag of 
 shot, weighing a quarter, i. e. 28 pounds, 
 will make about 260 charges. 
 
 Mr. Daniel continues as follows : 
 
 The smallest shot above mentioned 
 (i. e. No. 7), will kill at forty yards; the ve- 
 locity of a charge of No. 7, being equal to 
 one of No. 3, at that distance ; and, since 
 small shot fly thicker tlian large, ui propor- 
 tion to size, and, as there are many parts 
 about the body of a bird, wherein a pellet 
 
SPORTING, 
 
 of No. 7 will affect its vitality, equal to a 
 pellet of No. 2, the chances for using the 
 former are multiplied in the marksman’s fa- 
 vour ; for it is the number, and not the 
 magnitude of the particles, that kills on the 
 spot. If sportsmen would be persuaded to 
 use No. 5 and 6 in grouse and partridge, 
 and No. 7 in woodcock-shooting, instead of 
 No. 3 and 4 j and No. 4 and 6 for black- 
 game and pheasants, instead of No. 2 and 
 3, they would bring home one-third more 
 game, and not destroy one bird more than 
 usual. They who prefer large shot, and ac- 
 custom themselves to fire at great dis- 
 tances, leave nearly as many languishing in 
 the field, as immediately fall, whereas those 
 that use small shot, and shoot fair, fill their 
 bag, with little spoil or waste, beyond what 
 they take with them from the field.” 
 
 We derive much satisfaction from the 
 support of so respectable an authority, and 
 from the assurance of another veteran, in 
 ornithologic devastation, who assures us, 
 that for upwards of twenty years he never 
 used any shot for field sport, above the size 
 of No. 6, with which he has killed bustards 
 and deer ; the same authority further states, 
 that for the ordinary birds of small game, 
 such as snipes and quail. No. 8 was always 
 found perfectly adequate. For geese, and 
 in general for ducks, it was his constant 
 practice to load with No. 2 or 3, according 
 to the expanse of water. We are likewise 
 indebted to the same authority for a kind 
 of standard, by which sportsmen in general 
 may be guided with propriety, which 
 serves, at the same time, to supply a defici- 
 ency prevailing in all publications , on this 
 subject. 
 
 “ Many persons, are unable to estimate 
 the proper charges of powder and shot for 
 their respective pieces^ it is true, some 
 authors tell us, to be guided by the weight 
 of the ball ; but it often happens, that a 
 ball is not at hand ; and, when obtained, 
 unless it fits exactly, and is perfectly sphe- 
 rical, will not determine the true dimen- 
 sions of the bore. I have always found, 
 that, with the best powder, a charge equal 
 to a diamei er and a half of the bore, was the 
 best, tliat is, die most efficient quantity ; 
 that it impelled an equal quantity of shot 
 with' great force ; and that without causing 
 too great a recoil. Thus if the bore were 
 six-eighths of an inch, the load of powder, 
 poured loosely into the piece, should raise 
 the ram rod nine-eighths from an inch ; or 
 one inch and one-eighth. The wadding 
 should be of thick leather, or felt (i. e. old 
 
 hat) cut out with a machine ; that should be 
 rammed down firmly, but not so as to 
 bruise the grains of powder. Then put in 
 the same measure of shot, as you did of 
 powder, and ram it down rather mode- 
 rately, after covering with a second wadding 
 as above. Observe, that shot will spread 
 more or less in proportion to the force 
 with which it is rammed down ; the more 
 it is rammed, the less it will diverge. The 
 above mode of Charging will cause the 
 charge in a piece of three quarters of an 
 inch bore, to occupy a depth of full two 
 inches and a half in depth. Some, who 
 have a great predilection for large charges 
 may smile at the above quantity, which has, 
 however, answered admirably with me, and 
 will be found, under fair and repeated ex- 
 periments, to be the most killing charge 
 that can be used. But I must remark, 
 that, owing to some fault in the construc- 
 tion, dud especially if the vent be placed at 
 all beyond the bottom of the barrel, some 
 guns will recoil severely, even vrith the 
 above ipoderate charge. When such is the 
 case, I should recommend that the piece be 
 chambered.” 
 
 The foregoing perspicuous mode of 
 charging appears so reasonable, and is 
 founded on so regular a computation, that 
 we feel a confidence in urging all sportsmen 
 to give it a fair trial ; it is obviously mo- 
 derate ; therefore may be considered as de- 
 void of danger. Upon that principle we 
 could expatiate, at great length, regarding 
 the highly culpable practice of carrying a 
 piece full-cocked ; also of letting it swing 
 in such a direction as might cause the 
 charge, in case of accident, to wound any 
 person in the field. The muzzle ought al- 
 ways to be carried above the shoulder ; 
 and, in general, it ought to be the endea- 
 vour of every sportsman, to avoid every 
 liability to endanger either himself, or any 
 other person. However inconvenient stop 
 locks may prove on some occasions, they 
 nevertheless have the great recommenda- 
 tion of being on the safe side of the ques- 
 tion : when a gun is put by in a situation 
 accessible to other persons, even wlien un- 
 loaded, it ought to have the lock stopped, to 
 prevent its beitig injured ; but when a piece 
 is loaded, which should never be the qase, 
 except under very pressing circumstances, 
 due care ought to be taken to prevent its 
 being in the hands of children, or of any but 
 those for whose use it may be intended. 
 
 Having said thus much in regard to the 
 constrpetion or kinds of guns proper for 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 shooting in general, we shall proceed to 
 state a few particulars relating to the various 
 kinds of game generally sought, and to give 
 the sportsman as much insight as our limits 
 may allow, regarding the laws in force on 
 the subject of shooting, &c. 
 
 The Bustard is the largest of our fea- 
 thered game, the male sometimes weighing 
 nearly thirty pounds, being in length (from 
 beak to toe) nearly four feet, and expand- 
 ing its wings so as to measure full nine feet 
 between their tips. Some consider it to be 
 gallinaceous, while others class it with the 
 ostrich and cassowary. The bill is strong, 
 and somewhat convex ; the eyes red ; head 
 and neck ash-coloured ; and on each side 
 of the lower beak is a tuft of feathers from 
 five to nine inches in length ; in some coun- 
 tries of a beautiful jet black, but with us of 
 a white or dun colour. The back is barred 
 transversely with black and bright rust co- 
 lour ; the greater quill-feathers are brown, 
 the belly white, the tail has twenty fea- 
 thers, the middle ones barred with black ; 
 the legs are long, naked above the knees ; 
 it has no hind-toe (which is a peculiarity 
 whereby this genus is distinguished, for 
 there are innumerable varieties in different 
 parts of the world) but has a callous pro- 
 cess, serving as a heel. The female rarely 
 exceeds twelve pounds in weight, and is 
 not so strikingly marked as the male, and 
 has no tufts under the bill ; her colour is 
 more dull, and she has not the reservoir, or 
 water pouch, found within every male, and 
 which is capable of containing from four to 
 seven pints of water. This enables the 
 bustard to remain for a long time on those 
 immense plains, remote from water, where it 
 is often found, and where the female lays her 
 eggs, which are of a pale olive brown, sprin- 
 kled with dark spots j her nest is very soon 
 made, being nothing more than a shallow 
 hollow scraped in some dry place, especially 
 in a turnip field, or in some dry stubble, or 
 grass, whence she can see whatever ap- 
 proaches. Her own colour so much resem- 
 bles the soil, that unless scented by dogs, 
 she is Often put up by persons who almost 
 tread on her before she rises. 
 
 Bustards were forjnerly numerous in 
 England, but now are only^ found in the 
 south and east parts, particularly on the 
 large downs of Yorksliire, and of Wiltshire 
 and Dorsetshire ; they are supposed to be 
 extinct in Scotland. They very rarely 
 wander more than thirty miles from their 
 native haunts, making very short flights, 
 running very rapidly, and rising from the 
 
 ground with considerable difficulty. Henee 
 they have been frequently caught by grey- 
 hounds, after chases affording considerable 
 diversion. It is evident, that for so heavy 
 a bird, large shot must be necessary ; es- 
 pecially when found on a plain, where it is 
 extremely shy. Some have, however, been 
 brought down with No. 6 ; but in such 
 cases they have risen within a moderate 
 distance. In aiming at the bustard with 
 large shot, endeavour to strike under the 
 wing ; but if with any thing less than 
 No. 2, you cannot do better than level just 
 before his beak ; so as to hit the head. This 
 bird is by some called the floriken ; in the 
 east it is called the cherruss. 
 
 The Pheasant, though not a native of 
 England, nor indeed of Europe ; for it was 
 first brought from the banks of the Phasis 
 in Asia Minor ; has multiplied so extensively 
 among us, as to form a very considerable 
 object among the sporting world. The 
 cocks sometimes weigh nearly four pounds j 
 though, in general, not more tl.an three : 
 the hen is usually from eight to twelve 
 ounces lighter. This bird is too well known 
 to require description in respect to colour 
 or figure. The wings of a pheasant are ex- 
 tremely weak ; hence it can rarely fly half 
 a mile. To this it is attributed that none 
 are found on the new continent ; though 
 they are now very numerous throughout 
 Europe, and in some parts of Africa, as w'ell 
 as in Asia. There are many varieties, such 
 as the afgus, of which the wings are all over 
 dotted as with eyes ; tlie golden, which is 
 of a beautiful lustre gi-een, marked with 
 gold coloured specks of the most vivid ap- 
 pearance; the black, which is only found 
 in India, where it is called the Moco, and 
 is erroneously considered as appertaining 
 to the crow-tribe. 
 
 The pheasant does not easily resign its 
 wild habits; wheij it does, it seems to 
 languish ; it lays but few eggs, and is indif- 
 ferent, or indeed at a loss, regarding its 
 young; which are usually hatched and 
 reared by a common hen on that account. 
 When allowed to ramble, they multiply as 
 quick as the means of subsistence may 
 afford, and appears to thrive during even 
 our most rigorous winters. They are ex- 
 tremely fond of ants ; without which it is 
 asserted by many, they will neither breed, 
 nor remain where bred. In coppices 
 abounding with haws, hips, and many other 
 kinds of berries, the pheasant takes great de- 
 light ; they also fatten a little upon acorns. 
 They begin crowing about the middle of 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 March, when they will sometimes come 
 into the farm-yards and tread the common 
 hens ; whence many assert the finest game 
 fowls are produced ; for the. pheasant is re- 
 markable for his spirit. One cock serves 
 seven or eiglit hens. ' They are particularly 
 fond of clover ; especially when it stands 
 for seed. In thait they will, if undisturbed, 
 make their nests ; hence so many young 
 and eggs are destroyed by the scythe. 
 
 In pheasant shooting most old sportsmen 
 confine their aim to the cock birds, unless 
 the game is extremely abundant ; when it 
 is often necessary to thin them, on account 
 of the prodigious damage they do among 
 ripening corn. When the corn is cut they 
 will frequent the stubble, o)n search of the 
 stray grains, until alarmed by the researches 
 of sportsmen ; at first tliey take to the 
 hedge-rows, where they often lay extremely 
 close, or wind in among the briars, so as to 
 puzzle the spaniels, and to rise in a position 
 adverse to the sportsman. After being se- 
 veral times put up, they take refuge in 
 heavy woods, in which it is extremely diffi- 
 chit to make them take wing ; there they 
 run under the low bushes, and generally 
 gain much upon the dogs, unless followed 
 up with great spirit and activity. Aim at 
 the head or wing, allowing a moderate ad- 
 vance for the birds flight, which is, at first, 
 very rapid, but soon becomes languid, and 
 is at all times very fluttering and noisy. 
 
 Sportsmen are sometimes deceived in re- 
 gard to the sex of the bird they fire at ; for 
 a peculiarity obtains among pheasants which 
 is perhaps little known ; namely, that after 
 a certain age the hen becomes barren, 
 moults, and assumes the plumage of the 
 cock. In this state she is subject to the 
 jealousy of all the males, and has an unna- 
 tural bent tow'ards the destruction of 
 whatever eggs, of her own species, she can 
 find. ' 
 
 Pheasant shooting commences on the 
 first of October, and requires very well 
 trained spaniels. Such as are strong in the 
 chest and loins, with very short legs, are 
 keen, obedient, and courageous, should be 
 selected. Unless these qualities exist, the 
 sportsman will meet with great mortifica- 
 tion ; lus dogs will put up the birds at a 
 great distance, and after having fatigued 
 themselves, will hunt without spirit or dis- 
 crimination. They will drive the pheasants 
 up among the low boughs in the woods, 
 and puzzle to no purpose. Spaniels that 
 have a taint, however remote, of thebound, 
 ^ill be babblers, unsteady, and <]uit birds 
 
 for hares. If good, you cannot have too 
 many spaniels for pheasant shooting ; but, 
 if bad, every additional dog will prove an 
 additional tormentor. 
 
 Mr. Daniel justly observes, “ there are 
 no fixed rules for beating coverts ; this, how- 
 ever, ought to be a standing regulation, ne- 
 ver to beat in a slovenly manner ; a nide of 
 pheasants are sometimes collected in a very 
 small space, and in the middle of the day 
 coiiceal themselves very close. In the early 
 part of the season, pheasants prefer grassy, 
 brambly, two and three year old slops ; and 
 it is lost labour to try higher growths : as 
 the season advances, they will lie in clearer 
 bottoms, especially among pits of water, 
 which are sometimes found in woods. Ip 
 winter, skirting the edges ; and afterwai'ds, 
 by degrees, sinking deeper into the coverts, 
 is, perhaps, where the game is not wery 
 plentiful, as good a mode as any. Tlie 
 haunt of the game that have been feeding 
 in the adjoining fields, will thus probably 
 be hit off ; and it may, at least, serve to 
 show whether there is game in the covert. 
 If any of the spaniels are wide rangers, af- 
 ter traversing the wood well, always make 
 a concluding circuit round the edge of it : 
 depend upon getting shots, by this means, 
 at those birds which may have ran, or 
 flown, from tlie interior parts.” 
 
 The Partridge is the most common spe- 
 cies of field game in England. We have se- 
 veral varieties of this delicious bird, but 
 those we call partridges are either grey or 
 red ; the latter is the biggest, and often 
 perches upon trees : not being a native of 
 our climate, but first introduced from the 
 south of Spain, it is not very common, and 
 is reared with some difficulty. The grey 
 always keep on the ground, and form, by 
 far, the greater part of the sportsman’s suc- 
 cess. The partridge, of whatever species, 
 rarely remains long in the forest ; but has 
 its haunts under thick grown hedges, espe- 
 cially near to stubbles, wherein it feeds 
 with its young so soon as the gleaners have 
 performed their task. The partridge 
 hatches a full month before the pheasant ; 
 therefore the former may be killed on the 
 first of September. The propensity of the 
 partridge to frequent open fields, subjects 
 it to great danger, both from regular sports- 
 men and from poachers ; the latter avail 
 themselves of the alacrity with which this 
 bird answers to the call, and by aid of a 
 well broke setting dog, perhaps of no blood, 
 but completely obedient, and keen after 
 game, it is covered with the net, or led into a 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 labyrinth of springes. The male bird 
 generally weighs nearly a pound, the female 
 ordinarily about two or three ounces less. 
 They pair about the middle, or end of Fe- 
 ' brnary : there are always more cock, than 
 hen-chicks : this produces great struggle for 
 possession of mates, in which many are 
 killed. The Duke of Kingston used to have 
 his covies netted so soon as the birds be- 
 gan to pair, and thinned the number of 
 cocks, and thereby had regular broods, 
 which never happens when the hens are 
 followed by two or more cocks ; as she then 
 drops her eggs in dilferent places, and can- 
 not, of course, hatch them in any mimbers. 
 The hens lay on the ground,- among a few 
 bents and leaves scraped together, usually 
 within some hollow made by the tread of a 
 horse, or by the removal of some large 
 stone or clod. Partridges are very amo- 
 rous and prolific : they ordinarily lay from 
 sixteen to twenty eggs, and often may be 
 seen leading their young in covies of seven 
 or eight brace. In 1793, on a farm occu- 
 pied by Mr. Pratt, near Terling, in Essex, a 
 nest was found in a fallow, containing thir- 
 ty-three eggs ; of these twenty-three were 
 hatched, and the birds fledged ; four more 
 had nine birds in them ; the eggs were piled 
 in a very curious manner by the hen, which 
 covered them all. The above instance of 
 fecundity, though rare, is not singular ; for 
 in June, 1801, at the seat of Mr. Clarke, 
 Walton Place, Northumherland, a nest was 
 found in a plantation, containing thirty^- 
 three eggs ; and in 1798, one was found in 
 a wheat-field, in Somersetshire, with twen- 
 ty-eight eggs. In the year 1788, a partridge 
 was found sitting in the heart of an oak pol- 
 lard, many feet from the ground ; although a 
 stile was fixed into the tree, and persons 
 were perpetually passing by. She hatched 
 sixteen eggs, and assisted her chicks to 
 scramble down among the twigs, until they 
 were all in safety on the grass. 
 
 While the chicks are young, and unable 
 to fly, the old birds attend to them very as- 
 siduously ; at the least alarm they all shel- 
 ter under the hen’s wings, or perhaps under 
 those of the cock. When a dog, &c. breaks 
 in, the cock pretends to be in a state of de- 
 bility, and separates from the hen, which 
 leads the brood away ; the dog is thus led 
 astray. Partridges will also fly at a kite 
 that hovers over their young, in defence of 
 which they are extremely daring and inde- 
 fatigable. These birds often pair with barn- 
 door fowls ; but are by no means prone to 
 domestication. It is probably owing to the 
 
 intermixture,- that covies have been seen 
 pied, party-coloured, or white. 
 
 In shooting partridges, pointers and set- 
 ters are usually employed ; they should be 
 thoroughly staunch, and perfectly under 
 command. The best pointers are of a tall 
 stature, rather light than heavy, in the 
 limbs, with small heads, deep chests, and, 
 lank about the abdomen. The more white 
 about them, the better they will be distin- 
 guished, especially towards the close of day. 
 All dogs that stand, or set, ought to quar- 
 ter their ground well, and should naturally 
 turn to windward ; so as neither to blink, 
 nor to run up, the birds. Though setters 
 are much used by poachers, yet many gen- 
 tlemen prefer t.em to pointers ; but they 
 answer for low coverts only, such as clover 
 and stubbles. The poachers work by night, 
 and prefer open countries to such as are 
 enclosed ; especially when they use the tun- 
 nel-net. To prevent them from catching 
 birds with that destructive machine, a few 
 young partridges should be got early in the 
 season ; these having their bearing claws 
 cut off, cannot run, but always spring, and 
 induce the whole covey to rise. To obviate 
 the ordinary mode of netting birds at night, 
 the stubbles should be bushed ; that is, a 
 number of strips of aglantine, dog-rose, or 
 even large thistles, should be laid about in 
 the fields ; that the net may be intercepted, 
 and the birds be alarmed. 
 
 With regard to the variety of partridges, 
 it would be almost endless to describe 
 them : in some countries, they are of a fine 
 black on the breast, where each feather 
 bears a white spot about the size of a pea ; 
 the rest of the body being strongly marked 
 with game-feathers. The red-legged par- 
 tridge is a native of hot climates ; it is a 
 beautiful bird, grows very large, and is pe- 
 culiarly marked with yellow near the eyes, 
 while the breast bears a large dark-colour- 
 ed crescent. Whatever is of a red, or glow- 
 ing colour, attracts these birds greatly ; 
 hence they are very keen in swallowing 
 red-hot cinders, &c. which, however, soon 
 kill them. This bird is possessed of great 
 speed, and after running for some distance, 
 generally into a covert, will crouch, and al- 
 low the dogs to be on the point of seizing, be- 
 fore he will take wing. There are very few 
 of tliis breed in England / what there are seem 
 to be purely accidental. When wounded, 
 they go to ground in rabbit burrows, &c. 
 
 The Black-grouse, which is a species of 
 partridge, is found chiefly on extensive 
 woods, in the northern parts of Britain; 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 there it is found in immense abundance. 
 Some are also seen in Hampshire : it is pe- 
 culiarly attached to woody and mountainous 
 situations ; especially where the hether grows 
 large, and where juniper bushes abound. 
 The black-grouse perch on trees ; they ne- 
 ver pair ; but when the cocks crow, and 
 clap their wings, the hens fly to them from 
 all quarters. The male weighs full two 
 pounds, in general ; the females rather less. 
 They live under the snow during great part 
 of winter ; but always take the precaution 
 of eating their fill of birch catkins, before 
 they shelter there. Cherries and pease are 
 deleterious to this bird. 
 
 The Red- grouse, Moor -cock, or Red-game. 
 This bird lives chiefly on the extensive 
 moors in North Britain, and in the northern 
 parts of England; also in some of the Wfelsh 
 counties. It is supposed to be a native of 
 Britain, and, indeed, to be peculiar to our 
 islands. The male usually weighs about 
 eighteen ounces ; the female about four- 
 teen. They pair in the spring, and the 
 broods flock together during winter ; being 
 then remarkably vigilant and shy. Tliey 
 usually resort to the summits of hills cover- 
 ed with hether, juniper, bilberry, &c. it is 
 necessary to draw thfem so soon as killed ; 
 else they speedily become tainted. Setters 
 are better than pointers for following red- 
 grouse, on account of their long hair, which 
 protects them from the action of the co- 
 verts ; but, to enable their acting with vi- 
 gour, they must often be supplied with wa- 
 ter ; which, on many moors, will not be 
 readily found. This sport commences on 
 the iStli of August. In 1801, a gentleman 
 in Invernessshire shot fifty-two brace of 
 moor-game in one day, all single, and on the 
 wing. 
 
 The White-grouse, White-game, or Ptar- 
 magan, is about the same size as the red- 
 grouse ; but its plumage is of a pale brown, 
 or ash colour, mottled with dusky spots and 
 minute bars ; the head and neck have 
 brood-bars of black, rust colour, and white; 
 the wings are white, as is the belly. The 
 males are beautifully plumed. In winter 
 the ptarmagan is nearly white ; they are 
 feathered to the very claws, and have strong 
 hairs growing upon their soles. This bird 
 seems to delight in a cold temperature ; al- 
 ways following the snow, (even to the sum- 
 mits of the Grampians), in which it bur- 
 rows ; it carefully avoids the solar rays. 
 The Greenlanders catch them by dropping 
 loops over their necks, as they sit at the 
 moutlis of their burrows, or on stones of 
 
 their own colour, which they carefully se- 
 lect to roost upon during bleak, dull wea- 
 ther. In Nova Scotia, they are called 
 ‘‘ birch-partridges in that quarter their 
 feathers grow double, during the cold 
 months. 
 
 The Quail is but little known in Eng- 
 land : it may be considered as a small kind 
 of partridge ; but it Is a bird of passage. 
 There are supposed to be at least two hun- 
 dred varieties ; though we rarely see more 
 than two kinds ; viz. the brown, and the 
 brindled ; the latter are, however, extreme- 
 ly scarce. Quails, in our climate, are, in 
 their habits, pretty similar to partridges ; 
 but, where they abound, may be seen in 
 bevies, consisting of more than a hundred 
 birds. They are easily domesticated, but 
 for a while only : at the period of migra- 
 tion they invariably disappear ; it is said, 
 they sometimes return to their former 
 homes. They sleep chiefly during the day, 
 and at night, ramble to any place where 
 corn is ripe, or has been cut : being ex- 
 tremely vigilant, and running very fast, it 
 is not easy to put them up. 'ITiey aie pe- 
 culiarly litigious, and rarely desist until dis- 
 abled. They will hot visit any country 
 where herbage is scarce, or deficient in ver- 
 dure. They make no nest, but scrape to- 
 gether any rubbish, or even sit in small hol- 
 lows, without any preparation whatever. 
 The young are very hardy, and; in a week, 
 shift' for themselves: usually about ten 
 eggs are found in a nest. As quails take 
 very short flights, and those generally 
 straight, they are excellent practice for the 
 young sportsman: very small shot will kill 
 them. 
 
 Corn-crakes, Land-rails, or Daker-hens, 
 are always found among corn, grass, bi*oom, 
 or furze : they mierate before winter. The 
 peculiar note of this bird subjects it to im- 
 mediate discovery ; tlie repeated sound of 
 a'ek, crek, crek, (somewhat similar to spring- 
 ing the edges of a fine comb), from the 
 thickest part of our meadows, is sure to an- 
 nouncelts arrival ; generally about the mid- 
 dle of May. It lays about fifteen or twen- 
 ty eggs ; the young birds are covered with 
 a black down, and are v4ry active. Corn- 
 crakes are of a strong scent, and cause dogs 
 to remain for a long time in search ; their 
 unwiliingriess to rise occasions many to be 
 caught by hand , they will not fly until ab- 
 solutely compelled ; and then very heavily, 
 with pendent legs, and to a short distance ; 
 but they run very fast. When flitted, they 
 usually perch in a hedge. They mix niuch 
 
SPORTING, 
 
 "with quails, and, like them, weigh from six 
 to eiglit ounces. 
 
 Ruffs and Reeves are so diversified in co- 
 lour, that scarcely two are ever found of 
 the same appearance. The former are the 
 males, and may be known by the ruffs 
 about their throats : they are generally 
 more numerous than the reeves, which are 
 the females. The ruff grows large, but is 
 very light ; rarely reaching beyond seven 
 ounces ; though extending about two feet 
 between the tips of the wings. These birds 
 are found early in the spring, in the fens of 
 Lincolnshire, and other low countries, but 
 retire, no one knows whither, about Mi- 
 chaelmas. The reeves lay four white eggs, 
 marked with rusty spots. 
 
 Plovers are of various kinds, but the 
 sportsman pursues only the golden, the 
 grey, and the peewhit, or lapwing. They 
 generally weigh’ from seven to nine ounces, 
 and visit us only from October to March ; 
 and then in no great numbers. Look for 
 them in ploughed fields. Few are shot, but 
 many are netted ih grqen corn-fields near 
 to water, to which they always resort after 
 a meal, to w’ash their beaks ; their flesh is 
 peculiarly delicate, and the eggs are sold 
 by the London poulterers at the enormous 
 price of four shillings per dozen. 
 
 The Woodcock is a bird of passage, arriv- 
 ing among us about Michaelmas, and re- 
 tiring about March : they fly only by night. 
 In the moonlights of November and De- 
 cember, they may be heard passing from 
 about ten till four ; they are, however, en- 
 tirely guided by the wind : they are invari- 
 ably preceded by the red-wing, and followed 
 by the Royston crow. In the spring, when 
 the wind is easterly, the v/oodcocks, assem- 
 ble on our eastern coasts, linger among the 
 furze, waiting for a westerly change, and 
 may then be killed in great numbers. They 
 rarely stay long in a place, but proceed 
 from one spring-head to another ; thrusting 
 their long beaks into the slime, and suck- 
 ing the worms by which they are nourished. 
 Tliey are particularly fond of such rills as 
 lie within coppices and heavy woods : in 
 such they take very short flights when 
 rouzed, and will dog among the boughs in a 
 surprising manner. It requires an excel- 
 lent brace of spaniels, short rangers, and 
 extremly vigorous, for this branch of shoot- 
 ing : great numbers are caught in springes, 
 set on the borders of lakes, &c. Woodcocks 
 generally weigh from twelve to fourteen 
 ounces ; but those that arrive early in the 
 reason are the largest. When a woodcock 
 
 rises, he invariably quits his trail, so that 
 nothing is ever found in the intestine. It 
 should be remarked, that some persons 
 seek for woodcocks with pointers to whose 
 necks small bells are suspended lo ronze 
 the birds, which sometimes are either rtUa- 
 ble, or averse, to move ; but we cannot 
 think such a practice by any means likely 
 to succeed. A person who marks well is 
 a great aid in following this diversion. 
 
 The Saipe is divided into three classes; 
 the common, the jack, and the great. They 
 all frequent our marshes in the winter sea- 
 son, and are sometimes very numerous : 
 some years since the Duke of Marlbo- 
 rough’s game-keeper killed twenty-two 
 snipes at one shot. The several kinds 
 weigh from two to seven ounces ; but the 
 great snipe is solitary, and has a beautifully 
 coloured wing ; whence it is by many called 
 the “ painted snipe.” During very cold 
 weather, the snipes are apt to be on the 
 wing ; but in the middle of the day, e.spe- 
 cially when the- sun is bright, will lay so as 
 even to be trod upon rather than flit. 
 These birds frequent marshes, and are to 
 be found on the banks of weedy, foul 
 ditches, particularly where the soil is fat, 
 and that vvorms abound. 
 
 All the varieties of water-fowl, such as 
 Geese of various descriptions. Ducks of 
 ditto. Widgeons, Teal, Divers, Pentails, Po^ 
 chords, &c. frequent our marshes chiefiy 
 from October to February, and in general 
 must be pursued in boats. To be equip- 
 ped for this sport, it is essentially requisite 
 to be well clothed ; flannel shirt and draw- 
 ers, with additional exterior and interior 
 garments, will be found indispensible when 
 polling about the marshes, or when sta- 
 tioned in a punt on the borders of the 
 oozes. Water-proof boots are necessary, 
 as are woollen gambadoes drawing up to the 
 middle of the thigh at least. A cap made 
 of skin must be worn, as the fowls will not 
 approach persons wearing hats, of which 
 they seem to entertain a peculiar dread. It 
 is necessary, when firing at them while on 
 the wing, to aim well before them ; it being 
 ascertained that they fly at the rate of 
 ninety miles within the hour ! During 
 sharp frosts the sportsmen may, early in 
 the morning, find excellent diversion where 
 the brooks are only partially frozen : wher- 
 ever there is a warm spring, there will he 
 find fowls, provided the spot be at all se- 
 questered, or is not overlooked. Immense 
 numbers of water fowls are caught in de- 
 coys, by means of some of their own spe- 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 cies trained to deception : they lead them 
 into narrow passages, netted in a secure 
 manner, near which a man is completely 
 hidden, but who, showing himself suddenly, 
 causes the deluded followers to remain in 
 captivity, while the decoy birds all retreat, 
 and escape the fatal issue. 
 
 We shall close what relates to the fea- 
 thered game with the following glossary of 
 technical terms; many are now obsolete, 
 but as they may atford the means of arriv- 
 ing at the meaning of old authors, we give 
 them a place. 
 
 A sesre of herons, and of bitterns ; an 
 herd of swans, of cranes, and of curlews ; 
 a dropping of shelldrakes ; a spring of teals ; 
 a covert of coots ; a gaggle of geese ; a ba- 
 delynge of ducks ; a sord, or sute, of mal- - 
 lards ; a muster of peacocks ; a nye of 
 pheasants ; a covey of partridges ; a bevy 
 of quails ; a congregation of plovers ; a 
 flight of doves ; a dule of turkies ; a walk 
 of snipes; a fall of woodcocks; a brood of 
 hens ; a building of ro,oks , a murmurration 
 of starlings ; an exaltation of larks ; a flight 
 of swallows ; a host of sparrows ; a watch 
 of nightingales ; and a charm of goldfinches. 
 
 Some of the above are no doubt very 
 applicable ; but, in general, they are rather 
 'quaint than appropriate. The language of 
 fowlers, like that of the turf, abounds with 
 cant, on the exact application of which 
 many pride themselves greatly. 
 
 Coursing is generally confined to the pur- 
 suit of hares, in which great amusement is 
 atforded to those who are not sufficiently 
 active to join in fox-hunting. Formerly 
 deer and foxes were coursed, but at this 
 date we have no instances of such chaces, 
 except in the Highlands of Scotland, and in 
 some parts of Ireland, where many braces 
 of grey-hounds are occasionally posted in 
 various directions, as relays to such as may 
 first be slipped after the roe-buck. The 
 laws of coursing were established by the 
 Duke of Norfolk, in Queen Elizabeth’s 
 reign, and were agreed to by the nobility, 
 who then followed the diversion : they have 
 been held authentic ever since, and are as 
 follow. 
 
 1. The feuterer, or person that lets loose 
 the dogs, was to receive those into his 
 leash that were matched to run together ; 
 with these he was to follow the hare-finder, 
 until he should come to the form : no per- 
 son else being allowed to be on either side, 
 or less than forty yards in the rear of the 
 dogs. 2. A hare was not to be, coursed with 
 more than a brac« of greyhound*. 3. The 
 
 hare-finder was to give the hare three “ So- 
 ho’s,” before he put her from her form, that 
 the attention of the dogs might be rouzed. 
 
 4. The hare was to have twelve score 
 yards law before the dogs were loosed; 
 unless the proximity of any cover should 
 render such indulgence a prejudice to the 
 chace. 5. The dog that gave the first turn 
 during the course, if there was neither cote, 
 slip, nor wrench, was the winner : a cote is 
 where a greyhound goes endways by his 
 fellow', and gives the hare a turn. 6. A 
 cote was reckoned as twd turns, and two 
 trippings, orjerkings, made a cote: if the 
 hare did not turn quite about, she made 
 only a wrench ; tw'o of which stood ftr a 
 turn. 7. If no cotes were made, buf that 
 one served the other at turning, then he that , 
 gave the hare most turns was the winner : 
 but if the turns were equal, the dog that 
 bore tke hare won. 8. If one dog turned, 
 and the other bore the hare, the latter won. 
 9. A go by, or bearing the hare, was equi- 
 valent to two turns. 10. If neither dog 
 turned the hare, he that last led to cover 
 won. 11. If one dog turned the hare, 
 served, and turned her again, it was as 
 much as a cote ; for a cote was equal to 
 two turns. 12. If all the coursb was equal, 
 the dog that bore the hare won. 13. If 
 the hare was not borne, the course was ad- 
 judged dead. 14. If a dog fell in coursing, 
 and yet performed his part, he might chal- 
 lenge a turn more than he gave. 15. If a dog 
 turned the hare, served himself, and gave 
 divers cotes, and yet, in the end, stood still 
 in the field ; the other dog, if he ran the 
 hare to cover, though he gave no turn, was 
 adjudged the winner. In fact, no dog that 
 gave up could win. 16. If by any acci- 
 dent a dog was rode over in his course, or 
 improperly baulked, the course was void, 
 and he who did the mischief was to make 
 due reparation. 17. If a dog gave the first 
 and last turn, and there was no other ad- 
 vantage, or reckoning, between them, he 
 that gave the odd turn won. (Here, we 
 beg leave to observe, is an opening for 
 much misconception). 18. He that came 
 in first at the death took up the hare, saved 
 her from being torn, cherished the dogs, 
 and cleared their mouths from the wool, 
 was adjudged to have the hare, as the re- 
 ward of his spirit and assiduity. 19. The 
 judges of the course were to decide all 
 points before they quitted the field. 20. 
 No person could claim any prize or privi- 
 lege, but under sanction of the judges of 
 tli6 field. 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 These are certainly very reasonable regu- 
 lations, and are applicable to all the modern 
 forms of coursing. But the mode now in 
 use is far more simple. A number of horse- 
 men form a line, at about three or four yanis 
 asunder, and having a brace of dogs loose 
 at the heels of their owner, or divided in 
 the line ; the cavalcade beat the covers, 
 which should be very low, such as hether, 
 or grass, or fallow lands, and all look out 
 sharp for hares sitting. When a hare is 
 seen, the call “ Soho ” gives notice to the 
 whole party, which then file off so as to 
 give tlie hare that offset which may appear 
 most favourable to the sport. The dogs are 
 kept back, until the hare is roused from her 
 form, and has some law, when a horseman 
 gallops after her, calling “ Hilloo,” “ Hil- 
 loo,” so as to lay the dogs in; after which 
 the whole party refrain from crossing her 
 path, and in general ride at some distance 
 behind, so as to avoid checUing the course : 
 but in case the dogs should lose the hare 
 among any high grass, &c. one, or more 
 horsemen follow her, and again cheer the 
 dogs, until they have her again in view. 
 
 Some most extraordinary courses have 
 been made: in 1800 a brace of greyhounds 
 ran a hare for twelve minutes, during which 
 she was often turned, and died before the 
 dogs, at four miles from the spot whence she 
 started. Greyhounds have ran w'ith sucli 
 violence against each other in coursing, 
 that both have been killed on the spot. 
 The finest coursing is in Yorkshire, and 
 Wiltshire, in both which counties remark- 
 able fine greyhounds are bred. The fol- 
 lowing old saying is,' perhaps, as good a 
 description as can be given, in few words, 
 of the principal points in a well formed 
 greyhound. 
 
 “ Head like snake. 
 
 Neck like drake. 
 
 Back like beam, (i. e. cambered, or 
 arched.) 
 
 Side like bream, (i. e. deep chested, 
 and finely keeled.) 
 
 Tail like rat. 
 
 Foot like cat.” 
 
 The best age to enter a dog is about a 
 year; some enter them when only ten 
 months old ; but one or two severe coui ses 
 generally ruin them : in truth, coursing is 
 too laborious for any dog not fully formed, 
 and possessed of good constitution. Grey- 
 hounds are very delicate while young ; and 
 are, perhaps, of all dogs most subject to 
 distemper. They are not full grown until 
 
 two years old. The bitches generally, have 
 most speed, and the dogs most strength. 
 To give them good wind, biscuit soaked in 
 good broth is their best diet; but no food 
 should be given for four hours, at least, be- 
 fore a dog is to run. 
 
 Hare hunting generally commences so 
 soon as all the crops are fairly off the ground, 
 and that the leverets, or young hares, have 
 acquired strength enough to stand before 
 the hounds. The dogs mostly employed in 
 this sport, are the north country beagle, 
 which is nimble and vigorous, pursues a 
 hare with impetuosity, gives her no time to 
 double ; and, if the scent lies high, will 
 easily run down two brace before dinner. 
 These dogs are kept by the dashing class 
 of sportsmen ; who are usually well mount- 
 ed, and pride themselves on the quantity of 
 game killed in a liay. But the breed mostly 
 used for hare hunting are the deep tongued, 
 thick-lipped, broad and long-hung, southern 
 hounds. These ordinarily give a long chace, 
 and succeed by dint of perseverance ; for 
 their pace is rather slow, but their cry is 
 peculiarly musical. 
 
 A middle breed is sometimes seen, hav- 
 ing rough wire-haired backs, thick quarters, 
 and, rather thin shoulders; many suppose it 
 to have been obtained by a cross with the 
 Pomeranian dog, or the Russian hound. 
 The whole may be mixed without disadvan- 
 tage. There is another sort preferred from 
 their acuteness of smelling, and because 
 they are easily subsisted ; but they are apt 
 to be great chatterers : these are very 
 small, fine boned, long eared, and peculiarly 
 handsome in their fore-quarters. The late 
 Colonel Hardy had a cry, consisting of 
 abont eleven couples of this diminutive race, 
 which used to be carried to and from the 
 field in a pair of panniers, slung across a 
 horse. They were all stolen one night, to- 
 getlier with the panniers, and not the least 
 trace was afforded whereby to discover 
 either the robbers or their booty. As that 
 gentleman resided not far from the coast, it 
 is probable his pigmy pack were sentenced 
 to transportation beyond sea; and, no 
 doubt, fetched a good price on the con- 
 tinent. 
 
 The nature of the country should deter- 
 mine with regard to the choice of hounds. 
 Where the dogs are very fleet, and the coun- 
 try well enclosed, they act nearly on a par 
 with slower hounds in an open district. 
 When a dog is too fleet for the pack, he 
 should be loaded w'ith a collar, filled with 
 small shot; so as to make him carry weight. 
 
SPORTING. 
 
 aYid bring him down to the level of speed. 
 When a hound is too slow, he should be 
 drawn, unless he happens to be peculiarly 
 well gifted ; in which case, though he will 
 constantly tail (or lag,) he will rarely fail 
 when the precursors arc at fault, to dash 
 through them without losing the scent, and 
 thus set the pack on the cry again. 
 
 The choice of a hound, of whatever breed, 
 may be summed up in a few words : select 
 the dog of a middle size, broad backed, 
 wide nostrils, capacious and deep chest, 
 fillets great and high, haunches large, hams 
 straight, well-curved rump, round feet with 
 firm dry soles, large claws, broad ears, full 
 eyes, and a heavy upper lip. But with all 
 this form, he will not be worth a groat, if his 
 olfactory powers be defective, if he be given 
 to babble, or that he steals away after his 
 game without giving tongue. Many dogs, 
 however, of great value, run mute, but they 
 possess fine action,, and always show them- 
 selves to be on scent, or eventually whimper 
 as they hit it off. 
 
 Young hounds should always be trained 
 to some particxdar branch of sporting, and 
 not be suffered, as is too often the case, to 
 hunt either foxes or hares, as chance may 
 present; such dogs are always unsteady 
 and unmanageable. Enter the pups at a 
 year old, if possible, in a country where the 
 runs are not severe; but always have an 
 eye to training them in a close or open coun- 
 try, according as that part is where they 
 are permanently to hunt : for a dog taken 
 from an open to a close country, or vice 
 versa, wilt never hunt with so much spirit 
 as those trained on the spot. 
 
 It is remarkable that hares run hardest, 
 and puzzle mhst at the full of the moon ; they 
 have always more scent in going to, than 
 from, their forms ; both because they are 
 th«n wanner, and because they usually ap- 
 proach their seats slower than they quit 
 them ; but a hare generally springs into her 
 form from some distance. AVhen the hunts- 
 man is certain of, a hare in any particular 
 covert, he should lead his dogs compactly 
 thereto, and give her the chance of going off 
 with all advantage ; he must never baulk her 
 by crossing her usual sortie, for in such case 
 she would' be dismayed, and give but lit- 
 tle sport. It is, indeed, usually best to 
 alarm the hare by the gradual approach of 
 the pack, which she will soon wind, or hear, 
 and thus to give her a fair start, that she 
 may go off deliberately, and not be blown 
 by an early view. 
 
 Hares generally make a circular tour; 
 
 and, for the most part, endeavour to return 
 to their haunts. Hence many a fine chace 
 has been seen from a rising ground. It 
 sometimes happens tliat a hare “ flies the 
 country;” that is, goes off, straight : when 
 this happens, the hare is generally a rambler 
 from some other covert, and exerts all her 
 speed to return thereto. The first ring a 
 hare makes ordinarily shows where the 
 chace will lay ; for all her endeavours will 
 be exerted to double upon her former 
 track, and to cross tlie scent, so as to throw 
 the dogs out. Such is the cunning of this 
 anim&l, that it wall, when close pursued, 
 leap into high bushe.s, and remain there, 
 although surrounded by dogs and huntsmen ; 
 in this manner many escape. We have 
 heard of a hare leaping into a road waggon, 
 and thus evading her followers completely. 
 Some when running against the wind stop 
 short, and after allowing the hounds to 
 pass, return secretly to their forms : this 
 trick succeeds best when the dogs are fresh 
 and impetuous. 
 
 The limits of our work not allowing ns to 
 enter upon all the minutia of hare-hunting, 
 we must conclude this part of our subject 
 with observing, that the most successful 
 huntsmen always make the least noise, and 
 not only keep others back, but invariably 
 allow a good interval between the dogs 
 and their qwn horses. By this means they 
 often discover those tricks which a hare is 
 apt to practise, and which with less cautious 
 persons very generally insure her safety. 
 
 Fox-hunting is a diversion requiring con- 
 siderable powers both in the rider and in 
 his steed : the extent of ground traversed 
 on some occasions, and that too at mote 
 than a moderate pace, establishes the ne- 
 cessity for a rare combination of strength, 
 activity, courage, and perseverance, in those 
 who follow this laborious sport. 
 
 There are three varieties of fox with us, 
 all differing in form but not in colour ; ex- 
 cept the cur-fox, the tip of whose ta'il is 
 black. They are distinguished by the names 
 of the greyhound-fox, which is the tallest 
 and boldest, is found chiefly in the moun- 
 tainous parts of England and Scotland, and 
 will attack a full grown sheep. The mas- 
 tiff-fox is rather less, but his limbs are 
 strongly formed; his shape is altogether 
 more compact, and he is perhaps as stout 
 as the species above-mentioned : this va- 
 riety is not very common. The kind mostly 
 found by sportsmen is the cur-fox, which, 
 though of smaller stature than either of the 
 foregoing, is most pernicious to game, and 
 
SPORTING, 
 
 infests all places where poultry, or any ani- 
 mals it can master, are kept. All foxes are 
 peculiarly alarmed by the discharge of fire- 
 arms, and quit those earths which smell of 
 gunpowder: hence, fumigating with sul- 
 phur is resorted to as the certain means of 
 expulsion. When pressed by hunger, foxes 
 will eat snails, slugs, beetles, berries of va- 
 rious kinds, crabs, shrimps, &c. and some- 
 times carrion ; but they prefer warm flesh, 
 and that too of their own killing. 
 
 The fox knows how to secure a good 
 asylum, either by digging holes, or by fol- 
 lowing crevices among rocks, roots of trees, 
 &c. ; with many apertures, so as to favour 
 escape, or entrance, when in danger; or 
 eventually, he steals in the den of some 
 badger, occasioning that animal to quit it, 
 and then enlarges, or alters, the interior 
 according to his own fancy. When chaced, 
 he generally flies the counti-y to some strong 
 covert, endeavouring to shelter himself in 
 some other earths; in which, however, he 
 cannot remain when heated with running ; 
 but he sometimes succeeds by swimming 
 across streams, or by climbing trees, or to 
 the tops of barns, &c. Sometimes, though 
 not often, he will lead back to bis own 
 earths, where he may expect certain death. 
 
 It is usual, when the fox-hounds are to 
 go out, to send out the earth-stoppers dur- 
 ing the preceding night : these repair to 
 the several haunts, and close the entrances 
 while the foxes are abroad in search of 
 prey. The cunning animal finding the 
 work of man about his premises, retires to 
 some furze, hether, or coppice, not far oflF, 
 where he is sure to be started by the dogs ; 
 and to be followed, indeed sometimes point- 
 ed out, by the jays, blackbirds, crows, mag- 
 pies, and other birds, which consider him 
 as their common enemy. When attacked 
 he fights in silence, but with astonishing 
 courage, regardless of pain, and rarely quit- 
 ting his hold. When seized by the hounds 
 it is rarely that he cries out; though he 
 snarls and snaps with peculiar expression, 
 and indescribable ferocity. 
 
 It is highly nfecessary in training fox- 
 hounds, to keep them entirely to the pur- 
 suit of foxes : if suffered once to follow a 
 hare, their staunchness will be in danger of 
 diminution. A hound for this sport should 
 be of rather a large size, full of blood, light 
 but strong in the limbs, great speed, and of 
 distinguished perseverance. If deficient in 
 either of these requisites he must be drawn. 
 He may make a good harrier, under certain 
 circumstances, but will be a great detriment 
 
 to the fox-pack. Nor is the keenness of 
 scent an object of less importance; indeed, 
 it is of more moment than among harriers ; 
 for the fox will play off" an infinity of de-- 
 vices, especially that of running on a dusty 
 road, crossing broad waters, springing over 
 wide ditches, passing along the copings of 
 park-walls, &c. that acquire an acute sense 
 of smelling to defeat: add to this, he is 
 often a mile a-head of the hounds, whereby 
 the trail loses greatly of its strength. 
 
 In following fox-hounds, the sportsman 
 has little time for deliberation: he must 
 keep up as well as he can, taking care to 
 keep the cry in hearing, afid avoiding leaps 
 and scrambles as much as he can. It is true, 
 this doctrine is by many held to be effemi- 
 nate, and unbecoming the keen hunter ; 
 but it is the way to be in at the death, and 
 to enjoy the chase without injuring the 
 horse. Fox-hounds spread much more than 
 harriers, on account of the diversity of 
 country they run through : hence there is 
 often a mile, or more, between the first and 
 last dog ; considering even the hindmost as 
 well laid in, and rejecting such as are faulty. 
 With regard to the extent of riders, no com- 
 putation can be offered ; it sometimes reach- 
 ing from the place where the game started, 
 to where it died, or was lost. 
 
 Foxes are wonderfully sagacious; they 
 have been carried sixty and seventy miles 
 in hampers, for the purpose of being hunt- 
 ed by some distant pack ; and after escap- 
 ing, in various successive instances, have 
 been retaken at their original haunts. This 
 seems to prove that foxes are great ram- 
 blers, and are in general well acquainted 
 with a vei'y large tract around their usual 
 haunts. Perhaps the following may show 
 their great cunning I)etter tlian any instance 
 hitherto offered to the public : it is taken 
 from Daniel’s “ Rural Sports,” and is con- 
 sidered to be strictly correct. “A fox 
 being hard run took shelter under the 
 covering of a well, and by the endeavours 
 used to extricate him, was precipitated 
 to the bottom, a deptli of one hundred 
 feet. The bucket was let down, he laid 
 hold of it, and was drawn up for some way, 
 when he again fell. The bucket being let 
 down a second time, he sectired his situation 
 in it, was drawn up, again turned off, and 
 fairly beat the hounds.” This occurrence 
 is said to be well known at Iraber, in Wilt- 
 shire, where tlie well is often shown to the 
 curious. 
 
 Wolf-hunting, fortunately for the inha- 
 bitants of Britain and Ireland, is now be- 
 
 
 
fcome obsolete, by the total extinction of 
 that animal among ns. AVolf-dogs are, how- 
 ever, retained by some gentlemen as cu- 
 riosities : they are said to be the most faith- 
 ful animals o^ the canine race, and possessed 
 of wonderful powers in regard to hitting off 
 a cold scent. 
 
 Boar-hiinting forms no part of the British 
 field sports, though pursued in some parts 
 of the continent with the utmost keenness, 
 and on a grand scale. In Germany, espe- 
 cially, the chase after the wild-boar, forins 
 a grand feature of national sports, and is 
 attended with great preparation and ex- 
 pense. The haunts of those animals are 
 first ascertained, after which a host of hun- 
 ters tlirong to the woods, some mounted, 
 and some on foot, to rouze and attack the 
 bristled game. All are armed from head to 
 foot, and take care to have some lusty trees 
 at hand, behind which they may take re- 
 fuge when tire boar charges. The danger 
 arises, however, less from the animal than 
 from the number of random shots fired at 
 him, without any attention to what persons 
 may be in the line of aim ; numbers are 
 thus wounded, and even killed outright, in 
 this desperate species of pastime. 
 
 Nor is Tyger-Imnting attended with less 
 risk ; for, in addition to the above negli- 
 gence, the danger of being ran away with 
 by the elephant on which the sportsman 
 must be mounted, is to be considered. The 
 tyger is usually roused from either the jun- 
 gle of undenvood, or from his haunt among 
 grass of a prodigious height, covering im- 
 mense tracts of land. Few elephants can 
 be brought to face him ; and, when they 
 can, it often happens that the tyger’s claws 
 repel the attack, or that by springing upon 
 the back of the stupendous quadruped, he 
 dislodges the driver, or the sportsman and 
 his attendant. It is, however, a fact that 
 fewer persons are destroyed, or maimed, in 
 either boar or tyger-hunting, than meet 
 their deaths in fox-hunting. But even that 
 hazardous diversion may be considered as 
 safe when compared with 
 
 Stag-hunting, in which great speed is in- 
 dispensable, and no hesitation can be admit- 
 ted by any person desirous of witnessing 
 the various bold and elegant variations in 
 the stag’s career. For this sport, hounds of 
 large stature, great powers, and extraordi- 
 nary couragej are indispensable ; for when 
 the stag sails, (i. e. takes to the water) he 
 must be followed without delay : when at 
 bay, (i. e. standing on his defence, probably 
 with his rump tovvards a tree) he will make 
 VOL. VI, 
 
 SPR 
 
 desperate attacks on his pursuers ; frequently 
 tossing many of the dogs, am} goring tlie 
 horses of such as approach him incautiously. 
 Many hunt stags with what are called stop- 
 hounds ; which implies, that whenever the 
 stag is to be saved, the hunBmah heads the 
 pack and throws a pole, on which the whole 
 desist from the pursuit. This may be need- 
 ful where the game is not abundant, but 
 requires much management and great assi- 
 duity to effect. 
 
 We fear the taxes laid oh horses and 
 dog,s, added to the expense of the necessary 
 certificate, trench deeply on the enjoj'ment 
 of rural sports, by those who are qualified, 
 and operate considerably in favour of 
 poachers, who thus have the game, in a ■ 
 measure, preserved for them ; and are sure 
 of a sale for their ill-gotten gains, among 
 families which formerly could always obtain 
 a hare, or a brace of birds, without ex- 
 pense, and the result of a healthy mode of 
 amusement. 
 
 SPOTS, in astronomy, certain places of 
 the Sun’s or Moon’s disc, observed to be 
 either more bright or darker than the rest, 
 and accordingly called faculae and raaculse. 
 See Facul^ and Maculae. 
 
 SPRAT. See Clupea. 
 
 SPRAY, the sprinkling or foam of the 
 sea, which is driven from the top of a 
 wave in stormy weather. It differs from 
 what sailors call spoon-drift, as being blown 
 occasionally from the broken surface of a 
 high wave ; whereas the latter continues to 
 fly horizontally along the sea, without in- 
 termission during the excess of the tempest 
 or hurricane. 
 
 SPRING, in natural history, a fountain 
 or source of water, rising out of the ground. 
 Various have been the opinions of philoso- 
 phers concerning the origin of springs ; but 
 those which deserve notice are only the 
 three following ones : 1. That the sea- water 
 is conveyed through subterraneous, ducts, 
 or canals, to the places where the springs 
 flow out of the earth : but as it is impossi- 
 ble that the water should be thus conveyed 
 to the tops of mountains, since it cannot 
 rise higher than the surface, some have had 
 recourse to subterraneous heats ; by which 
 being rarified, it is supposed to asCend in 
 vapours through the bowfels of the moun- 
 tains. But as no sufficient proof is brought 
 of the existence of these Central heats, or 
 of caverns in the mountains big enough to 
 let the vapours ascend, supposing such heats, 
 we shall not take up oqr reader’s time 
 with a formal refutation of this hvpothe.sisv 
 Q 
 
SPRING. 
 
 S. As to those who advance the capillary hy- 
 pothesis, or suppose the water to rise from 
 the depths of the sea through the porous 
 parts of the earth, as it rises in Capillary 
 tubes, or througli sand or ashes, they seem 
 not to consider one principal property of 
 this kind of tube, or this sort of attraction : 
 for though the water rise to the top of the 
 tube or sand, yet will it rise no higher, be- 
 cause it is by the attraction of the parts 
 above that the fluid rises, and where that 
 is wanting it can rise no further. Therefore, 
 though the waters of the sea may be drawn 
 into flje substance of the earth by attrac- 
 tion, yet it can never be raised by this 
 means into a cistern, or cavity, to become 
 the source of springs. 3. The third hypo- 
 thesis is that of tiie sagacious naturalist. 
 Dr. Halley, who supposes the true sources 
 of springs to be melted snow, rain-water, 
 dew, and vapours condensed. 
 
 Now in order to prove that the vapours 
 raised by the heat of the sun from the sur- 
 face of the seas, lakes, and rivers are abun- 
 dantly sufficient to supply the s))rings and 
 rivers w'itli ftaish water, the Doctor made 
 the following experiment : he took a vessel 
 of water, made of the same degree of salt- 
 ness with that of the sea, by means of the 
 hydrometer ; and having placed a thermo- 
 meter in it, he brought it, by means of a 
 pan of coals, to the same degree of heat 
 with that of the air in the hottest summer. 
 He then placed this vessel, with the ther- 
 mometer in it, in one scale, and nicely 
 counterpoised it with weights in the other : 
 after tWo hours, he found that about the 
 sixtieth part of an inch was gone off in va- 
 pour, and consequently in twelve hours, 
 the length of a natural day, one tenth of 
 an inch w'ould have been evaporated. From 
 this experiment it follows, that every ten 
 square inches of tlie surface of the water 
 yield a cubic inch of water in vapour per 
 day, every square mile 6,914 tons, and 
 every square degree (or 69 English miles) 
 33 )nillions of tons. Now, if we suppose 
 tlie Mediterranean to be 40 degrees long, 
 and 4 broad at a medium, w'hich is the least 
 that can be supposed, its surface will he 
 160 square degrees, from whence there will 
 evaporate 5280 millions of tons per day, in 
 the summer time. 1 he Mediterranean re- 
 ceives water from the nine great rivers fol- 
 lowing, m. the Iberus, the Rhine, the Ty- 
 ber, the Po, tlie Danube, the Neister, the 
 Borysthenes, the Tanais, and the Nile ; all 
 the rest being smali, and their water incon- 
 siderable. Now let us suppose that each 
 
 of these rivers conveys ten times as much 
 water to the sea as the Thames ; which, as 
 is observed, yields daily, 76,032,000 cubic 
 feet, which is equal to 203 millions of tons ; 
 and therefore all the nine rivers will pro- 
 duce 1827 millions of tons; which is little 
 more than one third of the quantity evapo- 
 rated each day from the sea. The prodi- 
 gious quantity of water remaining, the doc- 
 tor allows to rains, which fall again into the 
 seas, and for the uses of vegetation, &c. 
 As to the manner in which these waters are 
 collected, so as to form reservoirs for the 
 different kinds of springs, it seems to he 
 this: the tops of mountains, in general, 
 abound with cavities, and subterraneous 
 caverns formed by nature to serve as reser- 
 voirs; and their pointed summits, which 
 seem to pierce the clouds, stop those va- 
 pours which fluctuate in the atmosphere,^ 
 and being constipated thereby, they preci- 
 pitate in water, and by their gravity easily 
 penetrate through beds of sand and lighter 
 earth, till they are stopped in their descent 
 by more dense strata, as beds of clay, 
 stone, &c. where they form a bason or ca- 
 vern, and work a passage horizontally, and 
 issue out at tlie side of the mountain. 
 Many of these springs running down by the 
 vallies, between the ridges of hills, and 
 uniting their streams, form rivulets or 
 brooks ; and many of these, again, uniting 
 on the plain, become a river. 
 
 Springs are either such as run continually, 
 called perennial ; or such as run only for a 
 time, and at certain seasons of the year, 
 and therefore called temporary springs. 
 Others again are called intermitting springs, 
 because they flow and then stop, and flow 
 and stop again: and, finally, reciprocating 
 springs, whose waters rise and fall, or flow 
 and ebb, by regular intervals. To account 
 for these differences in springs, see Hy- 
 
 DRADLICS. 
 
 Spring, in mechanics, denotes a thin 
 piece of tempered steel, or other elastic sub- 
 stance ; which, being w'ound up, serves to 
 put several machines in motion by its elas- 
 ticity, Of endeavour to unbend itself ; such 
 Ls the spring of a clock, watch, and the 
 like. The spring of a lock, gun, pistol, or 
 the like, is a piece of steel, violently bent ; 
 which, being set at liberty, beats back the 
 bolt of the lock, or strikes down the cock. 
 
 Spring, in naval affairs, a crack running 
 transversely, or obliquely, through any part 
 of a mast or yard, so as to render it unsafe 
 to carry the usual quantity of sail thereon. 
 Spring is also a rope passed out of a ship's 
 
SPU 
 
 stern, and attached to a cable proceeding 
 from her bow when she lies at anchor. It is 
 nsually performed to bring the ship’s broad- 
 side or battery of cannon to bear upon some 
 distant object, as another ship, a fortress on 
 the coast, &c. When a ship rides by anchors 
 which are only attached to one end, she will 
 move like a weather-cock, according lo the 
 direction of the wind or tide. Now if a rope 
 be extended from the other end to the same 
 anchor, it is evident that by slackening one 
 of these ropes, and keeping fast the other, 
 her .side will lie more or less obliquely to 
 the wind or tide, as occasion may require, 
 so as to be opposed to any distant object 
 to the right or left. For instance, if a ship 
 ride with her head northerly, and it is re- 
 quired to cannonade a fortress lying on the 
 south or south-east, a hawser is run out of 
 tlie stem, and being carried forward with- 
 out her (id, is attached to the cable at a com- 
 petent distance a-head of the ship ; the 
 hawser is then tightened by the capstan or 
 tackles, and the cable being slackened, the 
 ship immediately turns her side towards the 
 object intended to be battered. 
 
 8PR1T, in naval affairs, a small boom or 
 pole which crosses the sail of a boat diagon- 
 ally from the mast to the upper aftmost 
 corner, which it is used to extend and ele- 
 vate ; the lower end of the sprit rests in a 
 sort of wreath, which encircles the mast at 
 that place. 
 
 SPRUCE beer, a cheap and wholesome 
 liquor, which is thus made : take of water 
 sixteen gallons, and boil the half of it. Put 
 the water thus boiled, while in full heat, to 
 the reserved cold part, which should be 
 previously put into a barrel' or other- vessel ; 
 then add sixteen pounds of treacle or mo- 
 lasses, with a few table spoonfuls of the es- 
 sence of sprncp, stirring the whole well to- 
 gether ; add half a pint of yeast, and keep 
 it in a temperate .situation, with the bung- 
 bole open, tor two days, till the fermenta- 
 tion be abated. Then close it up or bottle 
 it olf, and it will be fit for being drunk in a 
 few days afterwards. In North America, 
 and perhaps in other countries, where the 
 black and white spruce firs abound, instead 
 of adding the e.ssence of the spruce at the 
 same time with the molasses, they make a 
 decoction of the leaves and small branches 
 of these trees, and fiiid tlie liquor equally 
 good. It is a powerful antiscorbutic, and 
 may prove yery useful in long sea-voyages. 
 
 SPUNGE. See Spongia, 
 
 Spunge, is also used, in gunnery, for a 
 long staff or rammer with a piece of sheep 
 
 SQU 
 
 or lamb-skin wound about its end, to serVS 
 for scouring great guns, when discharged, 
 before they arc charged with fresh powder. 
 
 SPUNGING, in gunnery, the cleaning a 
 gun’s inside with a .sponge, in order to pre- 
 vent any spaiks of tire from remaining in 
 her, which would endanger the life of liini 
 who should load her again. 
 
 SPUN' yarfi, among sailors, la a kind of 
 line made from rope-yarn, and used for 
 seizing or fastening things together. 
 
 SPUR, a piece of metal, consisting of 
 two branches encompassing a horseman’s 
 heel, and a rowel in form of a star, advanc- 
 ing out behind, to prick the horse. 
 
 SPY, a person hired to watch the actions, 
 motions, &c. of another ; particularly of 
 what passes in a camp. When a spy is dis- 
 covered, he is hanged immediately. 
 
 SQUADRON, in military affairs, denotes 
 a body of horse whose number of men is 
 not fixed ; hut is usually from one to two 
 hundred. Each squadron usually consists 
 of three troops, of fifty men each. 
 
 In naval affairs a squadron either implies 
 a detachment of ships employed on any par- 
 ticular expedition, or one-third part of a na- 
 val armament. 
 
 SQUALUS, the shark, in natural history, 
 a genus of fishes of the order Cartilaginei. 
 Generic character : mouth under the fore 
 part of the head, with teeth disposed in 
 rows, and partly moveable and partly fixed ; 
 geiieraliy five spiracles, at the sides of the 
 neck, of a semilunar shape ; body oblong, 
 rather cylindric and rough, with tender 
 prickles. These animals are never found in 
 rivers or lakes, inhabiting only the sea, and 
 carrying terror and dfestruction wherever 
 they appear. They grow, in some species, 
 to the weight of three or four thousand 
 pounds. They occasionally emit a pirns-- 
 phoric ilhimination, visible by night. They 
 produce their young alive, several at a 
 birth, but every one inclosed in a transpa- 
 rent hornlike substance, lengthened at the 
 extremity into a thread, which attaches to 
 fixed substances, such as rocks or weeds. 
 Some appear to live on vegetables chiefly, 
 hilt the greater number are rapacious of 
 animal substances in the extreme. They 
 seize, indeed, whatever they find, with the 
 jnost violent avidity, following in the wakes 
 of ships, for the sake of nearly every thing 
 thrown from them, and are fatal to those 
 m-ariners who slip from their hold on the 
 rigging into the sea, in which case the 
 sliarks are seen to tear them to pieces, with 
 al! the violence of competition- They are 
 Q 2 
 
SQU 
 
 in most instances solitary wanderers through 
 the ocean, but in some species are gregari- 
 ous. Tliey contain large quantities of oil, 
 and their skin is convertible to several use- 
 ful purposes. There are thirty-four species. 
 The following are the most entitled to atten- 
 tion. S. carcharios, or the white shark, attains 
 sometimes the length of thirty feet, and is 
 the most fierce and rapacious inhabitant of 
 the ocean, in the depths of which, particu- 
 larly in the warmer latitudes, it principally 
 ranges. According to some writers, a man, 
 and even a horse, has been found entire in 
 the body of one of these animals ; and the 
 teeth of this, or some larger species, are ex- 
 hibited in the British Museum, four inches 
 and a half in depth. The intestines of this 
 animal, generally, contain a vast number of 
 tape worms, which may account, in some 
 degree, for its peculiar voracity. 
 
 S. maximus, or the barking shark, is 
 about the size of the former, and is often 
 seen near the Hebrides in small shoals of 
 six or eight, but generally in single pairs. 
 These have nothing of the fierceness of the 
 former species, and will suffer themselves 
 to be handled without resistance. They 
 subsist on sea-weeds, and their stomachs 
 have never exhibited indications, on being 
 opened, of any other substances. They 
 often sport about the billows with great 
 agility and appearance of delight, and will 
 suffer a boat to approach them so nearly, 
 that the harpooner may pierce them with 
 the instrument in his hand. But it is stated 
 that the wounds thus inflicted often excite 
 at first no symptom of pain, and that in 
 some cases no appearance of this is indicated, 
 tiff the combined efforts of two men have 
 urged the instrument to its fullest depth, 
 when they exhibit extreme agitation and 
 rapidity, traversing the water with the most 
 turbulent movements, and summoning into 
 exercise, for many hours, all the skill and 
 energy of those engaged in this critical pur- 
 suit. See Pisces, Plate VI. fig. 1. 
 
 S. glaucus, or the blue shark, is the most 
 
 sC»u 
 
 elegantly shaped and coloured of all the’ 
 species, is about ten feet long, and found iit 
 almost every sea. In the season for pil- 
 chards it abounds on the coasts of Corn- 
 wall, and is often taken with large iron 
 hooks. 
 
 S. stellaris, or the greater spotted dog- 
 fish, is a native of the seas of Europe. It 
 seldom exceeds in length six feet. Its snout 
 is considerably elongated, whence it de- 
 rives its designation of the dog-fish. It is 
 found chiefly in rocky situations, and preys 
 upon various shell-fish. It produces nine- 
 teen at a birth, but does not appear ex- 
 tremely abundant. Its flesh is eaten, and 
 its skin is an article of commerce. 
 
 S. zygaena, or the hammer-headed shark, 
 is sixteen feet long, and inhabits the Medi- 
 terranean and Indian seas, where its depre- 
 dations are incessant £&d most formidable. 
 It is distinguished by its head being'dilated 
 on the sides to an extraordinary extent, 
 and by the eyes being at the extremities of 
 these sides. 
 
 S. squatina, or the angel fish, is distin- 
 guished by a large and flat head, rounded 
 in front, is found in the European seas, and 
 grows to the length of seven feet. It is 
 highly fierce and formidable. 
 
 SQUALL, in naval language, is a sudden 
 violent gust of wind usually occasioned by 
 the interruption and reverberation of the 
 wind from high mountains. Squalls are 
 very frequent in the Mediterranean, parti- 
 cularly in the Levant, and are supposed to 
 be produced by the new direction which 
 the wind meets with in its passage between 
 the various islands of the Archipelago. 
 
 SQUARE, in geometry, a quadrilateral 
 figure, both equilateral and equiangular. 
 To find the area of a square, seek the 
 length of one side ; multiply this by itself, 
 and the product is the area of the square. 
 
 Square number, the. product of a number 
 multiplied into itself. Thus 4, is the product 
 of g multiplied by 2 ; or 16, the product of 
 4 multiplied by 4, are square numbers. 
 
 The series of square integers, is l, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, &c ; 
 
 which are the squares of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c. 
 
 Or the square fractions i, f, J, -||, ||, &c. ; 
 
 which are the squares of. ^, |, i, -J, |, &c. 
 
 A square number is so called, either be- 
 cause it denotes the area of a square, whose 
 side is expressed by the root of the square 
 number ; as in the annexed square, which 
 consists of nine little squares, the side being 
 equal to three ; or else, which is much tlie 
 
 same thing, because the points 
 in the number may be ranged 
 in the form of a square, by 
 making the root, or factor, the 
 side of the square.. 
 
 
SQU 
 
 Some properties of squares are as follow : 
 
 1. Of the 
 
 Natural series of squares 1^, 3% 4\ &c. 
 
 which are equal to . . . .*.1 , 4 , 9 , 16 , &c. 
 
 The mean proportional m n between any 
 two of tliese squares m? and rf, is equal to 
 the less square plus, its rootmultiplied by the 
 difference of the roots ; or also equal to the 
 greater square minus its root multiplied by 
 the said difference of the roots. That is, 
 mn dm = — d m ; 
 
 where d^n — m is the difference of 
 their roots. 
 
 2. An arithmetical mean between any 
 two squares and n^, exceeds their geo- 
 metrical mean, by half the square of the 
 difference of tlieir roots. 
 
 That is -J- = mn-\- \d^. 
 
 3. Of three equidistant squares in the 
 series, the geometrical mean between the 
 extremes, is less than the middle square by 
 the square of their common distance in the 
 series, or of the common difference of their 
 roots. 
 
 That is, mp = n^ — ; 
 
 where m, n, p, are in arithmetical progres- 
 sion, the common difference being d. 
 
 4. The difference between the two ad- 
 jacent squares and n^, is = Sm 
 
 -4- 1 ; in like manner, 1, 
 
 the difference between the next two adjacent 
 squares and p^ ; and so on, for the next 
 following squares. Hence the difference of 
 these differences, or the second difference of 
 the squares, is gn — 2m = 2 x n — m — 2 
 only, because n — jn = 1 j tliat is, the se- 
 cond differences of the squares are each the 
 same constant number 2 ; therefore the 
 first differences will be found by the conti- 
 nual addition of the number 2 ; and then 
 the squares themselves will be found by the 
 continual addition of the first difference ; 
 and thus the whole series of squares is 
 constructed by addition only, as here 
 below : 
 
 2d Diff.....l 
 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 &c. 
 
 1st Diff. 
 
 1 
 
 o 
 
 3 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 &c. 
 
 Squares 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 ^25 
 
 36 
 
 49 
 
 Sec. 
 
 5. Another curious property, also noted 
 by the same author, is, that the sum of any 
 number of the cubes of the natural series 
 1, 2, 3, 4, &c. taken from the beginning, gl- 
 ways makes a square number, and that the 
 
 STA 
 
 series of squares, so formed, have for their 
 roots the numbers....!, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21, &c. 
 the diffs. ofwhicharei,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c. 
 viz. 
 
 l’ = H, 
 
 1*+2’=3S 
 
 l’^-2* + 3^=6^ 
 
 l3_j_g’_|_33_j_43_io2 . and in general 
 
 1^ 4- 2 ^ -f 3 ^ = (1 + 2 4- 3 + ^ 
 
 = I where n is the number of the 
 
 terms or cubes. 
 
 Squaring the circle, is the making or 
 finding a square whose area shall be equal to 
 the area of a given circle. The best ma- 
 thematicians have not yet been able to re- 
 solve this problem accurately, and perhaps 
 never will. But they can easily come to 
 any proposed degree of approximation 
 whatever ; for instance, so near as not to 
 err so much in the area, as a grain of sand 
 would cover, in a circle whose diameter is 
 equal to that of the orbit of Saturn. The 
 following proportion is near enough the 
 truth for any real use, viz, as 1 is to 
 .88622692, so is the diameter of any circle, 
 to the side of the square of an equal area. 
 Therefore, if the diameter of the circle be 
 called d, and the side of the equal square s j 
 then is s = .88622692d = || d nearly. 
 
 Square root, a number considered as 
 the root of a second power or square num- 
 ber ; or a number, by whose multiplication 
 into itself, a square number is generated. 
 
 Square buttle, or Battalion of Mem, is 
 one that hath an equal number of men in 
 rank and file. 
 
 Square, hollow, in the military art, is a 
 body of foot drawn up with an empty space 
 in the middle for the colours, drums, and 
 baggage ; faced and covered by the pikes 
 every way, to keep off horse. 
 
 Square, an instrument consisting of two 
 rulers, or branches, fastened perpendicu- 
 larly at one end of their extremes, so as to 
 form a right angle ; it is of great use in the 
 description and mensuration of right angles, 
 and laying down perpendiculars. 
 
 Square, in naval affairs, is a term pecu- 
 liarly appropriated to the yards and their 
 sails, either implying that they are at right 
 angles with the mast or keel, or that they 
 are of greater extent than usual. 
 
 SQUIRREL. See SciuRus. 
 
 STACHYS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Didynamia Gymnospei mia class and order. 
 Natural order of Verticillatse, or Labiatas. 
 Essential character : corolla upper-lip arch- 
 
ST A 
 
 etl ; lower reflexed at the sides ; the middle 
 segments larger, emarginate ; stamens finally 
 refiexed towards the sides. Tliere are 
 twenty-tour species. 
 
 ST^HELINA, in botany, so named 
 from John Henry Stmhelin and liis son, 
 Swiss physicians, a genus of the Syngenesia 
 Polygamia Alqualis class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Coinpositae Discoidese. Cina- 
 I'ocephalte, Jussieu. Essential character ; 
 anthers tailed ; down branched ; receptacle 
 with very short chaffs. There are ten spe- 
 cies. 
 
 STAFFA, an island situated on the coast 
 of Scotland, three miles north-east of 
 Iona, or Columb-kill, and west of Mull, 
 about a mile in length, and half a mile in 
 breadth, belonging to Mr. Laucblin Mac 
 Quarie, This inconsiderable isle is one 
 amongst the most wonderful productions of 
 nature, and deserves the attention of every 
 natural philosopher, though it is unfortu- 
 nately placed in a region which prevents 
 frequent visits, even from curious investi- 
 gators. The peculiarity that renders it so 
 interesting, arises from the basaltes compos- 
 ing it, assuming a number of magnificent 
 forms, equally astonishing and sublime , 
 but as we purpose to describe them with 
 some degree of minuteness, it will be pro- 
 per to give a general sketch of the nature 
 of the substance termed basaltes, and where 
 it abounds, that the subject may be clearly 
 understood. See Basaltes, 
 
 According to Strabo and Agricola, the 
 antique basaltes is found in the same pris- 
 matical fonn in Egypt, which distinguishes 
 its outline in various parts of Europe. 
 Farber, a professor of natural history, at 
 Mietau, supposes that found in the Vicentine 
 Paduan and Veronese districts of Italy, to 
 be a chrystallized lava, and asserts that the 
 antique basaltes is in every respect exactly 
 similar to the compact lavas of Vesuvius 
 and Monte Alhano, which are used by sta- 
 tuaries to restore mutilated statues made of 
 this material. 
 
 The Egyptian basaltes contain a small 
 proportion in some of the varieties,, of the 
 white garnet like shorl crystallizations, and 
 lamellas common in the Italian lavas, a cir- 
 cumstance that seems to (irove to deiiton- 
 Stration their vqlcanic production in these 
 particular instances, tltough others of the 
 oriental basaltes seem to have originated 
 from aqueous mixtures. 
 
 Dr. Von Troil, member of the Academy 
 of Sciences at Stockholm, entertained an 
 opinion that they were caused by tlie ope- 
 
 STA 
 
 rations of fire, which he founded on that of 
 M. Desmaret’s, who was the first naturalist 
 that ventured to attribute them to that 
 cause, in a description of some basalts found 
 near St. Sandoar, in Auvergne, presented 
 by him to the attention of the French Aca- 
 demy of Sciences. Other naturalists who 
 had considered them to be a species of 
 chrystalhzation, ridiculed this idea as found- 
 ed upon false principles, as they contend- 
 ed basalt pillars are discovered where it 
 seemed highly improbable that volcanoes 
 could ever have existed ; still, however, 
 they had the candour to enter into an ex- 
 amination of the assertion of M. Desma- 
 ret’s, the result of which was nearly a con- 
 firmation of his conjecture, that basalt pil- 
 lars were produced by subterraneous fires. 
 As a collateral support of this hypothesis, 
 Dr. Von Troil cites the instances of Stol- 
 penstein in Meissen, Lauban in Lusatia, of 
 Bohemia, Leignitz in Silesia, Brandau in 
 Hessia, Sicily, Bolsenna, Montebello, and 
 St. Forio in Italy ; the district of Vicenza, 
 Monte Rosso in the district of Padua,, 
 Monte Diavolo in the mountains of Vero- 
 na, in Lower Languedoc, in Ireland, and 
 in the western islands of Scotland, in each 
 of which places he says a doubt cannot be 
 entertained that volcanoes have existed ; 
 besides those he mentions St. Giovanni, 
 Monte Castillo, Monte Nuovo, Monte Oli- 
 veta, near Cader Idris in Wales, and almost 
 every part of Velay and Auvergne, where 
 the towns of Chillac and St. Fluor are situ- 
 ated upon basaltes. 
 
 The peasantry of Iceland seem to have 
 entertained a similar opinion of their origin 
 to that of the lower orders of the Irish, as 
 the former suppose them to have been piled 
 in the regular manner, they are seen tliere, 
 by giants, and thence call them Trollahland 
 and Trollkonugardur, and the latter term 
 their magnificent causeway, the Giants. 
 The pillars of the Icelandic basaltes have 
 generally from three to seven sides, they vary 
 in thickness from four to six feet, aiid some 
 are of thirty-six, and others even forty- 
 eight feet in length, without horizontal divi- 
 sions ; but such is the capricious operations 
 of nature, that pillars are sometimes found 
 not more than six or twelve inches long ; 
 those, however, are invariably very regular, 
 and are made use of for doors and win- 
 dows ; at others they appear the utmost 
 confusion, broken, and overturned ; in par- 
 ticular instances tliey just appear above the 
 surface of the mountains, amongst lava and 
 tufa, and there are places vvhere they ex- 
 
STAFFA. 
 
 tend three miles together without interrup- 
 tion. The basalt pillars of Glockenberg in 
 Snefialdsnas, exhibit a very different appear- 
 ance from those of any other part of Ice- 
 land, as the pillars on the summit ot that 
 mountain lie liorizontally, those on the sides 
 incline, and the lowest stand erect. In 
 some places they are found as if bent, 
 when heated, into a semicircular form, an 
 effect which seems to confirm the idea that 
 violent fires have prevailed either at their 
 formation or subsequently. 
 
 The substance of the pillars of this island, 
 resemble those of Staffa in some pans ot it, 
 but in others they are more porous, and 
 Incline more to a grey colour. This circum- 
 stance induced the Doctor to think it would 
 be an easy matter to trace all the gradations 
 between the most perfect basalt pillar and 
 the coarsest description of lava, and he even 
 saw some at Videy of a fine grain, extreme- 
 ly solid, of a blackish grey, and consisting 
 of many joints ; some porous glassy kind of 
 stone, which he found at Laugarnas, near 
 the sea, was so indistinctly divided, that he 
 was undecided whether to class it with the 
 lavas or basalt pillars ; but the opinion of 
 his friends determined him in favour of the 
 latter. 
 
 We have been the more particular in 
 noticing the peculiarities of the basaltes of 
 Iceland, as that island is situated in the 
 vicinity of Staffa, to which we shall now 
 turn our attention. The gentleman we 
 have just mentioned was one of the first 
 persons who had the good fortune to exa. 
 mine the latter with any degree of accu- 
 racy, nor indeed had the public been in- 
 formed before of the distinguishing marks 
 which render it so highly interesting. Buch- 
 anan being then the only author that had 
 noticed this beautiful work of nature, though 
 very slightly. Mr. Pennant, who possessed 
 every requisite talent 'for informing the 
 world, was disappointed by an adverse 
 wind, from visiting Staffa in the year that 
 proved more favourable to Dr. Von Trod, 
 who would have been exactly in the same 
 situation in all probability, had not the tide, 
 which flows with great strength between 
 the western isles of Scotland, compelled the 
 captain of the vessel employed to take him 
 to Iceland, to anchor, on the night of the 
 twelfth of August, in the sound between 
 the Isle of Mull and Morvern on the conti- 
 nent, and precisely opposite to Drumnen, 
 the seat of Mr. Maclean, by whom the 
 Doctor and his friends were immediately 
 invited on shore to breakfast, with the cha- 
 
 racteristic hospitality of the Highlanders. 
 Mr. Banks, now Sir Joseph, being of the 
 party intending to visit Iceland, eagerly 
 accepted, with the Doctor, and others, the 
 offer of Mr. Maclean to conduct them to 
 Staffa, to which they were conveyed by 
 the ship’s long boat the, same evening, about 
 nine o’clock. “ It W'as impossible,” says 
 the Doctor, “ for our surprise to be in- 
 creased, or our curiosity to be fuller grati- 
 fied, than they w'ere the next morning, 
 when we beheld the no less than beautiful 
 spectacle which nature presented, to our 
 view. If we even with admiration behold 
 art, according to the rules prescribed to it, 
 observing a certain kind of order, which 
 not only strikes the eye, but also pleases it, 
 what must be the effect produced upon us 
 when we behold nature displaying, as it 
 were, a regularity which far surpasses every 
 thing art ever produced. An attentive 
 spectator will find as much occasion for 
 wonder and astonishment, when he observes 
 how infinitely short human wisdom appears, 
 when we attempt to imitate nature in this 
 as well as in any other of her grand and aw- 
 ful productions; and though we acknow- 
 ledge nature to be the mistress of all the 
 arts, and ascribe a greater degree of per- 
 fection to them, tile nearer they approach 
 and imitate it, yet we sometimes imagine 
 that she might be improved, according to 
 the luies of architecture. How magnifi- 
 cent are the remains which we have of the 
 porticos of the ancients, and with what ad- 
 miration do we behold the colonnades that 
 adorn the principal buildings of our times ; 
 and yet every one who compares them with 
 Fingal’s cave, formed by nature in the Isle 
 of Staffa, must readily acknowledge that this 
 piece of nature’s architecture far surpasses 
 every thing that invention, luxury, and taste 
 ever produced among the Greeks.” 
 
 A small cave on the west side of the 
 island affords a convenient landing place, but 
 there are no regular basalt pillars to be met 
 within its immediate vicinity. On the south 
 side of it are some narrow pillars, which 
 are inclined, and resemble the springs of 
 the ribs of an arch ; beyond those is a small 
 grotto, on the right hand, not composed of 
 pillars, though they appear above it dis- 
 posed in the manner of the interior parts 
 of the timbers of a ship. Af a few yards 
 distance, and opposite to the grotto, ex- 
 tends the peninsula of Bo-scha-!a, consist- 
 ing of regular, but smaller pillars, which 
 are all of a conical figure. Some of these 
 diverge as from a centre, some inciipe, 
 
STAFFA. 
 
 and others, and by far the greater number, 
 are perpendicular. Tlie island itself, oppo- 
 site to Bo-scha-la, is composed of thick 
 columns which extend into the sea as far as 
 the eye is able to penetrate, but are not 
 very high, and gradually decrease as they 
 approach the water. Their relative con- 
 nection is so admirably preserved, that a 
 person may walk upon their ends as conve- 
 niently as if ascending or descending the 
 steps of a stair-case ; these lead to Fingal’s, 
 or Finhn Mac Coul’s cave or grotto, which 
 is excavated out of that mountain from 
 north-east to east. 
 
 The cave is formed by regular pillars, ex- 
 tending to a great distance on each side, 
 w’hich support an arch composed of the ob- 
 tuse points of others, placed very close 
 together ; unfortunately the floor of this 
 wonderful place is covered by a body of 
 clear fresh water, several feet in depth, 
 through which may be seen an incredible 
 number of fragments of pillars. The co- 
 lour of the columns is grey, inclining to 
 black, and the joints are distinguishable by 
 the intervention of a yellow stalactic quarry 
 rind, that exhales, and serves to make the 
 separations more distinct, at the same time 
 that it produces an agreeable etfect by 
 many different gradations of colour. 
 
 A sufficient degree of light enters the cave 
 to illuminate it to the extremity, where the 
 ranges of pillars are perfectly discernible, 
 and the ebbing and flowing of the tide con- 
 stantly conveying and discharging air from 
 within it, is at all times fit for respiration, and 
 by no means noxious. This circumstance 
 may still further originate from the passage 
 of the water through a fissure in the rocks, 
 rather lower than the surface, which occa- 
 sions a rushing sound upon each rise of the 
 tide, that contributes to render the effect of 
 the whole still more singular and impres- 
 sive. A boat is certainly the most conve- 
 nient for visiting Fingal’s cave, but if is pos- 
 sible to walk into it upon the points of 
 some of the pillars which are higher than 
 the level of the water. 
 
 The party already mentioned measured 
 the dimensions of this beautiful grotto, and 
 we acknowledge ourselves indebted to Dr. 
 Von Troil for the following particulars : 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 The length from the furthest of the 
 basalt pillars, which from the 
 shore formed a canal to the cave, 
 
 121 ft. 6 in. ; from the commence- 
 ment of the vault to the end of 
 the cave, 250 ft 371 
 
 Ft. It;. 
 
 The breadth of i(s entrance 53 7 
 
 Of the interior end 20 0 
 
 The height of the vault at the en- 
 trance of the cave 117 6 
 
 Of ditto at the interior end 70 0 
 
 The height of the outermost pillar 
 
 in one corner 39 6 
 
 The height of another in the north- 
 west corner 54 0 
 
 The depth of the water at entrance 18 0 
 
 Of the inside end 9 0 
 
 From the water to the foot of the 
 
 pillars 36 8 
 
 Height of the pillars 32 6 
 
 Height of the arch, or vault, above 
 
 the top of the pillars 31 4 
 
 The stratum above 34 4 
 
 The western corner of Fingal’s cave. 
 
 From the water to the foot of the 
 
 pillars 12 10 
 
 Height of the pillars 37 3 
 
 The stratum above them 66 9 
 
 Further west — the stratum beneath 
 
 the pillars ii o 
 
 Height of the pillars .54 Q 
 
 The stratum above 61 6 
 
 Still more westward — stratum be- 
 neath the pillars 17 1 
 
 Height of the pillars ....' 50 0 
 
 The stratum above them 51 0 
 
 More west — stratum beneath the 
 
 pillars 19 8 
 
 Height of the pillars 55 1 
 
 The stratum above 54 7 
 
 The stratum beneath the pillars was con- 
 sidered by the party to be no other than 
 tufa, which being heated at the period 
 when this phenomenon was produced, re- 
 ceived into its depths fragments of basalt, 
 that above them tinged with red, appears 
 to be lava, containing other fragments scat- 
 tered in various unequal directions, although 
 it is evident that the most violent heat must 
 have acted upon it, yet there are not the 
 least traces in its exterior, the pillars hav- 
 ing been removed by it, for the whole enor- 
 mous mass rests upon them. 
 
 On the north side of the island is another 
 cave, called Corvoranti, where the stratum 
 is raised, and the pillars consequently ap- 
 pear shortened; those are tolerably dis- 
 tinct, and continue so till the intervention 
 of a bay, that extends some distance in- 
 land, and there the pillars are discontinued. 
 The mountains in this neighbourhood, are 
 composed of dark brown stone, which may 
 
STA 
 
 fegwlai'ity obserirable in its texture. On 
 passing further, and on the south-east side of 
 the island, the basalt columnar appearance 
 commences, though almost imperceptibly ; 
 hence they gradually assume their charac- 
 teristic form, till at last the spectator finds 
 himself on the spot where they are in full 
 perfection. 
 
 The shape of the columns vary from 
 three to seven sides, though the majority 
 have five and six ; the former are so numer- 
 ous, that a heptagonal pillar is surrounded 
 with seven others, which join closely to its 
 seven sides. In some instances inconsider- 
 able fissures may be perceived, but those 
 are generally filled with quartz, and in one 
 particular place that had penetrated fftroUgh 
 several pillars without interrupting, the re- 
 gularity of their arrangement, one of the 
 greatest wonders attending this operation 
 of nature, is the separation of each pillar 
 into pieces, which are so closely jointed, 
 that it is almost impossible to introduce a 
 knife between the interstices. Upon an 
 attentive examination of many of those 
 pieces, it was found that the uppermost 
 was generally concave, in some cases flat, 
 but very rarely convex. When the upper 
 surface was flat, the lowest joint was the 
 same; but when it was excavated, the 
 lower one was rounded and reversed. 
 
 The sides of the pillars are of unequal 
 dimensions, to prove which we shall give 
 the measurement of two, extracted from 
 the Letters on Iceland, containing Dr. Von 
 TroH’s communication on this subject. 
 
 One with four sides. , 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 First side 1 5 
 
 Second 1 1 
 
 Third 1 6 
 
 Fourth - 1 1 
 
 With seven sides. 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 First side 2 10 
 
 Second 2 4 
 
 Third 1 10 
 
 Fourth 2 0 
 
 Fifth 1 1 
 
 Sixth 1 6 
 
 Seventh 1 3 
 
 The angles are as sharp and well defined 
 ^s those of the pillars of the Giant’s Cause- 
 way in Ireland, and their colour is gene- 
 rally black, the inclination to yellow being 
 confined to the external sides, which are 
 exposed to, and in some degree bleached 
 
 STA 
 
 by the action of the sun, rain, and wind. 
 The texture of their substance much resem- 
 bles, and is probably the same as the Ice-' 
 landic agate. Professor Bergman was di- 
 vided in opinion, whether these pillars were 
 produced by fire acting upon particular 
 substances, or whether subterraneous fires, 
 sending forth vapour, may have softened 
 the superincumbent earth, which becoming 
 soft, and yielding to the force below, as- 
 cended in this peculiar form, and became 
 gradually petrified. This latter supposition 
 met the ideas of Von Troil, who illustrates 
 it by saying, he has observed the distinct 
 and regular appearance alluded to in dried 
 clay, and even starch, when dried in a ba- 
 son. “ For,” adds the latter, “ it may be 
 demonstrated that they are not crystals 
 formed by nature, by their not being pro- 
 duced as all other crystals are, by external 
 apposition (per appositionem), nor in any 
 other matrix, as is common among crys- 
 tals.” He further observes, “ The follow- 
 ing may, however, serve as a proof that I 
 did not, without due foundation, believe 
 them to be a kind of lava, which burst in 
 growing cold and hard. First, you find 
 both in the Island ofStaffa, and many other 
 places, that the pillars stand on lava or 
 tufa, and are surrounded by this matter. 
 Secondly, at StafFa there was a large stra- 
 tum above the pillars, in which there were 
 many pieces of those pillars irregularly 
 thrown one among another, which leaves us 
 to conjecture that they must have been more 
 in number, and higher, after an old erup- 
 tion of fire ; but that a subsequent eruption 
 had overthrown them and mixed them with 
 the whole mass.” 
 
 STAIR-CASE, in architecture, an as- 
 cent inelosed between walls, or a balus- 
 trade, consisting of stairs, or steps, with 
 landing-places and rails, serving to make a 
 communication between the several stories 
 of a house. The construction of a com- 
 plete stair-case is one of the most curious 
 works in architecture. 
 
 STAKE, the name of a small anvil, used 
 by smiths ; sometimes it stands on a broad 
 iron foot on the work-bench, to be moved 
 up and down occasionally ; and sometimes 
 it hath a strong iron spike at the bottom, by 
 which it is fixed to some place on the work- 
 bench. Its use is to set small and cold 
 work straight, by hammering it on the 
 stake ; or to cut or punch upon the cold 
 chissel or cold punch. 
 
 STALACTITiE, stony icicles, in natural 
 history, crystalline spars formed into ob- 
 
 !.l 
 
 i 
 
 / 
 
STA 
 
 long, conical, round, or irregular bodies, 
 composed of various crusts, and usually 
 found hangingin form oficiclesfrom the roofi 
 of grottos, &c. Of tills class there are va^ 
 rious species, as the hard, white stalactit® ; 
 the white, shattery stalactit® ; and the yel- 
 low, shattery, crystalline stalactit®, &c. 
 
 STALK, in botany, that part of a plant 
 which rises immediately from the root, and 
 which supports the leaves of the flowers, 
 and the fruit. See Botany. 
 
 STAMINA, in botany, threads, which, in 
 most flowers, are placed round the seed-bud: 
 they are designed for preparing the pollen, 
 which is the chief agent in the generation 
 of plants. The stamen is divided into the 
 “ filamentum,” or slender, thread shaped 
 part, resembling a foot-stalk ; the “ an- 
 thera and the “ pollen.” 
 
 Stamina, in the animal body, are de- 
 fined to be those simple original parts, 
 which existed first in the embryo, or even 
 in the seed ; and by whose distinction, aug- 
 mentation, and accretion, by additional 
 juices, the animal body, at its utmost bulk, 
 is supposed to be formed. 
 
 STANCHION, or stanchions, in a ship, 
 those pillars which, being set up pillar-wise, 
 do support and strengthen the waste-trees. 
 
 STAND, in commerce, a weight, from 
 two hundred and a half to three hundred, 
 of pitch. 
 
 STANDARD, in war, a sort of banner, 
 or flag, borne as a signal for the joining to- 
 gether of the several troops belonging to 
 the same body. The standard is usually a 
 piece of silk, a foot and a half square, on 
 which are embroidered the arms, device, or 
 cipher of the prince, or of the colonel : it 
 is fixed on a lance, eight or nine feet long, 
 and is carried in the centre of the first rank 
 of a squadron of horse. The standard is 
 used for any martial ensign of horse, but 
 more particularly for that of the general, or 
 the royal standard : those borne by the foot 
 are rather called colours. 
 
 The royal standard is a flag in which the 
 imperial ensigns of England, Scotland, and 
 Ireland, are quartered, together with the 
 armorial bearings of Hanover. It is never 
 hoisted, unless when the King is on board, 
 then it is displayed at the main-top-gallant- 
 mast-head. 
 
 Standarp, in commerce, the oiiginal of 
 a weight, measure, or coin, committed to 
 the keeping of a magistrate, or deposited 
 in some public place, to regulate, adjust, and 
 try the weights used by particular persons 
 in traffic.. The justness of weights and mea- 
 
 STA 
 
 sures is of that importance to the security 
 and good order of trade, that there is no ci- 
 vilized nation, but makes it a part of their 
 policy, to preserve the equality thereof by 
 means of standards. The standards of 
 weights and measures in England, are ap- 
 pointed, by magna charta, to be kept in 
 the Exchequer, by a special officer, called 
 the clerk or comptroller of the market. 
 
 The standard of gold coin is twenty-two 
 carats of fine gold, and two carats of alloy, 
 in the pound weight troy : and the French, 
 Spanish, and Flemish gold are nearly of the 
 same fineness. The pound weight is cut 
 into forty-tour parts and a half, each cur- 
 rent for twenty-one shillings. The standard 
 of silver is eleven ounces and two penny- 
 weights of silver, and eighteen penny- 
 weights of alloy of copper. Whether gold 
 or silver be above or below standard, is 
 found by assaying, and the hydrostatical 
 balance. See the articles Assaying and 
 Hydrostatics. 
 
 SIANDING, in the sea-language. 
 Standing part of the sheet, is that part of it' 
 which is made fast to a ring at the ship’s 
 quarter. Standing part of a tackle, is the 
 end of the rope where the block is fasten- 
 ed. Standing ropes are those which do not 
 run in any block, but are set taught, or let 
 slack, as occasion serves ; as the sheet-stays, 
 back-stays, or the like. 
 
 STANNARIES, the mines and works 
 where tin is dug and purified, as in Corn- 
 wall, Devonshire, &c. There are four 
 courts of the stannaries in Devonshire, and 
 as many in Cornwall, and great liberties 
 were granted them by several acts of par- 
 liament, in the time of Edward I. &c. 
 though somewhat abridged under Edw. HI. 
 and Charles I. , 
 
 STANNUM. See Tin. 
 
 STAPELIA, in botany, so named in 
 memory of Bodeus a Stapel, a physician of 
 Amsterdam, a genus of the Pentandria Di- 
 gynia class and order. Natural order of 
 Contort®. Apocine®, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : contorted ; nectary a double 
 little star covering the gentials. There are 
 forty-nine species. 
 
 STAPHYLEA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Trihilat®. Rhamni, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx five- 
 parted ; petals five ; capsule inflated, con- 
 nate; seeds two, globular, with a wart, 
 There are three species. 
 
 STAPHYLINUS, in natural history, a 
 genus of insects of the order Coleoptera s 
 
ST A 
 
 STitenniE moniliform ; feelers four ; sliells 
 half as long as the body ; wings folded up 
 under the sliells ; tail not armed with a for- 
 eeps, furnished with two exertile vesicles. 
 There are nearly two hundred species, in 
 three sections. A. All the feelers filiform. 
 
 B. Hind feelers hatchet-shaped ; fore feelers 
 clavate. The win^s of the insects of this 
 genus are curiously pleated or convoluted 
 beneath the short and abi u|)tly terminated 
 wing sheaths. Tlie most remarkable, as 
 well as the largest of the British species, is 
 the S. major, whiph is more than an inch 
 long, entirely of a deep colour, and when 
 disturbed sets up the hinder part of its 
 body, as if in a posture of defence : it is 
 very frequently seen, during the autumnal 
 season, about sunny pathways, fields, and 
 gardens, and is furnished witli a large head, 
 and very strong forcipated jaws. The in- 
 sects of this whole tribe are extremely ra- 
 pacious, devouring whatever insects they 
 can catch, and frequently each other : many 
 of them, when attempted to be caught, 
 turn up the tail : the jaws are strong and 
 exserted, with which they bite and pinch 
 very hard. Most of them are found in 
 damp places, among putrid substances, and 
 a few upon flowers. 
 
 STAPLE primarily signifies a public 
 place or market, whither merchants, &c. 
 are obliged to bring their goods to be 
 bought by the people, as the Greve, or the 
 places along the Seine, for sale of wines and 
 corn, at Paris, whither the merchants of 
 other parts are obliged to bring those com- 
 modities. Formerly the merchants of Eng- 
 land were obliged to carry their wool, 
 cloth, lead, and other like staple-commo- 
 dities of this realm, in order to utter the 
 same by wholesale ; and these staples were 
 appointed to be constantly kept at York, 
 Lincoln, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, 
 Westminster, Canterbury, Chichester, Win- 
 chester, Exeter, and Bristol; in each where- 
 of a public mart was appointed to be kept, 
 and each of them had a court of the mayor 
 of the staple, for deciding differences, held 
 according to the law-merchant, in a sum- 
 mary way. Tire staple-commodities of this 
 kingdom are said by some to be these, viz. 
 wool, leatlier, wool-fells, lead, tin, butter, 
 cheese, cloth, &c. but others allow only the 
 first five to be staple-commodities. 
 
 STAR, in astronomy, a general name for 
 all the heavenly bodies, which, are dispers- 
 ed throughout the whole heavens. 
 
 Tlie stars are distinguished, from the 
 phaenoraena of their motion, &c. into fixed, 
 
 STA 
 
 and erratic or wandering stars : these last 
 are again distinguished into the greater lu- 
 minaries, viz. tire Sun and Moon ; the pla- 
 nets, and the comets ; each whereof has 
 been fully considered and explained under 
 their respective articles. Sun, Moon, &c. 
 
 As to the fixed stars, or simple stars, 
 they are so called because they seem to be 
 fixed, or perfectly at rest, and consequently 
 appear always at the same distance from 
 each other. 
 
 An observer will first divide these stars 
 into several classes, according to the splen- 
 dor of their light ; the brightest he will call 
 stars of the first magnitude; those of the 
 next inferior light, he will call stars of the 
 second magnitude ; and so in order to those 
 which can barely be seen by the naked eye, 
 which are called stars of the sixth magni- 
 tude : and those which cannot be seen but 
 by the help of magnifying glasses, are of 
 the seventh, eighth, &c. magnitudes. Af- 
 terwards, to avoid confusion, and to be able 
 to point OIK auy one star, without being 
 obliged to give a particular name to each, 
 he will divide them into separate parcels, 
 of which he will make a particular plan; 
 and to each of these constellations, or par- 
 cels of stars, he will assign a figure at plea- 
 sure, as that of a Ram, a Bull, a Dragon, a 
 Hercules, &c. but so that all the stars in 
 each of the parcels, di'awn in the plan, may 
 be enclosed in the designed figures, and 
 correspond to the different parts from 
 whence they take their name : tor examplq, 
 having drawn the figure of a bull about a 
 parcel, or constellation, of stars, that star 
 which falls in the eye will be called the star 
 in the Bull’s Eye, or simply, the Bull’s Eye; 
 another, which respects the tip of one 
 horn, will be named the Bull's Horn ; and 
 so of others. A parcel of stars thus con- 
 tained in any assigned figure, is called a 
 constellation. By this means, notwithstand- 
 ing the seeming impossibility of numbering 
 the fixed stars, their relative situations one 
 to another have been so carefully observed 
 by astronomers, that they have not only 
 been able to number them, but even to dis- 
 tinguish the place of each star in the hea- 
 vens, and that with greater accuracy than 
 any geographer could ever point out the 
 situations of the several cities or towns 
 upon the surface of the earth ; and not only 
 the places of those few, if they may be so 
 called, which are to be seen with t!>e naked 
 eye, have been pointed out and registered 
 by them, but even of those which are dis- 
 covered only by the telescope. The most 
 
STAR. 
 
 ancient observations of the stars, which 
 have reached these times, were made by 
 Timocharis and Aristillus, about 300 years 
 before Christ. The next after them, who 
 made a catalogue of the stars visible to the 
 naked eye, and registered their places, was 
 Hipparchus of Rhodes ; he flourished about 
 120 years before Christ, and numbered 1022 
 stars. After him, Ptolemy enlarged his 
 catalogue to 1026 : Uliig Beigh, the grand- 
 father of Tamerlane the Great, about the 
 year 1437', constructed a new catalogue, 
 more exact than that of Ptolemy, contain- 
 ing 1017 stars; Tycho, in the year 1600 , 
 determined the places of 777 fixed stars, 
 and reduced them to a catalogue : Keplei'’s 
 catalogue contained 1163 stars; and that 
 of the Prince of Hesse, 400 : Ricciolus en- 
 larged Kepler’s catalogue to 1468; and 
 John Bayer, a German, had described the 
 places of 1725 stars : after this, about 1670, 
 Hevelius of Dantzic, composed a cata- 
 logue of 1888 fixed stars : Dr. Halley also 
 undertook a voyage to the island of St. 
 Helena, in order to take the position of the 
 stars within the antarctic circle, of which he 
 published a catalogue, containing 373 stars : 
 but the largest and most complete cata- 
 logue ever yet published, is that of our ac- 
 curate astronomer Mr. Flamsteed, in his Ce- 
 lestial History, which contains nearly 30Q0 
 stars ; all whose places are more exactly 
 determined in the heavens, than the po- 
 sition of cities and other places on the 
 earth. 
 
 We ought not, however, to imagine, that 
 all the fixed stars are thus numbered, and 
 reduced to their respective places in the 
 heavens; since their number continually in- 
 creases, according to the goodness of the 
 telescope, appearing millions beyond mil- 
 lions, till, by their immense distance, they 
 evade the sight, even though assisted by 
 the best instruments. The telescopical 
 stars with which Mr. Flamsteed has enrich- 
 ed his catalogue, are only the more remark- 
 able ones, whose longitudes and latitudes, 
 or situations in the heavens, it was thought 
 worth while to register and put down. Dr. 
 Hook, with a telescope of twelve feet, saw 
 78 stars among the Pleiades ; and with a 
 longer telescope, still more : and, in the sin- 
 gle constellation of Orion, which in Mr. 
 Flamsteed’s catalogue, has but 80 stars, 
 there have been seen 2000. We may, 
 therefore, venture to pronounce the num- 
 ber of fixed stars, including the telescopic 
 ones as well as those visible to the naked 
 eye, to be infinitely great, far beyond what 
 
 it is possible for tlie best astronomers to 
 calculate, much less to reduce to order- 
 But though the stars are certainly innumer- 
 able, yet those visible to the naked eye, in 
 one hemisphere, seldom exceed a thou- 
 sand ; which, perhaps, may appear strange, 
 since, at first sight, their number seems im- 
 mensely great : but this is only a deception 
 of sight, arising from a confused and tran- 
 sient view; for let a person single out a 
 jsmall portion of the heavens, and after 
 some attention to the situation of the more 
 remarkable stars therein, begin to count, 
 he will soon be surprised to find how few 
 there are therein. However, even the 
 number of stars visible to the naked eye, 
 small as it is in comparison with that of the 
 telescopic ones, is far from being constant ; 
 since, besides that the different states of 
 the atmosphere render many of the lesser 
 stars invisible, some stars have been observ- 
 ed to appear and disappear by turns ; par- 
 ticularly one in the chair Cussiopeia, in the 
 year 1572, which, for some time, outshone 
 the biggest of the fixed stars, and in sixteen 
 months time, by degrees, vanished quite 
 away, and was never seen since: in the 
 year 1640, the scholars of Kepler saw a 
 star in the right leg of Serpentarius, which 
 likewise gradually disappeared: Fabricius, 
 in the year 1596, giyes the first account of 
 the Stella mira, or wonderful star, in the 
 neck of the Whale ; which has been since 
 found to appear and disappear periodically, 
 its period being seven revolutions in six 
 years, but is never quite extinguished. 
 Several other new stars have been observ- 
 ed : as one by Hevelius, in 1670, and an- 
 other by Mr. Kircher, in 1 689. These new 
 stars are generally observed in the galaxy, 
 or milky way, see Galaxy. 
 
 As to the causes of this appearing and 
 disappearing of the fixed stars. Sir Isaac 
 Newton conjectures, that as it is possible 
 our Sun may sometimes receive an addition 
 of fuel by the falling of a comet into it ; so 
 the sudden appearance of some stars, which 
 formerly were not visible to us, may be 
 owing to the falling of a comet upon them, 
 and occasioning an uncommon blaze and 
 splendour for some time: but that such as 
 appear and disappear periodically, and in- 
 crease by very slow degrees, seldom ex- 
 ceeding the stars of the third magnitude, 
 may be such as having large portions of 
 their surfaces obscured by spots, may, by 
 revolving round their axis, like the Sun, ex- 
 pose their lighter and darker parts to us 
 successively. 
 
STA 
 
 Nature and Distance of the fixed Stars^. 
 J’rom the similitude there appears to be be- 
 tween them and the Sun, it is generally sup- 
 posed by philosophers, that they are not 
 placed in the heavens by way of ornament 
 only, or to supply us with a faint light in 
 the absence of the Moon ; but that each of 
 them is placed in the midst of a system of 
 planetary worlds, and that it directs their 
 motions, and supplies them with light and 
 heat, in the same manner that the Sun does 
 the several bodies of which our solar sys- 
 tem is composed ; in short, that they are so 
 many suns, which no doubt have planets 
 moving regularly round them, though invisi- 
 ble to us. That this is not mere hypothesis. 
 Will appear from the following arguments, 
 drawn from the analogy they bear to our 
 Sun : the Suh shines by its own native light, 
 and so. do the fixed stars : the Sun, at the 
 distance of the fixed stars, would appear no 
 larger than a star ; none of our planets, at 
 that distance, could be seen at all : is it not 
 probable, therefore, that each of the fixed 
 stars is a fixed sun, surrounded by a system 
 of planets and comets, which may be again 
 furnished with difierent numbers of satel- 
 lites, or moons, though invisible to us ? Be- 
 sides, as the number of stars is immensely 
 great, dispersed through spaces of the uni- 
 verse, far beyond the reach of the best te- 
 lescopes, and as God has made nothing in 
 vain, it seems highly probable that they 
 severally serve the purposes of light and 
 heat for the planets of their systems ; since 
 nothing can be more absurd than to pre- 
 tend that myriads of unseen stars were 
 made to twinkle in the unknown regions of 
 the universe. 
 
 That the fixed stars shine by their own 
 light, is thus proved: when viewed through 
 a telescope, they appear only as mere lucid 
 points, destitute of all sensible magnitude, 
 and consequently must be at a vast dis- 
 tance; because the satellites of Jupiter 
 and Saturn, when viewed through a teles- 
 cope, appear of very distinguishable mag- 
 nitudes, and yet are invisible to the naked 
 eye. Since, then, the fixed stars are at 
 such a vast distance, that the best telescope 
 has no power to magnify tliem, and never- 
 theless shine with a very bright and spark- 
 lingi light, it is inferred that they must 
 shine with their own proper and nnborrowed 
 light ; because, if their light was only bor- 
 rowed, they would, like the satellites al- 
 ready mentioned, be invisible to the naked 
 eye. 
 
 The celebrated Huygens found the bright- 
 
 STA 
 
 est and largest, and consequently the near^ 
 est of the fixed stars, viz, Sirius, or the 
 Dog-star, to be in appearance 87,664 times' 
 less tlian the Sun ; and since the distances 
 of objects are greater as their apparent 
 magnitudes are lesser, the Dog-star must be, 
 distant from Our Earth 2,000,000,000,000, or 
 above two millions of millions of English 
 miles; which is so very great, that a can- 
 non-ball continuing in the same velocity it 
 acquires when immediately discharged at 
 the mouth of the cannon, would spend al- 
 most seven hundred thousand years in pass- 
 ing through it : and it is very probable, that 
 the fixed stars are equally distant from each 
 other, as the nearest of them is from our 
 Sun; since, the better the telescopes we 
 make use of, the more stars are seen. 
 Hence it is very natural to conclude, that 
 all the fixed stars are not placed at equal 
 distances from us : but that they are every 
 where interspersed, at great distances be- 
 yond one another, throughout the universe ; 
 and that, probably, the different appear- 
 ances which they make, in point of splen- 
 dour and magnitude, may be rather owing 
 to their various distances from us, than to 
 any real difference in their magnitudes. 
 
 From what has been said, concerning the 
 number, nature, and distance of the fixed 
 stars, the hypothesis of a plurality of worlds, 
 wherein each fixed star serves as a sun to 
 a system of planets, seems rational, worthy 
 a philosopher, and greatly displays the wis- 
 dom, and redounds to the glory of the 
 great Creator and Governor of the uni- 
 verse. Under the article Sun will be men- 
 tioned some of the speculations of Dr. 
 Herschel. 
 
 Star, in heraldry, a charge frequently 
 borne on the shield, and the honourable 
 ordinaries, in figure of a star. 
 
 Star is also a badge of honour, worn by 
 the Knights of the Garter, Bath, and This- 
 tle. See Garter. 
 
 Star, in pyrotecbny, a composition of 
 combustible matters, which, being thrown 
 aloft in the air, exhibits the appearance of 
 a real star. Stars are chiefly used as ap- 
 pendages to rackets, a number of them be- 
 ing usually inclosed in a conical cap or co- 
 ver, at the head of the rocket, and carried 
 up with it to its utmost altitude, where the 
 stars, taking fire, are spread around, and 
 exhibit an agreeable spectacle. 
 
 STAR-board denotes the right hand side 
 of a ship, when a person on board stands 
 with the face looking forward towards the 
 head or fore part of the ship. In contra- 
 
STA 
 
 tSistinction from larboard, which denotes 
 the left band side of the ship in the same 
 circumstances. They say, ‘‘ .Slaiboard the 
 helm,” or “ Helm a starboard,” when the 
 man at the helm shonld put the helm to the 
 right hand side of the ship. 
 
 .Star falling or shooting Star, a luirtinous 
 meteor darting rapidly through the air, and 
 resembling a star falling. Tlic explication 
 of this phenomenon has puzzled all philo- 
 sophers, till the modern discoveries in elec- 
 tricity have led to the most probalrie ac- 
 count of it. Signior Beccaria makes it 
 pretty evident that it is an electrical ap- 
 pearance, and recites the following fact in 
 proof of it. About an honr after sunset, he 
 and some friends that were with him ob- 
 served a falling star directing its course to- 
 wards them, and apparently growing larger 
 and larger, but it disappeared not tar from 
 them ; when it left their faces, hands, and 
 clothes,' with the. earth, and all the neigh- 
 bouring objects, suddenly illuminated with 
 a diffused and lambent light, not attended 
 <witb any noise at all. During their surprise 
 at this appearance, a servant informed them 
 ti]at he had seen a light shine suddenly in 
 the garden, and especially upon the streams 
 which he was throwdng to water it. All 
 these appearances were evidently electri- 
 cal ; and Beccaria was confirmed in his 
 conjecture, that electricity was the cause of 
 them, by tlie quantity of electric matter 
 which he had seen giadually advancing to- 
 wards his kite, which had very much the 
 appearance of a falling star. Sometimes 
 also he saw a kind of glory round the kite, 
 which followed it when it changed its place, 
 hut left some light, for a small space of 
 time, in the place it had quitted. 
 
 Star-chamber was a very ancient court, 
 but new modelled afterwards by divers sta- 
 tutes. It consisted of several of the lords 
 .spiritual and temporal, being privy counsel- 
 lors, together with two judges of the courts 
 of common law', without the intervention of 
 any jury. The legal jurisdiction extended 
 over riots, perjury, niisbeltaviour of public 
 officers, and other notorious misdemeanors. 
 Blit afterwards, they stretched their power 
 beyond the utmost bounds of legality, vin- 
 dicating all the encroachments of the crowm 
 in granting monopolies, in issuing procla- 
 mations which sliould have the force of 
 lavys, in pnni.5hing small otfences, or no of- 
 fences at all, but of their own creating, by 
 exorbitant fines, imprisonment, and corpo- 
 ral severities ; until at last this court lie- 
 carae *o odious, that it w'a.s finally abolished 
 
 . STA 
 
 by the 16 Charles I. c. 10. Most of fh<* 
 ancient authorities respecting the law of 
 libels come from t’ i 5 court. 
 
 Star Fish. See Asterias. 
 
 STARCH. l'hi.s term is appropriated 
 to a suh,stance existing in vegetables, simi- 
 lar in many of it.s properties to gnm. It » 
 a dry, white powder, which forms the prin- 
 cipal part of the nutritive grains and rooks. 
 If a (laste he formed of wheaten flour 
 and water, and this be washed with addi- 
 tional quantities of water, till it is no longer 
 turbid, but comes olf pure and colourless, 
 the mass which remains becomes tenacious 
 and ductile. This is called Gluten, which 
 sec. If the water with w'hich the paste was 
 washed be allowed to remain at rest, it depo- 
 sits a White powder, which is distinguished by 
 the name of fectila or starch. .Starch is of 
 a tine white colour, and is usually in the 
 state of concrete columnar masses. It has 
 no perceptible sindll, and scarcely any 
 taste. It is little altered by exposure to 
 the air ; w'hen it is exposed to heat, on a 
 hot iron, it melts, swells up, becomes black, 
 and burns with a bright flame. The char- 
 coal which remains contains a little pot- 
 ash. When it is distilled, it gives out water 
 mixed with acetic acid, which is contami- 
 nated with oil. It gives out also carbonic 
 acid, and carbonated hydrogen gas. Stardi 
 is not soluble in cold, but forms a thick 
 paste" with boiling water; and when this 
 paste is allowed to cool, it becomes seini- 
 . transparent and gelatinous ; it is brittle 
 when dry, somewhat resembling gum. If 
 this paste be exposed to moist air, it is de- 
 composed, for it acquires an acid taste. 
 Siilpimric acid dissolves starch slowly ; sul- 
 phurous acid is disengaged, and a great 
 quantity of charcoal is formed. Muriatic 
 acid also dissolves starch, and the solution 
 resembles mucilage of gum Arabic. When 
 left at rest, a thick, oily, mucilaginous liquid 
 appears above, and a transparent straw- 
 coloured fluid below. The odour of mu- 
 riatic acid remains, but when water is add- 
 ed, it is destroyed, and a strong peculiar 
 smell is emitted. Starch is also soluble in 
 nitric acid, with the evolution of nitrons gas. 
 The solution assumes a green colour, and 
 when heat is applied, the starch is con- 
 verted into oxalic and malic acids. Some part 
 of the starch, however, is insoluble in nitric 
 acid, and, wdien this is separated by filtra- 
 tion, and washed with water, it has a tliiok, 
 oily appearance like tallow', is soluble in 
 nlcohoi, ami when distilled, yields acetic 
 acid, and an oily matter similar to tallow in 
 
STA 
 
 odour and consistence. Starch is insoluble 
 in alcohol, but is soluble in the alkalies ; in 
 pure potash it swells up, becomes transpa- 
 rent and gelatinous, and is then susceptible 
 of solution in alcohol. The component 
 parts of starch, as appears by distilling it, 
 and by the action of re-agents, are oxygen, 
 hydrogen, and carbon. Starch exists in a 
 great number of vegetable substances, but 
 chiefly in the roots and seeds, and particu- 
 larly those which are employed as food. 
 Starch, it is well known, may be obtained 
 from the potatoe. If the potatoe be grated 
 down, and washed with water till it comes 
 off pure and colourless ; this water, being 
 left at rest, deposits a fine white powder, 
 which assumes something of a crystallized 
 appearance, and is heavier than wheat 
 starch. It is generally mixed or combined 
 with other principles, and sometimes so in- 
 timately as not easily to be separated. It 
 is not completely formed, except in certain 
 «tates of vegetation. In nutritive grains it 
 is perfect only when they have attained 
 maturity, before this it is in a state ap- 
 proaching to mucilage, mixed with saccha- 
 rine matter. 
 
 STARLING. SeeSTURNUs. 
 
 STATICE, in botany, thrift, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Pentagynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Aggregata*. Pliimba- 
 gines, Jussieu. Essential character; calyx 
 one-petalled, entire, plaited, seariose ; pe- 
 tals five ; seed one, superior. There are 
 tliirty-nine species. 
 
 STATICS, a term which the modern im- 
 provements in knowledge have made it ne- 
 cessary to introduce into physico- mathema- 
 tical science. It was found convenient to 
 distribute the doctrines of universal mecha- 
 nics into two classes, which required both a 
 different mode of consideration, and diffe- 
 rent principles of reasoning. We are in- 
 delUed to Archimedes for tiie fundamental 
 principles of this science. He investigated 
 the doctrine of the centre of gravity, and 
 the theory of the Igver. Hut the snlqect of 
 moving forces was not properly understood 
 till Galileo considered it very accurately in 
 his work on “Local Motion.” In this, he 
 considers a change of motion, as the exact 
 and adequate measure of a moving force ; 
 and he considers every kind of pressure 
 as competent to the production of such 
 changes. He applied this principle to the 
 inotiofl of bodies by the action of gravity, 
 and gave the tiieory of projetdiles. Sir 
 Isaac Newdon took up the subject nearly 
 a:S Galileo had left it, and applied the doc- 
 
 STA 
 
 trines, which had been previously called in 
 aid of mechanics only, to explain the celes- 
 tial motions ; and the magnificence of this 
 subject caused it to occupy tlie whole atten- 
 tion of mathematicians. The “Principia” 
 contained, indeed, propositions equally con- 
 ducive to the improvement of common me- 
 chanics, and to the complete understanding 
 of the, mechanical actions of bodies. Pfii- 
 losophers began to make their applications. 
 They saw that every kind of work tliat is 
 performed by a machine, may be consider- 
 ed abstractedly as a retarding force ; tliat 
 the impulse of water, or wind, which are 
 employed as moving powers, act by means 
 of pressures which they exert on the im- 
 pelled point of the machine; and, that the 
 machine itself ntay be considered as an 
 assemblage of bodies, moveable in certain 
 limited circumstances, with determined di- 
 rections and proportions of velocity. From 
 these considerations resulted a general sfb- 
 stract condition of a body acted upon by- 
 known powers : at length was determined 
 a new kind of equilibrium, not thought of 
 by ancient mechanicians, between tlie re- 
 sistance to the machine performing work, 
 and the moving pow'cr, which exactly ba- 
 lance each other; aud is indicated not by 
 the rest, but by the uniform motion of the 
 machine. Hence also the mathematician 
 was enabled to calculate the precise motion 
 of water which would completely absorb, 
 or balance, the superiority of pressure by 
 which water is forced through a sluice, pipe, 
 &c. with a constant velocity. 
 
 Thus the general doctrines of motion 
 came to be considered in two points of 
 view, according as they balanced each 
 other in a state of rest, or of uniform mo- 
 tion. These two ways of considering the 
 same subject, required botli different prin- 
 ciples and a different manner of reasoning. 
 The first has been named statics, as ex- 
 pressing that rest which is the test of this 
 kind of equilibrium. The second has been 
 called dynamics, or universal mechanics, 
 because the different kinds of motion are 
 characteristic of the powers or forces which 
 produce them. A knowledge of both is in- 
 dispensably necessary for acquiring any use- 
 ful, practical knowledge of njachines : and 
 it was ignorance of the doctrines of accele- 
 rated and retarded motions, which made 
 the progress of practical mechaDical know'- 
 ledge so very slow and imperfect. The me- 
 chanics, even of the moderns, before Gali- 
 leo, went no further than to state the pro- 
 portion of the power and resistance which 
 
STA 
 
 Would be balanced by the intervention of a 
 given machine, or the proportion of the 
 parts of a machine, by which two known 
 forces may balance each other. This view 
 of the matter introduced a principle, which 
 even Gralileo considered as a mechanical 
 axiom, viz. that what is gained in force, by 
 means of a machine, is exactly compensated 
 by the additional time which it obliges 
 us tp employ. This is not quite accurate, 
 and not only prevents improvement in the 
 construction of machines, bnt leads to 
 erroneous maxims of construction. The 
 two principles of dynamics teach us, that 
 there is a certain proportion of the machine 
 dependent on the kind and proportion of 
 the power and resistance, which enables 
 the machine to perform the greatest possi- 
 ble work. It is highly proper, therefore, 
 to keep separate these two ways of consi- 
 dering machines, that both may be im- 
 proved to the utmost, and then to blend 
 them together in every practical discussion. 
 Statics, therefore, is preparatory to the pro- 
 per study of mechanics ; but it does not 
 hence derive all its importance. It is the 
 sole foundation of many useful parts of 
 knowledge. This will be best seen by a 
 brief -enumeration. 1. It corpprehends all 
 the doctrines of the excitement and propa- 
 gation of pressure, through the parts of so- 
 lid bodies, by which the energies of ma- 
 chines are produced. A pressure is exert- 
 ed on the impelled point of a machine, such 
 as the float-boards or buckets of a mill- 
 wheel. This excites a pressure at the pi- 
 vots of its axle, which act on the points of 
 support. This must be understood, both as 
 to direction and intensity, that it may be 
 effectually resisted. A pressure is also ex- 
 cited at the acting tooth of the cog-wheel, 
 on the same axle, by which it urges round 
 another wheel, exerting similar pressures 
 on its pivots, and on the acting tooth, per- 
 haps, of a third wheel. Thus a pressure is 
 ultimately excited in the working point of 
 the machine, perhaps a wiper, which lifts a 
 heavy stamper, to let it fall again on some 
 matter to be pounded. Now statics teaches 
 us the intensities and direction of all those 
 pressures, and therefore how much remains 
 at the working point of the machine unba- 
 lanced by resistance. 2. It comprehends 
 every circumstance which influences the 
 stability of heavy bodies; the investigation 
 and properties of the centre of gravity ; the 
 theory of the construction of arches, vaults, 
 and domes ; the attitudes of animals. 3. The 
 strength of materials, and the principles of 
 
 STA 
 
 construction, so as to make the proper ad- 
 justment of strength and strain, in every 
 part of a machine, edifice, or structure of 
 any kind. Statics, therefore, furnishes us 
 with what may be called a theory of car- 
 pentry, and gives us proper instructions for 
 framing floors, roofs, centres, &c. 4. Sta- 
 tics comprehends the whole doctrine of the 
 pressure of fluids, whether liquid or aeri- 
 form, whether arising from their weight, or 
 from any external action. Hence, there- 
 fore, we derive our knowledge of the sta- 
 bility of ships, or their power of maintain- 
 ing themselves in a position nearly upright, 
 in opposition to the action of the Wind on 
 their sails. We learn on what circumstances 
 of figure and stowage this quality depends, 
 and what will augment or diminish it. See 
 Dynamics, Mechanics, &c. 
 
 STATION, in practical geometry, &c. is 
 a place pitched upon to make an observa- 
 tion, or take an angle, or such like, as in 
 surveying, measuring heights and distances, 
 levelling, &c. An accessible height is taken 
 from one station ; but an inaccessible height 
 or distance is only to be taken by making 
 two stations, from two places whose dis- 
 tance asunder is known. In making maps 
 of counties, provinces, &c. stations are fixed 
 upon certain eminences, &c. of the coun- 
 try, and angles taken from thence to the 
 several towns, villages, See. In surveying, 
 the instl’ument is to be adjusted by the nee- 
 dle, or otherwise, to answer the points of 
 the horizon at every station ; the distance 
 from hence to the last station is to be mea- 
 sured, and an angle is to be taken to the 
 next station; which process repeated, in- 
 cludes the chief practice of surveying. 
 
 STATIONARY, in astronomy, signifies 
 the appearance of a planet, when it seems 
 to remain immoveable on the same point of 
 the zodiac for several days. As tlie earth, 
 whence we view the motions of the planets, 
 is out of the centre of their orbits, the pla- 
 nets appear to proceed irregularly ; being 
 sometimes seen to go forwards, that is, 
 from west to east, which is called the direc- 
 tion ; sometimes to ^o backwards, or from 
 east to west, which is called the retrogra- 
 dation. Now between these two states 
 there must be an intermediate one, where- 
 in the planet neither appears to go back- 
 wards nor forwards, but to stand still, and 
 keep the same place in her orbit ; which is 
 called her station : and this will happen, 
 when the line that joins the earth’s and pla- 
 net’s centre is constantly directed to the 
 same point in the heavens ; that is, when 
 
STATISTICS. 
 
 it keeps pairallel to itself. For all right 
 lines, drawn from any part of the Earth’s 
 orbit, parallel to one another, do all point 
 to the same star j the distance of these 
 lines being insensible, in comparison of that 
 of the fixed stars. 
 
 Saturn is seen stationary at the distance 
 of somewhat more than a quadrant from 
 the Sun ; Jupiter at the distance of fifty- 
 two degrees ; and Mars at a much greater 
 distance. Saturn is stationary eight days, 
 Jupiter four, Mars two, Venus one and a 
 half, and Mercury a half, though the several 
 stations are not always equal. 
 
 STATISTICS, a modern term adopted to 
 express a more comprehensive view of the 
 various particulars constituting the natural 
 and political strength and resources of a 
 country than was usually embraced by 
 writers on political arithmetic. Its princi- 
 pal objects are, the extent and population 
 of a state, the occupation of the different 
 classes of its inhabitants; the progress of 
 agriculture, of manufactures, and of inter- 
 nal and foreign trade ; the income and wealth 
 of the inhabitantSj and the proportion drawn 
 from them for the public service by taxa- 
 tion; the condition of the poor; the state of 
 'schools, and other institutions of public 
 utility ; with every other subject, the know- 
 ledge of which tends to establish the true 
 civil policy of the country, and consequently 
 to promote its prosperity. 
 
 The great change which has taken place 
 In the business of government, since the in- 
 troduction of the modern system of war- 
 fare, by which the time and labour of a 
 considerable number of persons is wholly 
 appropriated to the profession of arms; and, 
 particularly, since the adoption of the bor- 
 rowing system for defraying the expences of 
 ivar, has rendered statistical information of 
 ranch more importance than formerly ; the 
 naval and military force which a country is 
 capable of furnishing depending essentially 
 on the state of population and employment, 
 and the public finances becoming, by a con- 
 tinual accumulation of taxes intimately con- 
 nected with the state of agriculture, con- 
 sumption, and foreign trade. Many errors 
 and inconsistencies of former statesmen and 
 legislators might have been avoided by a 
 better knowledge of the state of the coun- 
 try ; yet, although the utility of cultivating 
 this branch of knowledge has become so 
 obvious, few of the governments of Europe 
 have appeared much disposed to promote 
 statistical inquiries. It will be a subject of 
 wonder to future rimes, that even in Great 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 Britain, so late as the year 1800, the state of 
 the population, on which its capability of 
 defence so much depended, was a subject 
 of so much uncertainty, as to be estimated 
 by many persons at but little more than half 
 what it was afterward ascertained to be. 
 
 As a comparison of such statistical ac- 
 counts as have beeh published of the differ- 
 ent states of Europe would be in a great 
 degree useless and unsatisfactory, since the 
 violent arid essential alterations most of them 
 have recently undergorie, we shall confine 
 ourselves to the principal particulars rela- 
 tive to Great Britain, as deduced from public 
 documents, and other authentic sources. 
 
 The island of Great Britain is about 590 
 miles in length, and the circuit of its coast 
 makes about liiOO miles : the part consti- 
 tuting England and Wales is in length, from 
 Newhaven, in Sussex, to Berwick upon 
 Tweed, 355 miles, and in breadth, from the 
 South Foreland, in Kent, to the Land’s End, 
 in Cornwall, 325 miles. 
 
 The area oG England and Wales, com- 
 puted in acres, has been very differently 
 stated by different authors ; for as it has 
 never been ascertained by an actual survey, 
 varions modes of computation have been 
 adopted, which hate disagreed materially in 
 the result. The following are the principal 
 
 estimates on this point. 
 
 By Sir William Petty 28,000,000 
 
 Dr. Grew 46 , 000,000 
 
 Dr. Halley.... 39,938,500 
 
 Templeman 31,648,000 
 
 Arthur Young 46 , 916,000 
 
 Rev. H. Beeke.. 38,498,572 
 
 In the returns relative to the poor, laid 
 before the House of Commons iri 1804, it 
 was stated, that by the best computation 
 England and Wales contained 58,335 square 
 statute miles, and 37,334,400 statute acres. 
 Scotland, with its islands, contains about 
 21,000,000 of acres. 
 
 The soil of South Britain is annually crbp- 
 ped nearly in the following proportions. 
 
 Wheat. . 3,080,000 
 
 Barley and rye 850,000 
 
 Oats and beans 2,800,000 
 
 Cilover, rye-grass, &c 1,120,000 
 
 Turnips, carrots, cabbages, &c. 1,120,000 
 
 Fallow 2 , 100,000 
 
 Hop grounds 35,000 
 
 Nursery grounds 8,500 
 
 Fruit and kitchen gardens 45,000 
 
 Pleasure grounds 16,000 
 
 11,174,500 
 
 R 
 
STATISTICS. 
 
 Brought over 11,174,500 
 
 Land depastured by cattle 17,000,000 
 
 Hedge-rows, copses, and woods 1,600,000 
 
 Ways, water, &c 1,282,100 
 
 Cultivated land 31,056,600 
 
 Commons and waste... 6,277,800 
 
 37,334,400 
 
 1 ’ 
 
 The number of horses for which duty is 
 paid is 1,780,000. Their annual consump- 
 tion of food, reckoned by tite produce of 
 Acres, is 
 
 ' Acres each. Acres. 
 
 200.000 pleasure horses... 5 ... 1,000,000 
 
 30,000 cavalry 5... 150,000 
 
 1,200,000 husbandry 4 ... 4,800,000 
 
 350.000 colts, mares, &c.. 3 ... 1,050,000 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 if these different classes are divided ac- 
 cording to the effect produced by their 
 occupations, it will be found that the whole 
 population of the country depends for 
 subsistence, and all the conveniencies of 
 life, on the labour of less than one, half of 
 the total number ; and the increase or de- 
 crease of this productive part of the com- 
 munity, and of the etfect of tlieir exertions, 
 is the measure of the increase or decline of 
 that gradual accumulation of stock which 
 
 The total population of Great Britain, as 
 it appeared by -the returns made in 1801, 
 including the army, navy, and merchant 
 seamen, w'as 10,942,646; to which, if the 
 islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and 
 the Scilly islands, are added, it may be 
 taken at 11,000,000. See Population. But 
 it is evident, that the welfare of a nation, 
 and its political strength, do not depend so 
 much on its numerical population, as on the 
 manner in which that population is em- 
 ployed; the proportion of productive to 
 unproductive labourers of which it consists. 
 No accurate account of this kind has ever 
 been taken, but the following estimate of 
 the different classes of persons who com- 
 pose the present population of Great Bri- 
 tain, cannot be far from the truth : 
 
 5.000 
 18,000 
 14,000 
 
 240.000 
 
 130.000 
 
 155.000 
 3,500 
 
 6.000 
 
 14.000 
 
 25.000 
 
 40.000 
 1,680,000 
 
 50.000 
 
 160.000 
 
 20.000 
 
 5.000 
 
 4.000 
 2,000,000 
 
 800,000 
 , 150,000 
 10,000 
 293,000 
 2,427,600 
 2,750,000 
 
 11,000,000 
 
 constitutes national wealth. In a different 
 state of society, however, this division of 
 the population would vary considerably ; 
 for were not those, who are considered as 
 unproductive labourers, employed in their 
 several vocations, their duties, or at least 
 the principal of them, must be divided 
 among those who at present are the effi- 
 cient labourers ; who, thus being obliged to 
 give up part of their time to unproductive 
 purposes, could not perform the same i^uan- 
 
 Nobility and gentry 
 
 Clergy of the churches of England and Scotland 
 
 Ditto dissenters of every, description 
 
 Array and militia, including half pay, &c 
 
 Navy and marines Trf. 
 
 Seamen in the merchant service 
 
 Lightermen, watermen, &c 
 
 Persons employed in collecting the public revenue 
 
 Judges, counsel, attornies, &c 
 
 Merchants, brokers, factors, &c...., 
 
 Clerks to ditto, and to commercial companies 
 
 Employed in the different manufactures 
 
 Mechanics not immediately belonging to ditto 
 
 Shopkeepers 
 
 Schoolmasters and mistresses 
 
 Artists 
 
 Players, musicians, &c 
 
 Employed in agriculture 
 
 Male and female servants 
 
 Gamblers, swindlers, thieves, prostitutes, &c 
 
 Convicts and prisoners 
 
 Aged and infirm 
 
 Wives and daughters of most of the above.... 
 
 Children under ten years of age 
 
STATISTICS. 
 
 tity of useful labour as at present ; and con- 
 sequently, to support the same populatioHj 
 a greater number of persons would be com- 
 pelled to engage, at least partially, in pro- 
 ductive employs. 
 
 The total income of all classes of the 
 community, both as arising from capital 
 and labour, appears to be nearly as fol> 
 lows : 
 
 £. , 
 
 29.000, Q00 
 
 8,500,000 
 
 6,120,000 
 
 15.000. 000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 1,000,000 
 
 20.500.000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 11.250.000 
 
 14.100.000 
 
 5.000. 000 
 
 2,200,000 
 
 1,800,000 
 
 600,000 
 
 8 . 000 . 000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 2,400,000 
 £. 132,470,000 
 
 From rent of lands... 
 
 From rent of houses 
 
 Profits of farming, or occupation of land 
 
 Income of labourers in agriculture.. 
 
 Profits of mines, canals, collieries, &c 
 
 Profits of merchant shipping and small craft 
 
 Income of stockholders 
 
 From mortgages and other monies lent 
 
 Profits of foreign trade 
 
 Profits of manufactures 
 
 Pay of army, navy, and merchant seamen 
 
 Income of the clergy of all descriptions 
 
 Judges and all subordinate officers of the law i 
 
 Professors, schoolmasters, tutors, &c 
 
 Retail trades not immediately connected with foreign trade or ^ 
 
 manufactures S 
 
 Various other professions and employments 
 Male and female servants, 
 
 If this statement, the total of which is 
 corroborated by the produce of the in- 
 comeor property tax, is not far from the 
 
 truth, it will not be difficult to form a 
 similar estimate of the total national ca- 
 pital, fiz. 
 
 £. 
 
 Value of the land, at ?8 years purchase 812,000,000 
 
 Value of houses, at 20 years purchase 170,000,000 
 
 Manufactories, machinery, steam engines, &c 20,000,000 
 
 Household funiture 42,500,000 
 
 Apparel, provisions, fuel, wine, plate, watches, and jewels; > 4o^o00,000 
 
 books, carriages, and other articles 
 
 Cattle of all kinds 90,000,000 
 
 Grain of all kinds 10J500,000 
 
 Hay, straw, 6,600,000 
 
 Implements of husbandry 2,000,000 
 
 Merchant shipping 12,800,000 
 
 The navy 6,000,000 
 
 Coin and bullion • • 24,000,000 
 
 Goods in the hands of merchants, &c 16,300,000 
 
 Goods in the hands of manufacturers, and retail traders 20,000,000 
 
 £. 1,272,800,000 
 
 In the year 1795, Mr. Pitt estimated the 
 total landed property at 750 millions, and 
 personal property at 600 millions, making a 
 total of 1350 millions. But even from the 
 above more moderate statement, in which 
 most , of the articles are probably taken 
 rather below than above the truth, it ap- 
 pears that, notwithstanding all the new 
 wants which refinement -and fashion have 
 
 introduced into the general mode of living, 
 and the expensive wars in whieh the country 
 has been engaged, there has usually been a 
 surplus of the general revenue, which by 
 gradual accumulation has raised the value 
 of the national stock, or capital, to an 
 amount far exceeding any rational estimate 
 of it at former periods. 
 
 It is evident that this statement includes 
 R 2 
 
STA 
 
 STA 
 
 only the real or effective wealth of the 
 country, upon which all other species of 
 wealth, whether consisting in government 
 or private securities, or of any other de- 
 scription, ultimately depend; for private 
 or public loans in which mode a great part 
 of the property of many persons is invested, 
 are obligations on the part of the borrowers 
 to repay, at a future time, a certain sura in 
 money, which is the measure and represen- 
 tative of all other species of real property^ 
 or to pay an income arising from this sum 
 till the capital is repaid. The borrower is 
 no otherwise richer than by the greater- in- 
 come he can make of the money borrowed, 
 than what he agrees to pay for it, as the 
 capital whether he invests it in land, mer- 
 chandize, or any other way, remains the 
 property of the lender, who though he may 
 not by the laws of the country be permit- 
 ted to take possession of the property into 
 which his money has been converted, may, 
 if necessary, bring it to sale for the purpose 
 of reconverting it into the equivalent sum 
 which he had lent. If, therefore, the whole 
 national stock was in the hands of one half 
 of the inhabitants, who had borrowed the 
 sum of 1272,200,0001. of the other half, it 
 is evident that it would be the real property 
 not of those in possession, but of those to 
 wliom they were indebted, and this is 
 actually the case with respect t* a consider- 
 libie part of the property of this country ; 
 the debts of government having contributed 
 materially to produce this eflFect. 
 
 STATUARY, a branch of sculpture, 
 employed in the making of statues. See 
 Sculpture. 
 
 Statuary is one of those arts wherein the 
 ancients surpassed the moderns; and indeed 
 it was much more popular, and. more culti- 
 vated among the former than the latter. 
 It is disputed between statuary and paint- 
 ing which of the two is the most difficult 
 and the most artful. Statuary is also used 
 for the artificer who makes statues. Phidias 
 was the greatest statuary among the an- 
 cients, and Michael Angelo among the mo- 
 derns. 
 
 STATUES, are figures representmg liv- 
 ing or deceased creatures, of whatever spe- 
 cies, real or imaginary ; and carved, cast, 
 modelled, or moulded, in full relievo, in- 
 sulated on every part. Statues are formed 
 with the chisel, of several materials, such 
 as marble, stone, &c. : they are carved in 
 wood ; or cast in plaster of Paris, or other 
 matter of the same nature; they are also 
 
 cast in several metals, as lead, brass, silver, 
 and gold. 
 
 Statues are divided into colossal, or con- 
 siderably exceeding the dimensions of na- 
 ture ; as, for instance, the celebrated statue 
 of Apollo at Rhodes. Allegorical, or such 
 as, under human or other symbolical forms, 
 represent subjects of a different kind, as 
 Time, Ocean, Winds ; or qualities of an in- 
 tellectual nature, as Mercy, Justice, &c. &c. 
 
 Statues of deities, demi-gods, and heroes 
 were, among the ancients, generally repre- 
 sented somewhat larger than life. Monu- 
 mental, either representing the person, the 
 virtues, or the actions of the deceased. 
 Equestrian, generally of some illustrious per- 
 son on horseback. Pedestrian, or on foot. 
 
 The most celebrated statues are those of 
 the Egyptians, Grecians, and Romans. 
 
 Statues, antique. The denomination of 
 antique statues is applicable to all ancient 
 statues, found either in India, Egypt, &c. 
 but is especially given, in preference, to 
 the statues wrought by the ancient Greek 
 and Roman sculptors. The works of the 
 Grecians are considered as the most perfect 
 examples of sculpture. Their statues are 
 eminently admirable for the various beauty 
 of their forms, for characteristic expression 
 and grace. The Grecian statues of men 
 are generally naked. The Roman are 
 clothed agreeably to the manner of the 
 country, and are distinguished into pallu- 
 datae (statuae), those of emperors with long 
 robes over their armour; loricataa, those 
 of soldiers with cuirasses; thoracatae, those 
 with coats of armour ; togatae, those of ' 
 magistrates with the toga, or robe worn in 
 office ; trabeatae, those of senators and au- 
 gurs ; tunicatae, those clothed with a plain 
 tunic ; stolataa, those of women with long 
 trains. 
 
 The antique statues are most particularly 
 remarkable for their systematic representa- 
 tion of the human form. As the principle 
 most apparent in their system is that of pro- 
 portions, we shall give, first, an account of 
 their general proportions to which they i 
 
 chiefly adhered, and next, an accurate mea- 
 surement of the various parts of the body, 
 taken at Rome, from some of their most 
 celebrated original statues. 
 
 “ Proportions of the antique Statues.” 
 Proportion is the basis of beauty, and there 
 can be no beauty without it ; on the con- 
 trary, proportion may exist where there is 
 little beauty. Experience teaches us, that’ 
 knowledge is distinct from taste; and pro- 
 
STA 
 
 portion, therefore, which is founded on 
 knowledge, may be strictly observed in any 
 figure, and yet the figure have no preten- 
 sions to beauty. The ancients considering 
 ideal beauty as the most perfect, have fre- 
 quently employed it in preference to the 
 beauty of nature. It is probable that the 
 Grecian as well as the Egyptian artists, de- 
 termined the great and small proportions 
 by fixed rules ; that they established a posi- 
 tive measure for the dimensions of length, 
 breadth, and circumference. This supposi- 
 tion alone can enable us to account for the 
 great conformity which we meet with in 
 ancient statues. Winkelman thinks that 
 the foot was the measure which the antients 
 used in all their great dimensions, and that 
 it was by the length of it that they regulated 
 the measure of their figures by giving to 
 them six times that length. This, in fact, 
 is tlie length which Vitruvius assigns, lib. 3, 
 cap. 1. That celebrated architect thinks 
 the foot is a more determinate measure than 
 the head or tlie face, the parts from which 
 modern painters and sculptors often take 
 their proportions. This proportion of the 
 foot to the body, which has appeared strange 
 and incomprehensible to the learned Hue- 
 tius, and has been entirely rejected by Per- 
 raiilt, is, however, founded upon experience. 
 After measuring with great care a vast num- 
 ber of figures, Winkelman found this pro- 
 portion not only in Egyptian statues, but 
 also in those of Greece. This fact may 
 be determined by an inspection of those 
 statues the feet of which are perfect ; and 
 one may be more fully convinced of it 
 by examining some figures of the Greek 
 divinities ; in which the artists have made 
 some parts beyond their natural dimensions. 
 In the Apollo Belvidere, which is a little 
 more than seven heads high, the foot is 
 three Roman inches longer than the head. 
 The head of the Venus de Medicis is very 
 small, and the height of the statue is seven 
 heads and a half ; the foot is three inches 
 and a half longer than the head, or pre- 
 cisely the sixth part of the length of the 
 whole statue. 
 
 Other writers are of opinion, that the 
 following rules form a principal part of the 
 •system of Grecian sculpture : the body 
 consists of three parts, as well as the mem- 
 bers. The three parts of the body are, 
 the trunk, the thighs, and the legs. The 
 inferior part of the body are the thighs, the 
 legs, and the feet. The arms also consist of 
 three parts. These three parts must bear 
 a certain proportion to the whole, as well 
 
 STA 
 
 as to one anotlier. In a well-formed man, 
 the head and body must be proportioned 
 to the thighs, the Idgs, and the feet, in the 
 same manner as the thighs are proportioned 
 to the legs and the feet, or the arms to the 
 hands. The face also consists of three 
 parts, that is, three times the length of 
 the nose ; but the head is not four times 
 the lengtli of the nose, as some writers 
 have asserted. From the place where 
 the hair begins to the crown of the head, 
 are only three-fourths of the length of the 
 nose, or that part is to the nose as nine to 
 twelve. 
 
 STATUTE, is a written law, made with 
 the concurrence of the King and both 
 houses of parliament. Divers acts of par- 
 liament have attempted to bar, restrain, 
 suspend, qualify, or make void the acts of 
 subsequent parliaments : but this could ne- 
 ver be effected, for a latter parliament hath 
 ever power to abrogate, suspend, qualify, 
 or make void the acts of a former, in the 
 whole, or any part thereof, notwithstand- 
 ing any words of restraint or prohibition in 
 the acts of the former. 
 
 When a statute is repealed, all acts done 
 under it, while it was in force, are good ; 
 but if it is declared null, all those are void. 
 Where a statute, before perpetual, is con- 
 tinued by an affirmative statute for a time, 
 this does not amount to a repeal of it at 
 the end of that time. When two acts con- 
 tradictoi’y to each other are passed in tlie 
 same session, the tatter only shall take fef- 
 fect. Formerly acts of parliament took 
 effect from the beginning of the session ; by 
 a recent statute they have effect from the 
 day on which they are passed. 
 
 Statutes, construction of, comprehends 
 the following rules : 1. In the construction 
 of remedial statutes, there are three points 
 which require consideration, viz. the old 
 law, the mischief, and the remedy, that is, 
 how the common law stood at the making 
 of the act; what the mischief was, for 
 which the common law did not provide; 
 and what remedy the parliament hath pro- 
 vided to cure this mischief. And it is the 
 business of the judge, so to construe the 
 act, as to suppress the mischief and advance 
 the remedy. An instance may be specified 
 in the restraining statute of 13 Elizabeth, 
 c. 10. By the common law, ecclesiastical 
 corporation, might let as long leases as they 
 thought proper ; the mischief was, that they 
 let long and unreasonable leases, to the im- 
 poverishment of their successors ; the re- 
 medy applied by the statute was the mak- 
 
STA 
 
 ing void all leases by ecclesiastical bodies 
 for longer terms than three lives, or twenty- 
 one years. In the construction of this sta- 
 tute, it is held, that leases, though for a 
 longer term, if made by a bishop, are not 
 void during the bishop’s continuance in his 
 see; or, if made by a dean and chapter, 
 they are not void during the continuance of 
 the dean: for the act was made for the 
 benefit and protection of the successor. 
 The mischief is, therefore, sufficiently sup- 
 pressed, by vacating them after the deter- 
 mination of the interest of the grantors; 
 but the leases, during their continuance, be- 
 ing not within the mischief, are not within 
 the remedy. 2. A statute, which treats of 
 things or persons of an inferior rank, can- 
 not, by any general words, be extended to 
 those of a superior. Thus, a statute treat- 
 ing of “ deans, prebendaries, parsons, vicars, 
 and others having spiritual promotion,” is 
 held not to extend to bisliops, though they 
 have spiritual promotion, deans being ,the 
 highest persons named, and bishops being 
 of a still higher order. 3. Penal statutes 
 must be construed strictly. Thus, by the 
 statute 14 George II. c. 6. stealing sheep, 
 or other cattle, was made felony, by bene- 
 fit of clergy: but, or other cattle, being 
 considered as too loose an expression for 
 creating a capital offence, the act was held 
 to extend to nothing but mere sheep. In 
 the next sessions it was therefore found ne- 
 cessary to make another statute, 15 George 
 II. c. 34. extending the former to bulls, 
 cows, oxen, steers, bullocks, heifers, calves, 
 and lambs, by name. 4. Statutes against 
 frauds are to be liberally and beneficially 
 expounded. 5. One part of a statute must 
 be so construed by another, that the whole 
 may (if possible) stand : “ ut res magis va- 
 leat, quam pereat.” As if land be vested 
 in the king and his heirs by act of parlia- 
 ment, saving the right of A ; and A, has at 
 that time a lease of it for three years; here 
 A, shall hold it for his terra of three years, 
 and afterward, it shall go to the king. 
 6. A saving, totally repugnant to the body 
 of the act, is void. If, therefore, an act of 
 parliament vests land in the king and his 
 heirs, saving the right of all persons whom- 
 soever, or vests the land of A, in the king, 
 saving the right of A ; in either of these 
 cases the saving is totally repugnant to the 
 body of the statute, and (if good) would 
 rfender the statute of no effect or operation ; 
 and therefore the saving is void, and the 
 land vests absolutely in the king. 7. Where 
 the common law and a statute differ, the 
 
 STA 
 
 common law gives place to the statute ; and 
 an old statute gives place to a new one : 
 and this upon a general principle of uni- 
 versal law, that “ leges posteriores pi lores 
 contrarias abrogant;” consonant to which 
 it was laid down by a law of the Twelve 
 Tables at Rome, that “ quod populus pos- 
 tumum jussit, id jus ratum esto.” Tliis is 
 to be understood only when the latter sta- 
 tute is couched in negative terms, or where 
 its matter is so clearly repugnant, that it 
 necessarily implies a negative. But if both 
 acts be merely affirmative, and the sub- 
 stance such that both may stand together, 
 here the latter does not repeal the former, 
 but they shall both have a concurrent effi- 
 cacy. 8. If a statute, that repeals another, 
 is itself afterwards repealed, the first sta- 
 tute is hereby revived, without any formal 
 words for that purpose. 9. Acts of parlia- 
 ment, derogatory from the power of subse- 
 quent parliaments, bind not. 10. Acts of 
 parliament, that are. Impossible to be per- 
 formed, are of no validity; and if out of 
 them arise collaterally any absurd conse- 
 quences, manifestly contradictory to com- 
 mon reason, they are, with regard to those 
 collateral consequences, void. See Black- 
 stone’s Commentaries. 
 
 Statute merchant, and Statute staple, 
 are two species of bonds acknowledged 
 upon record before the mayor or clerk of 
 the staple in borough towns, as the case 
 may be ; and have the effects of immediate 
 judgments upon the goods, body, and lands 
 of the persons sealing and recording them. 
 They are little used in modern times ; but 
 though intended for merchants originally, 
 they may be given by others. Mr. Tidd, 
 in his Practice (1799), vol. ii. p. 978, says, 
 that a capias ad satisfaciendum, which lies 
 upon common judgments to take the body 
 of the defendant in execution, lies not 
 against peers or members of parliament, 
 except upon a statute merchant or staple. 
 He cites 1 Cromp, 345 ; and we presume 
 means, that on such a security they may be 
 personally taken in execution. If this can 
 be so, it would be well to procure peers 
 and members of parliament to grant such 
 securities ; upon which tradesmen might 
 stand an ordinary chance of getting their 
 money. 
 
 STAUROLITE, in mineralogy. This 
 stone has been found at Andreasberg, in the 
 Hariz. It is crystallized, and the form of its 
 crystals has induced mineralogists to give it 
 the name of cross-stone. Its crystals are 
 two four-sided fiattened prisms, terminated 
 
/ 
 
 STE 
 
 by four-sided pyramids, intersecting each 
 other at right angles ; the plane of intersec- 
 tion passing longitudinally through the prism. 
 Sometimes these prisms occur solitary. Pri- 
 mitive form, an octahedron with isosceles 
 triangular faces. The faces of the crystals 
 striated longitudinally. Its texture is foli- 
 ated. Its lustre glassy. Specific gravity 
 2.3. Colour milk-white. When heated 
 slowly, it loses 0.15 or 0.16 parts of its 
 weight, and falls into powder. It efferves- 
 ces with borax and microcosmic salt, and is 
 reduced to a greenish opaque mass. With 
 soda it melts into a frothy white enamel. 
 When its powder is thrown on a hot coal, it 
 emits a greenish yellow light. The con- 
 stituent parts are 
 
 Silica 44 
 
 Alumina 20 
 
 Barytes 20 
 
 Water 16 
 
 100 
 
 STAY, in the sea language, a big strong 
 rope fastened to the top of one mast, and 
 to the foot of that next before it, towards 
 the prow-, serving to keep it firm, and pre- 
 vent its falling aftwards, or towards the 
 poop. Alt masts, top-masts, and flag staves, 
 have their stays, except the sprit-sail top- 
 masts. That of the main-mast is called the 
 main-stay. The main-mast, fore-mast, and 
 those belonging to them, have also back- 
 stays to prevent their pitching forwards, or 
 over-board, as going on either side of her. 
 To stay a ship, or to bring her on the stays, 
 is to manage her tackle and sails so that she 
 cannot make any way forwards ; which is 
 done in order to her tacking about. 
 
 STEALING, the fraudulent taking away 
 of another man’s goods, with an intent to 
 steal them, against, or without tlie will of 
 him whose goods they are. This is punish- 
 ed, according to circumstances, very differ- 
 ently by the English laws. A late statute, 
 1808, has altered the punishment for pri- 
 vately stealing from the person, or picking 
 pockets, which was a capital felony, and has 
 made it a simple larceny, subject to trans- 
 portation only. See Burglary, Larceny, 
 Robbery. 
 
 STEAM Engine, an engine for raising 
 water, or for producing any powerful effect 
 in moving machinery, &c. by the force of 
 steam obtained from boiling water. It is 
 often called a fire-engine, on account, 
 perhaps, of the fire employed in heating 
 
 STE 
 
 the water, in order to throw off the steam. 
 This is unquestionably one of»the most use- 
 ful, curious, and important maciiines that 
 has ever been invented ; and it is thought, 
 that without tlie aid of this, or some other 
 engine adapted to the same purpose, we 
 should long ere this have been deprived of 
 the benefit of coal fires ; as our forefathers, 
 full a century ago, had excavated almost 
 all the mines of that substance as deep as 
 they could be worked, without the aid of 
 some engine to draw water from greater 
 depths. The principle of this machine is as 
 follows: there is a forcing pump with its 
 rod fixed to one end of a lever, which is 
 worked by the weight or pressure of the 
 atmosphere upon a piston at the other end, 
 a temporary vacuum being made below it, 
 by suddenly condensing the steam, that had 
 been let into the cylinder in which this pis- 
 ton works, by a jet of cold water thrown 
 into it. A partial vacuum being thus made, 
 the weight of the atmosphere presses down 
 the piston, and raises the other end of the 
 straight lever with water, &c. from the 
 mine. Then immediately a hole is unco- 
 vered in the bottom of ,the cylinder, by 
 which a fresh supply of hot steam rushes in 
 from the boiler, which acts as a counter- 
 balance for the atmosphere above the pis- 
 ton, and the weight of the pump rods at the 
 other end of the lever carries that end 
 down, and of course raises the piston of the 
 steam cylinder. The orifice for the emission 
 of the steam is immediately shut, and the 
 cock opened for injecting the cold water 
 into the cylinder : this condenses it to wa- 
 ter, and another vacuum is made below the 
 piston, which is now again forced down by 
 the weight of the atmosphere, and thus the 
 work is continued so long as water and fuel 
 are supplied. *• 
 
 This is the common principle of the steam 
 engine, but the methods of operation are 
 very various : there is seldom a year that 
 passes away, that we have not new patents 
 obtained for improvements, or professed 
 improvements, of this machine. It is com- 
 paratively of modern invention: the ear- 
 liest account of any one is that in the Mar- 
 quis of Worcester’s History of Inventions, 
 published in the year 1663 ; the description 
 here is too scanty to work upon, hut it fur- 
 nished the idea, which has afforded to inge- 
 nious men of all nations the opportunity of 
 putting forth their skill, and their talents, 
 in executing a number of important im- 
 provements on the subject. Captain Sa- 
 very was the first person who attempted to 
 
STEAM ENGINE. 
 
 realize the noble marquis’s project : he made 
 Uie pressure of steam act immediately on 
 the surface of water contained in a close 
 vessel, and the water was forced, by the 
 elasticity of the steam, to ascend through a 
 pipe. The objection to this was the great 
 heat required for raising water to any con- 
 sideiable lieiaht : and also the waste of 
 steam by its coming in contact with the 
 cold water in the receiver, the surfaces of 
 which required to be heated to its own tenw 
 peratiire, before the water could be expell- 
 ed. Tl'.cse inconveniences were in a great 
 measure, avoided in Newcomen’s engine, 
 where the steam was gradually introduced 
 into a cylinder, and suddenly condensed by 
 a jet of water, so that the piston was forced 
 down with great violence by the pressure 
 of the atmosphere, which produced the ef- 
 fective stroke : this etfect was, however, 
 partly employed in raising a counterpoise, 
 which descended upon tiie readmission of 
 the steam, and worked a forcing pumii in 
 its return, when water was to be raised. 
 Engines on this principle were commonly 
 used in this country, till the improvements on 
 >^hom were introdimed by Mr. Watt, to 
 whom the public, in this hiisiness, is more 
 indebted than to any other person. Tiie 
 engines constructed by this gentleman are 
 said to save three-fourths of the fuel that 
 was used in the best constructed engines of 
 Newcomen, with the waste of only one 
 fourth of the steam. He has contrived to 
 observe an uniform beat in the cylinder of 
 his engines, by suffering no cold water to 
 touch it, and by protecting it from the air, 
 or other cold bodies, by a so; rounding case 
 tilled with steam, or with hot air, or water, 
 and by coating it over with substances that 
 conduct the heat very slowly and imperfect- 
 ly. He makes his vacuum to approach 
 nearly in excellence to that of a barometer, 
 by condensing the steam in a separate ves- 
 sel, called the condenser, which may be 
 cooled at pleasure, vvithout cooling the cy- 
 linder, either by an injection of cold water, 
 or by surrounding the condenser with it. 
 He extracts the injection water, and de- 
 tached air, from the cylinder, or condenser, 
 by pumps, which are worked by the engine 
 itself. As the entrance of air into the 
 cylinder would stop, or very much impede, 
 the operation of the engines, and as it is 
 almost impossible to expect such pistons to 
 be absolutely air-tight, a stream of water 
 used to be kept running on the piston, to 
 prevent the entry of the air, as the lighter 
 fluid could not descend through the hea- 
 
 vier : this mode, which w’as not injurious to 
 the engines on the old construction, could 
 not fail to injure the modern ones of Mr, ' 
 Watt. He therefore makes his pistons more 
 accurately ; and tlie outer cylinder, having a 
 lid, which covers it, the steam is introduced 
 above the piston, and when a vacnnra is 
 produced under it, acts upon it by its elasti- 
 city, as the atmosphere does upon common 
 engines by its gravity. This method of 
 working efl’ectually excludes the air from 
 the inner cylinder, and gives the advantage 
 of adding to the power, by increasing the 
 elasticity of the steam. We shall endea- 
 vour to give our readers an idea of the 
 manner in which Mr. ATatt’s engine works, 
 and then present them with an accurate 
 description, accompanied with engravings 
 of one, to which our draftsman has had ac- 
 cess for the purpose. 
 
 The cylinder in Mr. Watt’s engines is 
 ver y accurately bored, and surrounded at a 
 small distance with another (-ylinder fur- 
 nished with a bottom and lid. The intei> 
 val between lire cylinders communicates 
 with the boilers by a large pipe, open at 
 both ends, so that it is always filled with 
 steam, and thereby keeps the inner cylinder 
 at the same temperature as that of the 
 steam, and prevents any condensation. The 
 inner cylinder has a bottom and piston as 
 usual; and as it does not reach q«iite up to 
 the lid of the outer cylinder, Ihcsteam in the 
 interval has always free access to the upper 
 side of the piston. The lid of the outer 
 cylinder Las a hole in its middle; and the 
 piston rod, which is truly cylindrical, moves 
 up and down through that hole, which is 
 kept steam-tight by a collar of oakum screw'- 
 ed down upon it. At the bottom of the 
 inner cylinder there are two regulating 
 valves, one of which admits tlie steam to 
 pass from the interval into the inner cylin- 
 der below the piston, or slmts it out at 
 pleasure : the other opens or shuts the end 
 of a pipe, which leads to the condenser. 
 The condenser consists of one or more 
 pumps, furnished with clacks and buckets, 
 which are worked by chains fastened to the 
 great working beam of the engine. Tim pipe 
 whioh comes from the cylinder is joined to 
 the bottom of these pumps, and the whole 
 condenser stands imraersed in a cistern of 
 cold water, supplied by the engine. The- 
 place of the cistern is either within the 
 house or under the floor, between the cylin- 
 der and the lever wall; or without the 
 house, between that wall and the engine 
 shaft. The condenser being er^hausted of 
 

TMli 
 
 St^c'hon o^'CyanaerimJ pipes of J)ixw^s Steam Jing'iHe 
 
 i'. 
 
 <ziove piston 
 
 to toiler 
 
 heJaw piston 
 
 .Z^mpy ,hmriie&i . 
 
 Xowrv smh. 
 
 Xoniion . J*u2>lisheti hyXoThmum, &i7i<t, ^ivs Sc 4h7ne .SepiisSoff. 
 
 5 . 
 
 
STEAM ENGINE. 
 
 air, and both cylinders filled with steam, 
 the regulating valve whicli admits the steam 
 into the inner cylinder is shut, and the 
 other regulator which communicates with 
 the condenser is opened, and the steam 
 rushes into the vacuum of the condenser 
 with violence : but there it comes into con- 
 tact with the cold sides of the pumps and 
 pipes, and meets a jet of Cold water, which 
 was opened at the same time with the 
 exhaustion regulator : these instantly de- 
 prive it of its heat, and reduce it to water ; 
 and the vacuum remaitiiug perfect, more 
 steam continues to rush in, and is condensed 
 till the inner cylinder is exhausted. Then 
 the steam which is above the piston, ceasing 
 to be counteracted by that which was be- 
 low it, acts upon the piston with its whole 
 elasticity, and forces it to descend to the 
 bottom of the cylinder, and so raises the 
 buckets of the puiiips, which are hung to 
 the other end of the beam. The exhaustion 
 regulator is now shut, and the steam one 
 opened again ; wliich, by letting in the 
 steam, allows the piston to be pulled up by 
 the superior weight of the pump rods, and 
 then the engine is ready for another stroke. 
 
 Tile peculiar advantages that result from 
 this construction are, that the cylinder be- 
 ing surrounded with the steam from the 
 boiler, is kept always uniformly as hot as 
 the steam itself, and is, therefore, incapable 
 of destroying any part of the steam which 
 should fill it : and again, the condenser be- 
 ing kept always as cold as water can be 
 procured, the steam is perfectly condensed, 
 and does not oppose the descent of the pis- 
 ton; which is, therefore, forced down by 
 the full power of the steam from the boiler, 
 which is greater than that of the atmo- 
 sphere. 
 
 A steam-engine of tlie best construction, 
 with a thirty inch cylinder, acts with the 
 force of 40 horses; and since it acts with- 
 out intermission, will perform the work of 
 120 horses, or of 600 men; each square 
 inch of the piston being nearly equivalent 
 to a labourer. Tlie consumption of about 
 8416. of good pit coal, will raise 43,000 cu- 
 bical feet of water 10 feet higlf, which is 
 equivalent to more than the daily labour of 
 eight men : the value of this quantity of 
 -coal is seldom so much as that of the work 
 of a single labourer for a day; but the ex- 
 pense of the machinery generally renders a 
 steam-engine somewhat niore than half as 
 expensive as the number of horses for which 
 it is substituted. We shall now proceed to 
 ,a more particular description. 
 
 Plates land II, Steam Engine, are draw- 
 ings of a steam-engine of six-horses power, 
 built by Mr. John Dixion, Maid Lane, 
 Southwark, and used by him in his steam- 
 engine manufactory, for turning lathes, &c. 
 Plate I. is a general elevation of the whole 
 engine; and Plate II. is a section on a 
 larger scale of the cylinder steam pipes, 
 condenser, &c. ; 6 6, Plate I. is the cylinder, 
 the internal structure will be described 
 hereafter ; a is the piston rod connected to 
 the great working beam, B, by a system of 
 levers called a parallel motion, the property 
 of whicli is, that the rectilinear motion of 
 the piston rod is preserved, though the end 
 of the beam describes an arc of a circle; at 
 the otherend of the beam, B, the connecting 
 rod, I>, is jointed at its lower end ; it is also 
 jointed to the crank, £,upou the axis of the 
 great fly-w!ieel. When by the expansive force 
 of the steam, the piston rod, o, is caused to 
 ascend, it raises one end of the great beam 
 and depresses the other, and by the connect- 
 ing rod, ,D, turns the crank and fly wheel 
 round. As soon as the piston rod arrives at 
 the top of its stroke, it receives a new imr 
 pulse, which brings it down again, and con- 
 sequently raises the connected rod, D, and 
 crank, E. The use of the fly wheel is to ac- 
 quire an impetus, at the time When the 
 crank is horizontal, and at which time the 
 connecting rod exerts all tlie force of the 
 engine upon the crank to turn it round, 
 tin's momentum causes the wheel tc-turn, 
 and the rest of the machinery, when the 
 crank is at the top or bottom of its motion, 
 being then in a line with the connecting 
 rod, it has no tendency to turn it round. 
 
 To describe the manner in which the. 
 power is given to the piston rod, a, we 
 must turn to Plate II. where 6666 is the 
 cylinder of cast iron, and truly bored, it is 
 closed at the top by an iron lid screwed on 
 by a flanch at the top ; in the centre of the 
 lid is a contrivance called a stuffing box, and 
 is for holding a packing pf hemp, through 
 which the piston rod, a a, passes perfectly 
 air and .steam tight ; dd is the piston packed 
 with hemp, round between its circumferesiije 
 and the inside of the cylinder, so that it can 
 move up and down in the cylinder easily, 
 without allowing any steam to pass by it ; 
 the piston is fitted to the rod, a,, and fast 
 keyed in ; the cylinder has a flanch or pro- 
 jecting ring round it, a little below the mid- 
 dle, by which it is held into a jacket, ccc, 
 which is constantly supplied with steam 
 from the boiler, A ; Plate I. of the engine 
 of the pipe, e ; ffy Plate II. is a pipe, cast 
 
STEAM ENGINE. 
 
 at the same time with the cylinder, leading 
 from the top of it, and by a crooked passage 
 to the cock, E j g- g- is another similar 
 passage from the bottom of the cylinder 
 (wiiici is closed except this pipe has an iron 
 bottom screwed to it) to the cock, and 
 enters the cock diametrically opposite to the 
 other passage ; A is a passage bringing 
 steam from < he jacket, ccc ; by means of a 
 short pipe not seen in the figure, being be- 
 hind the cylinder, cast at the same time 
 with the cylinder, and joining at the bottom 
 to the flanclr, by vrliich the cylinder is 
 screwed into the jacket, ccc; the bore of 
 this short pipe is however contimm-d 
 through the tlanch, and opens into the 
 jacket, and when they are screwed toge- 
 ther the steam has then free access from tlie 
 boiler tlnongh t’ue jacket into the short 
 pipe, and from tlieace into the passage, h, 
 which goes horizontal towards it ; the short 
 pipe lies a tliin circular vane in it, turning 
 on a pivot ac'oss the centre of it, which 
 comes through the pipe, and ligs a handle on 
 it ; by turning this handle tiie spindle and 
 vane are turned also ; when tiie vane is set, 
 so that its plane is perpendicular to the 
 axis of the pipe, it neai iy fills the c'rcu’ar 
 passage, and allows very little steam to 
 pass by it ; but when the vane is turned 
 edgeways, it presents very little smtace, 
 and the steam passes by without obstruc- 
 tion to the cock, E ; ppp is a pipe convey- 
 ing the steam away from the engine, to the 
 condenser, which is an iron cylinder, F F, 
 immersed in cold water, contained in a cast 
 iron cistern, GG; the condenser, FF, has a 
 passage from tlie bottom of it, leading to a 
 pump, H H, called the air-pump, and in 
 ■which is a valve, i, shutting towards tlie 
 condenser, and preventing any passage 
 from the air-pump to the condenser, though 
 the valve will easily open and allow a 
 passage the other way. The air-pump has 
 a bucket, k, sliding up and down in it ; the 
 bucket has a hole through it, covered by a 
 valve, I, wliicli opens upwards, and pre- 
 vents the descent of 'any fluid which may 
 be above it ; I is a square iron cistern 
 screwed on the top of the air-pump, it has 
 a stnfiing box in the bottom over the centre 
 of the pump, through which the bucket rod 
 of the air-pump moves freely, yet perfectly 
 air-tight ; the bottom of the cistern, I, has 
 also two valves, m m, in it, over the air- 
 pump ; K is a handle fixed upon a spindle, 
 on which is a rack turning a cog-wheel 
 upon the end of the cook, E ; this rack and 
 wheel is taken away in the section, hut is 
 
 plainly seen in Plate 7!. ; L M are two pins 
 fixed upon tiie rod of the aii-pump, and 
 taking the handle, K, as they move up and 
 down, and thus turning the cock, E ; n n is 
 a lever fixed on the spindle of the handle, K, 
 its ends stop against the ends of a crooked 
 iron, which is screwed to the iron frame, 
 supporting the bearings for tlie spindle of 
 the rack, so that the motion allowed 
 thereby to the handle, K, and fue rack, will 
 turn the cock c:ie-fourth of a whole turn, 
 hut no more ; N is a cock communicating 
 (when open) from the jacket, c c, to the 
 pipe, pn, and thereby to tire condenser. 
 
 The condenser, F F, has a pipe entering 
 it, and turnerj up within it, the pipe opens 
 to the water in its condensing cistern, G G, 
 and has a cock in its outer end which regu- 
 lates the quantity of water the pipe will ad- 
 mit, or closes it entirely ; the cock has a 
 long handle coming up out of the water, 
 which is not seen in the section ; but is de- 
 noted by 0 , in Plate I. 
 
 Suppose every thing in the position of the 
 Section, the operation of tiie engine is as 
 follows : when the water, in the boiler A, 
 P.ate I. is heated by the fire made under it 
 at X, the heat which enters into combina- 
 tion with the water, causes it to expand and 
 form steam ; in this state it raises and fills 
 the boiler, and thence through the pipe, e, 
 enters between the jacket, c c, and the cy- 
 linder; before the engine can be worked, 
 the steam must be heated, until it is ex- 
 panded so much, that it will rush forcibly 
 out of the boiler when permitted. The 
 steam also passes through the short pipe be. 
 fore described, into the passage, h, and 
 thence, through the crooked passage in the 
 cock, F, to the pipe, gg, and the bottom of 
 the cylinder, though it will not enter the 
 cylinder, because it is yet filled with air. 
 
 The person who attends the engine must 
 now open the cock, N, this admits the 
 steam from the boiler into the condenser ; 
 it rushes violently through the pipe,pp, into 
 the condenser, F F, driving the air it con- 
 tained through the three valves, i, I, and )w, 
 which it opens, into the cistern, I, (where it 
 is open to the atmosphere, the lid of that 
 cistern being only laid on, and not fit- 
 ting tight) this operation (called blowing 
 through) continued for a few seconds, ex- 
 pels all the air from the condenser, and fills 
 it with liot steam; the cock, N, is now 
 closed, and the injection cock, of which O, 
 Plate I. is the handle, is opened ; this 
 allows a small stream of cold water, from 
 the cistern, G, to enter into the condenser. 
 
STEAM ENGINE. 
 
 and condenses the steam, or cools it, and it 
 instantly contracts into the same space it 
 originally occupied when in the boiler, be- 
 fore it was heated. As the valve, i, closes, 
 it is evident that a vacuum will be caused 
 in the condenser, as the small quantity of 
 water produced from the steam, and tiie 
 water injected into the condenser tailing 
 down to the bottom, the air in the upper 
 part of the cylinder will now expand itself 
 into the condenser, through the pipe, jf, 
 the cock, E, and p'pe, pp, and as it occu- 
 pies move space tlian it did before, it will 
 be considerably rarified ; the stream, press- 
 ing with its full force against the lower side 
 of the piston, will, perhaps, (now a rarefac- 
 tion is made above il), overcome the re- 
 sistance of the work and friction, and cause 
 it to ascend, the air-pump rod and bucket 
 moving with it, when the p'u, M, upon this 
 rod, reaches the handle, K, it raises it up, 
 and, by means of the rack and wheel shown 
 in Plate I. turns the cock, E, one-fourth of 
 a revolution, bringing its two passages into 
 the position of fig. S, Plate II. 
 
 The operation is now reversed, the steam 
 from the boiler going above the piston, and 
 that steam, mixed with atmospheric air, 
 beneath it going to the condenser’, where 
 the steam will be condensed, and a partial 
 vacuum formed beneath tire piston ; the 
 steam now presses it down, moving the 
 beam fly-wheel and other machinery, it 
 has to drive ; when the pin, L, on the air 
 pump rod arrives at the handle, K, it presses 
 it down, and brings the cock into the posi- 
 tion of the figure I, in which the piston 
 will be driven up again. At each stroke of 
 the engine, when the piston rises, the valve, 
 i, on the bucket of the air pump, will shut, 
 and all the air and water contained above 
 the bucket, will be lifted through the valves, 
 m m, into the cistern, I, at the same time a 
 vacuum being made beneath tire bucket, 
 which is more perfect than that in fire con- 
 denser, the valve, i, will be opened by the 
 water and air in the condenser, which will 
 enter the pump. On the ascent of the 
 piston and the air pump bucket, the valves, 
 m m and i, will shut, the pressure which 
 opened them being removed, and the water 
 and air in the pump pressing upon the valve, 
 I, will open it, and get through as the 
 bucket descends ; at its return it raises the 
 water and air above it as before. In this 
 manner, when the engine has made a few 
 strokes, all the air contained in the engine 
 at the commencement of the operalion will 
 be pumped out; the operation of the en- 
 
 gine is now milch more perfect. The instant 
 the cock, E, is turned, so as to open a com- 
 munication from the cylinder full of steam 
 to the condenser ; the elasticity of the 
 steam causes it to rush down the pipe, p p, 
 into the condenser ; when it arrives there, 
 it meets the stream of the injection water, 
 which condeiises it, and the remaining 
 steam in the cylinder follows it surprisingly 
 quick, and in an instant an almost perfect 
 vacuum is formed in the cylinder, so that 
 the steam acts with its whole force upon the 
 piston, all resistance upon the other side 
 being removed. The air pump now has 
 only to draw off from the condenser the 
 water injected into it, the condensed steam, 
 and a small quantity of gas, which goes 
 from the boiler with the steam, and will 
 not condense by the cold water ; these are 
 delivered by the air pump into the cistern, 
 I, from which the air escapes, the cover 
 not being tight (as before mentioned), the 
 water which still continues hot runs off, 
 when at a certain level, by a waste pipe, o, 
 Plate I. The water which is boiled off in 
 steam from the boiler, is renewed fr om tliis 
 cistern by means of a small pump, P, 
 Plate I, which draws the water from it by 
 a passage tinougli the cenlre of the cast 
 iron column, Q, which stands upon the end 
 of the condensing cistern, G G, and sup- 
 ports the bearing for tlie main axis of the 
 great beam, B, the water is conveyed to 
 the bottom of the column by a short pipe, 
 r, and after going tluough the pump, P, is 
 carried by tire pipes, R R R, to a cis- 
 tern on the top of the vertical pipe, S, 
 which leads into the boiler. The top of S 
 Ls closed by a valve in the cistern, whicli is 
 raised by means of a lever, the other end 
 of which has a wire, y, hooked to it, going 
 through a small stuffing box into the boiler, 
 where it has a stone hung on it ; tliis stone 
 is balanced by a weight hung at the other 
 end of the lever, so that when the stone is 
 covered with water, the weight keeps the 
 valve shut, and prevents any water getting 
 down into the boiler: but as the water 
 sinks in the boiler, the weight of the stone 
 overcomes the weight, and opens the valve ; 
 the water in the cistern now runs down the 
 pipe, S, into the boiler, and raises the water 
 and the stone until it closes the valve. 
 
 It will be easily seen that by the conden- 
 ser being constantly supplied with hot 
 steam, which will give out its heat, and at 
 lengtli vender the water surrounding it, ip 
 the cistern, G, so hot, that it would con- 
 dense no more ; to prevent this, it is cou- 
 
STE 
 
 stantly supplied with cold water from a 
 pump, T, worked by a rod from the great 
 beam, B ; the water from the cistern runs 
 off by a waste pipe at the back of the cis- 
 tern, not seen in the figures. V is a short 
 pipe upon tlie boiler, with a lid and stuffing 
 box, a rod passes through it, and has a valve 
 within it, pressed down by a lever and 
 weight, V. If at any time, when the engine 
 is not at work, the steam should be heated, 
 so as to be in any danger of bursting the 
 boiler, the valve will lift up the weight, 
 and allow the steam to escape through the 
 pipe, W, into the open air. Y, a lid screwed 
 down upon a hole in the boiler, through 
 which a man enters tlie boiler to clean it 
 occasionally. At Z are two cocks upon the 
 ends of pipes going down into the boiler j 
 one pipe is longer than the other, the long- 
 est reaches into the water, and the short 
 one does not ; these cocks are to show the 
 height of the water in the boiler, when one 
 is turned (if the water is the proper height) ; 
 it will deliver steam, and the other water. 
 
 It maybe observed, that when the engine 
 is once set to work, the lever, n u, on the 
 spindle of the rack is of no use, as the in- 
 stant the cock is turned one-fourth round, 
 the piston and engine begins to return. 
 
 STEATITE, in mineralogy, a species of 
 the Talc genus, is of a white colour ; but it 
 presents several varieties through the greys, 
 greens, and reds. It occurs massive, disse- 
 minated, in crusts, and crystallized. The 
 crystals are six-sided prisms, acuminated 
 on both extremities by six planes. Specific 
 gravity 2.6. The constituent parts are, ac-> 
 
 cording to Klaproth, 
 
 Silica 48.0 
 
 Magnesia.... 20.5 
 
 Oxide of iron 1.0 
 
 Water 15.5 
 
 Alumina 14.0 
 
 99.0 
 
 Loss 1. 
 
 100 
 
 Before the blow-pipe it loses its colour, and 
 becomes hard ; but is infusible without ad- 
 dition. It occurs in beds and veins in ser- 
 pentine, also in irregular shaped pieces, im- 
 bedded in rocks belonging to the floetz 
 formation. It is found in Norway, Sweden, 
 several parts of Germany, and in the united 
 kingdom of Great Britain ; also in China. 
 It is used in tlie manufacture of porcelain : 
 other varieties are used in fulling, and the 
 Chinese work it into vessels ef various 
 shapes. 
 
 STE 
 
 STEEPLE, an appendage erected gene* 
 rally on the western end of a church, to 
 hold the bells. Steeples are denominated 
 from their form, either spires or towers; 
 the first are such as ascend continually di- 
 minishing either conically or pyramidally. 
 The latter are mere parallelopipeds, and 
 are covered a-top platform-like. In each 
 kind there is usually a sort of windows, or 
 apertures, to let out the sound, and so con- 
 trived at the same time as to drive it down. 
 
 STEERAGE, on board a ship, that part 
 of the ship next below the quarter-deck, 
 before the bulk-head of the great cabin, 
 where the steersman stands in most ships of 
 war. See the next article. 
 
 STEERING, in navigation, the directing 
 a vessel from one place to another by means 
 of the helm and rudder. He is held the best 
 steersman who causes the least motion in 
 putting the helm over to and again, and who 
 best keeps the ship from making yaws, that is, 
 from running in and out. The perfection of 
 steering, indeed, consists in a vigilant atten- 
 tion to the motion of a ship’s head, so as to 
 check every deviation from the line of her 
 course in the first instant of motion, and in 
 applying as little of the power of the helm 
 as possible. By this she will run more uni- 
 formly in a straight path : whereas, if a 
 greater eflfort of the helm is employed it will 
 produce a greater declination from the 
 course, increase the difficulty of steering, 
 and make a crooked and irregular track 
 through the water. There are three me- 
 thods of steering! 1. By any mark on the 
 land, so as to keep the ship even by it, 
 2. By the compass, which is by keeping the 
 ship’s head on such a rhumb or point of the 
 compass, as best leads to port. 3. To steer 
 as one is bidden, or conned, which, in a 
 great ship, is the duty of him who is taking 
 his turn at the helm. It is the duty of the 
 steersman to watch the head of the ship, by 
 the land, by clouds, and by the heavenly 
 bodies; because, though the course is in 
 general regulated by the compass, the vibra- 
 tions of tlie needle are not so instantly per- 
 ceived as the sallies of the ship’s head to 
 the right or the left. 
 
 STELL.A.RIA, in botany, stitchwort, a 
 genus of the Decandria Trigjmia class and 
 order. Natural order of Caryophyllei. 
 Caryophylleae, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter: calyx five-leaved, spreading; petals 
 five, two-parted ; capsule superior, one- 
 celled, many-seeded, six-toothed at top. 
 There are seventeen species. 
 
 STELLATjE, in botany, the, name of th* 
 
ST£ 
 
 forty-seventh order in Linnaeus’s Fragments 
 of a Natural Method, consisting of plants 
 with two naked seeds, and leaves disposed 
 round the stem in the form of a radiant 
 star. In this order are found the Anthos- 
 permnm, amber tree : Galium, ladies bed- 
 straw, &c. This order contains herbs, 
 shrubs, and trees. The herbs are chiefly 
 annual, and creep along the surfece of the 
 ground : the shrubs and trees are evergreens, 
 which rise erect, and are of an agreeable 
 conic form. 
 
 STELLERA, in botany* so named in 
 memory of George Wilh. Steller, adjunct of 
 the Academy at Petersburgh, a genus of the 
 Octandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Vepreculae. Thymelaeae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx none ; co- 
 rolla four-cleft; stamens very short; nut 
 one, beaked. There are two species ; viz. 
 S. passerina, flax-leaved Stellera; and S. 
 chamaejasme, Siberian Stellera. 
 
 STEM, in botany, that part of a plant 
 arising out of the root, and which sustains 
 the leaves, flowers, fruits, &c. 
 
 Stem i^a ship, that main piece of timber 
 which come^ bending from the keel below, 
 where it is scarfed, as they call it; that is, 
 pieced in ; and rises tompassing right before 
 the forecastle. This stem it is which guides 
 the rake of the ship, and all the but-ends of 
 the planks are fixed into it. This, in the 
 section of a first-rate ship, is called the 
 main-stem. 
 
 STEMODIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Didynamia Angiospermia class and order. 
 Natural order of Personatae. Scrophula- 
 riae, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 five-parted; corolla two lipped; stamens 
 four, each filament bifid, two-anthered ; 
 capsule two-celled. There are four spe- 
 cies. 
 
 STEMPLES, in mining, cross-bars of 
 wood in the shafts which are sunk to mines. 
 In many places the way is to sink a perpen- 
 dicular hole or shaft, the sides of which they 
 strengthen from top to bottom with wood- 
 work, to prevent the earth from falling in ; 
 the transverse pieces of wood used for this 
 purpose, they call stemples, and by means 
 of these the miners, in some places, descend 
 without using any rope, catching hold of 
 these with their hands and feet. 
 
 STERBECKIA, in botany, so named in 
 memory of Francis van Sterbeck, a genus of 
 the Polyandria Monogynia class and order, 
 Natural order of Guttiferae, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial diaracter; calyx three or five-leaved; 
 corolla three or five-petalled ; capsule corti- 
 
 STE 
 
 cose, not opening, legume-shaped, many 
 seeded ; seeds imbricate, nestling in pulp. 
 There is only one species ; mz. S. lateriflora. 
 This is a scandent shrub ; leaves sub-oppo- 
 site, petioled, elliptic, acuminate, quite en- 
 tire, veined, smooth ; peduncles many- 
 flowered, very short, lateral; flowers w'hite 
 and small. It is a native of the woods of 
 Guiana. 
 
 STERCULIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Dodecandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Tricocc®. Malvacete, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 parted ; corolla none ; nectary bell-shaped, 
 five-toothed, staminiferous, fastened to the 
 column of the germ ; germ pedicelled ; cap- 
 sules five, one-celled, opening by the inner 
 side, many-seeded. There are eight species, 
 among which we shall notice the S. bajang- 
 has : this is a tall tree, with a stem of two 
 feet in diameter, tliick branches, covered 
 with an ash-coloured bark, furnished with 
 alternate, smooth, veined, lanceolate leaves, 
 which are produced only at the upper part 
 of the shoots, and are in general about nine 
 inches long and three broad; the flowers 
 are produced in sparse fascicles at the tips 
 of the shoots; the capsules are rather large, 
 smooth, ovate, standing by fives in a stellat- 
 ed direction ; each capsule containing six, 
 seven, or eight moderately large round 
 seeds. It is a native of Malabar, Am- 
 boyna, &c. 
 
 STEREOGRAPHIC projection, is the 
 projection of the circles of the sphere on the 
 plane of some one great circle, the eye be- 
 ing placed in the pole of that circle. 
 
 STEREOGRAPHY, the art of drawing 
 the forms and figures of the solids upon a 
 plane. 
 
 STEREOMETRY, that part of geome- 
 try which teaches how to measure solid bo- 
 dies, i.e. to find the solidity or solid content 
 of bodies, as globes, cylinders, cubes, ves- 
 sels, ships, &c. 
 
 STEREOTYPE printing. See Print- 
 ing, stereotype. In the beginning of that 
 article an error escaped our notice, for 
 the Jesuits,” read “say the Jesuits.”' 
 ■We take likewise this opportunity of add- 
 ing to the article, that though there ,have 
 unquestionably issued many beautiful spe- 
 cimens of printing from the stereotype 
 press ; yet, as the beauty of a book must 
 depend as well in the stereotype, as in move- 
 able types, on the form and excellence of 
 the letter, it is evident that the same letter 
 from which the stereotype plate is cast, 
 will in common printing produce as beaufi- 
 
fill a page: of this we could adduce many 
 instances ; but, perhaps, no person has sent 
 from his office more specimens of this kind 
 than the printer pf tiiis dictionary. 
 
 STERLING, a term frequent in British 
 commerce. A pound, shilling, or penny, 
 sterling, signifies as much as a pound, shil- 
 ling, or penny of lawful money of Great 
 Britain, as settled by authority. 
 
 STERN of a ship, usually denotes all the 
 hindermoft part of her, but properly it is 
 only the outmost part abaft. 
 
 Stern fast, denotes some fastenings of 
 ropes, &c. behind the stern of a ship, to 
 which a cable, or hawser, may be' brought 
 or fixed, in order to hold her stern to a 
 wharf, &c. 
 
 Stern post, a great timber let into the 
 keel at tlie stern of a ship, somewhat slop- 
 ing, into which are fastened the after-planks ; 
 and on this post, by its pintle and gudgeons, 
 hangs the rudder. 
 
 STERNA, the iei-n, in natural history, a 
 genus of birds of the order Anseres. Gene- 
 ric character: bill straight, pointed, and 
 slender; nostrils linear ; tongue slender and 
 pointed ; wings vhry long ; back toe small ; 
 tail forked. There are twenty-five species. 
 The following are the principal: S. caspia, 
 or the Caspian tern ; this abounds on the 
 seas wherein it derives its name. It fishes 
 also in rivers, and sometimes suddenly darts 
 upon its prey from a considerable height, 
 and at other times skims the surface of the 
 water in the manner of a swallow. It is 
 nearly two feet in length. It lays only two 
 eggs, and its sound resemble those of a per- 
 son laughing. 
 
 S. stolida, or the noddy, is a foot and a 
 quarter long, and is frequently met with at 
 sea, between the tropics. It lays its eggs 
 on the bare ground ; is considered by navi- 
 gators as generally indicating the neigh- 
 bourhood of land ; often alights on the yards 
 and rigging of vessels ; will suffer itself to 
 be taken by the hand ; and from the general 
 want of sagacity which it exhibits, is called 
 by sailors by the name of noddy. It will, 
 however, notwithstanding its alledged tame- 
 ness and stupidity, often bite with great 
 severity. 
 
 S. hinindo, the great tern, is found in va- 
 rious parts of Europe, and in summer on 
 the British coasts. It is fourteen inches 
 long. Its manners, on the water, resemble 
 those of the swallow by land. It skims 
 along precisely in the same manner, catch- 
 ing every insect in its progress ; and when 
 it perceives a fish, it darts into the water 
 
 and reverts to the air with a rapidity truly 
 astonishing. It is bold and daring ; and, in 
 the season of incubation, will attack persons 
 who have given it no molestation, and are 
 at a distance from its nest. For the lesser 
 tern, see Aves, Plate XIII. fig. 7. 
 
 STERNOPTYX, in natural history, a 
 genus of fishes of the order Apodes. Gene- 
 ric character : head obtuse ; mouth abrupt ; 
 teeth very small; no gill-membrane;' body 
 compressed, witliout visible scales ; breast 
 carinate, both ways folded ; abdomen pel- 
 lucid. The transparent sternoptyx, the only 
 species under this genus, is between two 
 and three inches long, and is found in the 
 American Seas. Its back rises into a sharp 
 edge. Its general colour is that of a bright 
 silver, but on the back it is somewhat olive 
 coloured, and its fins and tail are of an ob- 
 scure yellow ; its tail is bifid. See Pisces, 
 Plate VJ. fig. 2 . 
 
 STEW, a small kind of fish-pond, the pe- 
 culiar office of which is to maintain fish, and 
 keep them in readiness for the daily use of a 
 family, &c. The fish bred in tlie large ponds 
 are drawn out and put in here. For two 
 large ponds, of three or four acres a-piece, 
 it is advisable to have four stews, each two 
 rods wide, and three long. The stews are 
 usually in gardens, or at least near the house, 
 to be more handy, and the better looked to. 
 The method of making them is to carry tlie 
 bottom in a continued decline fi'om one 
 end, with a mouth to favour the drawing 
 with a net. 
 
 STEWARD, an officer appointed in an- 
 other’s stead or place, and always taken for 
 a principal officer within his jurisdiction. 
 Of these there are various kinds. The 
 greatest officer under the crown is the 
 Lord High Steward of England, an office 
 that was anciently the inheritance of the 
 Earls of Leicester, till forfeited by Simon 
 de Mountfort, to King Henry III. But 
 the power of this officer is so very great, 
 that it has not been judged safe to trust it 
 any longer in the hands of a subject, ex- 
 cepting only pro hue vice, occasionally : as 
 to officiate at a coronation, at the arraign- 
 ment of a nobleman for high-treason, or the 
 like. During his office, the Steward bears 
 a white staff in his hand, and the trial, &c. 
 ended, he breaks the staff, and with it his 
 commission expires. There is likewise a 
 Lord Steward of the King’.s household, 
 who is the chief officer of the King’s court, 
 has the care of the King’s house, and autho- 
 rity over all the officers and servants of the 
 
ATZE S, 
 
 FLiieJM. 
 
 /^.i.'RaJlus dicolorus :^Uow ch'oatcd toiu'an .- Fi^.3. 
 
 Kyncliops nwra : -Skunmor _ Fw . ^.JR.ecm’vicoiira avocetta :Scx>opin^ ai'oeeC-Fi<j. 5. Scolopai ruslicohx. 
 Wood(x>ck^Fi^. 6 .^.caUdii.': . redshank .Fi^.-/ . Sterna rrdnuta .Lefscr tem . 
 
 LonAen jPuhlLffuid by Longman SiltsC. Ree.^ i Ormc . De£. 3 
 
STEWART. 
 
 household, except such as belong to the 
 chapel, chamber, and stable. 
 
 There is also a Steward of the Marshal- 
 sea, who has judicial authority. And in most 
 corporations, and all houses of quality in 
 the kingdom, there is an otBcer of the name 
 and authority of a steward. 
 
 The steward of a ship is he who receives 
 all the victuals from the purser, and is to 
 see it well stowed in the hold ; all things of 
 that nature belonging to the ship’s use are 
 in his custody ; he looks after tlie bread, 
 and distributes out the several messes of 
 victuals in the ship ; he hath an apartment 
 for himself in the hold, which is called the 
 steward’s room. 
 
 STEWART (the Rev. Dr. Matthew), 
 in biography, late professor of mathematics in 
 the University of Edinburgh, was the son of 
 the Rev. Mr. Diigald Stewart, minister of 
 Rothsay, in the Isle of Bute, and was born 
 at that place in the year 1717. After hav- 
 ing finished his course at the grammar 
 school, being intended by his father for the 
 church, he was sent to the University of 
 Glasgow, and was entered there as a stu- 
 dent in 1734. His academical studies were 
 prosecuted with diligence and success ; and 
 he was so happy as to be particufarly dis- 
 tinguished by the friendship of Dr. Hutche- 
 son, and Dr. Simson the celebrated geome- 
 trician, under whom he made great progress 
 in that science. 
 
 Mr. Stewart’s views made it necessary 
 for him to attend the lectures in the Uni- 
 versity of Edinburgh in 1741 ; and that his 
 mathematical studies might suffer no inter- 
 ruption, he was introduced by Dr. Simson 
 to Mr. Maclaurin, who was then teaching 
 both the geometry and the philosophy of 
 Newton, and under whom Mr. Stewart 
 made that proficiency which was to be ex- 
 pected from the abilities of such a pupil, 
 directed by those of so great a master. 
 But the modern analysis, even when thus 
 powerfully recommended, was nOt able to 
 withdraw his attention from the relish of 
 the ancient geometi-y, which he had im- 
 bibed under Dr. Simson. He still kept up 
 a regular correspondence with tlfis gentle- 
 man, giving him an account of his progress, 
 and of his discoveries in geometry, which 
 were now both numerous and important, 
 and receiving in return many curious com- 
 munications with respect to the Loci Plani, 
 and the Porisms of Euclid. Mr. Stewart 
 pursued this latter subject in a different and 
 new direction. In doing so, he was led to 
 the discovery of certain curious and inte< 
 
 resting propositions, which he published un- 
 der the title of “ General Theorems,” in 
 1746. They were given without the de- 
 monstrations ; but they did not fail to place 
 their discoverer at once among the geome- 
 tricians of the first rank. They are, for 
 the most part, Porisms, though Mr. Stew- 
 art, careful not to anticipate the discoveries 
 of his friend, gave them only the name of 
 Theorems. They are among the most beau- 
 tifiil, as M'ell as most general propositions, 
 known in the whole compass of geometry, 
 and are perhaps only equalled by the re- 
 raaikable locus to the circle in the second 
 book of Apollonius, or by the celebrated 
 theorem of Mr. Cotes. 
 
 In September, 1747, he was elected pro- 
 fessor of mathematics in the University of 
 Edinburgh. The duties of this office gave 
 a turn somewhat different to his mathema- 
 tical pursuits, and led him to think of the 
 most simple and elegant means of explain- 
 ing those difficult propositions, which were 
 hitherto only accessible to men deeply 
 versed in the modern analysis. In doing 
 this, he was pursuing the object which, of 
 all others, he most ardently v/ished to at- 
 tain, viz. the application of geometry to 
 such problems as the algebraic calculus 
 alone had been thought able to resolve. 
 His solution of Jiepler’s problem was the 
 first specimen of this kind which he gave to 
 the world. This is founded on a general 
 property of curves, which, though very 
 simple, had perhaps never been observed ; 
 and by a most ingenious application of that 
 property, he shows how the approximation 
 may be continued to any degree of’accu- 
 racy, in a series of results which converge 
 with great rapidity. 
 
 This solution appeared in the second vo- 
 lume of the Essays of the Philosophicpd So- 
 ciety of Edinburgh, for the year 1756. In 
 the first volume of the same collection, 
 there are some other propositions of Mr 
 Stewart’s, which are an extension of a cu- 
 rious theorem in the fourth book of Pappus. 
 They have a relation to the subject of Po- 
 risms, and one of them forms the ninety-first 
 of Dr. Simsou’s Restoration. 
 
 He next published the “ Tracts, Physical 
 and Mathematical.” In the first of these, 
 Mr. Stewart lays down the doctrine of cen- 
 tripetal forces, in a series of propositions, 
 demonstrated (if we admit the quadrature 
 of curves) with the utmost rigour, and re- 
 quiring no previous knowledge of the ma- 
 thematics, except the elements of plane 
 geometry, aud of coaic sections. The good 
 
STEWART. 
 
 order of these propositions, added to the 
 clearness and simplicity of the demonstra- 
 tions, renders this tract perhaps the best 
 elementary treatise of physical astronomy 
 (hat is any where to be found. 
 
 In the three remaining tracts, our author 
 had it in view to determine the effect of 
 those forces tvhich disturb the motions of a 
 Secondary planet. From this he proposed 
 to deduce, not only a theory of the moon, 
 but a determination of the sun’s distance 
 from the earth. The former, it is well 
 known, is the most difficult subject to 
 ■which mathematics have been applied, and 
 the solution required and merited all the 
 clearness and simplicity which our author 
 possessed in so eminent a degree. It must 
 be regretted therefore that the decline of 
 Dr. Stewart’s health, which began soon af- 
 ter the publication of the tracts, did not 
 permit him to pursue this investigation. 
 The other object of the tracts was, to de- 
 termine the distance of tlie sun, from his ef- 
 fect in disturbing the motions of the moon ; 
 and his inquiries into the lunar irregularities 
 had ffimished him with the means of accom- 
 plishing it as he supposed : and in 1763, he 
 published his “ Essay on the Sun’s Dis- 
 tance,” where the computation being ac- 
 tually made, the pai-allax of the sun was 
 found to be no more than 6" 9"', and conse- 
 quently his distance almost 29,875 semidia- 
 meters of the earth, or nearly 119 millions 
 of miles. A determination of the sun’s dis- 
 tance, that so far exceeded all former esti- 
 mation of it, was received with surprise, 
 and the reasoning on which it was founded 
 was likely to undergo a severe examination. 
 But, even among astronomers, it was not 
 every one who could judge in a matter of 
 such difficult discussion. Accordingly, it 
 was not till about rive years after the pub- 
 lication of Dr. Stewart’s work that there 
 appeared a pamphlet, under the title of 
 “ Four Propositions,” intended to point out 
 certain errors in Dr. Stewart’s investiga- 
 tion, which had given a result much greater 
 than the truth. From his desire of simpli- 
 fying, and of employing only the geometri- 
 cal method of reasoning, he was reduced to 
 the necessity of rejecting quantities, which 
 were considerable enough to have a great 
 effect on the last result. An error was thus 
 introduced, which, had it not been for cer- 
 tain compensations, would have become 
 immediately obvious, by giving the sun’s 
 distance near three times as great .as that 
 which has been mentioned. 
 
 The “ Sun’s Distance” was the last work 
 
 which Dr. Stewart published ; and though 
 he lived to see the animadversions made on 
 it, he declined entering into any contro- 
 versy. His di.sposition was far from pole- 
 mical ; and he knew the value of that quiet, 
 which a literary man, should rarely suffer 
 his antagonists to interrupt. He used to 
 say, that tlie decision of the point in ques- 
 tion was now before the public ; that if his 
 investigation was right, it would never be 
 overturned, and that if it was wrong, it 
 ought not to be defended. 
 
 A few months before he published the 
 Essay just mentioned, he gave to the world 
 another work, entitled, “ Propositiones 
 More Veterum Demonstratae.” It consists 
 of a series of geometrical theorems, mostly 
 new; investigated, first by an analysis, and 
 afterwards synthetically demonstrated by 
 the inversion of the same analysis. This 
 method made an important part in the ana- 
 lysis of the ancient geometricians ; but few 
 examples of it have been preserved in their 
 writings, and those in the “ PropOsitiones 
 Geometricae” are therefore the more valu- 
 able. 
 
 Doctor Stewart’s constant use of the 
 geometrical analysis had put him in posses- 
 sion of many valuable propositions, which 
 did not enter into the plan of any of the 
 works that have been enumerated. Of 
 these, not a few have found a place in the 
 writings of Dr. Simson, where they will for 
 ever remain, to mark the friendship of these 
 two mathematicians, and to, evince the 
 esteem which Dr. Simson entertained for 
 the abilities of his pupil. Many of these 
 are in the work upon the Porisms, and 
 ethers in the Conic Sections, viz, marked 
 with the letter a; ; also a theorem in the edi- 
 tion of Euclid’s Data. 
 
 Soon after the publication of the “ Sun’s 
 Distance,” Dr. Stewart’s health began to 
 decline, and the duties of his office became 
 burdensome to him. In the year 1772, he 
 retired to the country, where he afterwards 
 spent the greater part of his life, and never 
 resumed his labours in the university. He 
 was however so fortunate as to have a son 
 to whom, though very young, he could 
 commit the care of them with the greatest 
 confidence. Mr. Dugald Stewart, having 
 begun to give lectures for his father from 
 the period above mentioned, was elected 
 joint professor with him in 1775, and gave 
 an early specimen of those abilities, which 
 have not been confined to a single science. 
 
 After mathematical studies (on account 
 of the bad state of health into which Dr. 
 
Stewart was falling) had ceased to be his 
 business, they continued to be his amuse- 
 ment. The analogy between the circle and 
 hyperbola had been an early object of his 
 admiration. The extensive views which 
 that analogy is continually opening; the 
 alternate appearance and disappearance of 
 resemblance in the midst of so much dissi- 
 militude, make it an object that astonishes 
 the experienced, as well as the young geo- 
 metrician. To the consideration of this 
 analogy therefore the mind of Dr. Stewart 
 very naturally returned, when disengaged 
 from other speculations. His usual success 
 still attended his investigations ; and he 
 left among his papers some curious approx- 
 imations to the areas, both of tlie circle 
 and hyperbola. For some years toward the 
 end of liis life, his health scarcely allowed 
 him to prosecute study even as an amuse- 
 ment. He died the twenty-third of Ja- 
 nuary, 1785, at sixty-eight years of age. 
 See vol. i. Edinburgh Transactions. 
 
 STHEN lA, a term employed by tlie fol- 
 lowers of Dr. Brown, to denote that state 
 of the body which disposes to inflammatory 
 diseases, in opposition to those of debility 
 which arise from asthenia. Dr. Struve, in 
 his work on the “Art of prolonging the 
 Life of incurable Persons,” gives a few of 
 the theorems after the manner of Brown. 
 He says a stronger stimulus does not, as is 
 commonly believed, destroy a weaker; it 
 only lessens, in a greater or less degree, the 
 force of the latter. Sthenia is alwaj’s more 
 violent when it is preceded by a consider- 
 able asthenia, and vice versa. A famished 
 "person suddenly filled with food, dies apo- 
 plectic. Dninkards, if they immediately 
 begin a total abstinence from wine, expose 
 themselves to incurable diseases. Sthenia 
 becomes more violent in proportion as it 
 alternates more completely with asthenia, 
 that is to say, in proportion as the habit is 
 more frequently exposed at one time to 
 sthenic atfections, and at another to asthe- 
 nic. By this perpetual irritation the orga- 
 nization becomes so susceptible, that it is 
 very liable to suffer in the highest degree 
 from sthenic diseases. This principle is of 
 the greatest importance for practitioners to 
 be aware of, since it proves that a sudden 
 transition from one extreme to another (as,, 
 for example, from cold to heat, taking cold 
 liquors when the body is hot, which often 
 destroys the tone and energy of the sto- 
 mach,) may lay the foundation of an incur- 
 able disease, which sometimes remains long 
 AOL. VI. 
 
 concealed, and then shows itself by the 
 most alarming-symptoms. 
 
 STICK, the same as baton, an instru- 
 ment of dignity, which is occasionally car- 
 ried by persons and officers in high situa- 
 tions, particularly by such as are in waiting 
 near the royal person. 
 
 Stick, gold. An officer of superior rank 
 in the life-guards so called, who is in imme- 
 diate attendance upon the King’s person. 
 When his Majesty gives either of his regi- 
 ments of life-guards to an officer, he presents 
 him with the gold-stick. The colonels of 
 the two regiments wait alternately, month 
 and month. The one ou duty is then called 
 gold-stick- in waiting, and alt orders relat- 
 ing to the life-guards are transmitted through 
 him. During that month he commands the 
 brigade, receives all reports, and communi- 
 cates them to the King. This temporary 
 command of the brigade does not, however, 
 interfere with the promotions that may be 
 going forward, as each colonel lays tliose 
 of his own particular corps before his 
 Majesty. Formerly the gold-stick com- 
 manded all guards about his Majesty’s per- 
 son. On levees and drawing-room days 
 he goes into the King’s closet for the 
 parole. 
 
 Stick, silver. The field officer of the 
 life-guards, when on duty, is so called. 
 The silver-stick is in waiting for a week, 
 during which period all reports are made 
 through him to the gold-stick ; and orders 
 from the gold-stick pass through him to 
 the brigade. In the absence of the gold- 
 stick on levees and drawing-room days, 
 he goes into the King’s closet for the 
 parole. 
 
 STIGMA, in botany, the summit of the 
 style, the female organ of generation in plants, 
 wliich receives the fecundating dust of the 
 tops of the stamina, and transmits its efflu- 
 via through the style into the heart of the 
 seed-bud, for the purpose of impregnating 
 the seeds. Most plants have a single stig- 
 ma, but the lilac has two, the bell flower 
 threp, and in others there are four and five. 
 The stigma, when single, generally termi- 
 nates the style : when there are several, as 
 in the cotton, and most of the liliaceous 
 plants, they are disposed wdth admirable 
 symmetry along its sides. 
 
 STILAGO, in botany, a genus of the 
 Gynandria Triandria class and order. Es- 
 sential character: calyx one-leafed, pitcher- 
 shaped; corolla none: female, stig.nas ses- 
 sile; drupe with a two celled nut. There 
 S. 
 
STI 
 
 are two species, viz, S. bunius, and S. dian- 
 dra. 
 
 STILBE, in botany, a genus of the Poly- 
 gamia Dioecia class and order. Generic 
 character: hermaphrodite, calyx exterior; 
 perianth three-leaved; leaflets lanceolate, 
 spreading, and niucronate^ interior, perianth 
 one-Ieafed, five-toothed, cartilaginous, to 
 be hardened ; corolla one-petalled, funnel- 
 form ; stamina, filaments four, awl shaped, 
 placed on the throat, longer; anthers cor- 
 date, obtuse; pistil, germ superior, ovate; 
 style filiform, length of the stamens ; stigma 
 acute ; pericarpinra none, but the interior 
 calyx inclosiirg, hardened, deciduous ; seed 
 one : male on a distinct individual ; calyx 
 exterior as in the hermaphrodite ; interior 
 none; corolla as in the hermaphrodite; the 
 tube membranaceous ; stamina as in the 
 hennaphodite ; pericarpiura and seed none. 
 There are three species, all natives of the 
 Cape'bf Good Hope. 
 
 STILBITE. This stone was first formed 
 into a distinct species by M. Hauy. For- 
 merly it was considered as a variety of 
 zeolite. The primitive form of its crystals 
 is a rectangular prism, whose prases are rec- 
 tangles. It crystallizes sometimes in dode- 
 cahedrons, consisting of a four-sided prism 
 ■with hexagonal faces, terminated by four- 
 sided summits, whose faces are oblique 
 parallelograms ; .sometimes in six-sided 
 prisms, two of whose solid angles are want- 
 ing, and a small triangular face in their 
 place. Its texture is foliated. The laminae 
 are easily separated from each other, and 
 are somewhat flexible. Lustre pearly. Hard- 
 ness inferior to that of zeolite, which 
 scratches stilbite. Specific gravity 2.5. 
 Colour pearl-white. Powder bright-white, 
 sometimes with a shade of red. This pow- 
 der, when exposed to the air, cakes and 
 adlieres as if it bad absorbed water. It 
 causes syrup of violets to assume a green 
 colour. When stilbite is heated in a porce- 
 lain crucible, it swells up and assumes the 
 colour and semi-transparency of baked por- 
 celain. By this process it loses 0.185 of its 
 weight. Before the blow pipe it froths like 
 borax, and then melts into an opaque white 
 coloured enamel. The constituent parts are. 
 
 Silica 52.0 
 
 Alumina 17.5 
 
 Lime... 9.0 
 
 AVater..... lb.5 
 
 97.0 
 
 3.0 
 
 100 
 
 STI 
 
 STILLIMGIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Benjamin Stiliingfleet, a genus 
 of the Monoecia Monadelphia class and 
 order. Natural order of Tricocc®. Eu- 
 pliorbi®, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 male, calyx hemispherical, many-flowered ; 
 corolla tubular, erose : female, calyx one- 
 flowered, inferior; horolla superior; style 
 trifid ; capsule tiicoccous. There is but one 
 species, viz. S. sylvatica; this is a shrub 
 with many upright, round, milky stems, 
 three feet in height, terminated by a spike ; 
 two branches commonly spring out at the 
 base of the spike ; leaves alternate, petioled, 
 remote, elliptic, serrulate, shining, spread- 
 ing ; spike, or ament, terminating, sessile ; 
 flowers small and yellow. It is a native of 
 Carolina in pine woods. 
 
 STIMULI, in botany, siings, a species 
 of armature, or offensive weapon, with 
 which some plants are armed, as the 
 nettle. 
 
 STINK pot, an earthen jar charged with 
 powdqr, grenades, and other materials of 
 an offensive and suffocating smell. It 'is 
 sometimes used by privateers to annoy an 
 enemy when they mean to board. 
 
 Stink stm-e, or Stinkstein, in minera- 
 logy, a species of the Talc genus. Is of a 
 wood-brown colour ; it occurs massive, and 
 sometimes disseminated ; internally, its lus- 
 tre is from dull to glimmering ; when rub- 
 bed it emits an urinous smell ; but when ex- 
 posed to heat it lo.ses its colour and smell, 
 and is converted into quick-lime : it effer- 
 vesces powerfully with acids. It consists 
 of lime and carbonic acid, and a liydro-sul- 
 phuret, which is the cause of the smell 
 which it emits when rubbed: it is found 
 principally in beds. The lightest coloured 
 varieties are the softest. 
 
 STIPA, in botany, feather grass, a genus 
 of the Triandria Digynia class and order. 
 N'atural order of Gramina, Graminere, or 
 Grasses. Essential character : calyx two- 
 valved, one-flowered; corolla oiitp valve 
 with a terminating awn, jointed at the base. 
 There are fourteen species, of which we 
 shall notice the S. pennata, soft feather 
 grass : the root is perennial, fibrous, and 
 tufted; culms simple, a foot in height, up- 
 rjght, round, smootlq without knots, cloth- 
 ed entirely with the sheaths of the leaves ; 
 leaves rolled in, and bristle-shaped, mnero- 
 nate, glaucus ; sheaths long, aqd widened ; 
 s,tipole lanceolate, growing to the leaf ; pa- 
 nicle simple, few-flowered ; flowers large, 
 from four to six ; floret awl-shaped, round, 
 nervelessj shorter than tha calyx, silky, 
 
STO 
 
 bristly at the base ; the feathered awns are 
 a beautiful and remarkable feature, at once 
 distinguishing this from all other grasses. 
 
 STIPULA, in botany, straw, one of the 
 fulcra or supports of plants, defined by Lin- 
 n®Hs to be a small leaf, stationed on each 
 side the base of the foot-stalks of the fiower 
 and leaves, at their first appearance, for 
 the purpose of support. Linnajus considers 
 the stipulse as essential characters, in dis- 
 criminating the species : they exhibit the 
 same variety in form and structure as the 
 leaves, at whose insertion they are fre- 
 quently placed. The greater number of 
 plants have two stipulsfy one on each side 
 of the foot-stalk. Some stipulse fall before 
 the leaves, as in the cherry ; others are 
 permanent, or continue till the fall of the 
 leaves, as in the rose, raspberry, &c. In^ 
 most plants, the stipulae are detached from 
 the stalk ; but in the rose, raspberry, &c. 
 they grow close to the plant. By means 
 of the stipute, we have frequently capital 
 means of distinguishing the species ; as an 
 example, the African and Ethiopian species 
 , of honey-flower .are essentially distinguished 
 * from one another, by the number and situa- 
 tion of the stipul®, which, in the former, 
 are single, and grow to the stalk ; in the 
 latter double, and detached from it. 
 
 STOCKING, that part of the clothing 
 of the leg and foot which immediately co- 
 vers their nudity, and screens them from 
 the cold, &c. Anciently, the only stock- 
 ings in use were made of cloth, or of milled 
 stuffs sewed together; but since the in- 
 vention of knitting and weaving stockings 
 of silk, wool, cotton, thread, &c. tlie use 
 of cloth stockings is quite laid aside. The 
 modern stockings, whether woven or knit, 
 are a kind of plexuses, formed of an infinite 
 number of little knots, called stitches, 
 loops, or meshes, intermingled in one ano- 
 ther. Knit stockings are wrought with 
 needles made of polished iron or brass wire, 
 which interweave the threads, and form the 
 meshes the stocking consists of. This ope- 
 ration is called knitting, the invention 
 whereof is. commonly attributed to the 
 Scots, on this ground, that the first works 
 of this kind came from thence. It is ad- 
 ded, that it was on this account that the 
 company of stocking-knitters, established 
 at Paris in tSW, took for their patron St. 
 Fiacre, who is said to have been the son of a 
 king of Scotland. Woven stocjtings are 
 ordinarily very fine ; they are manufectured 
 OB a frame, or machine of polished iron. 
 
 STO 
 
 Tire English and French have greatly 
 contested the honour of the invention of 
 the stocking-loom; but we are assured, 
 whatever pretensions the French claim to 
 this invention, that the same was certainly 
 devised by William Lee, of St. John’s Col-' 
 lege, Cambridge, in the year 1589, though 
 it is true, that he first made it public in 
 France, after despairing of success in his, 
 own country. 
 
 STOCKS, or Public Funds in England. 
 By the word stock was originally me^mt a 
 particular sum of money contributed to the 
 establishing of a fund to enable a com- 
 pany to carry on a certain trade, by means 
 of which the person became a partner in 
 that trade, and received a share of the pro- 
 fit made thereby, in proportion to the 
 money employed. But this term has been, 
 extended further, though improperly, to sig- 
 nify any sum of money which has been 
 lent to the government, on condition of re- 
 ceiving a certain interest till the money is 
 repaid, and which makes a part of the na- 
 tional debt. As the security both of the 
 government and of the public companies 
 is esteemed preferable to that of any pri- 
 vate person, as the stocks are negotiable 
 and may be sold at any time, and as the in- 
 terest is always punctually paid when due ; 
 so they are thereby enabled to borrow- 
 money on a lower interest than what could 
 be obtained from lending it to private per- 
 sons, where there must be always some 
 danger of losing both principal and inte- 
 rest. But as every capital stock or fund of 
 a company is raised for a particular pur- 
 pose, and limited by parliament to a certain 
 sum, it necessarily follows, that when that 
 fund is completed, no stock can be bought 
 of the company ; though shares already 
 purchased may be transferred from one 
 person to another. This being the case, 
 there is frequently a great disproportion 
 between the original value of the shares and 
 what is given for them when transferred ; 
 for if there are more buyers than sellers, a 
 person who is indifferent about selling will 
 not part with his share without a consi- 
 derable profit to himself ; and on the con- 
 trary, if many are disposed to sell, and few 
 inclined to buy, the value of such shares 
 will naturally fall in proportion to the im- 
 patience of those who want to turn their 
 stock into specie. See Funds. 
 
 For the sake of those who deal much in 
 the stocks, we shall give a Table showing 
 the comparative value per cent, of the seve- 
 S 2 
 
STO 
 
 ral public funds, and the annual interests 
 produced by 1001. invested at different 
 prices. 
 
 
 
 
 Bank 
 
 Ind.St 
 
 
 
 
 3 per 
 
 4 per 
 
 5 per 
 
 Stock 
 
 10| per 
 
 Annual 
 
 Cts. 
 
 Cents 
 
 Cents. 
 
 7 perC 
 
 Cent. 
 
 Interest. 
 
 45 
 
 60 
 
 75 
 
 105 
 
 1571 
 
 6 
 
 13 
 
 4 
 
 45i 
 
 61 
 
 76i 
 
 106| 
 
 1081 
 
 1601 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 461 
 
 62 
 
 771 
 
 1621 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 4?i 
 
 63 
 
 78| 
 
 1101 
 
 1651 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 48 
 
 64 
 
 80 
 
 112 
 
 168 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 48| 
 
 65 
 
 811 
 
 113|- 
 
 iisf 
 
 117| 
 
 1701 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 4S>1 
 
 66 
 
 821 
 
 1731 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 50i 
 
 67 
 
 83^ 
 
 17,5| 
 
 5 
 
 19 
 
 ■4 
 
 .*)! 
 
 68 
 
 85 
 
 119 
 
 1781 
 
 I81I 
 
 5 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 
 69 
 
 86i 
 
 120| 
 
 122| 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 11 
 
 
 70 
 
 871 
 
 1831 
 
 5 
 
 14 
 
 3 
 
 
 71 
 
 881 
 
 1241 
 
 1861 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 8 
 
 64 
 
 72 
 
 90 
 
 126 
 
 189 
 
 5 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 .55i 
 
 73 
 
 911 
 
 127i 
 
 19U 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 74 
 
 921 
 
 129| 
 
 194| 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 561 
 
 75 
 
 931 
 
 131j 
 
 196| 
 
 199| 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 57 
 
 76 
 
 95 
 
 133 
 
 5 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 57i 
 
 77 
 
 96i 
 
 1341 
 
 2021 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 10 
 
 68f 
 
 78 
 
 97^ 
 
 1361 
 
 20^ 
 
 .5 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 69i 
 
 79 
 
 98| 
 
 1381 
 
 2071 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 3 
 
 60 
 
 80 
 
 100 
 
 140 
 
 210 
 
 5 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 60| 
 
 8! 
 
 1011 
 
 1411 
 
 212| 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 9 
 
 61| 
 
 82 
 
 1021 
 
 1431 
 
 1451 
 
 215? 
 
 4 17 
 
 6 
 
 
 83 
 
 1031 
 
 217| 
 
 4 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 6,3 
 
 84 
 
 105 
 
 147 
 
 220? 
 
 4 15 
 
 2 
 
 63^' 
 
 85 
 
 106i 
 
 1481 
 
 150| 
 
 1.521 
 
 223i 
 
 4 
 
 14 
 
 0 
 
 64^ 
 
 86 
 
 1071 
 
 22,5| 
 
 4 
 
 13 
 
 0 
 
 66? 
 
 37 
 
 1081 
 
 2281 
 
 4 
 
 11 
 
 11 
 
 66 
 
 88 
 
 110 
 
 154 
 
 231 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 66^ 
 
 89 
 
 ml 
 
 112I 
 
 1354 
 
 1571 
 
 1591 
 
 2331 
 
 4 
 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 67i- 
 
 90 
 
 236| 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 68i 
 
 91 
 
 1131 
 
 2381 
 
 4 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 69 
 
 92 
 
 115 
 
 161 
 
 2411 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 11 
 
 69? 
 
 93 
 
 1161 
 
 117j 
 
 1621 
 
 164| 
 
 2441 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 0 
 
 
 94 
 
 2461 
 
 249| 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 
 9.5 
 
 1181 
 
 166i 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 72 
 
 96 
 
 120 
 
 168 
 
 252 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 72a 
 
 97 
 
 I21I 
 
 1691 
 
 171? 
 
 254| 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 5 
 
 74 
 
 98 
 
 I22I 
 
 2571 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 7 
 
 74d 
 
 99 
 
 1231 
 
 ir.31 
 
 2591 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 75" 
 
 100 
 
 125 
 
 175 
 
 2621 
 
 4 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Stocks, among sliip-carpenters, a 
 frame of timber, and great posts made 
 ashore, to build pinnaces, ketclies, boats, 
 and such small craft, and sometimes small 
 frigates. Hence we say, a ship is on the 
 stocks, wlien she is a building. 
 
 Stocks, a wooden machine to put the 
 legs of offenders in, for the securing of dis- 
 orderly persons, and by the way of punish- 
 ment in divers cases, ordained by statute, 
 &c. And it is said, that every vill, within 
 tlie precinct of a town, is indictable fbr 
 not having a pair of stocks, and shall forfeit 
 five poands. 
 
 STO 
 
 STOEBE, in botany, a genus of the Syn- 
 genesia Polygamia Segregata class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Nucainentacas. Co- 
 rymbiferae, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 calyx one-flowered ; corolla tubular ; her- 
 maphrodite, receptacle naked ; down fea- 
 thered. There are nine species, chiefly 
 natives of the Cape of Good Hope ; they 
 are shrubby plants, resembling heath ; at 
 the Cape it forms the principal food of the 
 rhinoceros. 
 
 STOICS, a sect of ancient philosophers, 
 the followers of Zeno, thus called from the 
 Greek j-oa, which signifies a porch or porti- 
 co, in regard Zeno used to teach under a 
 portico, or piazza. It was the common 
 fault of the stoics to introduce abundance 
 of subtilty and dryness into their disputa- 
 tions, either by word of mouth, or in writ- 
 ing. They seemed as carefully to avoid all 
 beauty of style, as depravity of morals. 
 Chrysippus, who was one of the stoics, did 
 no great honour to his sect, and could only 
 disgrace it. He believed tlie gods perish- 
 able, and maintained, that tiiey would ac- 
 tually perish in the general, conflagration. 
 He allowed the most notorious and abomi- 
 nable incests, and admitted the community 
 of wives amongst sages. See Zeno. 
 
 STOKESIA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of Jonathan Stokes, M. D. a genus of 
 the Syngenesia Polygamia iEqualis class 
 end order. Essential character ; corollets 
 in the ray funnel-form, longer, irregular ; 
 down four-bristled ; receptacle naked. 
 There is but one species, viz. S. cyanea, 
 blue-flowered stokesia. This plant has a 
 corolla resembling that of the common blue 
 bottle, centaurea cyanns, with almost the 
 calyx of carthamus, to which genus it is al- 
 lied. It is a native of South Carolina. 
 
 STOLE, a sacerdotal ornament, worn by 
 the Romish parish-priests over their sur- 
 plice, as a mark of superiority in their re- 
 spective churches ; and by other priests, 
 over the alb, at celebrating of mass, in 
 which case it goes across the stomach ; and 
 by deacons, over the left shoulder, scarf- 
 wise ; when tlie priest reads the gospel for ’ 
 any one, he lays the bottom of his stole on 
 his head. The stole is a broad swath, or 
 slip of stuff hanging from the neck to the- 
 feet, with three crosses thereon. The bi- 
 shops anciently pretended, that the parish- 
 priests were never to appear before them, 
 but in their stole. In Flanders and Italy, 
 they always preach in stoles ; it is supposed 
 to be a representation of the extremities of 
 
STO 
 
 the long robe wore by the high-priest of 
 the Jews. 
 
 Stole, groom of the, the eldest gentleman 
 of his Majesty’s bed-chamber, whose office 
 and honour it is to present, and put on, his 
 Majesty’s first garment, or shirt, every 
 morning, and to order the things in the 
 chamber. 
 
 STOLEN goods. To help people to 
 stolen goods for reward, without appre- 
 hending the felon, is felony. 4 George I. 
 c. 11. Persons having, or receiving, lead, 
 iron, copper, brass, bell metal, or solder, 
 knowing them to be stolen, shall be trans- 
 ported. 29 George II. c. 30. 
 
 STOMACH. See Anatomy. 
 
 STOMOXYS, in natural history, a genus 
 of insects of the order Diptera. Sucker 
 with a single valved sheath, inclosing bris- 
 tles, each in its proper sheath ; two feelers, 
 short, setaceous, of five articulations; an- 
 tennae setaceous. There are sixteen species 
 in two sections : A. sheath convolute, and 
 geniculate at the base, with two bristles. 
 B. sheath covering the mouth with five 
 bristles. 
 
 STONE (Edmund), in biography, a dis- 
 tinguislied self-taught mathematician, was 
 born in Scotland ; but neither the place nor 
 time of his birth are well known; nor have 
 we any memoirs of his life, except a letter 
 from the Chevalier de Ramsay, author of 
 the “ Travels of Cyrus,” in a letter to Father 
 Castel, a Jesuit at Paris, and published in 
 the “ Memoirs de Trevoux,” p. 109, as fol- 
 lows : “ True genius overcomes all the dis- 
 advantages of birth, fortune, and education ; 
 of which Mr. Stone is a rare example. 
 Born the son of a gardener of the Duke of 
 Argyle, he arrived at eight years of age be- 
 fore he learned to read. By chance a ser- 
 vant having taught young Stone the letters 
 of the alphabet, there needed nothing more 
 to discover and expand his genius. He ap- 
 plied himself to study, and he arrived at the 
 knowledge of the most sublime geometry 
 and analysis without a master, without a 
 conductor, without any other guide but 
 pure genius. 
 
 At eighteen years of age he had made 
 these considerable advances without being 
 known, and without knowing himself the 
 prodigies of his acquisitions. The Duke of 
 Argyle, who joined to his military talents a 
 general knowledge of every science that 
 adorns the mind of a man of his rank, W'alk- 
 ing one day in his garden, saw lying on the 
 grass a Latin copy of Sir Isaac Newton’s 
 celebrated “ Principia.” He called some 
 
 STO 
 
 one to him to take and carry it back to his 
 library. Onr young gardener told him that 
 the book belonged to him. ‘ To you!’ re- 
 plied the Duke. ‘ Do you understand geo- 
 metry, Latin, Newton.'” ‘ I know a little 
 of them,’ replied the young man, with an air 
 of simplicity arising from a profound igno- 
 rance of his own knowledge and talents. 
 The Duke was surprised; and having d 
 taste for the sciences, he entered into con- 
 versation with the young mathematician: 
 he asked him several questions, and was 
 astonished at the force, the accuracy, and 
 the candour of his answers. ‘ But how,’ 
 said the Duke, ‘ came you by the know- 
 ledge of all these things?’ Stone replied, 
 
 ‘ A servant taught me, ten years since, to 
 read: does one need to know any thing 
 more than the twenty-four letters in order 
 to learn every thing else that one wishes?’ 
 TheDuke’s curiosity redoubled ; he sat down 
 upon a bank, and requested a detail of all 
 his proceedings in becoming so learned. 
 
 ‘ I first learned to read,’ said Stone : ‘ the 
 masons were then at work upon your house : 
 
 I went near them one day, and I saw that 
 the architect used a rule, compasses, and 
 that he made calculations. I inquired what 
 might be the meaning and use of these 
 things; and I was informed that there w'as 
 a science called arithmetic ; I purchased a 
 book of arithmetic, and I learned it. I was 
 told there was another science called geo- 
 metry: I bought the books, and I learned 
 geometry. By reading I found that there 
 were good books in these two sciences in 
 Latin: I bought a dictionary, and I learned 
 Latin. I understood also that there were 
 good books of the same kind in French : I 
 bought a dictionary, and I learned French. 
 And this, my Lord, is what I have done : it 
 seems to me that we may learn every thing 
 when we know the twenty-four letters of 
 the alphabet.’ This account charmed the 
 Duke. He drew this wonderful genius out of 
 his obscurity; and he provided him with an 
 employpient which left him plenty of time 
 to appj^ himself to tlie sciences. He disco- 
 vered in him also the same genius for music, 
 for painting, for architecture, for all the 
 sciences which depend on calculations and- 
 proportions. 
 
 “ I have seen Mr. Stone. He is a man 
 of great simplicity. He is at present sen- 
 sible of his own knowledge ; but he is not 
 puffed up with it. He is possessed with a 
 pure and disinterested love for the mathe- 
 matics ; though he is not solicito.us to pass 
 for a mathematician ; vanity having no part 
 
STO 
 
 ill the great labour he sustains to excel 
 in that science. He despises fortune 
 also; and he has solicited me twenty times 
 to request the Duke to give him less em- 
 ployment, which may not be worth the half 
 of that he now has, in order to be more re- 
 tired, and less taken olF from his favourite 
 studies. He discovers sometimes, by me- 
 thods of his own, truths which others have 
 discovered before him. He is charmed to 
 find on these occasions that he is not a 
 first inventor, and that others have made a 
 greater progress than he thought. Far 
 from being a plagiary, he attributes ingeni- 
 ous solutions, which he gives to certain 
 problems, to the hints which he has found 
 in others, although the connection is but 
 very distant,” &c. 
 
 Mr. Stone was author and translator of 
 several useful works; viz. 1 . “ A New Ma- 
 thematical Dictionary,” in 1 vol. 8vo. first 
 printed in 1726. 2. “ Fluxions,” in 1 vol. 
 8vo. 1730. The Direct Method is a trans- 
 lation from the French of Hospital’s “ Ana- 
 lyse des Infiniments Petits ;” and the In- 
 verse Method was supplied, by Stone him- 
 self. 3. “ The Elements of Euclid,” in 2 
 vols. 8vo. 1731. A neat and useful edition 
 of these Elements, with an account of tiie 
 life and writings of Euclid, and a defence of 
 his Elements against modern objectors. 
 Beside other smaller works. Stone was a 
 fellow of the Royal Society, and had in- 
 serted in the “ Philosophical Transactions,” 
 (vol. xli. p. 218) an “ Account of two spe- 
 cies of Lines of the third Order, not men- 
 tioned by Sir Isaac Newton or Mr. Stir- 
 ling.” 
 
 Stone denotes a certain quantity or 
 weight of some commodities. A stone of 
 beef, at London, is the quantity of eight 
 pounds; in Herefordshire, twelve pounds; 
 in the north, sixteen pounds. A stone of 
 wool (according to the statute of 11 Henry 
 VII.) is to weigh fourteen pounds ; yet in 
 some places it is more, in otbeis less; as in 
 Gloucestershire, fifteen pounds; in Here- 
 fordshire, twelve pounds. A stone, among 
 horse-coursers, is the weight of fourteen 
 pounds. 
 
 STONEHENGE, a celebrated monu- 
 ment of antiquity, stands in the middle of a 
 fiat area near the summit of a hill six miles 
 distant from Salisbury, It is inclosed by a 
 circular double bank and ditch, near thirty 
 feet broad, after crossing which we ascend 30 
 yards before we reach tlie work. The whole 
 fabric consisted of tw'o circles and two 
 ovals. The outer circle is about 108 feet 
 
 STO 
 
 diameter; consisting, when entire, of 60 
 stones, 30 uprights and 30 imposts, of which 
 remain only 24 uprights, 17 standing and 7 
 down, 31 feet asunder, and 8 imposts. 
 Eleven uprights have their 5 imposts on 
 ' them by the grand entrance. These stones 
 are from 13 to 20 feet high. The lesser 
 circle is somewhat more than 8 feet from 
 the inside of the outer one, and consisted of 
 40 lesser stones (the highest 6 feet), of 
 which only 19 remain, and only ll stand- 
 ing : the walk betw'een these two circles is 
 300 feet in circumference. The adytum, or 
 cell, is an oval formed of 10 stones (from 16 
 to 22 feet high) in pairs, wuth imposts, which 
 Dr. Stiikely calls, trilithons, and above 30 
 feet high, rising in height as they go round, 
 and each pair separate, and not connected 
 as the outer pair ; the highest 8 feet. Within 
 these are 19 more smaller single stones, of 
 which only six are standing. At the upper 
 end of the adytum is the altar, a large slab 
 of blue coarse marble, 20' inches thick, 16 
 feet long, and 4 broad ; pressed down by 
 the weight of the vast stones that have fall- 
 en upon it. The whole number of stones, 
 uprights, imposts, and altar, is exactly 140 . 
 The stones are far from being artificial, but 
 were most probably brought from those 
 called the Grey Weathers, on Marlborough 
 Downs, 15 or 16 miles off; and if tried with 
 a tool, they appear of the same hardness, 
 grain, and colour, generally reddish. The 
 heads of oxen, deer, and other beasts, have 
 been found on digging in and about Stone- 
 henge; and human bones in the circumja- 
 cent barrows. There are three entrances 
 from tlie plain to this structure, the most 
 considerable of which is from the north- 
 east, and at each of them were raised, on 
 the outside of the trench, two huge stones, 
 with two smaller within parallel to them. 
 
 It has been long a dispute among the 
 learned, by what nation, and for what pur- 
 pose, these enormous stones were collected 
 and arranged. The first account of this struc- 
 ture we meet with is in Geoffrey of Mon- 
 mouth, who, in the reign of King Stephen, 
 wrote the history of the Britons in Latin. He 
 tells us, that it was erected by the counsel of 
 Merlin, the British enchanter, at the com- 
 mand of Aurelius Ambrosius, the last British 
 king, in memory of 460 Britons, who were 
 murdered by Hengist the Saxon. The nekt 
 account is that of Polydore Virgil, who says 
 that the Britpns erected this as a sepulchral 
 monument of Aurelias Ambrosius. Others 
 suppose it to have been a sepulchral momi-. 
 ment of Boadicea, the famous British 
 
STONE WARE. 
 
 Queen. Inigo Jones is of opinion that it 
 was a Roman temp’.e, from a stone 16 feet 
 long, and 4 broad, placed in an exact posi- 
 tion to the eastward altar-fashion. Mr. 
 Charlton attributed it to the Danes, who 
 were two years masters of Wiltshire ; a tin 
 tablet, on which were some unknown cha- 
 racters, supposed to be Punic, was dug 
 ■up near it in the reign of Henry VIII. but 
 is lost: probably that might have given 
 some information respecting its founders. 
 Its common name, Stonehenge, is Saxon, 
 and signifies a “ stone gallows,” to whicii 
 those stones having transverse imposts bear 
 some resemblance. It is also called in 
 Welsh choir gour, or “ the giant’s dance.” 
 Mr. Grose thinks that Dr. Stukely has com- 
 pletely proved this structure to have been 
 a British temple in which the Druids offici- 
 ated. He supposes it to have been the me- 
 tropolitan temple of Great Britain, and 
 translates the words c/u>ir gour, “ the great 
 choir, or temple.” 
 
 Stone wai-e, a species of pottery, so call- 
 ed from its hardness. See Delft umre, 
 Porcelain, and Pottery. Clay is a 
 principal ingredient in pottery of all kinds, 
 
 which has the property of hardening in the 
 
 fire, and of receiving and preserving any 
 form into which it is moulded. One kind 
 of clay resists the most violent action of the 
 fire, after being hardened to a certain de- 
 gree ; but is incapable of receiving a suffi- 
 cient degree of hardness and solidity. A se- 
 cond kind assumes a hardness resembling 
 that of flint, and such a compactness, that 
 vessels made of it have a glossy^ appearance 
 in their fracture, resembling porcelain. 
 These two species owe their peculiar pro- 
 perties, of resisting heat without melting, 
 to sand, chalk, gypsum, or ferruginous 
 earth, which they contain. A third species 
 of clay begins to harden with a moderate 
 fire, and melts entirely with a strong fire. 
 It is of the second species that stone ware 
 is made. The most famous manufactory of 
 stone ware, as well as of other kinds of pot- 
 tery, is at Burslem in Staffordshire. This 
 can be traced, with certainty, at least two 
 centuries back ; but of its first introduction 
 no tradition remains. In 1686, as we learn 
 from Dr. Plot’s “ Natural History of Staf- 
 fordshire,” published in that year, only the 
 coarse yellow, red, black, and mottled 
 wares were made in this country ; and the 
 only materials employed for them appear 
 to have been the different coloured clays 
 which are found in the neighbourhood, and 
 which form some of the measures or strata 
 
 oBthe coal mines. These coarse plays mad* 
 the body of the ware, and the glaze was 
 produced liy powdered lead ore, sprinkled 
 on the pieces before firing, with the addi- 
 tion of a little manganese for some particu- 
 lar colours. The quantity of goods manu- 
 factured was at that time so inconsiderable, 
 that the chief sale of them, the Doctor 
 says, was “ to poor crate-meii, who carried 
 them on their backs all over the country.” 
 About the year 1690, two ingenious artisans 
 from Germany, of the name of Eller, set- 
 tled near Burslem, and carried on a small 
 work for a little time. They brought into 
 this country the method of glazing stone 
 ware, by casting salt into the kiln while it 
 is hot, and some other improvements of 
 less importance ; but, finding they could 
 not keep their secrets to themselves, they 
 left the place rather in disgust. From this 
 time, various kinds of stone ware, glazed by 
 the fumes of salt, in the manner above-men- 
 tioned, were added to the wares before 
 made. The white kind, which afterwards 
 became, and for many succeeding years 
 continued, tiie staple branch of pottery, is 
 said to have owed its origin to the following 
 accident. A potter, Mr. Astbury, travel- 
 ling to London, perceived something amiss 
 with one of his horses’ eyes, an liostler at 
 Dunstable s’aid he could soon cure him, and 
 for that purpose put a common black flint 
 stone into the fire. The potter observing 
 it when taken ou t, to be of a fine white, im- 
 mediately conceived the idea of improving 
 his ware by the addition of this material to 
 the whitest clay, he could procure : accord- 
 ingly he sent home a quantity of the flint 
 stones of that country, where they are plen- 
 tiful among the chalk, and by mixing them 
 with tobacco-pipe clay, produced a white 
 stone ware, much superior to any that had 
 been seen before. Some of the other pot- 
 ters soon discovered the source of this su- 
 periority, and did not fail to follow his ex- 
 ample. For a. long tinie they pounded the 
 flint stones ,in private rooms, by manual la- 
 bour in mortars ; but many of the poor 
 workmen suffered severely from the dust of 
 the flint getting into their lungs, and pro- 
 ducing dreadful coughs, consumptions, and 
 other pulmonaiy disorders. These disas- 
 ters, and the increased demand for the flint 
 powder, induced them to try to grind it by 
 mills of various constructions ; and this me- 
 thod being found both effectual and safe, 
 lias continued in practice ever since. With 
 these improvements, in the beginning of the 
 present century, various articles were pro- 
 
STO 
 
 diiced for tea and coffee equipages. Soon 
 after, attempts were made to furnish the din- 
 ner table also ; and, before the middle of the 
 century, utensils for the table were manu- 
 factured in quantity, as well for exporta- 
 tion as home consumption. But the salt 
 glaze, the only one then in use for this pur- 
 pose, is in its own nature so imperfect, and 
 the potters, from an injudicious competition 
 among themselves for cheapness, rather 
 than excellence, had been so inattentive to 
 elegance of form, and neatness of workmau- 
 sh'ip, that this ware was rejected from the 
 tables of persons of rank ; and about the 
 year 1760, a white ware, much more beau- 
 tiful, and better glazed than ours, began to 
 be imported in considerable quantities 
 from France. This inundation of a foreign 
 manufacture, so much superior to any of 
 our own, must have had very bad effects 
 upon the potteries of this kingdom, if a new 
 one, still more to the public taste, had not 
 appeared soon after. In the year 1763, 
 Mr. Josiah Wedgwood, w'ho had already in- 
 troduced several improvements into this 
 art, invented a species of earthen ware for 
 the table, quite new in its appearance, co- 
 vered with a rich and brilliant glaze, bear- 
 ing sudden alternations of heat and cold, 
 manufactured with ease and expedition, 
 and consequently cheap, and having every 
 requisite for the purpose intended. To 
 this new manufacture the Queen was 
 pleased to give her name and patronage, 
 commanding it to be called Queen’s Ware, 
 and honouring the inventor by appointing 
 him her Majesty’s potter. The common 
 clay of the countiy is used for the ordinaiy 
 sorts ; the finer kinds are made of clay from 
 Devonshire and Dorsetshire, chiefly from 
 Riddeford ; but the flints from the Thames 
 are all brought rough by sea, either to Li- 
 verpool, or Hull, and so by Burton. There 
 is no conjecture formed of the original rea- 
 son of fixing the manufacture in this spot, 
 except for the convenience of plenty of 
 coals, which abound under all the country. 
 The flints are first ground in mills, and the 
 clay prepared by breaking, washing, and 
 sifting, and then they are mixed in the re- 
 quisite proportions. The flints are bought 
 tirst by the people about the country, and by 
 them burnt and ground, and sold to the ma- 
 nufacturers by the peck. The mixture is 
 then laid in large quantities on kilns, to 
 evaporate the moisture ; but this is a nice 
 work, as it must not be too dry ; next it is 
 beat with large wooden hammers, and then 
 is in order for throwing, and is moulded 
 
 STO 
 
 into the forms in which it is to remain } 
 this is the most difficult work in the whole 
 manufacture, A boy turns a pferpendicular 
 wheel, wdiich by means of thongs turns a 
 small horizontal one, just before the thrower, 
 with sudi velocity, that it twirls round the 
 lump of clay he lays on it into any form he 
 directs it with his fingers. 
 
 There were many years ago 300 houses, 
 wdiich were calculated to employ, upon an 
 average, 20 hands each, or 6000 in the whole ; 
 but of all the variety of people that work in 
 wliat may be called the preparation for the 
 employment of the immediate manufactur- 
 ers, tlie total number is said to be not much 
 short of 15,000, and it is increasing every 
 day. Large quantities are exported to Ger- 
 many, Ireland, Holland, Russia, Spain, tlie 
 East Indies, and much to America; some 
 of the finest sorts to France. 
 
 STOP, in music, a word applied liy vio- 
 lin and violincello performers to that pres- 
 sure of the strings by which they are brought 
 into contact with the finger-board, and by 
 which the pitch of the note is determined: 
 a string so pressed is said to be stopped. 
 
 Stop, trumpet, a reed metallic stop, so 
 called because its tone is imitative of the 
 trumpet. In large organs it generally ex- 
 tends through the whole compass. The 
 mouths of its pipes are not formed like 
 those of the pipes of other stops, but re- 
 semble that of the real trumpet. At the 
 bottom of each of the pipes of this stop, in 
 a cavity called the socket, is fixed a brass 
 reed, stopped at the lower end, and open in 
 front ; it is furnished with a tong-ue, or 
 brass spring, which covers the opening, and 
 which, when the wind is impelled into the 
 pipe, is thereby put into a vibratory motion, 
 which produces the imitative tone peculiar 
 to this stop. The trumpet stop is the most 
 powerful in the instrument, and improves 
 the tone as much as it increases the peal of 
 the chorus. Unisonous with the diapasons 
 it strengthens the foundation, subdues the 
 dissonances of the thirds and fifths of the 
 sesquialtera, and imparts to the compound 
 a richness and grandeur of effect adequate 
 to the subliinest subjects. 
 
 STOPPER, in a ship, a piece of cable- 
 laid rope, having a wale-knot at one end, 
 with a laniard fastened to it ; and the other 
 end is spliced round a thimble in the ring- 
 bolts upon deck, and at the bits : its use is 
 to stop the cable, that it may not run out 
 too fast ; in order to whieli, they make 
 turns with the laniard about the cable, and 
 
 I 
 
STR 
 
 STR 
 
 the wale-knot stops it, so that it cannot slip the justices of the peace are impowered to 
 
 away faster than is necessary. command the constables near the sea coast, 
 
 STORAX. See Resin. assistance, in ord^r to preserve the 
 
 STORES. If any person who has the ** possible, 
 
 charge or custody of any of the King’s ar- STRATA, in natural history, the several 
 mour, ordnance, ammunition, shot, powder, beds or layers of different matters whereof 
 or habiliments of war, or of any victuals for the earth is composed. The strata, where- 
 victualling the navy, shall, to hinder his of the earth is composed, are so veiy dif- 
 
 JVIajesty’s .service, embezzle, purloin, or con- feient in diffeient countries, that it is im- 
 
 vey away the same to the value of twenty- possible to say any thing concerning them, 
 shillings ; or shall steal or embezzle any of that may be generally applicable : and, in- 
 his Majesty's sails, cordage, or any ojher of deed the depths to which we can penetrate 
 his naval stores, to the value of twenty shil- are so small, that only a very few can he 
 
 lings, he shall be adjudged guilty of felony 
 without benefit of clergy. 22 Charles II. 
 c. 5. The treasurer, comptroller, surveyor, 
 clerk of the acts, or any commissioner of the 
 navy, may act as justices in causing the offen- 
 der to be apprehended, committed, and pro- 
 secuted for the same. 9 George III. c. 30. 
 If any person shall wilfully and maliciously 
 set on fire, burn, or destroy any of his 
 Majesty’s military, naval, or victualling 
 stores, or other amnwinition of war, or any 
 place, where any such stores or ammunition 
 shall be kept; he and his abettors shall be 
 guilty of felony without benefit of clergy. 
 12 George III. c. 24. None but the con- 
 tractors with the commissioners of the navy 
 shall make any stores of war, naval stores, 
 with the marks commonly used to his Ma- 
 jesty’s stores, upon pain of forfeiting two 
 hundred pounds. And persons in whose 
 custody such' stores shall be found con- 
 cealed, are liable to the same penalty. 
 Satute 9 and 10 William III. c. 41. 
 
 Justices may mitigate the penalty of con- 
 cealing stores ; statute 9 George I. c. 8. 
 Justices of assize and quarter-sessions may 
 hear and determine offences relating to 
 stores ; statute 17 George II. c. 40. 
 
 STORK. See Ardea. 
 
 STOWAGE, in naval affairs, the gene- 
 ral disposition of the several materials con- 
 tained in a ship’s hold, with regard to theif 
 figure, magnitude, or solidity. 
 
 STRAKE^, in the sea language, signify 
 the uniform ranges of planks on the bottom, 
 decks, and sides of ships; and the garboard 
 strake is that next the keel. 
 
 STRAND, signifies any shore of the 
 sea, or bank of a great river ; hence an im- 
 munity from paying customs on goods or 
 vessels, was anciently expressed by strand 
 and stream. 
 
 STRANDED, among seamen, is said of 
 a ship that is driven ashore by a tempest, 
 or runs on ground through ill steerage, and 
 so perishes. Where any vessel is stranded, 
 
 known to us at any rate ; those that lie near 
 the centre, or even a great way from it, 
 being for ever hid. One reason why we 
 cannot penetrate to any great depth is, 
 that as we go down, the air becomes foul, 
 loaded with pernicious vapours, inflamma- 
 ble air, fixed air, &c. wliich destroy the 
 miners, and there is no possibility of going 
 on. In many places, however, these va-' 
 pours become pernicious much sooner than 
 in others, particularly where sulphureous 
 minerals abound, as in mines of metal, coal, 
 &c. But however great differences there 
 may be among the under strata, the upper 
 one is in some respects the same all over 
 the globe, at least in this respect, that it is 
 fit for the support of vegetables, which the 
 others are not, without long exposure to 
 the air. Properly speaking, indeed, the 
 upper stratum of the earth all round is com- 
 posed of the pure vegetable mould, though 
 in many places it is mixed with large quan- 
 tities of other strata, as clay, sand, gravel, 
 &c. and hence proceed the differences of 
 soils, so well known to those who practise 
 agriculture. It has been supposed by some 
 naturalists, that the different strata, of which 
 the earth is composed, were originally form- 
 ed at the creation, and have continued in a 
 manner immutable ever since : but this can- 
 not possibly have been the case, since we 
 find that many of the strata are strangely 
 intermixed with each other ; the bones of 
 animals, both marine and terrestrial, are fre- 
 quently found at great depths in the earth ; 
 beds of oyster shells are found of immense 
 extent in several countries ; and concerning 
 these and other shell-fish, it is remarkable, 
 that they are generally found much further 
 from the surface than the bones or teeth 
 either of marine or terrestrial animals. 
 
 Neither are the shells or other remains of 
 fish found in those countries adjoining to 
 the seas w'here they grow naturally, but in 
 the most distant regions. Mr. Whitehurst, 
 in his Inquiry into the Original State ifnd 
 
STR 
 
 Formation of the Earth, has given an ac- 
 count of many diti'erent kinds of animals, 
 wliose shells and other remains, or exiivim, 
 are found in England ; though at present 
 the living animals are not to be found, ex- 
 cept in the East or West Indies. Nothing 
 has more perplexed tliose who undertake to 
 form theories of the earth than these ap- 
 pearances. Some have at once boldly as- 
 serted, from these apd other phenomena, 
 that the world is eternal. Others have had 
 recourse to the universal deluge. Some, 
 ♦mong whom is the Count de BuflFon, en- 
 deavour to prove that the ocean and dry 
 land are perpetually changing places ; that 
 for many ages (he highest mountains have 
 been covered with water, in consequence 
 of which the marine animals just mentioned 
 were generated in such vast quantities; 
 that the waters will again cover these moun- 
 tains, the habitable part of the earth be- 
 come sea, and the sea become dry land as 
 before, &c. Others have imagined, that 
 they might be occasioned by volcanoes,^ 
 earthquakes, &c. which confound the dif- 
 ferent strata, and often iptermix the pro- 
 ductions of the sea with those of the dry 
 land. 
 
 STRATIOTES, in botany, a genus of 
 the Dioecia Dodecandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Palm®. Hydrocharides, 
 Jussieu. Essential character ; spa the two- 
 leaved; perianth superior, trifid; petals 
 three; beriy six-celled. There are three 
 species. The stratiotes, water aloe, or wa- 
 ter soldier, is a stoloniferous plant, and 
 truly perennial, though each root flowers 
 but once, as in some species of saxifraga, 
 sempervivum, &c, The parent plgnt, root- 
 ed in the mud at the bottom of the ditch, 
 after floweying, sends out buds of leaves at 
 the end of long runners, which rise to the 
 surface, form roots, flower, and then sink 
 to the bottom, where they take hold of the 
 mud, sometimes ripen their seeds, and al- 
 ways become in their turn the parents of 
 another race of young offsets. 
 
 STRELITZIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Charlotte, Queen of Great Bri- 
 tain, of the family of Mecklenburgh Stre- 
 litz, an illustrious patroness of the science 
 of botany, a genus of the Pentandria Mo- 
 nogynia class and order, Natural order of 
 Scitamine®, Mus®, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : spathes universal and partial ; 
 calyx none; corolla thvee-petalled ; nec- 
 tary tiuee-leaved, involving the gentials; 
 capsule three-celled ; cells many-seeded. 
 There are two species, viz. S, regiij®, canna- 
 
 STR 
 
 leaved strelitzia, and S. augusta. Tiiesa 
 plants are natives of the Cape of Good 
 Hope ; they were introduced and named 
 by Sir Joseph Banks. 
 
 STRENGTH, in physiology, the same 
 with force. 
 
 Men may apply their strength several 
 ways in working a machine. A man of or- 
 dinary strength, turning a roller by the 
 handle, can act for a Whole day against a 
 resistance equal to thirty pounds weight; 
 and if he w'orks ten hours a day, he will 
 raise a weight of thirty pounds through 
 three feet and a half in a second of time ; 
 or if the weight be greater, he will raise it 
 so much less in proportion. But a man 
 may act, for a small time, against a resist- 
 ance of fifty pounds or more. If two men 
 work at a windlass, or roller, they can more 
 easily draw up severity pounds, than one 
 man can thirty pounds, provided the elbow 
 of one of the handles be at right angles to 
 that of the other. And with a fly, or heavy 
 wheel, applied to it, a man may do one- 
 third part more work; and for a little 
 white he can act with a force' or overcome 
 a continual resistance, of eighty pounds ; and 
 work a whole day when the resistance is but 
 forty pounds. Men used to bear loads, such 
 as porters, will carry, some one hundred and 
 fifty pounds, others two hundred or two 
 hundred and fifty pounds, according to 
 their strength. A man can draw but about 
 seventy or eighty pounds horizontally ; for 
 he can but apply about half his weight. If 
 the weight of a man be one hundred and 
 forty pounds, he can act with no greater 
 force in thrusting horizontally, at the height 
 of his shoulders, than twenty seven pounds. 
 
 As to horses : a horse is, generally speak- 
 ing, as strong as live men. A horse will 
 carry two hundred and forty or two hun- 
 dred and, seventy pounds. A horse draws 
 to greatest advantage when the line of di- 
 rection is a little elevated above the hori- 
 zon, and the power acts against his breast ; 
 and he can draw two hundred pounds for 
 eight hours a day, at two miles and a half 
 an hour. If he draw two hundred and forty 
 pounds, he can work but six hours, and not 
 go quite so fast. And in both cases, if he 
 carries some weight, he will draw the bet- 
 ter for it. And this is the weight a horse is 
 supposed to be able to draw over a pulley 
 out of a well, But in a cart, a hoise may 
 draw one thousand pounds, or even double 
 that weight, or a ton weight, or more. As 
 the most force a horse can exert, is when 
 he draws a little above the horizontal posi- 
 
STR 
 
 iion; so the worst -way of applying the 
 strength of a liorse, is to make him carry or 
 draw up hill; and three men on a steep 
 hill, carrying each one hundred pounds, will 
 climb up faster than a horse with three 
 hundred pounds. Also, though a horse 
 may draw in a round walk of eighteen feet 
 diameter ; yet such a walk should not be 
 less than twenty-five or thirty feet dia- 
 meter. 
 
 STREPTIUM, in botany, a genus of tlie 
 Didynamia Angiospennia class and order. 
 Essential character : caly.K five-tooth.ed ; 
 stigma two-lipped ; drupe two lobed, each 
 lobe bipartile. There is but one species, 
 viz. S. asperura, this plant has a w'oody, 
 perennial, short, irregular stem ; branches 
 opposite, exactly four-sided, rough ; the 
 height of the whole plant is from two to 
 four feet ; leaves opposite, petioled, covered 
 with stiff hooked hairs, from one to three 
 inches long, and from one to two broad ; 
 raceme terminating, or in the cleft of the 
 exterior branchlets, erect, long; rachis 
 four-seeded, rough ; bractes solitary, one- 
 flowered. Flowers towards the bottom of 
 the raceme, remote ; above approximated, 
 small, white. This plant was found by Dr. 
 Roxburgh only in the vicinity of Samul- 
 cottah, on the terraces of the old wall of 
 pagodas. It flowers during the wet and 
 cold seasons ; when young it is a fair look- 
 ing plant. The Telingas call it obeera. 
 
 STRIKE, a measure of capacity, con- 
 taining four bushels. 
 
 Strike, among seamen, is a word vari- 
 ously used : when a ship, in a tight, or on 
 meeting with a ship of war, lets down or 
 lowers her top sails, at least half-mast 
 Iiigh, they say she strikes, meaning she 
 yields or submits-, or pays respect to the 
 ship of war. Also, when a ship touches 
 ground, in shoal water, they say she strikes. 
 And when a top-mast is to be taken down, 
 the word of command is, strike the top- 
 mast, &c. 
 
 STRIX; the owl, in natural history, a 
 genus of birds of the order Accipitres. Ge- 
 neric character : the bill hooked, but not 
 furnished with a cere ; nostrils oblong, co- 
 vered with bristly feathers ; head, eyes, 
 and ears particularly large ; tongue bifid ; 
 claws hooked and sharp. Birds of this ge- 
 nus are rapacious. They are seldom seen 
 by day, secluding themselves in the hollows 
 of trees and buildings, and unable, from the 
 particular structure of the eye, to endure 
 the glare of sunshine. When they do ap- 
 pear in the day, they are pursued and per- 
 
 STR 
 
 secuted by a variety of small birds, wllb 
 combine in their expressions of ridicule 
 and aversion, and soon oblige them to re- 
 cur again to their retreat. During the sea- 
 son of general repose, they are active in 
 quest of food, which in darkness they per- 
 ceive with facility, and disturb the silence 
 of night by loud and reiterated screams. 
 Their usual prey consists of bats, mice, and 
 small birds. Latham enumerates forty, and 
 Ginelin fifty species. The following are the 
 principal ; 
 
 S. bubo, or the great eared owl, is nearly 
 of the size of an eagle, and generally inha- 
 bits sequestered and mountainous situations, 
 and the clefts and caverns of rocks, rarely 
 perching upon trees, or seen in the plains. 
 Its nest is nearly three feet in diameter, 
 and its young are seldom more than two, for 
 which it provides extreme plenty and vari- 
 ety. It lives on rats, frogs, and snakes, 
 which it swallows intire, and leverets and 
 rabbits, which it tears to pieces. The hair 
 is thrown up in small balls from the sto- 
 mach, and many of these may be seen in 
 the places of its favourite residence. It is 
 very rare in England. In Italy it has been 
 trained in the manner of the hawk. 
 
 S. otus, or the long-eared owl, is four- 
 teen inches long, and is common both in 
 France and England. It haunts moun- 
 tainous districts and ruined buildings, and 
 rarely builds a nest, generally occupying 
 that of the buzzard or magpie, 
 
 S. brachyotus, or the short-eared owl, is 
 about the size of the last, and is distin- 
 guished by the smallness of its upright tufts, 
 or eai-s, which, after its death, are scarcely 
 perceivable, and when the bird is frighted 
 are considerably depressed ; but when it is 
 at ease are clearly perceivable, and in an 
 erect state. Its colour is of a dark brown. 
 It is one of the most beautiful, or least dis- 
 gusting of the genus ; is often seen in small 
 companies, and sometimes in a flock of 
 more than twenty, and lives chiefly on 
 mice, which it watches with all the acuter 
 ness and perseverance of a domestic cat, 
 
 S. flammea, or the vi'hite owl, is fourteen 
 inches long, and is frequently observable ip 
 ruined and deserted buildings, though in 
 towns of great population and , extent. 
 These it quits by night in search of prey, 
 consisting of mice and birds. It is deno- 
 minated the screech owl, from the utterance 
 of a screaming and terrific noise, which is 
 peculiar to it, and is distinguished also by a 
 snoring sound during its sleep. 
 
 S. passerina, or the little owl, is some 
 
STR 
 
 times found in France, apd is seldom met 
 with in woods, preferring rocks and decayed 
 buildings. It is distinguished by its acti- 
 vity and clear sightedness during the day, 
 in which it will follow swallows in chase, 
 though rarely, if ever, with success. Small 
 birds in general constitute part of its food, 
 and rats and mice form its principal de- 
 pendence, but are necessarily torn to pieces 
 by it, as its size is small, and its length 
 does not exceed eight inches. 
 
 STROBILUS, in botany, signifies a 
 cone, a species of seed vessel composed of 
 woody scales, which are placed against one 
 another, and split only at top, being fixed 
 below to an axis which occupies the centre 
 of the cone. This botanical tei m is exem- 
 plified in the pine, cypress, fir, and other 
 cone-bearing plants. 
 
 STROMATEUS, the stromat, in natural 
 history, a genus of fishes of the order 
 Apodes. Generic character : head com- 
 pressed ; teeth in the palate as well as 
 jaws; body oval, broad, and slippery; tail 
 forked. There are three species, "s. fix- 
 tola, or striped stromat, is an inhabitant of 
 the Mediterranean. Its colour, on the 
 upper parts; is blue, and that of the sides 
 and abdomen of a brilliant silver colour, and 
 its body is transversely marked by serpen- 
 tine lines of gold ; its lips are red, and two 
 lateral lines appear on each side of the 
 back, that nearest the top being curved. 
 
 The paru stromat is about as large as a 
 turbot, and is found in the American seas, 
 is of a bright gold colour on the upper, and 
 silver on the lower parts of its body. It is 
 in high estimation for the table. 
 
 The ash-coloured stromat is of the length 
 of a foot, inhabits the Indian seas, and is 
 valued as a high delicacy. Its bones are 
 little more than cartilages. The largest 
 fishes of this species are generally deemed 
 the best. 
 
 STRONTITE.S, or .Strontian, in mi- 
 neralogy, is cf a green colour ; it occurs 
 sometimes massive and sometimes crys- 
 tallized. This earth was not discovered 
 till about tlie year 1791 or 1792. Dr. 
 Crawford, indeed, previously to this period, 
 in making some experiments on what he 
 supposed was a carbonate of barytes, and 
 observing a striking difference between 
 this mineral, and the carbonate of barytes 
 which he had been accustomed to employ, 
 conjectured that it might contain a new 
 earth ; and he sent a specimen to Mr. 
 Kirwan for the purpose of analyzing it. This 
 conjecture was fully verified by the experi- 
 ments of Dr. Hope, Mr. Kirwan, and 
 
 STR 
 
 M. Klaproth, who were all engaged in the 
 same analysis nearly about the same time. 
 This earth is found native in combination 
 with carbonic and sulphuric acids. With the 
 former it is found in considerable quantity 
 in the lead mines of Strontian in Argylshire, 
 from which it has derived its name stron- 
 tite.s ; or strontian, as it is called by others ; 
 here it occurs with lead-glance, heavy-spar, 
 &c. The nature and properties- of this earth 
 have beenstill further investigated by Pelle- 
 tier, Fourcroy, and Vauquelin. This earth 
 may be obtained in a state of pmity, either 
 by exposing the carbonate of strontites 
 mixed with charcoal powder, to a strong 
 heat, by which the carbonic acid is driven 
 off; or, by dissolving the native salt in 
 nitric acid, and decomposing the nitrate of 
 strontites thus formed, by heat. Strontites 
 obtained by either of these processes, is in 
 small porous fragments of a greenish white 
 colour. It has an acrid, hot, alkaline taste, 
 and converts vegetable blues to green. The 
 specific gravity is from 3.4 to 3-6. Light 
 has no perceptible action upon this earth. 
 When it is exposed to heat, it may be kept 
 a long time, even in a red heat, without un- 
 dergoing any change, or even the appear- 
 ance of fusion. By the action of the 
 blow-pipe it is not melted, but is surround- 
 ed with a very brilliant white flame. AVhen 
 a little water is thrown on strontites, it ex- 
 hibits the same appearance as barytes. It 
 is slaked, gives out heat, and then falls to 
 powder. If a greater quantity of water be 
 added, it is dissolved. According to Kla- 
 proth it requires 200 parts of water at the 
 ordinary temperature of the atmosphere for 
 its solution. Boiling water dissolves it in 
 greater quantity, and when the solution 
 cools, it aflbrds transparent crystals. These 
 crystals are in the form of rhomboidal 
 plates, or in that of flattened silky needles 
 or compressed prisms. They effloresce in 
 the air, and have an acrid hot taste. The 
 solution of this earth in water is acrid and 
 alkaline, and converts vegetable blues to 
 green. It is''soon covered with a pellicle, 
 by absorbing carbonic acid from the at- 
 mosphere. Strontites has the property of 
 communicating a purple or red carmine 
 colour to flame. Specimens have been 
 analyzed by various chemists who have ob- 
 tained diflerent results ; according to- Kla- 
 proth the constituent parts are, 
 
 Strontites 69.5 
 
 Carbonic acid 30.0 
 
 Water 5 
 
 100 
 
STR 
 
 STRONGILUS, in natural history, a 
 gemts of the Vermes Intestina class and 
 order. Body round, long, pellucid, gla- 
 brous ; the fore-part globular, truncate, 
 with a circular aperture fringed at the mar- 
 gin ; the hind part of the female entire and 
 pointed, of the male dilated into loose, dis- 
 tant, pellucid membranes. There are two 
 species, uiis. S. equinus, and S. ovinus ; the 
 latter is found in the intestines of sheep ; 
 the former has an opaque head, and a 
 black intestine, it inliabits the stomach of 
 the h.orse. in great numbers ; the male is of 
 a pale yellow, with a fine yellowish mem- 
 brane covering the intestines ; the tail is 
 three-leaved witli a small spine or two; 
 female with white filiform vesicles surround- 
 ing the intestines. 
 
 STROP, in naval affairs, a piece of rope, 
 spliced generally into a circular wreath, and 
 used to surround the body of a block, so 
 that the latter may be hung to any particu- 
 lar situation about the masts, yards, or 
 rigging. Strops are also used to fasten 
 upon any large rope for the purpose of 
 hooking a tackle to the eye of the strop, in 
 order to extend, or pnll with redoubled 
 effort upon the same rope. 
 
 STROPHE, in ancient poetrj', a certain 
 number of verses, including a perfect sense, 
 and making the first part of an ode. AVhat 
 the couplet is in songs, and the stanza in 
 epic poetry, the strophe is in odes. 
 
 STRUMPPIA, hi botany, so named in 
 memory of Christopher Car. Strumpff, pro- 
 fessor of Chemistry and botany at Halle in 
 Magdeburgh, a genus of the Syngenesia 
 Monogamia class and order. Natural order 
 of Compositae Numentace®. Essential 
 character : calyx five-toothed, superior ; 
 corolla five-petalled ; berry one-seeded. 
 There is only one species, viz. S. maritima. 
 It is a native of Curacoa, on rocks by the 
 coast. 
 
 STRUTHIO, the ostrich, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Gallin®. 
 Generic character : the bill straight, de- 
 pressed, like that of a duck, and rounded at 
 the end ; wings short, and unfit for flight ; 
 legs naked above tiie knee ; two toes 
 placed forward. Gmelin enumerates four 
 species of tliis genus, several of which have 
 characters not a little dissimilar in some 
 points, and such as have induced Brisson 
 and Latham to adopt a different arrange- 
 ment. Having noticed this circumstance, 
 Vve sliall adhere to the Linnman system. 
 S. camelus, or tlie blacK ostrich, is about 
 eigiit feet long, and when erect, measures 
 
 STR 
 
 about seven feet, and sometimes eight in 
 height. One was exhibited in London in 
 1750, weighing three hundred pounds. It 
 is found in various parts of Africa, and 
 about the Cape of Good Hope is particu- 
 larly abundant. In the parts of Asia, near 
 Africa, it is also met with. The idea of 
 these birds burying their eggs in the sand, 
 where the suu brings them to maturity, is 
 contradicted by Kollren, who states, that 
 he has driven the ostrich from its nest innu- 
 merable, times to procure its eggs for food, 
 adding, that these constitute a most excel- 
 lent repast, and that one is sufficient for 
 four moderate persons. The ostrich subsists 
 entirely on vegetable productions, but will 
 'swallow, occasionally, the most hard and 
 even sharp and pointed substances. Iron, and 
 various other metals, and even glass, have 
 often been found in its stomach, and have 
 unquestionably often proved fatal. It is re- 
 lated upon respectable authority, that an 
 ostrich will carry a man upon its back, and 
 move with very considerable speed ; some ■ 
 make the same remark with respect to two 
 men. When nninciimbered by any burden, 
 its speed is truly extraordinary, and will ex- 
 ceed, in some instances, the ordinary rapi- 
 dity of a horse. Ostriches are taken by 
 the natives near the Cape, after a pursuit 
 of two or three days, from mere exhaustion, 
 tlirough wliich they suffer themselves to be 
 destroyed merely by clubs. Dogs are 
 sometimes employed to liunt them down, 
 followed by men on horseback, w'ho con- 
 trive, by means of a long hooked staff, to 
 lay hold of one of the legs of the bird, and 
 thus bring it to tlie ground. Sometimes 
 tliey are approached and destroyed by the 
 stratagem of advancing against them in 
 one of the skins of their own species. They 
 are applied to various purposes. Their 
 feathers form an admirable ornament for 
 tlie ladies ; their skins are of sufficient 
 thickness to be manufactured for the pur- 
 poses of leather; the fat part of their bo- 
 dies is in higli, but perhaps fanciful, estima- 
 tion in many parts for paralytic and rheu- 
 matic complaints ; even tlieir eggs are used 
 as goblets, and, if some authors may be cre- 
 dited, young ostriches constitute an agree- 
 able variety for tlie table. See Aves, 
 Plate XIV. fig. 1. 
 
 S. casnarliis, or tlie galeated cassowary, is 
 nearly equal in magnitude to tlie ostrich, 
 but lias a much sliorter neck, and therefore 
 is greatly inferior in height. On the top of 
 its head is a species of lielmet tiiree inches 
 high and one thick at the base. Each 
 
STR 
 
 wing, or what appears as such, is destitute 
 of feathers, and has five bare shafts like 
 those of a porcupine, and the body is co- 
 vered with loose webbed feathers of a 
 rusty black colour. It is never found be- 
 yond the tropical limiti, and is no where 
 abundant within them. It is unable to fly, 
 but runs with great speed, and though it 
 lives only on vegetables and fruits, which it 
 is said to swallow unbroken ; it is coura- 
 geous, and even sometimes ferocious, and 
 employs its legs to annoy its adversary by 
 kicking. 
 
 C. Nova Hollandia, or the N’ew Holland 
 cassow'ary, is very similar to the above, but 
 considerably longer. 
 
 C. rhea, or the American ostrich, is 
 stated to Ijave been seen by various tra- 
 vellers, but no specimen appears to have 
 been received in this country. It is said to 
 be most numerous in the valleys of the 
 Andes. It subsists partly on fruits, but 
 refuses scarcely any thing that is thrown to 
 it, however inconvenient and pernicious to 
 it. Its favourite food consists of flies, in 
 taking which it is peculiarly active and 
 skilful. Each of its eggs is supposed to 
 contain two pounds of fluid, and it lays be- 
 tween fifty and sixty of these. It calls its 
 young ones by a sound extremely re- 
 sembling the whistle of a human being, and 
 defends itself by kicking. Its feathers are 
 in high estimation among the Indians for the 
 ejnbellishraent of their persons, and are 
 used in forming ornamental coverings for 
 «hade. 
 
 STRUTHIOLA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Veprecuculaj. Thymelaese, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla none ; 
 calyx tubular, with eight glands at the 
 mouth ; berry juiceless, one-seeded. There 
 are five species, all natives of the southern 
 promontory of Africa. 
 
 STRYCHNOS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Lurid®. Apocine®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : corolla five- 
 parted ; berry one-celled, with a woody 
 rind. There are three species, we shall 
 notice the S. nux vomica, poison nut. It is 
 a native of the East Indies, and is common 
 in almost every part of the coast of Coro- 
 mandel, flowering during the cold season. 
 The wood is hard and durable, and is used 
 for many purposes by , the natives. The 
 root is used to cure intermitting fevers, and 
 the bites of venomous snakes. The seed of 
 the fruit is the ofiicinal nux vomica ; it is 
 
 STU 
 
 about an inch broad, and nearly a qTOrtef 
 of an inch thick, covered with a kind of 
 woolly matter; internally it is tough and 
 hard, like horn ; to the taste extremely 
 bitter, but having no remarkable smeH ; it 
 consists chiefly of a gummy matter, the re- 
 sinous part is very inconsiderable. Nux vo- 
 mica is reckoned amongst the most power- 
 ful poisons of the narcotic kind ; it proves 
 fatal to dogs in a very short time. Loureiro 
 relates that a horse died within a quarter of 
 an hour after taking an infusion in wine of 
 the seeds in an half ro.asted state. 
 
 STUARTIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monadelphia Polyandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Columnifer®. Tiliace®, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx sim- 
 ple ; style simple, with a five-cleft stigma ; 
 pome juiceless, five-lobed, one-seeded, open- 
 ing five ways. There are two species, uiz. 
 S. malacodendron, and S. pentagyna, both 
 natives of Virginia. 
 
 STUDDING sails, are those which are 
 extended in moderate and steady breezes 
 beyond the skirts of the principal sails, 
 where they appear as wings to the yard- 
 arms. 
 
 STURNUS, the stare, or starling, in na- 
 tural history, a genus of birds of the or- 
 der Passeres. Generic character : the bill 
 strait and depressed; nostrils surrounded 
 and protected by a prominent rim ; tongue 
 hard and cloven ; middle toe joined to the 
 outermost, as far as the first joint. There 
 are seventeen species, of which we shall no- 
 tice the following. 
 
 S. vulgaris, the common starling, weighs 
 about three ounces, and is well known near- 
 ly throughout the old world. It builds in 
 rocks, houses, and the hollows of the trunks 
 of trees ; but rarely on the branches, unless 
 when availing itself of the deserted nest of 
 some other bird. In winter, starlings are 
 seen in immense multitudes, in company 
 with several other British birds, especially 
 fieldfares and red-wings, and their flight is 
 particularly marked by whirling, and nearly 
 circular, movements, which, while they ex- 
 tremely delay their actual progress, do not 
 absolutely prevent it. They assemble in the 
 mornings to make their excursions for food, 
 which consists of worms and insects, re- 
 turning to their stations in the evening, and, 
 at both seasons, exhibiting extraordinary 
 tumult and clamour. In confinement, they 
 eat with avidity pieces of raw meat, and, 
 in a state of nature, they are supposed to 
 proper animal food to vegetable, recurring 
 to the last only when the former is. not 
 
STY 
 
 bfe found. Tliey are extremely docile and 
 mimetic, and may be taught, not merely a 
 great variety of sounds, but 'even words and 
 phrases. 
 
 STYLE, a word of various significations, 
 originally deduced from a kind of bodkin, 
 wherewith the ancients wrote on plates of 
 lead, or on wax, &c. and which is still used 
 to write on ivory leaves, and paper pre- 
 pared for that purpose, ficc. 
 
 Style, in dialling, denotes the gnomon 
 or cock of a dial, raised on the plane there- 
 of, to project a shadow. 
 
 Style, in botany, is a part of the pistil 
 of plants, and is of various figures, but al- 
 ways placed on the germen : it gives origin 
 to the stigma. 
 
 Style, in matters of language, a particu- 
 lar manner of expressing one’s thoughts 
 agreeably to the rules of syntax ; or, the 
 manner wherein the words, constructed ac- 
 cording to the laws of syntax, are arranged 
 among themselves, suitably to tlie genus of 
 the language. 
 
 STYLEPHORUS, in natural history, a 
 genus of fishes of the order Apodes. Ge- 
 neric character : eyes pedunculated, stand- 
 ing on a short, thick cylinder ; snout 
 lengthened, directed upwards, retractile to- 
 wards the head, by means of a membrane ; 
 month without teeth; three pair of branchi® 
 beneath the throat ; pectoral fins small ; 
 dorsal extending completely along the 
 back ; caudal short, with spiny rays ; body 
 very long and compressed. There is only 
 one species of this wonderful genus, which 
 was first described towards the close of the 
 last century. 
 
 S. chordatus is a native of the West In- 
 dia seas, and is nearly three feet in length, 
 including the process at the end of the tail, 
 which is about twenty inches. For a mi- 
 nute description of this singular animal, 
 which was taken swimming near the sur- 
 face of the water, between Cuba and Mar- 
 tinique, the “ Linnaean Transactions or 
 “ Naturalist’s Miscellany,” may be consulted 
 with satisfaction. 
 
 STYLUS, in botany, the slender part of 
 the pistillum, resembling a pillar, which 
 stands upon the seed-bud, and elevates the 
 stigma. The number of styles, generally 
 speaking, is equal to tliat of the seed-buds, 
 each seed-bud being furnished with its own 
 particular style. The style either falls with 
 the other parts of the flower, or accompa- 
 nies the fruit to maturity. 
 
 STOPTIC, in pharmacy, medicines 
 
 SUB 
 
 tyhich, by their, astringent qualities, stop 
 hsemorrhages. 
 
 STYRAX, in botany, storax, a gc-nus of 
 the Decandria Monogynia class and or^er. 
 Natural order of Bicornes. Guaiacanac, 
 Jussieu. Essential character ; calyx infe- 
 rior 5 corolla funnel-form ; drupe two-seed- 
 ed. There are four species, the most re- 
 markable of which is the S. benzoin, ben- 
 zoin storax, or benjamin tree, as it is cor- 
 ruptly Called, is of quick growth, rising to a 
 considerable height; jt is deemed, in Suma- 
 tra, which is its native country, to be of 
 sufficient age in six years, or when tlie 
 trunk is about seven or eight inches in dia- 
 meter, to alford the benzoin ; the bai'k is 
 then cut through longitudinally, at the be- 
 ginning of the principal lower branches, 
 from which (he drug exudes in a liquid 
 state, and by exposure to the sun and air, 
 soon concretes, when it is scraped off from 
 the bark with a knife or chissel. The quan- 
 tity which one tree affords, never exceed* 
 three pounds ; nor are the trees found to 
 sustain the effects of these annual incisions 
 longer than ten or twelve years. The ben- 
 zoin which issues first from the wounded 
 bark is the purest, being soft, extremely 
 fragrant, and very white ; that which is less 
 esteemed is of a brownish colour, hard, and 
 mixed with various impurities. In Arabia, 
 Persia, and other parts of the East, the 
 coarser sort is consumed in fumigating and 
 perfuming the temples, and in destroying 
 insects. 
 
 SUBALTERN, a subordinate officer, or 
 one who discharges his post under the com- 
 mand, and subject to the direction of, ano- 
 ther: such are lieutenants, sub-lieutenants, 
 cornets, and ensigns, who serve under the 
 captain ; but custom has now appropriated 
 the term to those of much lower rank, as 
 Serjeants and the like. We also say, subal- 
 tern courts, jurisdictions, &c. such are those’ 
 of inferior lords, with regard to the lord pa- 
 ramount; hundred courts, w'ith regard to 
 county-courts, &c. 
 
 SUBCONTRARY position, in geometry^ 
 is when two similar triangles are so placed 
 as to have one common angle at the vertex, 
 and yet their bases not parallel. 
 
 SUBDUPLE ratio, is when any number 
 or quantity is contained in another twice : 
 thus 3 is said to be subduple of 6, as 6 is 
 duple of 3. 
 
 SUBDUPLICATE ratio, of any two 
 quantities is the ratio of their square roots. 
 This the opposite to the duplicate, which is 
 the ratio of the squares ; thus if the quanti- 
 
 / 
 
SUB 
 
 ties be a and b, the duplicate ratio is «* ; 6* j 
 but the subduplicate ratio is s/ a: -/b. 
 
 SUBER, or'SuBERic acid, in chemistry. 
 The vegetable substance denoted by the 
 name of suber is the epidermis, or outer co- 
 vering of trees. This substance is analo- 
 gous to common cork, which is the epider- 
 mis of the querciis suber, from which the 
 name of this peculiar vegetable substance 
 is derived. It is a light, soft, elastic sub- 
 stance, is insoluble in water, but readily ab- 
 sorbs tliis liquid. Common cork is the 
 same substance, having greater density, and 
 accumulated in greater quantity. This mat- 
 ter is very combustible, and burns with a 
 white, vivid flame, leaving behind a very 
 black, light, voluminous, coaly matter. 
 When this matter is distilled, it yields am- 
 monia. AVhen cork is treated with nitric 
 acid, carbonic acid gas and nitrous gas, are 
 evolved. The cork is decomposed, and 
 converted, partly into a yellow, soft, unc- 
 tuous matter, which swims on the surface, 
 and partly into suberic acid ; the nature 
 and properties of which have been already 
 described. See Cork, where will be found 
 qn account of the Suberic acid, Suber- 
 
 ivTES, &C. 
 
 SUBLIMATION, in chemistry, a pro- 
 cess by which certain volatile substances 
 are raised by heat, and again condensed by 
 cold into a solid form. Thus sulphur, ex- 
 posed to heat in close vessels, is volatilized 
 or sublimed in the form of very white pow- 
 der, known by the name of “ flowers of sul- 
 phur.” The formation of soot in our chim- 
 neys is another instance of sublimation. 
 Benzoin, sublimated, gives flowers of ben- 
 zoin, a very beautiful substance, which is 
 now more properly called benzoic acid. 
 Sublimation may be performed, in many 
 cases, with common flasks; thus if a small 
 quantity of sal ammoniac is put into a flask, 
 and heat applied to it, the entire salt ri.ses 
 in the form of white smoke, and condenses 
 in the upper part of the flask, in the form 
 of minute crystalline particles, which is a 
 sublimate. 
 
 SUBLIME, in discourse, is defined by 
 Boilc-au, to be sometliing extraordinary and 
 surprising, which strikes the soul, and makes 
 a sentiment or composition ravish and tran- 
 sport. 
 
 Lonsinus makes five sources of the sub- 
 lime: the first a certain elevation of the 
 mind, which makes ns think happily: the 
 second is the pathetic, or that natural vehe- 
 mence and enthusiasm which strikes and 
 
 SUB 
 
 moves us ; these two are wholly owing to 
 nature, and must be born with us ; whereas 
 the rest depend partly on art : the third is 
 the turning of figures in a certain manner, 
 both those of thoughts and of speech: the 
 fourth, nobleness of expression ; which con- 
 sists of two parts, the choice of words, and 
 the elegant figurative diction : the fifth, 
 which includes, all the rest, is the composi- 
 tion and arrangement of the words in all 
 their magnificence and dignity. 
 
 SUBMULTIPLE, in geometry, &c. A 
 submuitiple number, or quantity, is that 
 which is contained a certain number of 
 times in another, and which therefore, re- 
 peated a certain number of times, becomes 
 exactly equal thereto : thus 3 is a submul- 
 tiple of 21 ; in which sense submultiple 
 coincides with an aliquot part. 
 
 SuBMULTiPUE ratio, is that between the 
 quantity contained and the quantity con- 
 taining: thus the ratio of 3 to 21 is submul- 
 tiple. In both cases submultiple is the re- 
 verse of multiple, 21, e. g. being a multiple 
 of 3, and fl'e ratio of ,21 to 3 a multiple 
 ratio. 
 
 SUBNORMAL, in geometry, a line 
 w’hich determines the point in the axis of a 
 curve, where a normal, or perpendicular, 
 raised from the point of contact of a tan- 
 gent to the curve, cuts the axis. Or the 
 subnormal is a line which determihes the 
 point wherein the axis is cut by a line fall- 
 ing perpendicularly on the tangent in the 
 point of the contact : 
 
 SUBPOENA, is a writ whereby all per- 
 sons under the degree of peers are called 
 into Chancery, in such case oidy where the 
 common law fails, and has made no provi- 
 sion ; so as the party who in equity hath 
 wrong, can have no other remedy by the 
 rules and course of common law. It is, 
 therefore, the commencement of a suit in 
 equity. But the peers of the realm in such 
 cases are called by the Lord Chancellor’s or , 
 Lord Keeper's letters, giving notice of the 
 suit intended against them, and requiring 
 them to appear. There is also a subpoena 
 ad testificandum, or a subpoena to give evi- 
 dence for the summoning of witnesses, as 
 well in Chancery as other courts. There 
 is also a subpoena in the Exchequer, as well 
 in the court of equity there, as in the of- 
 fice of pleas ; which latter is a writ that 
 does not require personal service, and is 
 the commencement of a suit at common 
 law there. 
 
 SUBSTANTIVE, in grammar, a noun, 
 or name, considered simply and in itself, 
 
sue 
 
 without any regard to its qualities, or other 
 accidents, in contradistinction to the noun 
 termed adjective, or that which expresses a 
 certain quality or accident of the noun sub- 
 stantive. See Grammar. 
 
 SUBTRACTION. See Arithmetic 
 and Algebra. 
 
 SUBTANGENT of a curve, in the higher 
 geometry, is the line which determines the 
 intersection of the tangent with the axis ; 
 or that determines the point wherein the 
 tangent cuts the axis prolonged. In any 
 equation, if the value of the subtangent 
 comes out positive, it is a sign that the 
 points of intersection of the tangent and 
 axis fall on that side of the ordinate where 
 the vertex of the curve lies, as in the para- 
 bola and paraboloids ; but if it comes out 
 negative, tlie point of intersection will fall 
 on the contrary side of the ordinate, in re- 
 spect of the vertex, or beginning of the 
 abscissa; as in the hyperbola and hyperbo- 
 liform figures. And universally, in all para- 
 boliforni and hyperboliforni, figures, the 
 subtangent is equal to the exponent of the 
 power of the ordinate, multiplied into the 
 abscissa. See Tangent. 
 
 SUBTENSE, in geometry, the same 
 with the chord of an arch. Hence, the 
 subtense of an angle is a right line supposed 
 to be drawn between the two extremities of 
 the arch that measures that angle. 
 
 SUBTRIPLE Hatio is when one num- 
 ber, or quantity, is contained in another 
 three times ; thus, a is said to be subtriple 
 of 6, as 6 is triple of 2. 
 
 &UBULARIA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Tetradynamia Siliculosa class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Siliquosse or Cruci- 
 formes. Cruciferm, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter : silicle entire, ovate ; valves ovate, 
 concave, contrary to the partition; style 
 shorter than the silicle. There is only one 
 species, viz. S. aquatica, awl-wort, a native 
 of the northern parts of Europe. 
 
 SUCCESSOR, in law, is he who follows 
 or comes in another’s place. An aggregate 
 corporation, or body composed of many 
 persons, may have a fee-simple estate iu 
 succession, without tlie word successors; 
 and take goods and chattels iu action or 
 possession, and they shall go to the succes- 
 sors. 
 
 SUCCINATES. See Succinic acid. 
 SUCCINIC Acid, in chemistry, obtained 
 from the decomposition of amber, was for- 
 merly called volatile salt of amber, and 
 regarded as an alkaline salt. It was not 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 sue 
 
 till towards the end of the seventeeth cen- 
 tury, that its acid properties were disco- 
 vered. See Amber. 
 
 The name of the acid is derived from suc- 
 cinum, the Latin name for amber. It may 
 be obtained by the following process. In- 
 troduce a quantity of amber, in powder, into 
 a retort, and let it be covered with dry sand. 
 Adapt a receiver, and distil with a mode- 
 rate heat in a sand bath. There passes 
 over first a liquid which is of a reddish co- 
 lour, and afterwards a volatile acid salt, 
 which crystallizes in small, white, or yel- 
 lowish needles, in the neck of the retort,; and 
 if the distillation be continued, a white light 
 oil succeeds, which becomes brown, thick, 
 and viscid. The acid which is obtained in 
 this way is contaminated with the oil ; and 
 therefote, to separate this oil, it may' be 
 dissolved in hot water, and passed through 
 a filter, on which has been placed a little 
 cotton moistened with oil of amber, which 
 retains the oil, and prevents it from passing 
 through along with the acid. The acid may 
 then be evaporated and crystallized. The 
 crystals are four-sided, rhomboidal, plates, 
 which, if pure, are white. Their taste is 
 sour, and they redden an infusion of litmus. 
 They are soluble in twenty-four parts of 
 cold water, but in much less of hot. They 
 are soluble also in alcohol. This acid is vo- 
 latile and inflammable : its base is a com- 
 pound of carbon and hydrogen. It com- 
 bines with the alkalies, earths, and metal- 
 lic oxides, forming therewith salts called 
 succinates. Most of these crystallize, as 
 the succinate of potash, soda, lime, &c. but 
 the succinate of magnesia will not crystal- 
 lize, but by evaporation forms a viscid 
 mass. The metallic succinates are likewise 
 soluble and crystallizable. 
 
 SUCCULENTyE, in botany, the name 
 of the thirteenth order in Linnmus’s Frag- 
 ments of a Natural Method, consisting of 
 flat, flesliy, succulent plants, of which the 
 greater part is ever-green : among these 
 are the cactus, Indian fig; sedura, lesser 
 house-leek ; and the saxifrage. 
 
 SUCTION, the act of sucking or draw- 
 ing up a fluid, as air, water, milk, or the 
 like, by means of the mouth and lungs. 
 There are many effects vulgarly attributed 
 to suction, which, in reality, have very dif- 
 ferent causes. As when any one sucks 
 water, or any other liquor, up through a 
 pipe, it is commonly thought, that by that 
 action the person draws the air up into his 
 mouth, and that the water, which is con- 
 T 
 
< SUF 
 
 tiguows to it, follows it by a kind of attrac- 
 tion, as if the air and water hung together; 
 and others fancy, that the air moves into 
 the moutli of the sucker, and the water 
 moves up after the air, to prevent a vacuum, 
 which, they say, nature abhors : whereas 
 the true cause ot this plienomenon is only, 
 that the air or atmosphere presses, with 
 its whole weight, uniformly on the surface 
 of the liquor in the vessel; and, conse- 
 quently, prevents any one part of the water 
 to rise higher than the other there : and if a 
 pipe be put in, of any tolerable large bore, 
 and be open at both ends, the water will 
 rise within the pipe to the same height as 
 without, and, indeed, a little higher, be- 
 cause the pressure of the air within the 
 pipe is a little taken off by bearing against 
 the sides of the pipe. Now when any one 
 applies his mouth to the upper end of the 
 pipe, and sucks, his lips so strongly inclose 
 the pipe, that no air can get between 
 them and it ; and, by the voluntary motion 
 of the muscles, the cavity of his thorax, 
 or breast, is opened and enlarged; by 
 which means the air, included there, hath 
 now a much larger space to dilate itself in, 
 and, consequently, cannot press so strongly 
 against the upper end of the pipe, as it did 
 before the cavity of the thorax was so en- 
 larged, and when the weight of the whole 
 atmosphere kept its spring bent. And 
 that weight or pressure being now taken off 
 by the lips of the man that sucks, the equi- 
 librium is destroyed, the air gravitates on 
 the surface of the water, but cannot do so 
 on the upper orifice of the pipe, because 
 the juncture of the lips takes it off; and 
 the spring of the air included in the thorax, 
 
 ' being weakened by the dilatation of its ca- 
 vity, it cannot press so hard against the up- 
 per orifice of the pipe, as the water will do 
 against the lower, and, consequently, the 
 water must be forced up into the pipe. It 
 is much thq same thing in the suction of a 
 common pump: the sucker being tight, 
 takes off entirely the pressure of the atmos- - 
 phere on the surface of the water within 
 the bai rel of the pump ; and, consequently, 
 the atmosphere, by its weight, must force 
 the water up to, make the equilibrium. 
 
 SUFFERANCE, in law. Tenant at suf- 
 ferance is he who holdeth over his term at 
 first lawfully granted. A person is tenant 
 at sufferance who continues after his estate 
 is ended, and wrongfully holds against an- 
 other. Tenants holding over, after deter- 
 mination of their term, and after demand 
 made in writing to deliver possession, are 
 
 SUG 
 
 rendered liable to pay double the yearly 
 value. And tenants giving notice of their 
 intention to quit, and not accordingly de- 
 livering up the possession at the time in such 
 notice contained, are rendered liable to 
 pay double rent. And it has been held, 
 that under this latter act the notice need 
 not be in writing, and that the landlord 
 may levy his double rent by distress. 
 
 SUFFRAGAN, a titular bishop, ap- 
 pointed to aid and assist the bishop of the 
 diocese. 
 
 SUGAR exists in every part of plants. 
 It is found in the roots, as those of the car- 
 rot and beet root ; in the stems, as in the 
 birch, the maple, some palms, and espe- 
 cially the sugar cane ; in the leaves, as those 
 of the ash ; in the flowers, the fruits, and 
 seeds. But the sugar, which now forms a 
 very extensive article of commerce, and 
 may be considered as a necessary of life, 
 is entirely obtained from the juice of the 
 sugar cane, which is chiefly cultivated in 
 tlie East and West Indies, by planting cut- 
 tings of it in the ground in furrows, dug pa- 
 rallel for that purpose ; the cuttings are 
 laid level and even, and are covered up with 
 earth ; they soon shoot out new plants from 
 their knots or joints ; the ground is to be 
 kept clear, at times, fi-om weeds, and the 
 canes grow quick. When the plants have 
 arrived at their full growth, which, in the 
 West Indies, is in the course of twelve or 
 fourteen months, they are cut down and 
 bruised by means of machinery. 
 
 The sugar-mill is composed of three rollers 
 of an equal size, and all armed with iron 
 plates, where the canes are to pass between 
 them ; only the middle roller is much higher 
 tliaii the rest, to give the larger sweep to 
 the two poles to which the horses are yoked. 
 This great roller in the middle is furnished 
 with a cog full of teeth, which catch the 
 notches in the two side rollers, and force 
 them about to bruise the canes, which pass 
 ■quite round the great roller, and come out 
 dry and squeezed from all their juice, which 
 runs into a vessel or back under the mill, 
 and is thence conveyed through a narrow 
 spout into the fiist boiler. 
 
 Sugar mills are, however, differently con- 
 structed, but in Plate Sugar Mill are the 
 plan and elevation of one made by Mr. Tho- 
 mas Rowntree, Blackfriar’s Roa', South- ' 
 wark, and sent by him to the West Indies. 
 
 A B and D E (fig. 1 and 2) are four 
 ground silB, crossing and halved into each 
 other; on the points of intersection four up- 
 rights are framed F F F F, these are con- 
 
SUGAR MILL hy MATHOfROWNTRIX. 
 

 SUGAR. 
 
 nected at top by cross pieces a a 6 6 ; e (in 
 fig. 2.) is another similar framing between 
 the uprights. 
 
 Three blocks of wood are fixed crosswise 
 between the beams e e, and similar ones 
 across between the upper ones a a, to sup- 
 port the bearings for the three rollers /g h ; 
 these rollers are made of cast iron, and 
 turned in the lathe ; they have cog wheels 
 at their upper ends, that they may all turn 
 together ; the axis of the middle roller, g, is 
 much longer than the two others, and at the 
 upper end is square ; a strong wooden cross 
 plate, with iron, i k, is fitted on it ; some 
 distance above this, it has a square piece of 
 iron, n, fixed on its spindle; the long levers, 
 m m, by which it is turned, are bolted at 
 their ends to the piece of iron n, and to the 
 ends of the wooden cross i k ; the harness 
 of two mules is made fast to the end of each 
 lever by hooking their traces into the rings 
 at the end of the levers. In this manner 
 the middle roller is turned round, and, by 
 the cogs, the other two by the side of it. 
 The pivots of the rollers are cylindrical, 
 and each turns between six friction rollers, 
 which traverse in a frame made fast to the 
 cross beams, between a a and e e ; the out- 
 side of two of these beams slide in rebates 
 cut in the beams a a and e e, and can be 
 moved up towards the middle roller by 
 wedges, tttt-, tire weight of each roller is 
 supported on three friction wheels below 
 its lower pivot. The constrution of a set 
 of these friction wheels is shown in figs. 3 
 and 4. Fig. 4 is an elevation, and fig. 3 a 
 plan : a (fig. 4) is the end of the pivot, be- 
 low this it is turned smaller, nearly to the 
 size of the small circle in fig. 3,* so as to . 
 leave a square shoulder ; 6 is a circular 
 brass plate, fitted upon the small part of 
 the pivot, and resting against the shoulder ; 
 d is another similar plate, supported by a 
 block of wood, seen in fig. 2, laying on the 
 ground sills D E (fig. 2) ; the small part 
 of the pivot comes down beyond the plate, b, 
 and enters a hole through a thick iron ring 
 e, (fig 3) ; this ring has the three arms pro- 
 jecting from it, which serve as pivots to the 
 three friction rollers Imn; it is upon these 
 rollers the upper plate, b, and the weight of 
 the great roller, rests ; as the pivot, a, and 
 the upper plate, b, turn round, the three 
 rollers roll round upon the under plate d ; 
 the iron ring, c, has no share in holding the 
 weight, its use is only to keep the three 
 rollers in their places, and in the same 
 manner the small part of the pivot keeps 
 the ring in its place. 
 
 A wooden trough is laid upon the beams, e e 
 at w, to receive the Juice expressed from the 
 canes by the rollers ; the holes in the bottom 
 of this trough, through which the pivots of 
 the rollers pass, have their orifices above 
 the surface of the liquor in the trough, so 
 that it cannot get down to the friction 
 rollers. A small trough leads from the 
 trough at w, and conveys away the liquor, 
 (going under the mule walk), to the boiling 
 house. 
 
 The operation of the machine is exceed- 
 ingly simple : a person presents the ends of 
 the canes to the rollers,/g, by their motion 
 the canes are drawn in between them ; an- 
 other person behind bends the ends of the 
 canes as they come through, that they may 
 pass between the other two, g k, and thus 
 come out again in the front of the machine, 
 squeezed dry from the juice they before 
 contained. The juice which is collected is 
 conveyed to iron boilers, where it is boiled, 
 with the addition of a small quantity of 
 quick-lime, and the impurities which rise to 
 the surface are scummed off. The boiling 
 is continued till it acquires the consistence 
 of syrup, after which it is put into shallow 
 vessels, where it is allowed to cool and gra- 
 nulate. In general it is afterwards put into 
 hogsheads, in which it is imported to Eu- 
 rope, the bottoms of which are perforated, 
 that the molasses, with which the sugar is 
 mixed may be allowed to drain oflT. Some- 
 times it is put into conical earthen vessels, 
 open at both ends, the base of which is co- 
 vered with moist clay, so that the water 
 filters through the sugar, and carries with 
 it a greater quantity of the molasses and 
 other impurities. The sugar thus treated is 
 called clayed sugar. It is not different 
 from the former, but in being somewhat 
 purer. The addition of quick-lime in the 
 boiling is supposed to take up some vegeta- 
 ble acids which prevent the granulation of 
 the sugar. In this state the sugar is known 
 in commerce by the name of raw or Mus- 
 covado sugar. It is still further purified by 
 dissolving it in water, and boiling, when the 
 impurities, which rise to the surface, are 
 again removed ; a quantity of lime is also 
 added, and it is clarified with blood. When 
 boiled down to a proper consistency, it is 
 put into unglazed earthen vessels of a co- 
 nical shape, and inverted, to allow the wa- 
 ter from the moist clay, with which tiie 
 base of the cone is covered, to pass through 
 the sugar, and carry off its impurities. 
 
 According to the number of processes to 
 which it has been subjected, it is called sin- 
 T 2 
 
SUG 
 
 gle or double refined sugar. Sugar in this 
 state is of a white colour : it is well known 
 for its sweet taste ; it has little or no smell. 
 It has Some degree of transparency when it 
 is crystallized. It is considerably hard, but 
 it is, brittle, and may be easily reduced to 
 powder. It is phosphorescent in the dark. 
 When the solution of sugar in water is concen- 
 trated, it crystallizes in the form of six-sided 
 prisms, terminated by two-sided summits. 
 The specific gravity of sugar is 1. 4. When 
 sugar is exposed to heat, it melts, swells up, 
 becomes of a dark brown or black colour, 
 emits air-bubbles with a peculiar smell, 
 which has been called caromel. If a red 
 heat be applied, it suddenly bursts into 
 fiames, with a kind of explosion. It is very 
 soluble in water ; at so low a temperature 
 as 48" water dissolves its own weight of 
 sugar. This power increases with the tem- 
 perature of tlie water. When water is sa- 
 turated with sugar, it is called syrup, which 
 by concentration and rest affords crystals. 
 Sugar is soluble in many of the acids. It is 
 decomposed by sulphuric acid ; when heat 
 is applied, the acid itself is decomposed, 
 and converted into sulphurous acid ; and a 
 great quantity of charcoal is deposited. 
 Nitric acid acts on sugar with considerable 
 violence ; an effervescence is produced, ni- 
 trons gas is emitted, and the sugar is con- 
 verted into oxalic and malic acids. Mu- 
 riatic acid gas is slowly absorbed by sugar, 
 which becomes of a brown colour, and ac- 
 quires a very strong smell. Sugar is in- 
 stantly dissolved when it is thrown in the 
 state of powder into liquid oxymuria tic acid ; 
 it is converted into malic acid, while the 
 oxymuriatic acid is deprived of its oxygen, 
 and reduced to the state of muriatic acid. 
 Alcohol readily dissolves sugar. One part 
 of sugar is soluble in four of boiling alcohol. 
 Sugar also combines with the oils, and by 
 this means they may be mixed with water. 
 I'he fixed alkalies combine with sugar, and 
 deprive it of its sweet taste ; but by adding 
 sulphuric acid, and precipitating the sul- 
 phate which is formed by means of alcohol, 
 the taste is restored. .Some of the earths, 
 as lime, combine with sugar, and form simi- 
 lar compounds. The sulphurets and phos- 
 phurets of the alkalies, and some of the 
 earths, decompose sugar, and reduce it to 
 a state somewhat similar to gum. By dis- 
 tilling sugar in a retort; the first part of 
 the product is water, nearly in a state of 
 purity. Acetic acid with a little oil next 
 comes over, and afterwards empyreumatic 
 oil. A bulky carbonaceous matter, which 
 
 SUI 
 
 sometimes contains a little lime, remains- 
 behind. Mr. Cruickshank obtained, by the 
 distillation of 480 grains of pure sugar, by 
 means of a red beat. 
 
 - «*-' 
 
 Acetic acid and ml 270 
 
 Charcoal 120 
 
 Carbonated hydrogen and ? 
 carbonic acid gases 3 
 
 481) 
 
 Sugar, therefore, is composed ot oxygen, 
 carbon, and hydrogen. 
 
 The proportions of its constituent parts, 
 'according to Lavoisier, are the following : 
 
 Oxygen 64 
 
 Carbon 28 
 
 Hydrogen g 
 
 100 
 
 Sugar is also obtained from the juice of 
 the maple tree in North America. See 
 Maple. 
 
 It has lately been proposed to extract 
 sugar from the root of the beet ; and the 
 attempt has been made, even in the large 
 by Achard of Berlin. The process 
 which he followed is to boil the roots, cut 
 them into slices, and extract the Juice by 
 pressure. 
 
 Many otlier plants also contain sugar, 
 either in the roots, the sap, or the seeds! 
 It exists in wheat, barley, beans, peas, and 
 other leguminous seeds, especially when 
 they are young, in considerable quantity. 
 The uses of sugar are so familiar, that it is 
 scarcely necessary to enumerate them. In 
 most countries, where it can be obtained, 
 it may be considered in some measure as a 
 necessary of life. It contains a great pro- 
 portion of nutritions matter ; animals, when 
 partially supplied with it, become fat and 
 vigorous. It is not changed by the action 
 of the air, so that it may be preserved for 
 any length of time. It is employed to pre- 
 serve other vegetable matters from putre- 
 faction, and sometimes it is also advanta- 
 geously applied to a similar purpose, in the 
 preservation of animal substances. It is 
 used likewise in the composition of some 
 varnishes, of ink, and of some pigments, to 
 communicate to them a degree of gloss or 
 lustre. 
 
 SUIT, in law, is used in different senses; 
 first, in a suit of law ; and is divided into 
 real and personal, and is the same with 
 action real and personal ; secondly, suit of 
 court, or suit service, is an attendance that 
 tenants owe to the court of their lord. 
 Thirdly, .suit covenant is where the ances- 
 
SUL 
 
 *or hath covenanted with another to sue to 
 his court. Fourthly, suit custom, when a 
 man and his ancestors have been seized, 
 time out of mind, of his suit. Fifthly, suit 
 real, or regal, when men come to the she- 
 riff’s town, or leet. Sixthly, suit signifies 
 the following one in chace, as fresh suit. 
 Lastly, it signifies a petition made to the 
 king, or any great person. 
 
 SUKOTYRO, in natural history, a genns 
 of Mammalia. Of the order Bruta. Gene- 
 ric character : horn on each side near the 
 eyes. The only species of this genus is the 
 S. Indicus, first noticed by a Dutch traveller 
 in the seventeenth century, and which has 
 indeed never been described by any other. 
 It is represented as equal in .size to a large 
 ox, and possessing the snout of a hog, with 
 ears rough and long, different from the po- 
 sition of those of all other quadrupeds, tail 
 bushy, eyes upright in the head, and next 
 to these having on each side a liorn or tusk, 
 approaching in size to that of an elephant. 
 It is said to be a native of Java, and to feed 
 on herbage. As this acount, however, docs 
 not appear to have been confirmed by any 
 traveller since Niewhoffe’s time, and some 
 of his representations in natural history are 
 extremely slovenly and incorrect, it does 
 not appear a very blameable scepticism to 
 doubt the existence of such an animal. See 
 Mammalia, Plate XX. fig. 4. 
 
 SULPHATES, in chemistry, salts form- 
 ed by the combination of any base with 
 the sulphuric acid ; of these we shall notice 
 only the sulphate of soda, known in the 
 shops by the name of Glauber’s salts. This 
 salt was discovered by the alchymist Glau- 
 ber ; but since his time it has been largely 
 used in medicine. Chemists have described 
 various modes of obtaining this salt. It ex- 
 ists likewise native in mineral springs, and 
 sometimes it effloresces on the walls of old 
 buildings. Sulphate of soda crystallizes in 
 six-sided prisms, bevelled at the extremi- 
 ties, and longitudinally grooved : its taste 
 is strongly saline and bitter. It is efflores- 
 cent; and when exposed to a very dry ’at- 
 mosphere, the surface of the crystals soon 
 becomes white and opaque, and at length 
 they fall into powder : it is soluble in rather 
 less than three times its weight of water at 
 60°, and in less than its own weight of boil- 
 ing water. The sulphate of soda, when 
 erystallized, is composed of 
 
 Soda 18.43 
 
 Sulphuric acid 23.-52 
 
 Water 58.00 
 
 100.00 
 
 SUL 
 
 SULPHITES, salts formed by the corn- 
 bination of any basd with the sulphureous 
 acid. Tliese have always a disagreeable 
 sulphurous taste : they are decomposed by 
 the nitric, muriatic, and some other acids ; 
 they are converted into sulphates by expo- 
 sure to the atmosphere, drawing from it the 
 oxygen. These salts were first noticed and 
 described by Stahl : they are mostly formed 
 artificially, by saturating the alkaline and 
 earthy bases with sulphureous acid. 
 
 SULPHUR, an inflammable fossil, of 
 which there are two species ; viz. com- 
 mon natural sulphur, and volcanic natural 
 sulphur. The colour of the natural sulphur 
 is yellow of different degrees of intensity : 
 it occurs massive, disseminated, and crys- 
 tallized. The crystals are middle-sized and 
 small, of which the surface is smooth and 
 splendent. Internally it is intermediate 
 between shining and glistening. It is soft 
 and frangible. When placed on inflamed 
 coals, it burns with a bluish flame, and 
 emits a pungent suffocating vapour, and is 
 totally volatilized. It is found in many parts 
 of tlie world. It occurs commonly in masses, 
 in gypsum, lime-stone, and marl : and in some 
 places with honey-stone, and bituminous 
 wood. It is often found in veins that tra- 
 verse primitive rocks ; in veins of copper 
 pyrites that traverse grqnite : in Siberia it 
 is found in the gold mines of Catherineburg, 
 and in the lead-glance veins in the Altain 
 mountains. Humboldt mentions a province 
 of Quito, in which he discovered a bed 
 composed of sulphur and quartz, in a moun- 
 tain of mica slate ; he likewise found great 
 quantities of sulphur in primitive porphyry. 
 
 The volcanic natural sulphur is yellow, 
 inclining to green : it occurs sometimes 
 corroded ; sometimes as a sublimate in 
 flowers. It glistening, and its lustre is 
 resinous, inclining to adamantine. It oc- 
 curs only in volcanic countries, where it is 
 found in greater or smaller quantity among 
 the lava. Solfatara, in the vicinity of Ve- 
 suvius, is one of the most famous reposito- 
 ries of natural volcanic sulphur, and is there 
 collected in considerable quantities for the 
 purposes of commerce. It is found also in 
 Iceland, in Etna, and in the Lipari island. 
 It occurs likewise in the island of Teneriffe, 
 and in the West India islands ; in Java, and 
 the East Indies. Having thus described 
 this substance mineralogically, we turn to 
 it in a chemical view. 
 
 Sulphur is a simple undecompounded 
 combustible substance, which is universally 
 diffused in nature ; but most commonly 
 in a state of combination with mineral, ve- 
 
SUL 
 
 getable, or animal matters. It is found in 
 some mineral waters, but in greatest abun- 
 dance in volcanic countries, wheire it is a 
 valuable article of commerce. Sulpbur, as 
 it is extracted from minerals and purified 
 by art, is a bard, brittle substance, of a yel- 
 low colour, which can be easily reduced to 
 powder. It is always opaque, has a lamel- 
 lated fracture, and becomes electric by fric- 
 tion. The specific gravity, after it is melted, 
 does not exceed 1.99. It has no smell, and 
 very little perceptible taste. AVhen it is 
 rubbed some time, it is volaf ized, and dif- 
 fuses a peculiar and slightly foetid odour, 
 by which it is easily distinguished. It leaves 
 on the skin which has been in contact with 
 it a very strong smell, which remains for 
 some hours. It is insoluble in water. Light 
 has no sensible effect on sulphur. But if a 
 roll of sulphur be held in the hand for a 
 little, it begins to crackle, and at last it 
 breaks to pieces. When a temperature 
 equal to that of boiling water is applied to 
 sulphur, it melts, becomes liquid and trans- 
 parent, and changes to a brown red colour : 
 but, on cooling, if the fusion is not too long 
 continued, it resumes the yellow colour. 
 If it be permitted to cool slowly, it crystal- 
 lizes into prismatic needles. The crystals 
 are better formed by pouring out part of 
 the liquid sulphur as soon as the surface has 
 become solid. If the heat be continued, 
 it becomes thick and viscid ; and if it be 
 then poured into cold water, it retains its 
 softness, so that it is employed for taking im- 
 pressions of seals and medals. In this state 
 they are called sulphurs. When sulphur is 
 exposed to heat in close vessels, it is vola- 
 tized or sublimed in the form of a very fine 
 powder, known under the name of flowers 
 of sulphur. Sulphur enters into combina- 
 tion with oxygen, azote, hydrogen, carbon, 
 and phosphorous. When sulphur is kept 
 some time in fusion in an open vessel, it 
 assumes a red colour, and becomes viscid. 
 After it is cooled, it retains its red colour, 
 which is owing to the combination of oxy- 
 gen in small proportion with the sulphur. 
 In this state it has been denominated the 
 oxide of sulphur. 
 
 According to the experiments of Dr. 
 Thomson, the oxide of sulphur, formed by 
 melting the substance in a deep vessel, is of 
 a dark violet colour, fibrous fracture, and 
 tough consistence; the specific gravity is 
 2.3. Anotlier oxide was formed by passing 
 a current of oxymuriatic acid gas through 
 flowers of sulphur. When sulphur is burnt 
 in the open air, it emits a pale blue flame, 
 
 SUL 
 
 with a great quantity of white smoke. When 
 these fumes are mixed with water, it is 
 found to possess acid properties. This is a 
 combination of sulphur with a greater pro- 
 portion of oxygen than exists in the oxide, 
 and is called sulphurous acid. But when 
 sulphur is burnt in oxygen gas, a very rapid 
 combustion takes place, with a reddish 
 white flame, and it combines with a greater 
 proportion of oxygen. When the fumes, 
 which are copiously emitted during this 
 combustion, are collected, and mixed with 
 water, it exhibits the properties of an acid, 
 which is the sulphuric acid. Thus it ap- 
 pears, that sulphur combines with oxygen in 
 four different proportions. In two of these, 
 in which the proportions are the small- 
 est, the compounds are denominated ox- 
 ides ; but in the two others, in w'hich the 
 proportion of oxygen is increased, the com- 
 pounds are acids, the properties of which 
 will be afterwards noticed. 
 
 SULPHURETS, in chemistry. Sulphur 
 combines with the fixed alkalies forming 
 compounds called sulphurets. These exist 
 only in a concrete state, as when dissolved 
 in water, a decomposition takes place. 
 We may notice, as an example, the sul- 
 phuret of potash, which is formed by ex- 
 posing to heat in a covered crucible, equal 
 weights of sulphur and the dry concrete 
 alkali. When it has become concrete, it is 
 firm and brittle, and of a reddish brown 
 colour, which, from its resemblance to the 
 liver of an animal, obtained the name of 
 hepar sulphuris, liver of sulphur. This sub- 
 stance, while dry, is inodorous, but when 
 moistened it acquires a fetid smell from the 
 production of sulphuretted hydrogen. It 
 fuses when exposed to a strong heat. A 
 singular property belonging to this sub- 
 stance is, that when fused with some metals, 
 as gold, a combination is formed, which is 
 soluble in water. 
 
 SULPHURETTED hydrogen, is a com- 
 pound of sulphur and hydrogen, and it 
 owes its origin to the decomposition of wa- 
 ter in the processes by which it is formed. 
 This substance is obtained by various me- 
 thods, which are detailed by writers on 
 chemistry. It may be had by exposing to 
 a strong heat mixtures of sulphur with ve- 
 getable matters, as sugar, oil, &c. The 
 specific gravity is as 1.142 to 1 . Its smell 
 is extremely foetid, approaching to that 
 denominated putrid, the effluvia disengaged 
 in the processes of putrefaction consisting 
 partly of this gas. It extinguishes combus- 
 tion, and is incapable of supporting animal 
 
SULPHURIC ACID. 
 
 life. If sulphuretted hydrogen gas be kin- 
 dled in contact with the atmospheric air, it 
 burns with a blue lambent flame. When 
 mixed with atmospheric air it does not de- 
 tonate, and the combustion of its elements 
 is not complete, part of the sulphur being 
 deposited on the sides of the vessel. With 
 oxygen gas it detonates. Sulphuretted hy- 
 drogen has a peculiar action on metals, by 
 tarnishing them, and communicating to 
 them shades of yellow, purple, &c. It is 
 possessed of the properties of an acid, and 
 enters into combination with the alkalies, 
 and forms compoimds, some of which are 
 crystallizable. It changes vegetable blues 
 to red. It decomposes .soap; combines 
 with the metallic oxides, and precipitates 
 sulphur from its combinations with potash 
 or lime. 
 
 SULPHURIC acid, in chemistry. The 
 name of sulphuric acid is given to the com- 
 bination of sulphur and of oxygen, with the 
 greatest proportion of the latter. It was 
 formerly called vitriolic acid, because it 
 was obtained from vitriol by distillation, 
 which is a compound of sulphuric acid and 
 an oxide of iron. When it is strongly con- 
 centrated, it is called oil of vitriol. If a 
 quantity of flowers of sulphur be exposed 
 To a degree of heat sufficient to inflame it, 
 and if, when it is in a state of ignition, it be 
 introduced into a jar filled with oxygen gas, 
 it burns with great splendour, and emits a 
 great quantity of white fumes. These 
 fiimes may be condensed, by pouring a 
 small quantity of water into the jar, and 
 when this is examined, it is found to possess 
 acid properties. This is the sulphuric acid. 
 It is procured, as appears by this experi- 
 ment, by burning sulphur in oxygen gas. 
 
 The process for obtaining sulphuric acid 
 in the large way is the following. A mix- 
 ture of sulphur and nitre is burnt in leaden 
 chambers. The use of the nitre is to sup- 
 ply a quantity of oxygen for the combus- 
 tion of the sulphur. There is a little water 
 in the bottom of the vessel, which serves to 
 condense the vapours given out during the 
 combustion. 
 
 The acid which is obtained in this way is 
 very weak, for it is diluted with the water 
 in which it was condensed, which water 
 may be' separated by distillation. Even af- 
 ter this it is usually contaminated with a 
 little lead from the vessels, some potash, 
 and sometimes nitric .and sulphurous acids. 
 To obtain it perfectly pure, the sulphuric 
 acid of commerce must be distilled. This 
 process is conducted by putting a quantity 
 
 of the acid into a retort, and exposing it to 
 a degree of heat sufficient to make it boil. 
 The beak of the retort is put into a re- 
 ceiver, in which the acid, as it comes over, 
 is condensed. The acid thus purified, is a 
 transparent colourless liquid, of aii oily con- 
 sistence. It has no smell, but a strong acid 
 taste. It destroys all animal and vegetable 
 substances. It reddens all vegetable blues. 
 It always contains water. When this is 
 driven ofi^ by a moderate heat, the acid is 
 said to be concentrated. When as much 
 concentrated as possible, the specific gra- 
 vity is 2, or double that of water ; but it 
 can rarely be obtained of greater density 
 than 1.8. The sulphuric acid suffers no 
 change from being exposed to the light. It 
 boils at the temperature of 546°, or, ac- 
 cording to Bergman, 540°. When this acid 
 is deprived of its caloric, it is susceptible 
 of congelation, and even of crystallization, 
 in flat, six-sided prisms, terminating in a 
 six-sided pyramid. It crystallizes most 
 readily, when it is neither too much con- 
 centrated, nor diluted with water. Of the 
 specific gravity of 1.6 it crystallizes at the 
 temperature of a few degrees below the 
 freezing point of water. Of the specific 
 gravity of 1.8, it resists the greatest degree 
 of cold. Chaptal observed it crystallize at 
 the temperature of 48°, and Mr. Keir found 
 that it froze at 45° of the specific gravity 
 of l.^s. Sulphuric acid has a strong at- 
 traction for water. 
 
 In some experiments that have been 
 made, sulphuric acid, when exposed to the 
 atmosphere, attracted above six times its 
 weight of water. When four parts of con- 
 centrated sulphuric acid, and one part of 
 ice at the temperature of 32°, are mixed 
 together, the moment they come in contact 
 the ice melts, and the temperature rises to 
 212°. A greater quantity of caloric is given 
 out when the two bodies are mixed to- 
 gether in the liquid state. If four parts of 
 the acid and one of water are suddenly 
 mixed together, the temperature of the 
 mixture rises to about 300°. This extrica- 
 tion of caloric, it is obvious, arises from the 
 sudden condensation of the two liquids, the 
 medium bulk of which is considerably less 
 than the two taken together. So great is 
 the attraction of this acid for water, that 
 the strongest that can be prepared can 
 scarcely be supposed to be entirely free 
 from it. Attempts have been made to de- 
 termine the proportion of oxygen and sul- 
 phur, which enter into the composition of 
 sulphuric acid. According to the experi- 
 
SUL 
 
 ments of Lavoisier, in which he measured 
 the quantity of oxygen absorbed, by a given 
 weight of sulphur during combustion, the 
 
 proportions are. 
 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 71 
 
 Oxygen 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 But other methods have been adopted. 
 These are, by decomposing other substances 
 which contain oxygen, by means of sulphur. 
 According to the experiments of M. Chen- 
 evix, conducted in this way, the sulphuric 
 acid consist of. 
 
 Sulphur 61. 5 
 
 Oxygen 38. 5 
 
 100. 0 
 
 Sulphuric acid does not combine with 
 oxygen, nor has it any action with azotic 
 gas. It appears that hydrogen has a greater 
 affinity for oxygen, than the sulphur has, 
 and therefore the sulphuric acid is decom- 
 posed by means of hydrogen gas. In the 
 cold there is no action between hydrogen 
 gas and sulphuric acid; but if they are 
 made to pass through a red hot porcelain 
 tube, the acid is decomposed, water is 
 formed, and sulphur is precipitated. When 
 hydrogen gas is employed in a greater pro- 
 portion than the half of the acid, the super- 
 abundant gas dissolves the sulphur, and is 
 disengaged in the form of sulphurated hy- 
 drogen gas. Charcoal has no action on sul- 
 phuric acid in the cold ; but at the boiling 
 temperature, it decomposes it, and converts 
 it into sulphurous acid. If a piece of red- 
 hot charcoal be immersed in a quantity of 
 concentrated sulphuric acid, part of the 
 acid is suddenly disengaged under the form 
 of thick white fumes, accompanied with 
 sulphurous acid gas. The sulphuric acid is 
 decomposed; part of its oxygen is attracted 
 by the charcoal, forming carbonic acid, and 
 thus it is reduced to the lowest proportion 
 of oitygen, in the state of sulphurous acid. 
 A similar effect is produced by phosphorus, 
 phosphorus, with the assistance pf heat, 
 partially decomposes the sulphuric acid, by 
 abstracting part of its oxygen. Phosphoric 
 acid is formed, and sulphurous acid driven 
 off. Ip the cold, sulphur has no action on 
 sulphuric acid ; but, when they are boiled 
 together, the sulphur is partly dissolved in 
 the acid, and converts it into sulphurous 
 acid. The sulphur which has been added 
 combines with the oxygen, which is neces- 
 
 SUL 
 
 sary for tlie constitution of sulphuric acid, 
 and thus the whole is converted into sul- 
 phurous acid. Sulphuric acid combines 
 with alkalies, the earths and the metals 
 forming salts; which in the present lan- 
 guage of chemi.stry are denominated sul- 
 phates. This acid is employed in great 
 quantity in many arts and manufactures. 
 It is employed also in medicine and phar- 
 macy; the preparation of it, therefore, has 
 long been an object of considerable impor- 
 tance. 
 
 SULPHUROUS acid, was formerly call- 
 ed spirit of sulphur, and volatile sulphurous 
 acid. It was not till the year 1774 that its 
 nature and composition were discovered by 
 the labours of Priestley and Lavoisier. 
 Berthollet afterwards investigated the for- 
 mation, decomposition, combinations, and 
 uses of this aciff Fourcroy and Vauquelin 
 also have examined many of its properties, 
 especially the saline compounds which it 
 forms, so that now its properties are well 
 known. The sulphurous acid exists in na- 
 ture in great abundance, and particularly 
 in the neighbourhood of volcanoes. It is 
 disengaged from some lavas in a stale of fu- 
 sion, and from the soil which is impregnated 
 with sulphur, when a sufficient degree of 
 heat is applied. It was by the vapours of 
 sulphurous acid that Pliny the naturalist 
 was suffocated in the eruption of Mount 
 Vesusius, which destroyed Herculaneum, in 
 the 79th year before the Christian sera. 
 When sulphur is burnt in the open air, the 
 fumes that are generated by this slow com- 
 bustion, are sulphurous acid. It was in 
 this way tliat this acid was formerly obtain- 
 ed. The method of procuring it, which is 
 now followed, is to decompose the sulphu- 
 ric acid by means of any substance which 
 deprives it of part of its oxygen. If one 
 part of mercury and two parts of concen- 
 trated sulphuric acid be exposed to heat in 
 a glass retort, the mixture effervesces, and 
 a gas is disengaged, which may be collected 
 in jars over mercury. In this process the 
 mercury attracts part of the oxygen of the 
 sulphuric acid, and leaves behind that por- 
 tion which constitutes the sulphurous acid. 
 Sulphurous acid thus obtained is in the 
 state of gas, and it is an elastic, invisible 
 and colourless fluid, like common air. It.is 
 rather more than double the weight of at- 
 mospheric air. It reddens vegetable blues, 
 and then destroys the greater number of 
 tliem. It is on account of this property 
 tliat the fumes of sulphur arc employed to 
 remove the stains of fruit from linen, anc| 
 
SUL 
 
 that the sulphurous acid is often used in 
 bleaching. When the sulphurous acid is in 
 the form of gas, it does not readily combine 
 with oxygen. In its fluid form it unites 
 more readily, and is converted into sulphu- 
 ric acid. In making a mixture of sulphu- 
 rous acid gas and oxygen gas pass through a 
 red-hot tube, they combine together, and 
 are converted into sulphuric acid. There 
 seems to be no action between sulphurous 
 acid and azotic gas. Water has a strong 
 attraction for sulphurous acid gas. A piece 
 of ice brought in contact with it, is imme- 
 diately melted without any perceptible 
 change of temperature. When water is 
 saturated with this gas, it is known by the 
 name of sulphurous acid, or liquid sulphurous 
 acid. The specific gravity is 1.04. At the 
 temperature 0143“ water combines with one- 
 third of its weight of sulphurous acid gas ; 
 biit as the temperature increases, it absorbs 
 it in smaller proportion. It freezes at a 
 temperature a few degrees below 32", and 
 it passes' into the solid state without parting 
 with any of its acid. The liquid sulphurous 
 acid has the smell, taste, and other proper- 
 ties of the gas, and particularly that of de- 
 stroying vegetable colours. When exposed 
 to the atmosphere, it gradually absorbs oxy- 
 gen, and passes into the state of sulphuric 
 acid. • This change goes on more rapidly 
 when it is diluted with water, and agitated 
 in contact with the air. The sulphuric acid 
 separates the sulphurous acid in the gaseous 
 form from its combinations, and even from 
 wdter. Concentrated sulphuric acid ab- 
 sorbs this gas, which imparts to it a yel- 
 lowish brown colour and renders it pungent 
 and fuming, The two acids strongly at- 
 tract each other, so that when they are ex- 
 posed to the action of heat, the first vapour 
 which rises crystallizes in long, white, nee- 
 dle-shaped prisms. This is a compound of 
 the two acids. It smokes in the air; dis- 
 solves with effervescence in it, and when 
 thrown into water produces a hissing noise, 
 like a red-hot iron, Snlphurous acid is very 
 much employed in the arts, and sometimes 
 in medicine. In the state of gas it is used 
 for the bleaching of silk and wool, by ex- 
 tracting the colouring matter. It removes 
 also the stains arising from vegetable juices, 
 and spots of iron from linen. According to 
 Fourcroy, 100 parts of this acid are com- 
 posed of 
 
 Sulphui- 85 
 
 Oxygen 15 
 
 too 
 
 SUN 
 
 But according to the analysis of Dr. Thom- 
 
 son, 
 
 Sulphur. 
 
 Oxygen, 
 
 . 68 
 32 
 100 
 
 The compound salts formed by this acid are 
 denominated sulphites. 
 
 SUM, in mathematics, signifies the 
 quantity that arises from the addition of 
 two or more magnitudes, numbers, or 
 quantities together. The sum of an equa- 
 tion is, when the absolute number being 
 brought over to the other side of the equa- 
 tion, with a contrary sign, the whole be- 
 comes equal to 0: thus, the sum of the 
 equation — 12 4:1 x — 42, is a:’ — 
 
 12 a? -4- 41 X — 42 = 0. 
 
 .SUMMER, in architecture, is a large 
 stone, the first that is laid over columns and 
 pilasters, in beginning to make a cross 
 vault. 
 
 Summer, in carpentry, is a large piece 
 of timber, which being supported on two 
 stone piers, or posts, serves as a lintel to a 
 door, window, &c. 
 
 SUN, in astronomy, the most conspicu- 
 ous of the heavenly bodies, which occupies 
 the centre of the system which comprehends 
 the earth, the primary and secondary 
 planets, and comets. The sun is the mag- 
 nificent luminary which enlightens these 
 worlds, and by its presence constitutes day. 
 We have referred to this article from the 
 fixed Stars, because the sun agrees with 
 them in several particulars, as in the pro- 
 perty of emitting tight continually, and in 
 retaining constantly its relative situation 
 with but little variation : they may have 
 probably many other properties in common. 
 The sun is, therefore, justly considered as 
 a fixed star comparatively near us ; and the 
 stars as suns at immense distances from 
 our earth ; and we reasonably infer, from 
 the same analogy, that the stars are posses- 
 sed of gravitation, and of the other general 
 properties of matter; they are supposed to 
 emit heat as well as light ; and it has been 
 conjectured that they serve to cherish the 
 inhabitants of a multitude of .planetary bo- 
 dies revolving round them. 
 
 In a paper on the “ Constructions of the 
 Heavens,” Dr. Herschel says, it is very pro- 
 bable, that the great stratum called the 
 milky way is that in which the sun is placed, 
 though perhaps not in the centre of its 
 thickness, but not far from the place where 
 some smaller stratum branches from it. 
 Such a supposition will satisfactorily, and 
 
with great simplicity, account for all the 
 phenomena of the milky way, which, accord- 
 ing to this hypothesis, is no other than the 
 appearance of the projection of the stars 
 contained in this stratum, and its secondary 
 branch. See Galaxy. 
 
 In another paper on the same subject, he 
 says, that the milky way is a most extensive 
 stratum of stars of various sizes admits no 
 longer of the least doubt ; and that our sun 
 is actually one of the heavenly l)odies be- 
 longing to it is as evident. 
 
 We will now, says the Doctor, retreat to 
 our own retired station in one of the planets 
 attending a star in the great combination, 
 with numberless others ; and in order to in- 
 vestigate what will be the appearances from 
 this contracted situation let us begin with 
 the naked eye. The stars of the first mag- 
 nitude, being in all probability the nearest, 
 will furnish us with a step to begin our 
 scale; setting off, therefore, with the dis- 
 tance of Sirius or Arcturus, for instance, as 
 unity, we will at present suppose, that those 
 of the second magnitude are at double, and 
 those of the third at treble the distance, and 
 so forth. Taking it, then, for granted, that 
 a star of the seventh magnitude is about 
 seven times as far from , us as one of the first, 
 it follows that an observer, who is enclosed 
 in a globular cluster of stars, and not far 
 from the centre, will never be able, with 
 the naked eye, to see to the end of it : for 
 since, according to the above estimations, 
 be can only extend his view about seven 
 times the distance of Sirius, it cannot be 
 expected that his eyes should reach the 
 borders of a cluster, which has, perhaps, 
 not less than fifty stars in depth every 
 where around him. The whole universe, 
 therefore, to him, will be comprised in a set 
 of constellations, richly ornamented with 
 scattered stars of all sizes. Or if the united 
 brightness of a neighbouring cluster of stars 
 should, in a remarkably clear night, reach 
 his sight, it will put on the appearance of a 
 small, faint, nebulous cloud, not to be per- 
 ceived without the greatest attention. Al- 
 lowing him the use of a common telescope 
 he begins to suspect that all the milkyness 
 of the bright path which surrounds the 
 sphere may be owing to stars. By increas- 
 ing his power of vision, he becomes certain 
 that the milky way is, indeed, no other than 
 a collection of very small stars, and the ne- 
 bulae nothing but clusters of stars. 
 
 Dr. Herschel then solves a general pro- 
 blem for computing the length of the visual 
 ray : that of the telescope, which he uses, 
 
 will reach to stars 497" times the distance of 
 Sinus. Now, according to the Doctor’s 
 reasoning, Sirius cannot be nearer than 
 
 100.000 X 194,000,000 miles, therefore his 
 telescope will, at least, reach to 100,000 x 
 194,000,000 X 49? miles. And Dr. Her- 
 schel says, that in the most crowded part of 
 the milky way, he has had fields of view 
 that contained no less than 588 stars, and 
 these were continued for many minutes, so 
 that, in a quarter of an hour, he has seen 
 
 116.000 stars pass through the field view of 
 a telescope of only 1.5' aperture : and at 
 another time, in 41 minutes, he saw 258,000 
 ^ars pass through the field of his telescope. 
 Every improvement in his telescopes has 
 discovered stars not seen before, so that 
 there appears no bounds to their number, 
 or to the extent of the universe. 
 
 The sun, like many other stars, has pro- 
 bably a progressive motion, directed to- 
 wards the constellation Hercules. Dr. 
 Herschel, on this subject, observes that 
 the apparent proper motions of 44 stars out 
 of 56 are nearly in the direction which 
 would be the result of such a real motion of 
 the solar system ; and that the bright stare 
 Arcturus and Sirius, which are probably 
 the nearest to us, have, as they ought, ac- 
 cording to this theory, the greatest apparent 
 motions. Again, the star Castor, appears 
 when viewed with a telescope, to consist of 
 two stars, of nearly equal magnitude ; and 
 though they have both an apparent motion 
 they have never been found to change 
 their distance with respect to one another 
 a single second, a circumstance which is ea- 
 sily understood if both their apparent mo- 
 tions are supposed to arise from the real 
 motion of the sun. 
 
 The sun revolves on his axis in 25'' 10 ^ 
 with respect to the fixed stars ; this axis is 
 directed towards a point about halfway be- 
 tween the pole star and Lyra, the plane of 
 the rotation being inclined a little more 
 than 7“ to that in which the earth revolves. 
 The direction of this motion is from west 
 to east. All the rotations of the different 
 bodies which compose the solar system as 
 far as they have been ascertained, are in 
 the same direction, and likewise all their 
 revolutions, excepting those of some of the 
 comets, and those of some of the satellites of 
 the Herschel planet. 
 
 The time and the direction of the sun’s 
 rotation are ascertained by the change of 
 the situation of the spots, which are usually 
 visible oil his disc, and which some astro- 
 nomers supposed to be elevations, and 
 
SUN. 
 
 others to be excavations in the luminous 
 matter covering the sun’s surface. These 
 spots are frequently observed to appear 
 and disappear, and they are in the mean 
 time liable to great variations, though they 
 are generally found about the same points 
 of the sun’s surface. M. Lalande supposes 
 them to be parts of the solid body of the sun, 
 which by soqje agitations of the luminous 
 ocean, with which he conceives the sun to 
 be surrounded, are left nearly or entirely 
 bare. Dr. Wilson and Dr. Herschel are 
 disposed to consider this ocean as consisting 
 rather of a flame than of a liquid substance; 
 and Dr. Herschel, in an ingenious paper, 
 attributes the spots to the emission of an 
 aeriform fluid, not yet in combustion, which 
 displaces the general luminous atmosphere, 
 and which is afterwards to serve as fuel for 
 supporting the process ; hence he supposes 
 the appearance of copious spots to be indi- 
 cative of the approach of warm seasons on 
 the surface of the earth, a theory which he 
 has attempted to maintain by historical 
 evidence. The exterior luminous atmos- 
 phere has an appearance somewhat mottled, 
 some parts of it, appearing brighter than 
 others, have been called faculae, but Dr. 
 Herschel distinguishes them by the names 
 of ridges and nodules. The spots are usually 
 surrounded by margins less dark than them- 
 selves, which are called shallows, and which 
 are considered as parts of an inferior stra- 
 tum, consisting of opaque clouds, capable 
 of protecting the immediate surface of the 
 sun from the excessive heat produced by 
 combustion in the superior stratum, and 
 perhaps rendering it habitable to animated 
 beings. 
 
 To which Dr. Young replies, if we 
 inquire into the intensity of the heat which 
 must necessarily exist wherever this com- 
 bustion is performed, we shall soon be con- 
 vinced that no clouds, however dense, could 
 impede its rapid transmission to the parts 
 below. Besides the diameter of the sun is 
 111 times as great as that of the earth ; and 
 at its surface, a heavy body would fall 
 through no less than 450 feet in a single se- 
 cond ; so that if every other circumstance 
 permitted human beings to reside on it, 
 their own weight would present an in- 
 superable difficulty, since it would become 
 thirty times as great as upon the surface of 
 the earth, and a man of moderate size 
 would weigh above two tons. 
 
 Dr; Herschel, in another paper, supposes, 
 that the spots in the sun are mountains on 
 its surface, which, considering the great at- 
 
 traction exerted by the sun upon bodies 
 placed at its surface, and the slow revolu- 
 tion it has about its axis, he thinks may be 
 more than 300 miles high, and yet stand 
 very firmly. He says, that in August, 1792, 
 he examined the son with several powers 
 from 90 to 500. And it evidently appeared, 
 that the black spots are the opaque ground 
 or body of the sun ; and that the luminous 
 part is an atmosphere, which being inter- 
 cepted or broken, gives ns a glimpse of the 
 sun itself. Hence he concludes, that the 
 sun has a very extensive atmosphere, which 
 consists of elastic fluids that are more or less 
 lucid and transparent; and of which the 
 lucid ones furnish us with light. This at- 
 mosphere, he thinks, is not less than 1843, 
 nor more than 2765 miles in height ; and he 
 supposes that the density of the luminous 
 solar clouds need not be exceedingly more 
 than that of our aurora borealis, in order to 
 produce the effects with which we are ac- 
 quainted. 
 
 The sun, then, appears to be a very emi- 
 nent, large, and lucid planet, evidently the 
 first and only primary one belonging to our 
 system. Its similarity to the other globes 
 of the solar system, with regard to its soli- 
 dity ; its atmosphere ; its surface diversified 
 with mountains and vallies ; its rotation on 
 its axis ; and the fall of heavy bodies on its 
 surface ; leads us to suppose that it is most 
 probably inhabited, like the rest of the pla- 
 nets, by beings whose organs are adapted to 
 the peculiar circumstances of that vast 
 globe. If it be objected, that from the 
 efiectsproducedatthedistance of 95, 000,000 
 miles, we may infer, that every thing must 
 be scorched up at its surface. We reply, 
 that there are many facts in natural phi- 
 losophy which show that heat is pro- 
 duced by the sun’s rays only when they 
 act on a calorific medium: they are the 
 cause of the production of heat by uniting 
 with the matter of fire which is contained in 
 the substances that are heated ; as the colli- 
 sion of the flint and steel will inflame a maga- 
 zine of gunpowder, by putting all the latent 
 fire which it contains into action. On the 
 tops of mountains of sufficient height, at the 
 altitude where clouds can seldom reach to 
 shelter them from the direct rays of the 
 sun, we always find regions of ice and snow. 
 Now, if the solar rays themselves conveyed 
 all the heat we find on this globe, it ought 
 to be hottest where their course is the least 
 interrupted. Again, our aeronauts all con- 
 firm the coldness of the upper regions of the 
 atmosphere ; and since, therefore, even on 
 
our earth the heat of the situation depends 
 upon the readiness of the medium to yield 
 to the impression of the solar rays, we have 
 only to admit, that on the sun itself, the 
 elastic fluids composing its atmosphere, and 
 the matter on its surface, are of such a na- 
 ture as not to be capable of any extensive 
 affection of its own rays ; and this seems to 
 be proved by the copious emission of them ; 
 for if the elastic fluids of the atmosphere, or 
 of the matter contained on the surface of 
 the sun, were of such a nature as to admit 
 of an easy chemical combination with its 
 rays, their emission would be very much 
 impeded. Another well known fact is, that 
 the solar focus of the largest lens thrown in- 
 to the air, will occasion no sensible heat in 
 the place where it has been kept for a con- 
 siderable time, although its power of excit- 
 ing combustion, when proper bodies are 
 exposed, should be sufficient to fuse the 
 most refractory substances. 
 
 It is by analogical reasoning that we con- 
 sider the moon as inhabited. For it is a 
 secondary planet of considerable size, its 
 surface is diversified, like that of the earth, 
 with hills and vallies. Its situation with 
 respect to the sun, is much like that of the 
 earth ; and by a rotation on its axis, it en- 
 joys an agreeable variety of seasons, and of 
 day and night. To the moon our globe 
 would appear a capital satellite, undergoing 
 the same changes of illumination as the 
 moon does to the earth. The sun, planets, 
 and the starry constellations of the heavens, 
 will rise and -set there as they do here : and 
 heavy bodies will fall on the moon as they 
 do on the earth. There seems, then, only 
 to be wanting, in order to complete the 
 analogy, that it should be inhabited like the 
 earth. It may be objected, that, in the 
 moon, there are no large seas ; and its at- 
 mosphere (the existence of which is doubted 
 , by many) is extremely rare, and unfit for 
 the purposes of animal life ; that its climates, 
 its seasons, and the length of its days and 
 nights, totally differ from ours ; that with- 
 out dense clouds, which the moon has not, 
 there can be no rain, perhaps no rivers and 
 lakes. In answer to this, it may be observ- 
 ed, that the very difference between the 
 two planets strengthens the argument. We 
 find even on our own globe, that there is a 
 most striking dissimilarity in the situation 
 of the creatures tliat live upon it. While 
 man walks on the ground, the birds fly in 
 the air, and the fishes swim in the water. We 
 cannot surely object to the conveniencies 
 afforded by the moon, if those that are to 
 
 inhabit its regions are fitted to their condi- 
 tions as well as we on this globe of ours. 
 ITie analogy already mentioned establishes 
 a high probability that the moon is inha- 
 bited. 
 
 Suppose, then, an inhabitant of the moon, 
 who has not properly considered such ana- 
 logical reasonings as might induce him to 
 surmise that our earth is inhabited, were to 
 give it as his opinion, that the use of that 
 great body, which he sees in his neighbour- 
 hood, is to carry about his little globe, in 
 order that it may be properly exposed to 
 the light of the sun, so as to enjoy an agree- 
 able and useful variety of illumination, as 
 well as to give it light by reflection, when 
 direct light cannot be had. Should we not 
 condemn his ignorance and want of reflec- 
 tion ? The earth, it is true, performs those 
 offices which have been named, for the in- 
 habitants of the moon, but we know that it 
 also affords magnificent dwelling-places to 
 numberless intelligent beings. From expe- 
 rience, therefore, we affirm, that the per- 
 formance of the most salutary offices to in- 
 ferior planets is not inconsistent with the 
 dignity of superior purposes; and in conse- 
 quence of such analogical reasonings, assisted 
 by telescopic views, which plainly favour 
 the same opinion, we do not hesitate to 
 admit that the sun is richly stored with in- 
 habitants. 
 
 This way of considering the sun is of the 
 utmost importance in its consequences. 
 That stars are suns can hardly admit of a 
 doubt. Thdir immense distance would 
 effectually exclude them from our view if 
 their light were not of the solar kind. Be- 
 sides, the analogy may be traced much fur- 
 ther: the sun turns on its axis; so does the 
 star Algol ; so do the stars called /3 Lyrse 
 & Cephei, *i Antinoi, o Ceti, and many more| 
 most probably all. Now from what other 
 cause can we, with so much probability, ac- 
 count for their periodical changes? Again, our 
 sun’s spots are changeable ; so are the spots 
 on the star o Ceti. But if stars are suns, 
 and suns are inhabitable, we see at once 
 what an extensive field for animation opens 
 to our view. 
 
 It is true, that analogy may induce us to 
 conclude, thgt since stars appear to be 
 suns, and suns, according to the common 
 opinion, are bodies that serve to enlighten 
 warm, and sustain a system of planets, we 
 nsay have an idea of numberless globes that 
 sei ve for the habitation of living creatures. 
 But if these suns themselves are primary 
 planets, we may see some thousands 
 
SUP 
 
 them with the naked eyes, and millions with 
 the help of telescopes; and, at the same 
 time, the same analogical reasoning still re- 
 mains in full force with regard to the planets 
 which these suns may support. See Philo- 
 sophical Ttansactions, and Young’s Natural 
 Philosophy. 
 
 We shall conclude this article, with some 
 particulars respecting the sun, by Sir Isaac 
 Newton. 1. 'That the density of the sun’s 
 heat, which is proportional to his light, is 
 7 times as great in Mercury as with us, and 
 that water there would be all carried otf in 
 the shape of steam, for, he found, by expe- 
 riments with the thermometer, that a heat 
 seven times greater than that of the sun’s 
 beams in summer will serve to make water 
 boil. g. That the quantity of matter in the 
 sun is to that in Jupiter nearly as 1100 to 1, 
 and that the distance of that planet from the 
 sun is in the same ratio to the sun’s semidia- 
 meter; consequently, that the centre of 
 gravity of the sun and Jupiter is nearly in 
 the superficies of the sun. 3. That the 
 quantity of matter in the sun is to that in 
 Saturn as 2360 to 1, and that the distance 
 of Saturn from the sun is in a ratio but lit- 
 tle less than that of the sun’s semidiameter. 
 And hence the common centre of gravity of 
 Saturn and the sun is a little within the sun. 
 4. By the same method of calculation it 
 will be found, that the common centre of 
 gravity of all the planets cannot be more 
 than the length of the solar diameter distant 
 from the centre of the sun. 5. The sun’s 
 diameter is equal to 100 diameters of the 
 earth, and therefore its magnitude must 
 exceed that of the earth one million of 
 times. 6. If 360 degrees (the whole eclip- 
 tic) be divided by the quantity of the solar 
 year, it will give 59' 8 which therefore is 
 the medium quantity of the sun’s apparent 
 daily motion ; hence his horary motion is 
 equal to 2' 27". By this method the tables 
 of the sun’s mean motion are constructed as 
 found in astronomical books. 
 
 SUPERCARGO, a person employed by 
 merchants to go a voyage, and oversee 
 their cargo or lading, and dispose of it to 
 the best advantage. 
 
 SUPERFICIES, or Surface, in geo- 
 metry, a magnitude considered as having 
 two dimensions; or extended in length 
 and breadth, but without thickness or 
 depth. In bodies, the superficies is all 
 that presents itself to the eye. A super- 
 ficies is chiefly considered as the external 
 part of a solid. When we speak of a sur- 
 face simply, and without any regard to 
 
 SUP 
 
 body, we usually call it figure. The seve- 
 ral kinds of superficies are as follow : recti- 
 linear superficies, that comprehended be- 
 tween right lines ; curvilinear superficies, 
 that comprehended between curve lines ; 
 plane superficies, is that which has no ine- 
 quality, but lies evenly between its boun- 
 dary lines ; convex superficies, is the exte- 
 rior part of a spherical, or spheroidical 
 body ; and a concave superficies, is the 
 interna) part of an orbicular or spheroidical 
 body. 
 
 The measure or quantity of a superficies, 
 or surface, is called the area thereof. 
 
 The finding of this measure, or area, is 
 called the quadrature thereof. 
 
 To measure the surfaces of the several 
 kinds of bodies, as sphere^, cubes, paralel- 
 lopipeds, pyramids, prisms, cones, £cc. 
 
 Superficies, line of, a line usually found 
 on the sector, and Gunter’s scale, the de- 
 scription and use whereof, see under Sec- 
 tor and Gunter’s scale, 
 
 SUPERLATIVE, in grammar, one of 
 the tliree degrees of comparison, being that 
 inflection of nouns adjective that serves to 
 augment and heighten their signification, 
 and shows the quality of the thing denoted 
 to be in the highest degree. 
 
 SUPERNUMERARY, something over 
 and above a fixed number. In several of 
 the offices are supernumerary clerks, to be 
 ready on extraordinary occasions. There 
 are also supernumerary surveyors of the 
 excise, to be ready to supply vacancies 
 when they fall ; these hive but half pay. 
 
 SUPERSEDEAS, a writ that lies in a 
 great many cases, and signifies, in general, a 
 command to stay proceedings, on good 
 cause shown, wliich ought ofhervvise to 
 proceed. By a supersedeas, the doing of 
 a thing which might otherwise have been 
 lawfully dene, is prevented ; or a thing that 
 has been done, is (notwithstanding it was 
 done in a due course of law) thereby made 
 void. A supersedeas is either expressed or 
 implied; an express supersedeas is some- 
 times by writ, sometimes without a writ ; 
 where it is by writ, some person to whom 
 the writ is directed, is thereby commanded 
 to forbear the doing something therein 
 mentioned ; or if the thing has been already 
 done, to revoke, as that can be done, the 
 act. 
 
 A person is superseded out of prison, 
 when, by the practice of the court, the 
 plaintiflF has omitted to proceed in due time 
 against him. 
 
SUP 
 
 SUPPLEMENT of an arch, in geome- 
 try, or trigonometry, is the number of de- 
 grees that it wants of being an intirc semi- 
 circle ; as a complement, signifies what an 
 arch wants of being a quadrant. 
 
 SUPPORTED, in heraldry, a term ap- 
 plied to the uppermost quarters of a shield 
 when divided into several quarters, these 
 seeming as it were supported or sustained 
 by those below. The chief is said to be 
 supported when it is of two colours, and 
 the upper colour takes up two-thirds of it. 
 In this case it is supported by the colour 
 underneath. 
 
 SUPPORTERS, in heraldry, figures in 
 an achievement placed by the side of the 
 shield, and seeming to support or hold up 
 the same. Supporters are chiefly figures 
 of beasts : figures of human creatures, for 
 the tike purpose, are properly called te- 
 nants. Some make another difference be- 
 tween tenant and supporter: when the 
 shield is borne by a single animal, it is called 
 tenant; when by two, they are called sup- 
 porters. The figures of things inanimate 
 sometimes placed aside of escutcheons, but 
 not touching or seeming to bear them, 
 though sometimes called supporters, are 
 more properly cotises. The supporters of 
 the British arms are a lion and an unicorn. 
 In England, none under the degree of a 
 banneret are allowed supporters, which are 
 restrained to those called the high nobility. 
 The Germans permit none but princes and 
 noblemen of rank to bear them ; but among 
 the French formerly the use of them was 
 more promiscuous. 
 
 SUPPRESSION, in grammar and rhe- 
 toric, denotes an omission of certain words 
 in a sentence, which yet are necessary to 
 full and perfect construction: as, “ I come 
 from my father’s that is, “ from my fa- 
 ther’s house.” Suppression is a figure of 
 speech very frequent in our language, 
 chiefly used for brevity and elegance. 
 Some rules relating thereto are as follow ; 
 
 1. Whenever a word comes to be repeated 
 in a sentence oftener than once, it is to be 
 suppressed. Thus we say, “ This is my 
 master’s horsf,” not “ This horse is my 
 master’s horse.” 2 . Words that are neces- 
 sarily supplied may be suppressed : and, 
 
 3. All words that use and custom suppress 
 in other languages, are also to be suppressed 
 in English, unless there be particular rea- 
 sons for the contrary. 
 
 Suppression is also a figure in speech 
 whereby a person in rage, or other disturb- 
 ance of mind, speaks not out all he means, 
 
 SUR 
 
 but suddenly breaks off his discourse. Thus 
 the gentleman in Terence, extremely in- 
 censed against his adversary, accosts him 
 with this abrupt saying “ Thou of all.” 
 The excess of his indignation and rage 
 choaked the passage of his voice, and would 
 not sufiFer him to utter the rest. But in 
 these cases, though the discourse is not 
 complete, the meaning is readily under- 
 stood, and the evidence of the thought ea- 
 sily supplies the defect of words. Sup- 
 pression sometimes proceeds from modesty 
 and fear of uttering any word of ill and 
 offensive sound. 
 
 SURD, in arithmetic and algebra, de- 
 notes any number or quantity that is incom- 
 mensurable to unity: otherwise called an 
 irrational number or quantity. 
 
 The square roots of all numbers, except 
 1, 4, 9, 16, 25, 36, 49, 64, 81, 100, 121, 144 
 &c. (which are the squares of the integer 
 numbers, 1 , 2 , 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 , ig, 
 &c.) are incommensurables : and after the 
 same manner the cube roots of all numbers 
 but of the cubes of 1, 2 , 3, 4, 5, 6, &c. are 
 incommensurables : and quantities that are 
 to one another in the proportion of such 
 numbers, must also have their square-roots, 
 or cube roots, incommensurable. 
 
 The roots, therefore, of such numbers, 
 being incommensurable, are expressed by 
 placing the proper radical sign over them : 
 thus \/ 3, 6, 6, &c. express num- 
 
 bers incommensurable with unity. How- 
 ever, though these numbers ale incommen- 
 surable themselves with unity, yet they are 
 commensurable in power with it ; because 
 their powers are integers, that is, multiples 
 of unity. They may also be commensurable 
 sometimes with one another, as the .^8 and 
 ' \/2 ; because they are to one another as 2 
 to 1 : and when they have a common mea- 
 sure, as y'2 is the common measure of 
 both ; then their ratio is reduced to an ex- 
 pression in the least terms, as that of com- 
 mensurable quantities, by dividing them by 
 their greatest common measure. This com- 
 mon measure is found as in commensurable 
 quantities, only the root of the common 
 measure is to be made their common divi- 
 sor: thus ^ = y/ 4 = 2, and — 
 
 o ,/ a. 
 
 A rational quantity may be reduced to 
 the form of any given surd, by raising the 
 quantity to the power that is denominated 
 by the name of the surd, and then setting 
 the radical sign over it : thus a = _ 
 
SURD. 
 
 ^ a^ = Ay a‘' = \/ = ^ a% and 4 = 
 V” 16 64= 256 = ^ 1024 = 
 
 ^ 4”. 
 
 As surds may be considered as powers 
 with fractional exponents, they are reduced 
 to others Of the same value, that shall have 
 the same radical sign, by reducing these 
 fractional exponents to fractions having the 
 same value and a common denominator. 
 
 Thus ^ a = a”, and ^ a = om, and - = 
 
 — , = i=~^ and therefore a/ a and v' 
 jjTO m nm 
 
 a, reduced tp the same radical sign, become 
 and If you are to reduce 1/^3 
 
 and 4^ 2 to the same denominator, consi- 
 der ^ 3 as equal to Sij'and ^2 as equal 
 1 
 
 to 2^, whose indices, reduced to a common 
 1 I i 
 
 denominator, yo,u have 3^ = 3®, and 2^ = 
 
 2‘ , and consequently, ^ 3 = 4^ 3’, = 
 
 27, and 4^2='V^ 2^=4^4;so that the 
 proposed surds >V o and 'v' 2, are reduced 
 to other equal surds 27 and 4, hav- 
 ing a common radical sign. 
 
 Surds of the same rational quantity are 
 multiplied by adding their exponents, 
 and divided by subtracting them; thus, 
 j .3 + 2 5 
 
 ^oX4^o = a2x«^=“‘’ =a‘ = 
 
 and f-^=-^, = a^ ‘ =«— = 
 V ' i/a ai 
 
 2 m-\-n V a 
 
 o“ = !y a'‘;v'aX^« = « mn'’~ir~ 
 
 ^ ' '' 
 
 i/ % 
 4' 3 
 
 
 If the surds are of different rational quan- 
 tities, as ^ and \/ b\ and have the same 
 sign, multiply these rational quantities into 
 one another, or divide them by one another, 
 and set the common radical sien over tlieir 
 product, or quotient. Thus, a‘ x \/ 
 
 = ^^; ^2XAf5 = ^yiO;|5' = 
 
 Vb-a 
 
 ^ h^a~^ 3/„. — A' aA — 
 
 
 vK24 
 
 24 
 
 As 
 
 :l^3. 
 
 If surds have^ not the same radical sign, 
 reduce them to such as shall have the 
 
 same radical sign, and proceed as before; 
 
 •V^ 3 X 4 = 2^ X 4l = 2‘x4® = 
 ^_2 ’ X 4^ = 4/s X 16 = ^T'g 8. 
 
 ^ ii — ^ — 
 
 2 22 2^ 8 
 
 ^ 2 . 
 
 If the surds have any rational coeffi- 
 cients, their product or quotient must be 
 prefixed ; thus, 2.^3x5.^6 = i0.^ 
 18. The powers of surds are found as the 
 powers of their quantities, by multiplying 
 their exponents by the index of the power 
 required ; thus the square of 2 is 2 s ^ 
 = 2 s = /^ 4 ; the cube of 5 = 52 ^^ 
 
 = 55 = .^ 123. Or you need only, in in- 
 volving surds, raise the quantity under the 
 radical sign to the power required, continu- 
 ing the same radical sign ; unless the index 
 of that power is equal to the name of the 
 surd, or a multiple of it, and in that case 
 the power of the surd becomes rational. 
 Evolution is performed by dividing the 
 fraction, which is the exponent of the surd, 
 by the name of the root required. Thus, 
 the square root of .^^*^is or ^ o'*. 
 
 The surd a x = a !y x-, and, in 
 like manner, if a power of any quantity 
 of the same name with the surd divides 
 the quantity under the radical sign without 
 a remainder, as here o™ divides a™ x, and 
 25 the square of 5, divides 75 the quantity 
 under the sign in 75 without a remain- 
 der ; then place tlie root of that power ra- 
 tionally before the sign, and the quotient 
 under the sign, and thus tlie surd will be 
 reduced to a more simple expression. 
 Thus, 75 = 5 \/ 3 ; ^ 48 = ^ 3x16 
 = 4 3 ; 81 = ,^ 27 X 3 ='3 3. 
 
 When surds are reduced to their least 
 expressions, if they have the same irra- 
 tional part, they are added or subtracted, 
 by adding or subtracting their rational 
 coefficients, and prefixing the sum or dif- 
 ference to the common irrational part. 
 Thus, ^75 + ^ 48 — 5^/3 3 
 
 = 9 3 ; 4^ 81 -f 24 = 3 3 2 
 
 3 = 3 y' S; 160 — y/ 5 4 = 5 y' 
 6 — 3^6=2^76; •/ x b^ x 
 = a^x-\-bj^x = a-\-bX >/ x. 
 
 Compound surds are such as consist of 
 two or more joined together ; the simple 
 
SUR 
 
 surds are commensurable in power, and by 
 being multiplied into themselves, give at 
 lengtli rational quantities ; yet compound 
 surds multiplied into themselves, commonly 
 give still irrational products. But when 
 any compound surd is proposed, there is 
 another compound surd, which, multiplied 
 into it, gives a rational product. Thus, if 
 ^ a ^ 6 were proposed, multiplying it 
 by v' u — s/ f**® product will be a — b. 
 
 The investigation of that surd, which, 
 multiplied into the proposed surd, gives a 
 rational product, is made easy by three the- 
 orems, delivered by Mr. Maclaurin, in his 
 Algebra. 
 
 This operation is of use in reducing surd 
 expressions to more simple forms. Thus, 
 suppose a binomial surd divided by ano- 
 ther, as SO ^ 12, by \/ 5 — \/ 3> 
 the quotient might be expressed by 
 
 ^ 20 4- V . jjut this might be ex- 
 
 V 5 — v/ 3 
 
 pressed in a more simple form, by multi- 
 plying both numerator and denominator, 
 by that surd, which, multiplied into the de- 
 nominator, gives a rational product : tlius, 
 V20-f-v/12_V^<Hryi!:? ^ «/3+‘/3 _ 
 
 V 5 — \/~3 ^5 — ^3 ^ 
 
 v'ToO-f 2v'60-f 6_16 + 2 v/ 60_ j, , 
 
 5—3 “2 , ‘ 
 
 2 s/ 15. 
 
 When the square root of a surd is re- 
 quired, it may be fmmd, nearly, by extract- 
 ing the root of a rational quantity that ap- 
 proximates to its value. Thus, to find the 
 square root of 3 -f- 2 v 2, first calculate 
 ,/ S— 1,41421. Hence S -\-S </ 2 = 
 6,82842, the root of wliich is found to be 
 nearly 2,41421. 
 
 In like manner we may proceed with 
 any other proposed root. And if the in- 
 -dex of the. root, proposed to be extracted, 
 be great, a table of logarithms may be 
 
 used. Thus, \/ IT may be most 
 
 conveniently found by logarithms. 
 
 Take the logarithms of 17, divide it by 
 13 ; find the number corresponding to the 
 tjuotient ; add this number to 5 : find the 
 logarithm of the sum, and divide it by 7, and 
 the number corresponding to this quotient 
 
 will be nearly equal -to \/^ 5-1-^ 17. 
 
 But it is sometimes requisite to express 
 the roots of surds exactly by other surds. 
 Thus, in the first example, the square 
 rootof34-2v/ 2isl-f-v/2: fGrT4v2 X 
 a-f-V2=:l4-2^/2-l-2 = 3-l-2v'2. 
 
 SUR 
 
 For the method of performing this, the 
 curious may consult Mr. Maclaurin’s Al- 
 gebra. 
 
 SURETY of the peace. A justice of the 
 peace may, according to his discretion, bind 
 all those to keep the peace who, in his pre- 
 sence, shall make any affray, or shall threat- 
 en to kill or beat any person, or shall con- 
 tend together in hot words ; and qll those 
 who shall go about with unlawful weapons, 
 or attendance to the terror of the people ; 
 and all such persons as shall be known by 
 him to be common barrators ; and all who 
 shall be brought before him by a consta- 
 ble, for a breach of the peace in the pre- 
 sence of such constable ; and all such 
 persons yvho having been before bound 
 to keep the peace, shall be convicted of 
 having forfeited their recognizance. When 
 surety of the peace is granted by the Court 
 of King’s Bench, if a supersedeas come 
 from the Court of Chancery to the justices 
 of that court, their power is at an end, and 
 the party as to them discharged. 
 
 If surety of the peace be desired against 
 a peer, the safest way is to apply to the 
 Court of Chancery or King’s Bench. If the 
 person against \vliom security of the peacer 
 be demanded be present, the justice of the 
 peace may commit him immediately, unless 
 he offer sureties ; and dfoi'tiori he may be 
 commanded to find sureties, and be com- 
 mitted for not doing it. 
 
 SURGERY is that division of the healing 
 art, which is chiefly conversant with the 
 treatment of the external and local disorders 
 of the body, of the effects of accidental 
 injury, and of such diseases in general as 
 are curable by manual operation. Yet its 
 field is not entirely confined to the depart- 
 ment just alluded to ; since local disorders, 
 and particularly accidents, often affect the 
 whole frame, so as to induce a general de- 
 rangement of the constitution ; and again, 
 diseases of parts arise out of constitutional 
 affections, or, although originally inde- 
 pendent, may be greatly aggravated by 
 them. Hence it is obviously necessary that 
 tlie surgeon should be acquainted with the 
 nature and treatment of such general dis- 
 orders ; and consequently, in marking out 
 the limits, which divide the departments of 
 the surgeon and physician, it is hardly possi- 
 ble to attain sucli a pitch of accuracy as to 
 prevent all supposed encroachment of ei- 
 ther side on the province of the other. 
 
 The care of the external and local affec- 
 tions of the human body was, in the infancy 
 of science, a branch of the art of medicine. 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 Surgery and physic were then, and for 
 many ages afterwards, practised by the 
 same individuals. These, however, in course 
 of time, began to consider the manual and 
 operative pait of the profession as too me- 
 chanical and low for persons of their seien- 
 tiiic education, and consequently resigned 
 them to an inferior class of uneducated 
 men, who generally combined with them 
 the trade of the barber. Hence arose in 
 most countries of Europe the calling of 
 barber-surgeon ; which included, besides 
 shaving, hair-dressing, «&c. tooth-drawing, 
 bleeding, dressing of ulcers, and other of the 
 more common and easy parts of operative 
 surgery. While contaminated by so de- 
 grading an alliance, and practised by per- 
 sons wholly illiterate, we cannot be sur- 
 prised to find that surgery and its pro- 
 fessors met with neglect and contempt, and 
 that the latter were considered as merely 
 subordinate to the physicians. The barber- 
 surgeons must still have had opportunities 
 of seeing and learning disease ; they began 
 to get an insight into the structure of the 
 human body ; and they acquired a respec- 
 tability by being employed in wars in the 
 cure of the wounded. The physicians, who 
 were still the only regularly educated and 
 scientific class of men practising the art of 
 healing, wished to retain their old and long 
 enjoyed superiority ; and hence arose in many 
 countries long and sharp disputes with the 
 barber-surgeons, which ended at last, as the 
 progress of civilization and improvement 
 would naturally lead us to expect, in the 
 separation of the barbers and surgeons, and 
 tire elevation of the latter to their proper 
 jank and consideration in society. 
 
 Whatever part of the subject we may 
 contemplate, we shall find that the art of 
 surgery requires, no less than that of physic, 
 all the advantages that can be derived from 
 the most liberal education ; that it demands 
 still more imperiously a familiar knowledge 
 of anatomy and physiology, i. e. of the 
 structure and functions of that machine, 
 whose derangements it proposes to re- 
 medy ; and consequently, that although 
 prejudice still assigns to the physician a su- 
 perior rank to that of the surgeon, they 
 must be considered in modern days, as 
 equals, whether we regard the reason of the 
 thing, or proceed to an actual comparison 
 of individuals. 
 
 Our opinions concerning the education 
 and qualifications of tlie surgeon will be ea- 
 sily collected from the foregoing observa- 
 tions. Instead of spending seven years of 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 the most valuable part of his life in the> 
 drudgery of an apothecary’s shop, the 
 youth destined for the profession of surgery 
 should receive a learned and liberal educa- 
 tion. The Latin language among the dead, 
 and the French of the living, are indispensi- 
 hly necessary ; and the German w’ould 
 form a very useful addition to these. 
 
 Anatomy and physiology are the next 
 objects of attention, and demand the most 
 assiduous cultivation ; these sciences are- 
 the foundation on which the art of surgery 
 rests. The study of chemistry and natu- 
 ral philosophy will be pursued at the same- 
 time. When prepared by these previous 
 steps, the student may commence the prac- 
 tical part of his education in the large hos- 
 pitals of the metropolis ; carefully studying 
 diseases themselves, taking notes of the 
 most interesting cases, and omitting no op- 
 portunity of observing the alterations occa- 
 sioned by disease in the structure of tlio 
 body. Lectures on surgery, on the mate- 
 ria medica, and the practice of medicine 
 must also be attended. The performance 
 of surgical operations on the dead body 
 will be highly beneficial, as leading to tlie 
 study of those parts of anatomy, which are 
 more particularly concerned in operations, 
 and as imparting the manual skill necessary 
 to the operator. 
 
 Of systenatic works on Surgery there is 
 none, which unites the recommendations of 
 clearness, shortness, and comprehension, to 
 so great a degree, as the “ First Lines of the 
 Practice of Surgery,” by Mr. S. Cooper, to 
 which we therefore refer the reader. The 
 larger systems are by no means unexcep- 
 tionable ; we may mention that of Latta ; 
 the “ Systema Chirurgiae hodiernae ” of 
 Callisen; and the “ Anfangs-griinde der Wim> 
 darzney kunst” of Richter. Generally, how- 
 ever, the works tliat treat of particular sub- 
 jects are to be preferred to the systems of 
 surgery. The writings of Mr. Pott, and the 
 “ Memoirs of the French Royal Academy 
 of Surgery,” contain a great deal of valuable 
 information ; as also do those of John 
 Hunter, Home, Abernethy, and Astley 
 Cooper ; Le Dran, Sharp, Bertrandi, and 
 Sabatier, inay be read on the operations. 
 The numerous other sources of surgical 
 knowledge will be discovered by the stu- 
 dent in iris progress. The following sketch 
 will be divided into general surgical sub- 
 jects, or such disorders as are common toi 
 several situations in the body, including 
 also the constitutional derangements which 
 accompany or cause lo(^l disorders j and 
 U 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 particular surgical subjects, or the disorders 
 and iajiiries of each particular part, and 
 the operations practised on it. As the 
 limits between surgery and medicine are ra- 
 ther artificial than real, these two branches 
 of medical science touch each other in va- 
 rious points, and the physician and surgeon 
 both claim a right to undertake the manage- 
 ment of the same disorder. Hence the af- 
 ticle Medicine of tiiis work contains re- 
 marks on several diseases which are often 
 treated by the surgeon ; and we refer the 
 reader to that article on the following points, 
 fia. fever, tetanus, rachitis, scrofula, amau- 
 rosis, albugo, deafness, enuresis, ischuria, 
 herpes, tinea, and psora. 
 
 GENERAL SORGICAL SUBJECTS.. 
 
 Sympathetic Fever. No part of the ani- 
 mal body can be very considerably disor- 
 dered, without occasioning a correspondent 
 derangement of the whole constitution. 
 Such disorder has been considered by Mr. 
 Hunter as the result of universal sympathy. 
 This consent of the whole constitution 
 with its parts, manifests itself, in particu- 
 lar instances, by a greater disturbance of 
 the functions of some organs than of others, 
 and from this circumstance these diseases 
 have derived the appellations, by which 
 they are commonly distinguished. If the 
 actions of the sanguiferous system be prin- 
 cipally disturbed, and the temperature of 
 the body subject to unnatural variations, 
 the disease is termed fever ; if the nervous 
 system be chiefly atfected, a stat? of vi- 
 gilance or delirium may be produced ; con- 
 vulsions and tetanus take place when the 
 muscular system is more particularly dis- 
 ordered. Though. the especial disorder of 
 particular organs thus gives a character and 
 denomination to the disease, it is sutliciently 
 evident, in every instance, that the whole 
 constitution is disturbed. , 
 
 The fever, which accompanies local acci- 
 dent or disease has been termed symptoma- 
 tic, as if it were one of the symptoms of the 
 local disorder ; the epithet sympathetic is 
 preferable, as it is founded on the real ila- 
 tiire of the disorder, viz. a sympathy of the 
 whole constitution for the disturbed state of 
 a part. 
 
 The sympathetic inflammatory fever is 
 accompanied with a frequent strong and 
 full pulse, hot and dry .skin, scanty and high 
 coloured urine, dry furred tongue, thirst,, 
 loss of appetite and sleep ; in some cases 
 dgliritiui, 
 
 When the local affection is in such parts 
 as are essential to life, the powers tf the 
 constitution seem to be much depressed ) 
 and the pjalse is frequent and small. 
 
 Treatment. The cute of the local inflam- 
 mation, which excites and keeps up tliis 
 sympathetic disturbance of the whole con- 
 stitution, is the most effectual step for 
 stopping tiie general disorder. But as the 
 fever may react on the local disorder, pal- 
 liative means may be necessary for the con- 
 stitutional symptoms. Bleeding, saline 
 purgatives, and diaphoretics, as the prepa- 
 rations of antimony, and the aqua anmiouim 
 acetata-, are the best means. The use of 
 tlie lancet is only advisable where the local 
 mischief is to be feared on account of its si - 
 tuation or extent. 
 
 The sympathetic fever, just described, is 
 produced by the irritation of a local injury 
 upon a healthy constitution ; when liowever 
 the disease has continued unsubdued for a 
 long time, the constitution still sympathises, 
 altliough in a different manner ; and tlie 
 disorder then produced is called the sym- 
 pathetic hectic fever. This form of consti- 
 tutional sympathy attends such local affec- 
 tions as debilitate and harass the frame; 
 -and it is the reactive effort of an irritated 
 and weakened constitulfon. The symptoms 
 are a frequent small pulse, moist skin, pale 
 and copious urine, great weakness, moist 
 tongue, deficient appetite, often sickness, 
 nocturnal sweats, loss of sleep, indiges- 
 tionr&c. 
 
 Treatment. The alleviation or removal of 
 the local complaint is the most effectual re- 
 medy. When this cannot be accomplished 
 we must try to strengthen the patient ; and 
 if there were a medicine possessing the direct 
 power of communicating strength to the con- 
 stitution, these cases would be very proper 
 for its employment. Particular symptoms 
 may be combated, so as to keep all the func- 
 tions in a state approaching as nearly as W'e 
 can to tliat of health, and digestion promoted. 
 Bark, with gentle cordial and aromatic 
 draughts, are the most proper medicines. 
 The food should be light and nourishing, 
 and taken frequently in small quantities. 
 Opium is often of great service, both in 
 procuring sleep, and in checking the purg- 
 ing. 
 
 Disorder of the digestive Organs. The 
 stomach and bowels bear a considerable 
 share in the sympathetic derangements al- 
 ready considered. But in many instances 
 ot local complaints they are deranged in a 
 still more striking way ; and again, a dis- 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 tin-bed state of these organs arising from 
 various causes will either give origin to va- 
 rious obstinate local complaints, or very 
 much increase the difficulty of their cure. 
 Many observations connected with this 
 subject are scattered in the works of sur- 
 gical writers ; but the public are indebted 
 for a general, scientific, and original view of 
 the whole subject to Mr. Abernethy ; to 
 whose surgical observations we must refer 
 the reader. 
 
 The symptoms of disordered digestive 
 organs, whether induced by the irritation 
 of local disease, or by other causes, as se- 
 dentary life, impure air, anxiety, and too 
 great exertion of mind or body, are, dimi- 
 nution of the appetite and digestion, flatu- 
 lence, and unnatural colour and fetor of the 
 excretions, which are generally deticient in 
 quantity. The tongue is dry, whitish, and 
 furred, particularly at the ba'ck part, and 
 this symptom is most apparent in the 
 morning. As the disease advances, a ten- 
 derness is felt on pressing tiie epigastric 
 region, and the urine is frequently turbid. 
 Mr. Abernethy considers this affection to 
 be a general disorder of all the organs con- 
 cerned in the assimilation of our food ; and 
 that it consists in a weakness and irritability 
 of the affected parts, accompanied by a de- 
 ficiency or depravity of the fluids secret- 
 ed by them ; upon the healthy qualities of 
 which the right performance of their func- 
 tions seems to depend. The duration of 
 the affection without fatal consequences, or 
 indeed without any changes of structure in 
 the parts, shows that it is only a disorder 
 of functions. 
 
 When it is considered that this derange- 
 ment of the chylopoietic viscera may bring 
 on various diseases, and that local affections, 
 occurring during its existence will become 
 peculiar in their nature and progress, and 
 difficult of cure, the importance of the sub- 
 ject will be readily allowed. A particular 
 attention to diet is a point of primary im- 
 portance in the treatment and connected 
 with this, the practice of taking five grains 
 of powdered rhubarb an hour before dinner 
 is very beneficial. A correction of any ob- 
 vious irregularity in the intestines, and a re- 
 gular diurnal evacuation of them are the 
 next points to which we must attend. 
 Purging is by no means advisable in the 
 weakened state of thqse' orgaPs. The ad- 
 ministration of small doses of mercury every 
 night or every other night has a powerful 
 effect in correcting disorders of the biliary 
 secretion, and coii»er|uently in bringing the 
 
 stools to their natural colour. Vegetable 
 diet-drinks, as the decoct, sarsaparill. comp, 
 have been advantageously combined with 
 these means. The cause of the disorder 
 may be more completely relieved by good 
 air, exercise, and mental tranquillity, while 
 the medical assistance above-mentioned 
 counteracts the effects. By such simple 
 treatment as we have just mentioned, ob- 
 stinate and extensive local diseases of 
 the most opposite classes, which have re- 
 sisted all the ordinary methods, will often 
 be either entirely cured, or very signally 
 relieved. 
 
 Tetanus, or locked jaw, is one of the most 
 alarming consequences of local injui-y. It 
 is most frequent in warm climates, in the 
 male sex, and in the robust and vigorous. It 
 does not appear till many days after the 
 accident, and frequently when the wound 
 is quite healed. Injuries of the fingers and 
 toes are its most frequent causes, 
 
 Sytnptoms. The muscles of the lower 
 jaw first become stiff, and then rigidly con- 
 tracted, so that the mouth cannot be open- 
 ed. Those of the neck, back, and whole 
 body, are successively affected in the same 
 manner. The spasm, however, is not con- 
 stant, as violent and most painful convulsions 
 occasionally agitate the whole frame. The 
 progress is various ; when rapid, the patient 
 scarcely ever recovers; but if fie survive 
 the fourth day, the prognostic is much more 
 favourable. The vital functions are but 
 little affected. 
 
 Treatment. When the symptoms have 
 come on, there seems to be no connection 
 between them and the original local cause; 
 so that no assistance can be derived from 
 this source. Opium in very large doses, as 
 a grain in two hours, and then gradually in- 
 creased ; and the same remedy by the way of 
 clystei', and in frictions seems to have af- 
 forded the most relief. The warm bath, 
 camphor, volatile alkali, and musk, accord- 
 ing to circumstances. Large quantities of 
 wine have been recommended ; and in some 
 cases the cold bath during the spasm has 
 relieved. Salivation is useless. 
 
 Inflammation, in some of its states or va- 
 rieties, is presented to our view in almost 
 every surgical disease, and consequently 
 particularly demands the attention of the 
 surgeon. It occurs as a natural means of 
 cure in many species of accidental injury; 
 and here it is considered as healthy : it may 
 also be regarded in the same light where it 
 follows any local irritation in a healthy con- 
 stitution and part. In other cases it is com- 
 U S! 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 plicated with some morbid tendency, as in 
 erysipelas, scrophula, lues venerea, &c. and 
 hence arise numerous species of unhealthy 
 inflammation. Again, it may be acute or 
 chronic, in respect to its duration. 
 
 Healthy acute inflammation has been 
 called phlegmon. Its symptoms are pre- 
 ternatural redness, increased heat, and a 
 circumscribed, throbbing, painful swelling 
 of the inflamed part. The exciting cause 
 is generally some external violence, of a 
 mechanical or chemical nature. Some- 
 times it arises spontaneously ; or, in other 
 words, no perceptible cause can be assigned 
 for it. The proximate cause is an increased 
 action of the vessels of the part. 
 
 During its existence in any important or- 
 gan of the body, blood taken away from the 
 system has the inflammatory crust, or butF, 
 on the upper surface of the clot, which is at 
 the same time concave, or cupped. 
 
 Treatment. 1. Removal of the cause, 
 where that is practicable, 2. Bleeding, 
 both topical and general. The latter is 
 only necessary when the inflammation of 
 the organ endangers life itself, as the brain, 
 lungs, liver, &c. ; or when tlie part has in- 
 ferior powers of recovery, as a joint; or 
 where suppuration would entirely destroy 
 the organ, as in ophthalmy. The former is 
 effected by means of leeches, or cupping. 
 3. Purgatives, chiefly of the saline kind, as 
 Glauber’s and Epsom salts, &c. 4. Anti- 
 monial medicines, which relieve the skin, 
 and diminish febrile action. 5. Reduced 
 diet, including abstinence from fermented 
 or spirituous liquors, and animal food. 
 6. Evaporation constantly kept up from the 
 surface by folded cloths, wetted with cold 
 washes. This is very powerful in reducing 
 the heat and increased actions of the part. 
 A solution of ceriiss. acetat. ^ ss. in ^ iv. of 
 vinegar and tb ij. of distilled 'water is a very 
 good application. Wliere, on account of 
 concomitant extravasation of blood, as in 
 bruises, it is desirable to excite the absor- 
 bents, washes supposed to have this effect, 
 and therefore termed discutients, are em- 
 ployed: such as pt. ammon. muriat. ^ss. 
 aceti et spir. vin. rectif. aa tb j. 7. Warm 
 applications, as poultices or fomentations, 
 occasionally relieve, when the cold washes 
 are ineffectual. 
 
 Inflammation terminates in resolution, 
 which is the gradual subsidence of all the 
 symptoms ; in suppuration, or the formation 
 of matter ; or in mortification. 
 
 Suppuration,. The inflammatory symp- 
 toms, instead of yielding to the tjreatment, 
 
 are aggravated; and afterwards suddenly 
 subside, the patient being seized with, 
 shiverings. The swelling becomes softer, 
 and white at its most elevated part ; and if 
 the collection be supeificial, a fluctuation 
 can be felt. At this time a fluid, called mat- 
 ter, or pus, is contained in a cavity formed 
 in the centre of the inflamed part, and 
 termed an abscess. This peculiar fluid is 
 separated from the blood by the inexpli- 
 cable power of the secerning arteries, just as 
 ordinary secretion takes place. In a healthy 
 state it is a homogeneous light yellow fluid, 
 about the consistence of cream, and pos- 
 sessing little smell ; but under many circum- 
 stances of disease its appearance and pro- 
 perties are entirely changed. The cyst, 
 containing the. pus, has a smooth and some- 
 what villous surface : it seems to be lined 
 with a layer of coagulating lymph, and the 
 surrounding cellular substance is thickened 
 and agglutinated by the inflammation, so as 
 to prevent the matter from spreading. 
 From the arteries of this part the pus is 
 secreted. 
 
 The matter always makes its way towards 
 the external surface of the body ; even if 
 the parts should be very much thinner, and 
 less resisting towards any cavity. 
 
 Treatment. A soft poultice until the ab- 
 scess bursts, or has been opened. The lat- 
 ter operation is performed by a straight 
 two-edged scalpel, or an abscess lancet. 
 It is not necessary, unless the collection he 
 under a fascia, which may prevent it from 
 coming forwards; or near a joint, or large 
 cavity of the body, as the belly or chest. 
 A poultice should still be applied after the 
 bursting of the abscess. 
 
 Mortification ensues when the violence of, 
 the inflammation, or its duration, has com- 
 pletely exhausted the powers of the part. 
 The pain subsides ; the part becomes livid, 
 or otherwise discoloured ; the cuticle is 
 elevated into a vesication by a turbid fluid ; 
 the pain and tension are diminished ; and 
 air is disengaged into the cellular substance, 
 so as to cause a crackling sensation. To 
 this stage the term gangrene is applied; 
 but when the part has become quite black, 
 and has lost its motion, sensation, and heat, 
 it is called sphacelus. 
 
 The blood coagulates in the large vessels 
 leading to the part, and consequently the 
 separation of the limb is not followed by 
 hemorrhage. 
 
 But mortification often occurs without 
 preceding inflammation in parts and sub- 
 jects where there is great weakness. Tying 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 the artery of a limb ; impeding tlie return 
 of the venous blood; continued topical pres- 
 sure in a weak constitution; cold, when 
 followed by the opposite extreme ; are 
 causes of this description. A peculiar mor- 
 tification, beginning at the toes ot old per- 
 sons, and proceeding upwards, is of this 
 kind. 
 
 When the mortification has stopped, a 
 defined boundary separates the dead and 
 living parts; the lymphatics remove the 
 connecting matter, so as to form a groove, 
 in which suppuration commences ; and this^ 
 groove extends deeper and deeper until 
 complete separation is effected. Our treat- 
 ment must be directed to the object of 
 sfopping the disorder; in which view atten- 
 tion to the constitutional disturbance, that 
 is usually very great, is of primary impor- 
 tance. The state of the digestive organs 
 will demand particular attention. The great 
 pain frequently requires opium. Cold washes 
 while the inflammation continues high ; and 
 afterwards a poultice of bread or linseed, 
 alone, or in combination with very finely 
 powdered charcoal, are the best topical 
 means. Amputation of a limb can never be 
 allowed, until the line of separation between 
 the dead and living parts is clearly formed. 
 When tlie inflammation has abated, and the 
 separation is going on, (which should in ge- 
 neral be left entirely to nature) the consti- 
 tution should be strengthened by every 
 means both of food and diet. Hence bark, 
 with wine and aromatic confection; fer- 
 mented liquors, and a nourishing diet, be- 
 come proper. Bark, how'ever, is by no 
 means so universally beneficial in mortifica- 
 tion as many surgeons suppose : if sympa- 
 thetic inflammatory fever be present, or 
 derangement of the chylopoietic organs, it 
 would certainly be hurtful; but, where de- 
 bility shows itself, this remedy must be in- 
 stantly employed. Opium is often very 
 serviceable-; and it has been represented by 
 Mr. Pott as almost a specific in the mortifi- 
 cation of the toes and feet of old persons, 
 where it must be used in a very free way. 
 The same remedy will be of service in other 
 cases, where the disorder is preceded and 
 accompanied with great pain, but not in- 
 flammation. ' 
 
 Erysipelas is a species of superficial in- 
 flammation, in which the red colour is tinged 
 more or less with yellow, particularly to- 
 wards tlie termination; it spreads rapidly 
 and widely ; there is swelling, without much 
 elevation, hardness, or circnmscription. 
 The skin is glossy, and its colour disappears 
 
 oii pressure. Tlie pain is of a burning or 
 itching kind. It often changes its seat ; and 
 is attended, when it recovers, with desqua- 
 mation of the cuticle. Sometimes vesicles 
 are formed. It seldom suppurates ; but 
 when it does, the abscesses are very exten- 
 sire, as adhesions seldom take place, to 
 limit the expansion of the matter. Morti- 
 fication ensues in some instances. 
 
 The. constitutional affection varies con- 
 siderably; according to the degree of local 
 disturbance. Languor, head-ache, loss of 
 appetite, nausea, vomiting, oppression of 
 the stomach, and foul taste in the mouth, 
 precede. It is most dangerous in the face, 
 and attended with the greatest disturbance, 
 often amounting to delirium. 
 
 Disorder of the chylopoietic viscera, and 
 suppressed perspiration, are tlie most pro- 
 minent causes of the complaint. Mild pur- 
 gatives, diaphoretics, and the antiphlogistic 
 regimen, are sufficient in the slighter cases. 
 In more severe attacks, calomel, combined 
 with other purges, and antimonials, is pro- 
 per. Emetics, where the stomach is much 
 distressed. Bark may be required after the 
 'disorder subsides. Cold washes, or poul- 
 tices, to the part, as they seem to agree: the 
 former are preferable, on the principle of 
 checking the inflammation. 
 
 Carbuncle is a very violent unhealthy kind 
 of inflammation, attended with a painful 
 deep discolouration of the skin, a very re- 
 markable thickening and induration of that 
 part, and gangrenous suppuration under it, 
 occurring usually at the back part of the 
 trunk, and often constituting a symptom of 
 the plague and other malignant fevers. Its 
 size varies considerably. Openings form in 
 the swelling, and give issue to a very offen- 
 sive discharge; and in the end extensive ' 
 mortification ensues. The fever, which is 
 at first inflammatory, soon becomes typhoid ; 
 and strong marks of chylopoietic derange- 
 ment are generally attendant. 
 
 The swelling must be completely laid 
 open by a free incision through the brawny 
 skin, so as to discharge all the matter and 
 sloughs. Purgatives and emetics are pro- 
 per for the disturbed digestive organs ; and 
 the debility wliich remains after the disorder 
 has subsided, demands strengthening inedi-, 
 cines and food. Opium when the pain is 
 excessive. 
 
 Boils are similar to carbuncles, except 
 that they are smaller, and require the same 
 treatment ; the state of the chylopoietic 
 organs must be particularly regarded. 
 
 (Edema is an unusual accumulation of 
 
SURGERY, 
 
 water m the cellular substance, occasioning 
 a general swelling of the part, without dis- 
 colouration, that pits on pressure, is uneasy 
 rather than painful, and increases in a de- 
 pending position. It arises from constitu- 
 tional, or local weakness. In the latter 
 case, which alone belongs to surgery, let 
 the cause bd removed ; put the limb in a 
 horizontal posture; employ frictions with 
 flannel, and camphorated, or other slightly 
 stimulating applications, and tlien apply a, 
 moderately tight roller. 
 
 Burns are attended with violent inflam- 
 mation of the part, severe pain, and fever. 
 The cuticle is raised into clear yellow blis- 
 ters. The part may be destroyed at once, 
 and converted into a dead black substance, 
 or it may slough from the subsequent in- 
 flammation. If vesications do not form, 
 suppuration will probably not take place. 
 Where the injury is very extensive, the 
 breathing is much affected. 
 
 As burns are violent local inflammations, 
 the antiphlogistic treatment, both locally 
 and generally, was the usual surgical prac- 
 tice, until Dr. Kentish, who then practised 
 surgery at Newcastle, introduced the oppo- 
 site, but as subsequent experience has 
 proved, much more successful plan of ap- 
 plying hot oil of turpentine, or alcohol, and 
 then covering the part with a liniment 
 composed of ung. resin, flav. and ol. tereb. 
 on the principle of maintaining the action 
 of the part by an adequate stimulus, which 
 is to be gradually diminished. The first dress- 
 ing remains for twenty-four hours ; and in 
 the second, warm proof-spirit, or laudanum, 
 may be used before the plaister is applied ; 
 which alone suffices for the third. When 
 suppuration commences, powdered chalk, 
 and a plaister of cerat. lap. calam. Opium 
 and good diet are to be allowed at the 
 commencement of tlie treatment, with the 
 topical stimulus. , 
 
 Effects of cold. When a limb has been 
 frozen, beat must be communicated to it 
 very gradually. The sudden application of 
 considerable warmth w'ill inevitably cause 
 mortification. Jliib the part with snow, as 
 persons in northern countries do their ears 
 or noses when thus affected, or with cold 
 w'ater, until motion and sensibility return. 
 Then camphorated spirit of wine may be 
 used, and ultimately, a moderate approach 
 to the fire may be allowed; or else the 
 patient may be put in a warm bed, and 
 warm flannels may be applied locally ; ge- 
 neral perspiration being at the same time 
 promoted. The same principles must be 
 
 kept in view when the whole body is affect- 
 ed. Volatiles and sternutatories may be 
 used when animation has returned; and 
 warm wine, or spirits, should be introduced 
 into the stomach as speedily as possible. 
 
 Chilblains are caused by exposure of parts 
 to the vicissitudes of heat and cold, par- 
 ticularly in young persons, females, and 
 such as are brought up tenderly. Before 
 they are ulcerated ice, cold water, or snow, 
 may be applied two or three times a day ; 
 and the parts should be kept dry, and in an 
 uniform temperature. In some cases, topi- 
 cal stimulants seem more beneficial, as spir. 
 vin. camph. or tinct. myrrh® rubbed in ; 
 also vinegar and alum lotion. Sp. vin. camph. 
 and tinct. cantharid. in equal parts, have 
 been very useful. 
 
 WOUNDS. 
 
 These vary so much according to their 
 extent, the degree of violence employed, 
 the powers of the part, its importance to 
 life, complication with bleeding, fracture 
 of bones. See. that they must be considered 
 under various heads. 
 
 The size of the wound is a matter of con- 
 sequence ; as a very large cut may produce 
 serious consequences, although no important 
 parts are injured. The degree of violence 
 done to flie fibres is another material con- 
 sideration : a wound in which the parts 
 have been bruised, stretched, and lacerated, 
 as well as divided, will often mortify from 
 that cause only ; hence contused and gun- 
 shot wounds are particularly dangerous. 
 Such injuries too as expose circumscribed 
 cavities are alarming, on account of the in- 
 flammation which generally follows such 
 exposure; hence the danger of even a slight 
 wound in the belly, chest, or large joints. 
 A slight wound of a part whose timetions 
 are intimately connected with life, is often 
 fatal. 
 
 Simple incised wounds require only that 
 the sides should be brought into a state of 
 apposition, and maintained in that condi- 
 tion; by means of adhesive plaister, assist- 
 ed perhaps by bandage. 
 
 Hemorrhage, which frequently attends 
 these injuries, demands particular care, as 
 it must be stopped before any thing else is 
 done. If the blood flow from an artery, it 
 is a florid red, and comes out in jets ; if 
 from a vein, the stream is uniform, and the 
 colour dark purple. If the vessel be not 
 large, the bleeding often stops of itself. 
 The divided artery retracts; the surround- 
 ing cellular substance, becoming injected 
 with blood, presses p, its mouth; andj 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 finally, the blood coagulates in the orifice. 
 Thus the sides of the vessel grow together. 
 But death would often take place before 
 the bleeding stopped in this way, particu- 
 larly if the vessel were lai'ge ; or, at all 
 events, great danger would arise from the 
 bleeding. H6nee it is always desirable to 
 tie the mouth of fhe bleeding vessel, which 
 secures us at once from all alarm on the 
 subject of hemorrhage. A ligature, when 
 properly applied, is found to cut through 
 the two internal coats of an artery ; the in- 
 flammation thus excited in tlie vessels of 
 the part is attended with an etfusinn of 
 coagulating lymph, which, together with the 
 coagulation of the blood, effectually closes 
 the tube, before the separation of the 
 thread, which is seldom delayed beyond a 
 fortnight. The ligature should include the 
 artery only ; or, vchen it is small, as little 
 surrounding matter as possible ; when the 
 vessel is laige, it may be drawn out with 
 the forceps : in the latter case a tenaculum 
 must be used. As much force may be em- 
 ployed, in drawing the knot, as can con- 
 veniently be exerted by the hands. 
 
 The use of tlie ligature, in hemorrhage, is 
 preferable to every other means : the tour- 
 niquet may be placed on the limb, until 
 the vessel is found and secured. When the 
 main arterial trunk of a part is compressed 
 by the pad of this instrument, there is no 
 immediate danger of bleeding. 
 
 The tourniquet, in common use, for which 
 we are indebted to a French surgeon, Petit, 
 consists ol a band and buckle, a pad, and a 
 sort of brass bridge, capable of being ele- 
 vated and depressed by means of a screw. 
 The band is first buckled round the limb in 
 such a manner that the pad, which is attach- 
 ed to the band, is placed exactly over the 
 artery. The bridge, over which the band 
 proceeds, is to be then raised by turning 
 the screw, and thus a due degree of pres- 
 sure is produced. It affords, however, only 
 a temporary security. When a tourniquet 
 cannot be procured, pressure may be made 
 hy any simple ligature round the limb, 
 twisted to the requisite tightness by means 
 of a stick. 
 
 Compresses and bandages will sometimes 
 stop bleedings by their mechanical pres- 
 sure ; but are inferior to the ligaturcL. If 
 the bleeding vessel cannot be found, if there 
 be rather a general oozing than an hemor- 
 rhage from any considerable vessel, or if the 
 artery lie against a bone, as those of the 
 scalp, this method may be employed. ■ 
 
 When a large artery has received a small 
 
 wound, as the brachial in bleeding, the fol- 
 lowing plan may be tr ied. Apply a tour- 
 niquet so as to command tlie flow of blood 
 into the vessel. Bring the edges of the ex- 
 ternal wound into contact. Bind on firmly 
 vvitli a roller a graduated compress, with 
 the apex placed exactly in the situation of 
 the wound of the artery. A longitudinal , 
 compress has sometimes been added in the 
 course of the ivssel, above the wound ; but 
 it would probably impede the circulation 
 too much. Then let the limb be kept per- 
 fectly quiet. 
 
 The use of agaric, of the actual and poten- 
 tial cautery, and ol styptics, as means of ar- 
 resting hemorrhage, are banislied from mo- 
 dern surgery. 
 
 Wlien bleeding is stopped, and all foreign 
 bodies, or coagula of blood, have been re- 
 moved, the sides of the wound should be 
 approximated by means of sticking-plaster, 
 assisted, if necessary, by the position ot the 
 part, by bandage, &c. In forty eight hours 
 the sides of a wound, healed in tliis way, 
 will be agglutinated, and the, process by 
 which they are united, is named “ union by 
 the first intention.” Sutures were formerly 
 employed in the treatment of such wounds, 
 but tlieir use is restricted now to the very 
 few cases where the sticking-plaster can- 
 not be conveniently applied, as the hare- 
 lip, &c. They have fallen into disrepute as 
 a general mode of treating wounds, prin- 
 cipally because they tend to increase in- 
 flammation. The new wounds wliich they 
 make, their irritation as extraneous bodies, 
 the forcible manner in which they drag the 
 living parts together, and their incapacity, 
 in general, to accomplish any useful pur- 
 pose, which position, adhesive plaster and 
 bandages cannot effect, are strong motives 
 for reprobating tlieir general employment. 
 They often bring on such irritation as to 
 render their removal necessary. 
 
 The sides of a wound, treated in the way 
 now described, thro wont coagulating lymph, 
 which joins them together. This forms an 
 uniting medium, through wliich new vessels 
 shoot from the opposed surfaces. We can- 
 not help admiring the celerity with which 
 this uniting process is completed. The 
 w'onnd produced in amputating a thigh is 
 often securely united in seventy-two hours ; 
 and the principles now detailed apply to 
 tlie management of all wounds made by 
 surgical operation. 
 
 Punctured womdsKte. often attended with 
 more pain, inflammation, &c. than others. 
 Enlarging their orifice is au mmecessary 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 practice, unless abscesses, or extracting 
 foreign bodies sliould demand it. A sooth- 
 ing plan, by means of emollient poultices, 
 &c. is preferable. 
 
 Lacerated and contused wounds, on ac- 
 count of the violence attending their inflic- 
 tion, do not unite tike simple cuts by the 
 first intention. Yet they should be brought 
 together, and inflammation obviated by the 
 appropriate treatment. 
 
 If a wound does not unite by the first in- 
 tention, it must grannlalte and cicatrize. 
 Pus is secreted from its surface, which be- 
 comes red and pneven, rising into little 
 protuberances, called granulations. These 
 fill up the cavity of the wound to a level 
 with the skin, which then grows over and 
 covers them by a newly-formed smooth pel- 
 licle, termed a cicatrix. Wlien this process 
 is completed, the newly-formed part is ab- 
 sorbed to a great degree, and hence the 
 surrounding healthy skin is drawn from all 
 sides over the situation of the wound, pre- 
 senting a puckered appearance. 
 
 Gunshot wounds are attended with great 
 laceration and violence, insomuch that the 
 parts in their track are killed, and must be 
 thrown off in the form of sloughs. They 
 are very often complicated with fractures, 
 wounds of arteries, viscera, &c. and with 
 the introduction of foreign bodies, as balls, 
 portions of clothing, &c. 
 
 Immediate amputation is often necessary 
 in gunshot wpiinds of the limbs; and often 
 there is much doubt whether this means 
 should be adopted or no. It may be done 
 immediately after the accident, before sup- 
 puration, fever, &c. have supervened ; or 
 when the violent inflammation, swelling, 
 &c. have abated. By deferring it to the 
 latter period, the surgeon has often a chance 
 of saving the limb ; and if he does not suc- 
 ceed, he operates under more favourable 
 circumstances, as a patient habituated to 
 disease bears an operation much better 
 than a person in good health. Yet this is 
 pot meant as an argument against imme- 
 diate amputation in any case ; for by that 
 practice a simple incised wound is substi- 
 tuted for a complicated lacerated one ; and 
 the constitution escapes that hazard which 
 repeated suppurations, painfiil incisions, 
 &c. are inevitably attended with. Besides, 
 after the constitution is nearly ruined by 
 the processes of recovery from a dreadful in- 
 jury, the limb is often no better than a 
 wooden one. 
 
 Incisions at the entrance and exit of the 
 ball are not necessary, unless there is an 
 
 object to be accomplished. Foreign bodies 
 .should be extracted if it can be done easily; 
 but tedious examinations and incisions are 
 improper, particularly when the belly or 
 chest are w'ounded. The mildest dressings 
 and treatment should be employed. Fomen- 
 tations and poultices, and dressings of white 
 cerate, answ'er every end. 
 
 Poisoned wounds. The stings of bees. See. 
 the bites of gnats, and other insects, are 
 treated by cold applications, and attention 
 to the constitution if the general irritation 
 be great. In the bite of the viper, alarm- 
 ing symptoms usually arise ; viz. swelling, 
 heat and pain of the limb ; small and weak 
 pulse ; head-ache and vomiting, &c. Per- 
 haps excision might be proper at the very 
 fii'st; or, at all event®, the wound should 
 be carefully cleansed. Emetics, and vola- 
 tile alkali, have been commended as con- 
 stitutional means. 
 
 Hydrophobia arises from the bite of a 
 mad-dog, or other rabid animal. The 
 wound heals, but in about three weeks a 
 dull pain is again felt in it. Dejection of 
 spirits appears at the same time, followed 
 soon by the dread of water; and intoler- 
 able sense of suffocation and convulsions at 
 any attempt to swallow fluids. Horror of 
 the countenance, redness of the eyes, con- 
 vulsive and violent movements, &c. con- 
 tinue to the time of death. Excision of the 
 bitten part is the only preventive ; it should 
 be employed at any time previous to the 
 accession of symptoms ; the use of caustic, 
 &c. is very uncertain.' No remedy is of 
 the least use when the symptoms have 
 appeared. 
 
 Contusions, when slight, may be treated 
 by cold applications, and quietude of the 
 injured part. In other cases, topical bleed- 
 ing, followed by discutient lotions, as sal 
 ammoniac in vinegar and water, or fomen- 
 tations of hot vinegar, and afterwards cam- 
 phorated liniment, are required. Purging 
 and venesection are sometimes necessary. 
 
 Polypi are fleshy excrescences, growing 
 from a thin pedicle, and occurring most 
 commonly in the nose and uterus. Those 
 of the nose are divided into the fleshy, or 
 benign, wiiich are white, soft, and unat- 
 tended with pain ; and the malignant, which 
 are hard and painful, and according to some, 
 of a carcinomatous nature. They grow most 
 frequently from the spongy bones; occa- 
 sion at first an obstruction of the nose, and 
 gradually fill up the whole cavity; extend 
 backwards to the throat ; expand the nostril 
 by elevating the os nasi ; destroy the other 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 bones; and produce, succesively, fistula 
 lachrymalis, inflammation and ulceration of 
 the Schneiderian membrane, caries of the 
 bones, &c, ; some often bleed. They must 
 be extracted by means of forceps ; by which 
 the tumour is seized, and torn away from 
 its root. This process must be repeated 
 until the nostril is cleai'ed. If any pre- 
 sent in the throat, they may be removed 
 in the same way from that part. If ti ouble- 
 some bleeding should follow, and not yield 
 to a probe armed with lint, moistened in a 
 strong solution of white vitriol, and applied 
 to file part ; a piece of lint may be draw'll 
 into the posterior opening of the nose, by 
 means of a ligature iiitroduced through the 
 nostril, and drawn out at the mouth; the 
 front aperture being also stopped. 
 
 Polypi of the uterus occasion at first an 
 enlargement of that organ, and various 
 other symptoms, as pain, hemorrhages, &c. 
 The tumour escapes from the uterus, and 
 by its presence in the vagina irritates the 
 rectum and bladder ; causing still worse 
 uterine affections, as bleedings, discharges 
 of other kinds, &c. At last it descends 
 through the external parts, with an aggra- 
 vation of all the distressing symptoms. 
 Now it must be carefully distinguished 
 from the prolapsus, or inversic uteri. It 
 should be removed by means of a ligature 
 conveyed to its root in the uterus, by in- 
 struments designed for that purpose, as 
 the double caniiia of Levret, or the im- 
 proved instrument of Richter, represented 
 in Cooper’s “ First Lines.” 
 
 Ulcers are consequences of wounds that 
 have not united by the first intention ; or 
 of a diseased process, named ulceration, in 
 which a breach is made in the substance of 
 the ' body by the absorbents. A healthy 
 ulcer has small florid and pointed granula- 
 tions, which secrete a thick white pus. 
 Here any simple dressing, confined by 
 means of a roller, is sufficient. 
 
 But the ulcer may be irritable, i. e. at- 
 tended with pain, a thin and discoloured 
 secretion from its surface, ragged edge, no 
 distinct granulations, &c. Here decoc- 
 tion of poppy heads, used as a fomentation, 
 emollient poultices, solution of opium 
 ( Jiss to ibj of water) are proper; or it may 
 be indolent, i. e. not painful, having thick 
 edges, flabby colour, and imperfect granu- 
 lations. Irritable ulcers are brought into 
 this state by too long poulticing. Stimu- 
 lating applications to the sore are proper 
 here ; as red precipitate, solution of lunar 
 caustic, &c. combined with a roller applied 
 
 uniformly and firmly over the whole limbw 
 But the most successful treatment is that 
 proposed by Mr. Baynton, of Bristol, of 
 surrounding the limb, for a considerable 
 extent, with straps of adhesive plaister, 
 applying a roller, and keeping wet cloths 
 on the part, if there be pain. Tliis prac- 
 tice indeed often succeeds, where the ulcer 
 is of the irritable cast : the pressure of the 
 rollef is useful, and the cold water relieves 
 the pain. It is most particularly beneficial 
 in ulcers of the legs, attended with varicous 
 veins; and, in short, is a very great im 
 provement in the surgical treatment of ulce- 
 rated legs, as it does not require the pati- 
 ent to be confined. 
 
 There are various ulcers, not included 
 under this aivangement, having peculiari- 
 ties in their appearance, discharges, &c. 
 They are often connected with disordered 
 chylopoietic organs. 
 
 Encysted tumours consist of a cyst of 
 various thickness, containing a matter of 
 very different consistence and appearances ; 
 according to which the tumour is called me- 
 liceris, the contents resembling honey; 
 atheroma, when of ^ pappy nature ; or 
 steatoma, when of a fatty kind. They 
 must be extirpated, care being taken to 
 remove the whole cyst in an intire state. 
 
 Sarcomatous tumours are fleshy masses, 
 organized throughout, produced by chro- 
 nic inflammation, sometimes being newly 
 formed ; at others merely enlargements of 
 originally existing parts, possessing a more 
 or less defined cyst or capsule, which is 
 formed by a condensation of the surround- 
 ing cellular substance. Their structure is 
 very various, sometimes consisting entirely 
 of fat, at others of a fleshy vascular mass, 
 in which there may be cysts, or division 
 into something like lobes, &c. In the rapi- 
 dity of their growth, pain, &c. they differ 
 very much ; some also affect the lympha- 
 tics, which others do not. As they are 
 produced by chronic inflammation, local 
 bleeding and cold washes will generally ar- 
 rest their growth, and often reduce theiy 
 size. Topical stimuli may also be employed 
 with the view of discussmg them; but ex- 
 tirpation is the only plan to be relied on, 
 The mode of operating will be explained in 
 speaking of the amputation of the breast. 
 
 Carcinoma commences with a hard pain- 
 ful tumour, termed a schirrus, which ulce- 
 rating forms cancer. As several other 
 swellings are both hard and painful, discri- 
 mination becomes particularly necessary. 
 Schirrus has an uneven feel, is attended 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 with eccasionai darting pains, affects all the 
 surrounding fparts, so that the tiimonr be- 
 comes fixed to the muscles and skin, whicli 
 latter has a dull leaden colour. V/hen cut 
 into it exhibits a hard gristly appearance, 
 with white ligamentous bauds, extending 
 into the surrounding fat. When it becomes 
 a cancer, a large chasm is formed by ulce- 
 ration and sloughing : the sore is unequal, 
 with thick indurated edges, and copious 
 discharge of fetid sanies, combined fre- 
 quently with bleeding. A fungus often 
 arises. Previously to thi.s period the ab- 
 sorbent glands are generally swelled, and 
 they afterwards take on the same disease. 
 Extirpation in the earliest state is the only 
 safe treatment ; it may be performed after 
 tlie glands are affected ; but then those also 
 should be removed. Here, however, as 
 well gs when ulceration has occurred, the 
 disease often recurs. Cicuta, belladonna, 
 digitalis, mercury, arsenic, &c. have been 
 tried internally without success. Opium is 
 necessary as a palliative. Caustics com- 
 posed of arsenic have often been used, in 
 order to destroy the tumour by slough- 
 ing, probably never with success in a true 
 schirrus. 
 
 Ganglions are small hard tumours, not 
 painful, containing in a cyst a fluid like 
 white of egg; connected with a tendon, 
 and occurring most frequently on the hands. 
 Pressure, stimulating applications by means 
 of friction, or extirpation by the knife, may 
 be employed. 
 
 Aneurisms are swellings formed by the 
 dilatation pr rupture of arteries ; the former 
 being named true, and the latter spurious; 
 but this distinction is of little use in prac- 
 tice. The tumour pulsates, except when 
 the artery above is compressed ; it is not 
 painful ; it may be made to disappear by 
 means of pressure in an early stage. When 
 it has grown to a great size, the imlsation is 
 often diminished, for at first the blood does 
 not coagulate in the bag, which is the case 
 afterwards to a great extent. The size of 
 the tumour becomes very inconvenient, its 
 pressure causing cedema, caries, &c. The 
 skin at last grows thin and .bursts, when 
 the patient dies of bleeding. Aneurisms of 
 this kind generally occur spontaneously, 
 from a diseased state of the arterial coats ; 
 but sometimes a str ain or blow gives rise 
 to them. 
 
 When an artery is wounded, and the 
 bloor;! escapes into the cellular substance, a 
 false aneurism is foniied. This happens 
 at tlie bend of the arm from bleeding. The 
 
 'swelling is irregular, the' skin livid; and 
 pulsation may or may not be present. 
 
 The varicous aneurism is where the ar- 
 tery has been wounded in phlebotomy, and 
 the blood escapes from it into the vein, 
 causing a varicous enlargement of that ves- 
 sel, with pulsation, and a pecitliar hissing 
 noise. This is not dangerous, and requires 
 no treatment. 
 
 'I’he treatment of aneurism consists in 
 preventing the flow of blood into the tu- 
 mour, which then gradually diminishes. 
 Hence it is obvious that those of the aorta 
 can admit of no remedy. In the limbs, how- 
 ever, they may be cured by the operation 
 of exposing the artery at a considerable dis- 
 tance from the tumour, nearer to the heart, 
 passing a double ligature under it, tying 
 these at the parts where the vessel is sur- 
 rounded by its natuj-al connections, and 
 dividing it between them. A single liga- 
 ture will be sufficient, but it is not so safe. 
 In this way any artery may be operated on, 
 from the axillary above the clavicle, the 
 external iliac above the crural arch, and the 
 carotid by the side of the trachea, dow'n, 
 to their respective ramifications. The false 
 aneurism should be opened opposite to the 
 wounded part of the vessel, the tourniquet 
 being previously applied ; the coagula re- 
 moved, and two ligatures placed on the 
 artery as in the preceding kind. 
 
 Varices ai-e dilatations of the veins, occur, 
 ring in parts where the return of the blood 
 is contrary to gravity, or where pressure is 
 made on the trunks so as to obstruct that 
 return : hence they are most frequent in the 
 legs. The affected vessels swell into irregu- 
 lar knots, in which the blood is at first fluid, 
 but afterwards coagulated. The complaint 
 at first is not painful, but afterwards be- 
 comes so, and gives rise to troublesome 
 ulcerations. The vessel sometimes bursts, 
 and considerable bleedings follow. 
 
 The cause shoul 1 be removed, and a 
 tight bandage applied, the horizontal posi- 
 tion being preserved. When this treatment 
 does not succeed, the trunk of the vein 
 may be tied with two ligatures, and divided 
 between. 
 
 Hemorrhoids, or piles, are varices, often / 
 attended with hemorrhage. Leeches, cold 
 applications, attention to regqnen, open 
 state of bowels, and balsam copaivae, are 
 nreans of temporary palliation. A radical 
 cure may be effected by cutting off the 
 excrescences with scissars, or tying them. 
 
 Scrophula attacks particularly the lym- 
 phatic glands and bones, occasioning a soft 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 indolent swelling in tlie former, and a soft- 
 ening, together with a carious affection, ot 
 the latter. After remaining enlarged for a 
 long time, the skin, covering a scrofulous 
 tumour, becomes of a light purple^ ana 
 bursts, discharging an unhealthy matter, 
 and leaving an ill-conditioned sore. Such 
 attacks take place in seve,ral parts. They 
 generally occur in peculiar constitutions, 
 and the affection is considered hereditary. 
 
 In the treatment we endeavour to give 
 strength to the constitution ; bark, sea-air, 
 and sea-bathing are particularly service- 
 able. Attention to the digestive organs is 
 pa'rticularly necessary. Alkalies have ge- 
 nerally been jrelied on, but without due 
 grounds ; acids deserve a preference. The 
 local treatment is not of much importance. 
 The suppurations should not be opened. 
 The scrofulous affections of the bones will 
 be considered under Joints. 
 
 Cow-pox (variolas vaccinm, vaccina, &c.). 
 This is an universal poison, derived from 
 certain specific sores^ on the teats and ud- 
 ders of cows, and capable of being commu- 
 nicated by accidental contact, where the 
 cuticle has been removed, or by means of 
 inoculation, to the human subject. A. per- 
 son who has been thus affected, is rendered 
 for ever after incapable of receiving the 
 small-pox infection. That subjects, who 
 had taken the vaccine disease accidentally, 
 were tliereby secured from the small-pox, 
 was popularly known in several of the dairy 
 counties of England. But it was reserved 
 for Jenner to show that the cow-pox could 
 be propagated by inoculation, and that tlie 
 inoculated disease possessed the same pro- 
 phylactic power as the original disorder. 
 Jt is not a merely local affection, but pro- 
 duces a general, though extremely niild 
 disturbance of the constitution, which is 
 ordinarily so trivial as not to excite any 
 alarm in the very youngest subjects. It 
 seems probable, at present, that it is not an 
 infallible security against the small pox, 
 although the number of failures is very 
 small, when due allowance has been made 
 for the mistakes of tlie ignorant, and the 
 misrepresentations of the designing, A 
 small inflamed spot, distinguishable about 
 tlie third day, shows that the inoculation has 
 succeeded. This increases in size, becomes 
 hard, and rises above the level of the skin. 
 A small quantity of fluid can be discerned in 
 the centre on the sixth day, and the pustule 
 increases until the tenth day. This fluid 
 will communicate the disease by inocula- 
 tion. On the eightlt day, when the pustule 
 
 is fully formed, the constitutional effects 
 begin to appear, and manifest themselves 
 by"slight pain in the part and axilla, head- 
 ach, shivering, loss of appetite, &c. These 
 subside spontaneously in one or tw'o days. 
 During the general indisposition the pustule 
 becomes surrounded with a broad circular 
 inflamed margin, called the areola. After- 
 wards the fluid dries up, and a dark brown 
 scab forms, which remains for about a fort- 
 night. 
 
 Venei-eal disease. This arises from the 
 application of a peculiar morbid poison to 
 the body, which affects various parts in sue- 
 cession. It first attacks the genitals of 
 either sex, where it appears in the form of 
 a circular ulcer or ulcers, with a white 
 dirty concave surface, and thickened edge 
 and basis, called chancres. These charac- 
 ters distinguish them from various other 
 ulcerations and excoriations, to which the 
 same parts are exposed. The matter ab- 
 sorbed from these causes swellings of the 
 lymphatic glands, named buboes. After a 
 certain length of time, an ulcerated soi e 
 throat appears, attended with a pecnliar 
 copper-coloured eruption on the skin. The 
 ulcer of the throat is excavated, and the 
 chasm appears foul on the surface, with an 
 appearance like a white slough, and a de- 
 fined edge. The eiaiptions vary consider- 
 ably ; they have generally a reddish colour ; 
 the cuticle peels off and forms again suc- 
 cessively ; at last a true scab appears, un- 
 der which ulceration takes place. Atter 
 some time swellings of the bones, called 
 nodes, appear, and gradually suppurate. 
 These are very painful, particularly at night. 
 The affections of the throat, skin, and bones, 
 form what are called the constitutional symp- 
 toms of the disease, or lues venerea. 
 
 The treatment of this disorder, in all its 
 stages, consists in the exhibition of mer- 
 cury, until it produces its peculiar effects on 
 the constitution : these are universal irrita- 
 bility, quick pulse, &c. together with in- 
 creased secretion of saliva, soreness ot the 
 gums and month, &c. This action excited 
 by mercury destroys the action of the dis- 
 ease in all its foiins, and may'be considered 
 as a specific and certain cure of the disor- 
 der. The remedy is most freipiently intro- 
 duced by friction on the thighs ; half a 
 drachm being first employed for halt an 
 hour every night, and increased to tw'O or 
 three drachms. The pil. hydrarg. is the most 
 common preparation for internal use ; it 
 may be taken at first in doses of five grains, 
 moiBing and night. Hydrarg, calcin,gr.ji 
 
SUR 
 
 with opium, and corrosive sublimate, are 
 less frequent modes of exhibiting mercury. 
 Lastly, mercurial fumigations have been 
 employed, by exposing the patient naked, 
 in a wooden box, to the fumes of the pul- 
 yis hydrarg. cinereus, thrown on a heated 
 iron. The effect of mercury on the salivary 
 secretion and gums, is considered as the 
 criterion of its action on the system at 
 large ; this should not be allowed to be- 
 come considerable, as the effects on the 
 constitution are very pernicious. A very 
 slight affection of the gums, continued from 
 six to twelve weeks, will be adequate to 
 the cure of most venereal complaints. The 
 action of the remedy is usually maintained 
 for a fortnight after the symptoms have dis- 
 appeared, for the sake of security. Vio- 
 lent and long continued salivation often 
 aggravates the complaint, and becomes the 
 source of other disorders. Decoction of 
 sarsaparilla, mezereon, guaiacum, &c. nitrons 
 acid, opium, and other remedies, have been 
 employed in venereal cases j but the most 
 that can be said of them is, that they are 
 useful restoratives after the long employ- 
 ment of mercury. This is particularly the 
 case with the nitrous acid. 
 
 . There is not much to be said on the local 
 treatment of the different venereal symp- 
 toms. Chancres, when very small, have 
 been destroyed by lunar caustic, or exci- 
 sion ; they may be dressed with mercurial 
 ointment, or any solution of metallic salts ; 
 or with solution of opium if irritable. Bu- 
 boes may be poulticed, if painful. 
 
 AFFECTIONS OF JOINTS. 
 
 White swelling attacks the larger articula- 
 tions most frequently. It consists in an 
 indolent tumour of the part, without affec- 
 tion of the skin, impairing the motions of 
 thejoint ; arising from a diseased state of the 
 bones and ligaments, which causes a general 
 thickening of the superincumbent parts. 
 The enlargement proceeds, the joint be- 
 comes painful, and abscesses form j the pa- 
 tient at last dying hectic. The treatment 
 consists in subduing completely all increased 
 action in the part by leeches, cupping, cold 
 washes, &c. continued while there is any 
 remains of pain or heat ; and afterwards 
 in keeping up a drain from the skin by 
 means of caustic issues, or, what seems to 
 he more advantageous, by Mr. Crowther’s 
 plan of blistering, and dressing the surface 
 with imguentum sabina;. These drains 
 should be continued for six, twelve, or 
 eighteen months. Perfect rest is indispeu- 
 
 sible. The constitution of the patient which 
 is frequently of the scrofulous kind demand.^ 
 the greatest care : bark, sea-air, &c. are 
 therefore particularly proper in such cases. 
 Where thejoint is too tliorpnghly diseased, 
 and the constitution is sinking, amputation 
 must be performed. 
 
 Loose cartilaginous substances are most 
 frequent in the knee, where they excite in- 
 flammation, and are very troublesome, when 
 they get between the ends of the bones. 
 They must be removed by means of an in- 
 cision over the inner surface of the internal 
 condyle, where they can be easily fixed by 
 an assistant; the wound should be closed 
 instantly, and every attention paid to keep 
 olf inflammation. 
 
 Hydrops articuli occurs after inflamma- 
 tion or injury, and may he dispersed by 
 blisters and savine ointment ; or by friction 
 with camphorated liniments or mercurial 
 ointment, united with mercurial purges. 
 
 DISEASES OP BONES. 
 
 Necrosis is the death of the whole of a 
 bony cylinder, excepting its articular por- 
 tions ; and is most frequent in the thigh and 
 tibia. The periosteum separates from the 
 affected hones, becomes thickened and vas- 
 cular, and forms a new Case surrounding 
 the old bone, and at last absorbing it. This 
 process occupies many years ; is attended 
 with great pain and swelling of the limb at 
 first, and subsequently with abscesses, which 
 lead down to the old bone, and afford issue 
 to copious fetid suppurations. In some in- 
 stances the old bone, which is called the se- 
 questra, has been removed by a surgical 
 operation, particularly in the tibia. Where 
 this cannot he admitted, blisters dressed 
 with savine, or issues, will remedy the inita-: 
 tion, and prevent suppuration, while the ab- 
 sorption of the old bone is going on. Leeches, 
 cupping, &c. may he required, if inflamma- 
 tory symptoms manifest themselves. Some- 
 times amputation is necessary, pai ticularly 
 in poor persons, whose circumstances will 
 not admit of delay. 
 
 Exfoliation is the term applied to the 
 death of a small portion of bone ; in which 
 generally the surgeon must wait until nature 
 has separated the dead part. 
 
 Caries is a disease of the substance of a 
 bone, causing foul, ill-conditioned ulcers, 
 and attended with occasional exfoliations. 
 Means which reduce inflammation are pro- 
 per at first ; followed by counter irritation. 
 
 Rickets is a disorder consisting in a flexi- 
 bility of the bones, and, consequently, a de- 
 formity of the part affected, occurring ge,( , 
 
/ 
 
 
 1-^ -r.y 
 
 
 / 
 
 SURGERY. 
 
 tierally In weak children. The constitution examination. The bone must he restored 
 should be strengthened, and mechanical by means of force, to its proper place, and 
 means will often in an early stage have con- ' the limb kept quiet, until the effects of thq 
 siderable effect in restoring the deformed violence are gone off. Compound disloca- 
 
 tions must be treated on the same princi- 
 
 jpal L« * 
 
 Fractures are either simple or compound, plos as compound fractures. Sawing off 
 The former are usually attended with a dis- the end of the bone is quite unjustifiable in 
 tortion of the limb ; with a grating or ere- any case. If a luxation be unreduced for 
 pitus perceptible on rubbing the broken a few weeks, the bone in general cannot 
 ends against each other; with pain and be replaced, and the patient becomes crip- 
 swelling • and often with spasms of the pled. Dislocations are sometimes produced 
 muscles,’ The accident is remedied by the by diseases of the joints, destroying the 
 effusion of a soft vascular matter between ligaments. 
 
 the broken ends ; and by the gradual depo- particular surgical subjects. 
 sition of earth in this ; where it acquires a 
 
 sufficient firmness to admit of the part be- The great number of these, and the limits 
 ing used again at various periods, from prescribed by the nature of this work, ren- 
 three to seven weeks. The new matter is . der it necessary for us to pass over several, 
 called callus. The treatment must, conse- and attend only to the more important, 
 quently, consist simply in bringing the* limb Injuries of the head. Fractures of the 
 into its natural position, and' retaining it skull are not dangerdus in themselves, but 
 there firmly, until the union is accomplished, they indicate that considerable violence has - 
 In effecting the former object, some force been inflicted. We must guard against in- 
 is often necessary where the muscles have flammation of the contents of the cranium ; 
 shortened the limb, as is frequent in the and continue the antiphlogistic regimen for 
 thigh ; and this is termed extension. The three or four weeks. If the bone be even 
 latter end is attained by means of instru- slightly depressed, the same plan may be 
 ments called splints, which are firmly bound pursued. Bleeding from the arm or tempo- 
 on the broken limb, including generally ral artery, saline purges, and diaphoretics, 
 tlie joints, which connect it to the neigh- are usual means. 
 
 bouring parts, and which of course must Compression of the brain may be caused 
 vary in their form, &c. according to that by fracture with depression, or from extra- 
 of the part on which they are placed. vasation of blood under tlie skull. Its 
 
 Compound fractures are those in which symptoms are insensibility, dilated and im- 
 there is an external wound, made by the moveable pupil, slow and labouring pulse, 
 broken bone, which generally protrudes ditficult and stertorous respiration. These 
 through it. Here the violence suffered by demand the application of the trephine, for 
 the limb is much greater; inflammation of the purpose of elevating depressed bone, 
 tlie surrounding parts, extensive abscesses, or removing effused blood. Compression 
 exfoliations of the broken ends, and great may also be caused by suppuration of the 
 constitutional sympathy, may be naturally dura mater. This happens several days 
 expected. Where the injury is very vio- after the accident, is indicated by peculiar 
 lent, the bone much shattered, and the soft symptoms, as pain, feel of tightness, and 
 parts lacerated considerably, immediate puffy tumour iff the integuments ; and de- 
 amputation may be performed. Otherwise mands the use Of the trephine, 
 close the external wound ; lay the limb in Concussion of the brain is an injury of that 
 its natural position, and keep it so ; and pay orgin produced by the blow, independent 
 strict attention to the constitution. Ex- of actual fracture of the skull. After the 
 tensive abscesses, &c. may render amputa- first stunning subsides, there is sickness, 
 tion necessary at a subsequent time. contracted pupil, a degree of sensibility 
 
 Dislocations, or luxations, are the dis- and irritability, and free respiration. The 
 placementsof the articular surfaces of bones, patient gradually goes into a state of phre- 
 by external violence. Hence their symp- nitis. Copious and repeated bleedings 
 toms arise from the altered form, and im- from the temporal artery and arm, saline 
 paired functions of the parts. The head of purges, low diet, &c. are the only means 
 a bone is out of its natural socket, and is of safety, and must be followed up until the 
 lodged in some unnatural situation ; tlie symptoms are subdued, 
 limb cannot be moved by the patient ; there Trepanning consists in removing, by means 
 is great pain, aggravated by the surgeon’s. ofacirculai:saw,aportionoftheskul], inor- 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 derto allow the elevation of depressed bone, 
 or the evacuation of blood or matter. The 
 scalp must be divided by an incision down 
 to the bone, and the sides of the cut turned 
 lip ; these are laid down again, and approxi- 
 mated after the operation. Trepanning is 
 . not to be performed merely because there 
 is a fracture or depression ; but only when 
 symptoms exist, showing that the brain is 
 suffering from pressure. 
 
 Tinea capitis, or scald-head, is a super- 
 ficial ulceration of the scalp, covered by 
 thick dry scabs. Cleanliness is t|ie most 
 essential part of the treatment. Tlie scabs 
 must be removed, the head kept closely 
 shaved, and the ulcers dressed with tlie nng. 
 picis cum sulphure, or ung. hydr. nitr. or 
 lotion of kali sulphuratum. Alterative me- 
 dicines must be given at the same time. ' 
 
 Hare4ip is a deformity existing from 
 birth, attended frequently with a fissure in 
 the jaw and palate. Its cure consists in 
 paring the margin of the fissure, and bring- 
 ing the edges into contact, where they are 
 held by means of pins, and the twisted su- 
 ture; which is a thread passed over the 
 pins in the form of the figure 8. They thus 
 unite by the first intention. It should not 
 be performed on very young children, as 
 they are less manageable, and are liable to 
 convulsions. The removal of the edge of 
 the fissure is performed by means of for- 
 ceps, by which the lip is held firmly, leav- 
 ing out the part which is to be cut off, and 
 which the surgeon removes at one stroke of 
 the knife. 
 
 The same operation is necessary for can- 
 cerous ulcers of the lip, which commence 
 in ulcerated, wart-like excresences, and 
 spread very destructively. They should 
 be removed as soon as we can ascertain 
 that they do not yield to our remedies. 
 
 Diseases hf the antrum are inflammation 
 and suppuration of that cavity, and fungous 
 growth from its surface. The former re- 
 quires an opening by tire extractiorr of one 
 of the grinders, and the introduction of a 
 pointed instrument through the socket. In 
 the latter the cavity should be trephined, 
 and the fungus removed. 
 
 The mli me tangere, or spreading herpe- 
 tic ulcer about the nose, is a very intract- 
 able complaint. Alterative medicines should 
 be given internally, together with cicuta, 
 and even arsenic : ung. hydr. nitr., ung. 
 picis., solution of lunar caustic, and of ar- 
 senic, as topical applications. 
 
 Fistula laclirymalis arises from obstruc- 
 tion of the ductus nasalis, which causes 
 
 a swelling in the corner of the eye, flux of 
 the tears over the cheek, and afterwards a 
 fistulous opening from the lachrymal bag. 
 
 Its cure, in an early state, is by injecting 
 warm water through the puncta, using a 
 collyrium of white vitriol, and smearing the 
 edges of the eye- lids with ung. hidr. nitr. 
 
 In a more advanced state, an incision into 
 the lachrymal bag is required, together with 
 a forcible removal of the obstruction, and 
 the introduction of a straight silver nail- 
 headed style. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE EYELIDS AND EYES. 
 
 Psorophthalmy and lippihido, or inflamma- 
 tion of the edges of the eyelids, with itching, 
 &c. Ung. hydr. nitr. lowered, rubbed on at 
 night with camel-hair pencils ; vitriolic col- 
 lyrium, and alterative medicines. 
 
 Purulent ophthalmy. Red, swollen, and 
 everted state of the eyelids, w'ith discharge 
 of puruleiit matter, particularly in children. 
 Inject under the eyelids solutions of cam- , 
 phor, or the metallic salts. ' 
 
 Ectropium, or eversion of the eyelids, 
 followed by an indurated and callous state 
 of the conjunctiva. Remove a portion of 
 that membrane. Exactly the reverse of 
 this is the trichiasis, or inversion ; where 
 the hairs rub against the eyeball, and where 
 a portion of the skin of the eyelid must be 
 removed. Hm-deolum, or stye, requires an 
 emollient poultice, and touching with ar- 
 gentum nitratum. 
 
 Ophthalmy, or inflammation of the eye, 
 distinguished into the first, which is called 
 the acute stage, attended vfith heat, pain, 
 fever, &c. and the second, or chronic pe- 
 riod, in which there is a weakness of the 
 organ. Remedies of the first are ; in slight 
 cases, low diet and gentle purging, with 
 keeping off the light : afterwards, in the 
 chronic state, one of the following collyria. 
 
 Zinc, vitriolat. gr. v. Aqu. Rosa;, | iv. 
 
 R Ceruss. acet. gr. viii. Aq. feniculi vi. 
 
 Spt. vin. camph, gtt. x. In more severe 
 cases, general and local bleeding ; blistei s 
 to the temples, behind the ears, and to the 
 nape of the neck ; warm emollient applica- 
 tions to the eye, total darkness, and the an- 
 tiphlogistic regimen in every respect. Akhere 
 the chronic state has commenced, astrin- 
 gent collyria, or the tinct. thebaica, drop- 
 ped once or twice a day between the eye- 
 lids. When the complaint is very pro- 
 tracted, the state of the constitution in ge- 
 neral, or of the digestive organs in particular, 
 often is the cause ; hence alterative reme- 
 dies, attention to regularity of the bo.wels. 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 pure air, exercise, &c. become neces- 
 sary. 
 
 Opacity of the cornea, varying in extent or 
 intensity, and hence divided into nebula, 
 albugo, leucoma, .See. often accompanied 
 with varicons vessels in the conjiuictiva. 
 Collyria of corrosive sublimate ; ung. hydr. 
 niti’. to the opaque part, touching it with 
 argent nitr. ; cutting the enlarged vessels of 
 the conjunctiva. Ulcers of the cornea 
 should be touched with argent, nitr. 
 
 IHerigium is a reddish, loose, triangular 
 membrane, growing over the cornea ; and 
 must he removed by an operation. 
 
 Staphyloma is a protrusion of the cornea 
 between the eyelids, consequent on various 
 aft’ections of the eye, and always attended 
 with entire destruction of the organ of vi- 
 sion. Cut away the projecting party in 
 order that the globe may collapse. 
 
 Prolapsus of the iris through a wound or 
 ulcer of the cornea ; if all the inflammation 
 Las subsided, touch the tumour repeatedly 
 with argent, nitrat. until it is destroyed. 
 
 Hypopyum is the collection of a yellow 
 purulent fluid behind the cornea, conse- 
 quent on inflammation of the eye. If the 
 ball should seem much distended, an open- 
 ing may be made for its discharge ; other- 
 wise attend only to the complaint which 
 causes it. 
 
 Dropsy of the globe terminates in protru- 
 sion of the organ through the eyelids, oph- 
 thalmy, and destruction of the part. The 
 projecting cornea may be cut away, that 
 the distended globe may collapse. 
 
 Cancer of the eye should be treated by 
 extirpation of tlie organ, as soon as the dis- 
 order is recognized. The outer angle of 
 the eyelids may be divided to give room ; 
 these parts should be preserved, unless in- 
 cluded in the disease ; and care must be 
 taken not to penetrate the thin walls of the 
 orbit in the operation. 
 
 Giitta serena, or amaurosis, is a paralytic 
 affection of the optic nerve, inducing blind- 
 ness : it may be either complete or incom- 
 plete; inveterate or recent; continued or 
 periodical. The iris is immoveable, and 
 the pupil dilated ; there is strabismus ; in- 
 sects, or loose substances, seem floating in 
 the air before the complaint is formed. The 
 incomplete recent form of the disease is 
 most frequently curable ; the complete 'in- 
 veterate amaurosis seldom admitting of 
 cure. The former generally arises from 
 disorders in the primas vise, and should be 
 treated with emetics, and the following 
 piles ; gum. sagapen. galban. sap. ven. 
 
 5 a 31. Rhoi 3iss;antim. tart. gr. xtd; Succ, 
 liq. 3 i. M. fiant pilul® granor. v. Three ' 
 to be taken morning and evening for six 
 weeks. Bark, pure air, &c. must be re- 
 sorted to afterwards. Such cases as arise 
 from organic injury, or disease of the part, 
 or are attended with exostoses of the neigh- 
 bouring bones, or with acute and continued 
 pain ill the head and eye-brow, &c. afford 
 little hope of success. Electricity has some- 
 times succeeded. 
 
 Cataract is an opaque state of the crys- 
 talline lens, inducing blindness. Its attack 
 is gradual ; a slowlynncreasing mist sur- 
 rounding all objects. The pupil becomes 
 opaque, and these symptoms proceed to an 
 almost entire loss of sight, and milky white- 
 ness of the pupil. A power of distinguishing 
 light from darkness however generally re- 
 mains, and the iris still contracts on expo- 
 sure to light, which two circumstances dis- 
 tinguish the case from amaurosis. It has 
 been divided into the hard, soft or caseous, 
 and milky or fluid kinds, according to its 
 consistence; but these cannot be recognized 
 before the operation. The case is often 
 complicated by the co-existence of other 
 affections, as chronic ophthalmy, lippitudo, 
 gutta serena, adhesion to the iris, &c. It 
 comes on spontaneously, and the only mode 
 of treatment is by a surgical operation ; the 
 lens may be taken out of the eye by a cut 
 in the cornea, or it may be moved back- 
 wards and downwards in the vitreous hu- 
 mour, so as to be removed from the axis of 
 vision ; the former operation is called ex- 
 traction, and the latter couching. A favour- 
 able case for tiie operation is where the eye 
 retains its sensibility to light ; where there 
 is no head-ach nor ophthalmy ; no adhesion 
 to the iris. If amaurosis accompany the 
 cataract, the operation would be of no use. 
 Couching is performed by means of a 
 sharp-pointed, slender instrument, called 
 the couching needle, introduced into the 
 globe of the eye, about one eighth of an 
 inch behind the cornea, carried in front of 
 the cataract, and then moved downwards 
 and backwards, so as to displace the opaque 
 lens from the axis of vision. The cataract 
 will be absorbed in time, when it is thus 
 removed from its natural connections, If 
 the lens should be iii a milky or caseous 
 state, the pupil will not become clear at the 
 time of the operation, but the opaque fluid, 
 or any fragments, will be absorbed after- 
 wards. If there be adhesion to the iris, 
 beware of too much violence, and rather 
 repeat tlie operation. Needles have been 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 made of various shapes ; those of Mr. Hey 
 and Scarpa are the best. 
 
 Extraction is performed by cutting the 
 lower haif of the corriea, near its junction 
 with the sclerotica, with a slender knife car- 
 ried across the eye by one motion of the 
 hand. A scratch is then made in the crys- 
 talline capsule, through which the cataract 
 escapes. The dexterity required in per- 
 forming extraction, and particularly in mak- 
 ing the cut througli the cornea, is only to 
 be acquired by long practice; and tlris ope- 
 ration has consequently become confined 
 almost entirely to the oculists. 
 
 Much has been written on the respective 
 advantages of the two operations ; the me- 
 rit of ease of performance, simplicity, and 
 mildness in the subsequent symptoms, be- 
 longs to couching ; also that of the power of 
 repeating the operation. Extraction is more 
 difficult, attended with greater injury to 
 the eye, and consequently greater inflam- 
 ;mation, but it removes the cause entirely. 
 
 After both operations light must be care- 
 fully excluded, and every precaution taken 
 against inflammation. The use of convex 
 glasses is required as an assistance to the 
 sight, rendered necessary by the loss of the 
 lens. 
 
 The capsule of the lens sometimes be- 
 comes opaque after the operation, and thus 
 a secondary membranous cataract is form- 
 ed, requiring the operation. 
 
 DISEASES OF THE MOUTH. 
 
 Ranula is an indolent tumour, formed un- 
 der the tongue, consisting of a membran- 
 ous cyst, containing a fluid generally like 
 white of egg, and occasioning no inconveni- 
 ence until its bulk becomes troublesome. 
 If punctured, it will collect again. Cut 
 away that surface of the bag, which projects, 
 and rub the remainder with lunar caustic. 
 Tumours under the tongue may be entirely 
 removed ; and calcareous concretions in the 
 ducts must also be cut out. 
 
 Shortness of the frcnum of the tongue^ 
 causing a preternatural confinement of the 
 organ, may be remedied by dividing it to 
 the requisite extent with blunt scissars. 
 
 Ulcers of the tongue may arise from the 
 rugged edge of a tooth, which should be 
 made smooth; from the use of mercury, 
 when pushed to salivation ; from disorders 
 of the prim® vi®, foul state of the stomach, 
 &c. in which case emetics, and afterwards 
 alterative medicines, are required. They 
 may, lastly, be of a cancerous nature, com- 
 mejiciiig in a small scirrhous tumour, or an 
 
 induration of the substance of tlie tongU^,’ 
 and accompanied with hard irregular edges,; 
 and fold discharge. This cancerous state 
 of the organ will end inevitably in a misera- 
 ble death, unless an operation for the remo- 
 val of the disease be performed. This may 
 be accomplished by the bistoury, or by a 
 double ligature passed through the sub- 
 stance of the organ, and tied so as to include 
 the disease. If the glands under the jaw 
 have been affected, it is too late to operate. 
 
 The tonsils, when inflamed, sometimes 
 swell so as, to impede deglutition and respi- 
 ration, particularly when abscesses form in 
 the neighbourhood. They may be scarified 
 freely by the pliaryngotomus (which is a 
 lancet contained in a sheath) ; and the same 
 instrument may be employed in opening 
 collections of matter. An indolent enlarge- 
 ment of the tonsil may be remedied by cut- 
 ting away the projecting portions by means 
 of a hook and bistoury ; or by means of li- 
 gature. 
 
 The elongated uvula requires astringent 
 gargles, or the removal of its extremity by 
 scissars constructed for the purpose. 
 
 AFFECTIONS OF THE NECK. 
 
 The w'ounds of this part, inflicted in at- 
 tempts at suicide, often require the surgeon’s 
 assistance. After stopping any bleeding ves- 
 sels, let the wound be approximated by bring- 
 ing the head forwards on the neck, and retain- 
 ing it in that position. Sutures, placed in the 
 trachea, cause great and very detrimental 
 irritation : yet if the tube be cut complete- 
 ly through, and position alone will not bring 
 the ends together, a hitiu'e should be placed, 
 so as not to affect the lining of tlie tube. If 
 tlie ffisophagus be wounded, a hollow bougie 
 should be introduced through the nose, for 
 the purpose of conveying nourishment into 
 the stomach ; and tliis may even be neces- 
 sary when the trachea alone is injured. In- 
 flammation may require bleeding, and the 
 antiphlogistic plan. If there be cough, al- 
 mond emulsion, with opium, will afford ser- 
 vice. Foreign bodies, lodging in the oeso- 
 phagus, may be either thrust down into the 
 stomach, or drawn upwards through the 
 mouth. The former plan may be pursued 
 with those which can produce no harm 
 when in the alimentary canal; the latter 
 with such as might prove hurtful from their 
 hardness, indissolubility, pointed angular 
 shape, &c. Indeed bodies of the latter de- 
 scription, if very low down, must still be 
 pushed on into the stomach; as they hardly 
 admit of extraction. When tlie substance 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 is near the throat, a curved pair of forceps 
 may remove it ; there is also an instrument 
 made of strong flexible wire doubled and 
 twisted together, and bent at the end into 
 a noose, like a hook; and other mechanical 
 contrivances have been suggested. A com- 
 mon probary probably is the best instru- 
 ment for pushing bodies onwards to the sto- 
 ntach, which must be done, whatever their 
 nature is, when they cannot be got out, and 
 produce troublesome symptoms. Often 
 they are loosened, after a time, by suppura- 
 tion, if small ; or they may be discharged 
 by abscesses ; or, as pins and needles, may 
 traverse parts of the body, and appear at a 
 considerable distance. 
 
 Bronchotomy is an operation in which an 
 opening is made into the trachea or larynx, 
 for the purpose of inflating the lungs, in 
 cases of suspended animation ; for the con- 
 tinuance of respiration, when the natural 
 passage is obstructed by disease ; or for the 
 extraction of foreign bodies from the tra- 
 chea. In instances of apparent death, from 
 drowning, he. it is onr first olyect to re- 
 store respiration ; the suspension of that 
 function has caused the stoppage of the 
 other actions, and its restoration is essential 
 to the putting of the animal machine again in 
 motion. If this cannot be done by the 
 means laid down in the article Drowning, 
 the simple operation which we shall de- 
 scribe may be performed. Again in dis- 
 eases or tumours about the throat or tra- 
 chea, and in cases where suffocation is 
 threatened by a foreign body in the latter 
 tube, the same remedy is necessary. A lon- 
 gitudinal incision of two inches sliould be 
 made in the middle of the neck, com- 
 mencing just above the sternum, and conti- 
 nued upwards ; the parts should then be 
 separated vvith the finger and handle of the 
 knife, so as to expose the trachea, which 
 may be opened by a longitudinal cut of 
 half an inch. Some have advised this ope- 
 ration to be performed by a transverse cut, 
 between the thyroid and cricoid cartilages; 
 and others by a longitudinal incision in the 
 projecting part of the thyroid, called po- 
 mum Adami. 
 
 fVnj Neck, is a deformity in which the 
 head is drawn towards one of the shoulders ; 
 arising either from undue contraction of the 
 sterno-cleido-mastoideus, (whose fibres will 
 be found in a very tense state) or from a 
 relaxation, or paralytic condition of the op- 
 posite muscle. Perhaps cicatrices from 
 wounds may sometimes be a cause. If it 
 occurs in early life, and continues long, the 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 vertebrEB of the neck, and even of the 
 back, may become deformed. 
 
 Treatment ; camphorated mercurial fric- 
 tions, and other stimulating applications ; 
 electricity, blisters, issues, mechanical 
 means being at the same time employed : 
 this plan is more particularly proper when 
 there is induration. Division of the clavi- 
 cular portion of the muscle, by a surgical 
 operation, is most to be depended on. 
 
 Bronchocele, is an indolent enlargement of 
 the tliyroid gland, the causes of which are 
 unknown, but which often attains an im- 
 mense magnitude, and is endemic in seve- 
 ral mountainous countries, as Switzerland, 
 Savoy, Derbyshire, he. Burnt sponge, in 
 the dose of a scruple, two or three times a 
 day, formed with syrup into troches, which 
 should be placed under the tongue, and al- 
 lowed to dissolve gradually, is the most cer- 
 tain remedy for this disease. Previously 
 to commencing tliis plan, a grain or two of 
 calomel should be given at bed-time for 
 three nights, and a dose of the magnesia vi- 
 triolata on the following morning. This 
 should be repeated again in three weeks, 
 the .sponge being then omitted, and the 
 same alternation should be observed during 
 the cure. Topical means may be com- 
 bined ; as friction witli a dry towel, or cam- 
 phorated liniments, &c. 
 
 Wounds of the Thorax. Much probing 
 should not be employed to ascertain whe- 
 ther the cavity is penetrated or no, as symp- 
 toms will best indicate this point. Passage 
 of air from the cavity, or protrusion of the 
 lung, are appearances which show imme- 
 diately that the cavity is exposed. 
 
 Emphysema is an inflation of the cellular 
 substance, commencing at the chest, and 
 extending over the whole body, arising from 
 a wound of the air-cells of the lungs, and 
 generally produced from broken ribs, or 
 narrow punctured wounds ; for, in either 
 of these cases, the air, which issues from 
 the wounded lung in inspiration, has no ex- 
 ternal discharge, as in instances of large and 
 open wounds. It is surprising to what ex- 
 tent this inflation may proceed, and as the 
 lung at the same time collapses, the great- 
 est distress is experienced in breathing: 
 yet the swelling of the body is not the dan- 
 gerous part of the case. Our object is to 
 give a free exit to the air, which may be 
 done by a cut near the injured part, and 
 even, if symptoms require it, into the chest. 
 The air may be discharged from other parts 
 by incisions through the skin, and preying 
 towards the wound. In about three or four 
 X 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 days, the wound in the lung heals, and the 
 air in the chest and cellular substance is 
 absorbed. Bleeding, and other parts of the 
 antiphlogistic regimen, must be used with- 
 out restraint. Bandages on the chest ge- 
 nerally increase the distress. 
 
 Jt'ounds of the lungs are indicated by 
 the coughing of blood, by the discharge 
 of that fluid, with air, from the wound, 
 impaired respiration, &c. Though they 
 are often very speedily mortal, yet pa- 
 tients have, in many instances, recovered. 
 Tile freest use of the lancet is required, 
 with every other part of tlie antiphlogistic 
 treatment ; perfect rest ; light dressing of 
 the vs’ound, which must not be probed. Pa- 
 racentesis thoracis is required, where it ap- 
 pears tiiat water, air, blood, or pus, are ac- 
 cumulated in tiie cavity, and give rise to 
 danger by their presence. When there are 
 symptoms indicative of these circumstances, 
 the operation is easy ; and it may be done, 
 unless the circumstances point out any other 
 spot, between the sixth and seventh true 
 ribs about midway between the sternum 
 and spine. The ipteguments should be 
 drawn aside before the first incision, that 
 the opening may be valvular. After cutting 
 about two inches through the skin, dissect 
 down cautiously to the pleura, keeping 
 close on the upper edge of the rib ; when a 
 small puncture is made in the pleura, it may 
 be enlarged to the requisite extent with the 
 director and curved knife. 
 
 Removal of a diseased breast. In this 
 operation, and in the extirpation of tumours 
 in other parts, the surgeon must attend 
 carefully to remove all tlie disease ; hence 
 integuments should be included, when they 
 deviate at all from tb« healthy condition ; 
 and the pectoral muscle should also be ta- 
 ken away, if the tumour adheres to it, as far 
 as it may have become indurated. In all can- 
 cerous complaints it is most advisable to 
 extend the incision even beyond the scat of 
 actual disease ; as a morbid disposition mav 
 have been formed, and would lead to tlie 
 reproduction of the disorder. Where the 
 skin does not participate in the disease, its 
 removal is unnecessary; the first incision, 
 therefore, may be a simple cut in such a 
 case ; while in others two semicircular cuts 
 should be made, meeting at their extremities 
 in acute angles. The tumour should then 
 be separated all round from the surrounding 
 parts ; and lastly, the base is to be detached 
 frosi its connections from above down- 
 wards. The cut surface should then be 
 carefully examined, to see if any indurated 
 
 parts have been divided , for in that case 
 some portions have been left behind, and 
 ought to be taken away. Arteries may be 
 tied as they are divided, if they bleed pro- 
 fusely. When enlarged glands in the axilla 
 require removal, the incision must be ex- 
 tended in that quarter, and the indiuated 
 parts completely removed, caution being 
 necessary, on account of the proximity of 
 the large vessels apd nerves. When the 
 hemorrhage is stopped, the sides of the 
 wound must be brought together by stick- 
 ing plaister. 
 
 Wounds of the abdomen. These may, or 
 may not, injure the contents of the cavity ; 
 but the mere circumstance of their pene- 
 trating it constitutes a source of great dan- 
 ger, from the peritoneal inflammation which 
 is likely to ensue. We may not be able to 
 discover whether the cavity is exposed or 
 no; but this is of no consequence. A small, 
 feeble, and contracted pulse; pallid coun- 
 tenance; coldness of the extremities; great 
 and sudden debility; hiccough; vomiting; 
 and tension of the abdomen ; show that 
 some important parts are injured. A 
 bloody state of the urine; discharge of blood 
 by vomiting and stool ; escape of urine, 
 feces, or chyle, by the wound, indicate to us 
 what particular parts are included in the 
 injury. A protrusion of the viscera is a 
 frequent attendant on these cases. The 
 subsequent occurrence of the symptoms 
 described as belonging to peritonitis (see 
 Medicine) is the natural consequence of 
 the injury, and brings the greatest danger to 
 the patient. 
 
 Tile treatment divides itself into two 
 parts ; as regarding the wound, and the 
 constitution in general. An over anxiety 
 to discover the extent of the wound, and 
 the parts injured, is useless and reprehen- 
 sible ; if these facts cannot be made out 
 with facility, the surgeon must be contented 
 to remain ignorant of tiiem. Protruded 
 parts musj; be immediately restored in th«^ 
 most gentle way, and the wound may pro- 
 bably require dilatation for this purpose ; 
 which the surgeon may accomplish with tlio . 
 probe-pointed curved knife, guided by his 
 finger or a director. Fomentation of sugli 
 parts is perfectly useless, A discoloured 
 state of intestine is no reason why it should 
 not be replaced, if it looks very suspicious 
 it may be retained near the wound by a 
 suture through the mesentery. If the gut 
 be wounded, Tiiree simple stitches may ba 
 made at three different parts of the cir- 
 cumference, and the part retained near the 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 wonnd. To attempt to unite the edges by 
 making them toucli at everj' point, would 
 he obviously nugatory. The ensuing in- 
 flammation agglutinates the gut to the sur- 
 rounding parts, and thus the breach be- 
 comes gradually closed, while the extrava- 
 sated matter readily escapes through the 
 wound, behind which the injured part is 
 confined. If the wounded portion of the 
 gut be within the cavity, we must trust to 
 the powers of nature, observing only to fa- 
 cilitate the discharge of the intestinal con- 
 tents. Sometimes in such a case a perfect 
 cure is obtained ; sometimes the feces are 
 discharged for ever after through the wound ; 
 and sometimes a fistulous opening remains. 
 Should the return of a large piece of 
 omentum be very difficult, it may be cut 
 off, and any bleeding vessels secured. The 
 wound should then be accurately and firmly 
 closed by means of sticking plaister, aided 
 by an attention to position, which is much 
 better than using sutures. The introduc- 
 tion of tents is a part of the old practice, 
 contrary to all principle, and therefore 
 universally exploded. The general treat- 
 ment of the patient requires a strict ob- 
 servance of the antiphlogistic plan ; perfect 
 quiet, abstinence from animal food and fer- 
 mented liquors, and mild purgatives should 
 be employed in every case ; and where 
 symptoms of inflammation exist, even al- 
 . tliongh the pulse should be small, copious 
 bleeding from a large orifice is absolutely 
 necessary. Cupping or leeches to the ab- 
 domen, followed by fomentations and blis- 
 ters, will also be necessary. 
 
 Gunshot womids of the abdomen are very 
 seldom attended with protrusion of the in- 
 testines. The treatment is here limited to 
 the employment of general means, which 
 have sometimes the happiest effect under 
 very unpronjising circumstances. 
 
 tVounds of the abdominal viscci'a are 
 often attended with extravasation of vari- 
 ous substances into the cavity ; these may 
 consist of intestinal contents, bile, urine, or 
 blood. Besides tlie swelling which they 
 cause, their presence irritates the sur- 
 rounding parti, producing inflammation, 
 constitutional disturbance, and sometimes 
 even suppuration and a manifest fluctuation. 
 If bile or urine be effused, tlie symptoms 
 come on very rapidly, arid are extremely 
 urgent; but in other cases the symptoms are 
 not so pressing. The resistance arising 
 from the pressure of the respiratory muscles 
 occasions the effused matters to be collected 
 into one mass, and prevents them from be- 
 
 coming generally diffused over the cavity. 
 When swelling, attended with local pain, 
 fluctuation, &c. and the other symptoms 
 which will attend the case, clearly indicate 
 a collection of this kind, it may be opened 
 by the surgeon. 
 
 Psoas abscess is a collection of matter 'be- 
 hind the peritoneum, in the cellular sub- 
 stance surrounding tlie psoas muscle. It 
 forms in a very gradual manner, generally 
 without inflammatory or febrile symptoms. 
 There is a dull pain in the loins, and a 
 slight weakness of the affected thigh. After 
 some time, the matter -descending by its 
 own weiglit, passes Poupart’s ligament, and 
 forms a swelling in the groin ; or it may 
 present in the back just under the last rib. 
 At tills period the motions of the thigh a-re 
 considerably impaired, particularly tliose, 
 in which the psoas muscle is concerned. 
 There is an impulse in the tumour, when 
 the patient coughs, and the swelling is 
 larger in the erect position. SoYnetimes 
 disease of the vertebr® accompanies this 
 affection. Vl hen the abscess bursts, thd 
 whole cyst falls into a state of inflamma- 
 tion ; violent irritative fever ensues ; and 
 there is copious suppuration, under which 
 the patient gradually sinks. The most 
 successful plan hitherto adopted; is that of 
 opening the abscess, as soon as’ it has pre- 
 sented fairly, by a pretty free incision with 
 the abscess lancet ; bringing the wound to- 
 gether, without allowing the introduction 
 of any air, and closing it accurately with 
 sticking plaister. 
 
 This is to be repeated when the matter 
 has accumulated again, and thus the con- 
 traction of the cyst will be promoted ; a 
 third and fourth puncture may be neces- 
 sary. Electricity and emetics of the me- 
 tallic salts may be combined vvith this 
 plan to favour the absorption of matter; 
 and a blister kept open by the savine 
 cerate will be an useful auxiliary means; 
 Disease of the bone requires blisters or issues 
 in the loins. 
 
 Paracentesis abdominis is an operation 
 performed for the discharge of dropsical 
 fluid, and consisting merely in penetrating 
 the parietes of the cavity by means of a 
 troebar. The instrument is to be intro- 
 duced three inches below the navel, in ai 
 perpendicular line drawn from that spot ; 
 and it should not be pushed more deeply, 
 when it meets with no fiirtiier resistance. 
 Pressure by a belt or the hands of as- 
 sistants should be kept up during the eva- 
 cuation as faintness is frequently produced 
 X 2 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 by tlie sudden removal of the support from 
 the abdominal viscera. 
 
 HERNIA 
 
 Is a tumour formed by the passage 
 of any of the abdominal viscera from the 
 cavity in vphich they are naturally con- 
 tained, into a preternatural bag, formed by 
 the protrusion of the peritoneum. The pro- 
 truded portion of peritoneum is called the 
 hernial sac. This peritoneal sac is covered 
 by another investment of various degrees of 
 thickness, consisting probably, in great part, 
 of the surrounding cellular substance, con- 
 densed into a membrane-like appearance, 
 by the pressure of the hernia ; in the same 
 way as tumours acquire their investing cyst. 
 In the inguinal hernia this external coat of 
 the sac possesses some tendinous fibres in 
 its structure, derived from the aponeurosis 
 of the external oblique, where it forms the 
 ring. The cremaster muscle is also expanded 
 on its surface ; it consists usually of several 
 layers, the division of which, in the operation, 
 often leads the surgeon to suppose that he 
 has opened the hernial sac. Scrotal rup- 
 tures often descend to various distances on 
 the thigh, sometimes indeed even to the 
 knee ; yet the whole inner surface of the 
 bag, in which all the loose viscera of the ab- 
 domen may be contained, is lined by a con- 
 tinuation of peritoneum ; indeed the hernial 
 sac, taken altogether, is generally thicker 
 and stronger in proportion to the size of the 
 tumour, and to the duration of the com- 
 plaint. The exterior covering is every 
 where closely connected by cellular sub- 
 stance to the proper peritoneal sac. Hence 
 the latter part is not returned into the ab- 
 domen, when the contents of the swelling 
 are replaced, but remains behind ready to 
 receive any future protrusion. When the 
 parts have descended tlirough the abdomi- 
 nal ring, the case is called a bubonocele, or 
 inguinal hernia ; if they are in contact with 
 the testis it is termed congenital. The 
 crural or femoral is that which takes place 
 under Poupart’s ligament; and the ex- 
 omphalos, or umbilical rupture, occurs at the 
 navel. The names of enterocele, epiplocele, 
 and entero epiplocele, are applied'according 
 as the swelling contains intestine, omentum, 
 or both together. These are by far the 
 most frequent forms of the complaint ; yet 
 there are several others, as ventral hernia, 
 which takes place between tjie fibres of the 
 abdominal muscles ; hernia of the foramen 
 ovale, ischiatic notch, &c. While tlie visc^jra 
 descend and return freely, tlie complaint is 
 said to be in a reducible state; ,but when 
 
 from increase of bulk, preternsftural adhe- 
 sions, or other causes, they are incapable of 
 being returned, it is termed irreducible. An 
 incapacity of reduction, arising from stric- 
 ture in the opening, through which the vis- 
 cera have descended, brings it into the in- 
 carcerated or strangulated state. The causes 
 of hernia are of two kinds ; the occasional, 
 or exciting, which consist of all those, by 
 which the pressure of the abdominal Viscera 
 against the sides of the cavity is increased, 
 as in straining, and all forcible actions of 
 the respiratory muscles ; and the predispo- 
 sing, which favour the occurrence of rup- 
 ture in particular individuals, as an unusually 
 large state of the openings, or lax condi- 
 tion of the margins of those apertures. 
 
 A reducible hernia is an indolent tumour, 
 smaller in the recumbent position, larger in 
 the erect posture ; diminishing, or entirely 
 disappearing by means of pressure; large 
 and tense after a meal, or when the patient 
 is troubled with wind, soft and small in the 
 morning, before he has taken any food ; at- 
 tended occasionally with a rumbling sensa- 
 tion, particularly on its return, and rendered 
 tense when, the patient coughs, so as to 
 communicate an impulse to the hand of the 
 examiner. Various visceral derangements,, 
 as colic, constipation, and vomiting, are oc- 
 casionally attendant. Uniformity and elas- 
 ticity of the tumour, together w’ith the 
 rumbling noise, and the feeling of impulse 
 on coughing, show that the case is an 
 enterocele ; but if the swelling be com- 
 pressible, fiabby, and uneven, free from 
 tension on coughing, and slow in returning, 
 the contents are omentmn. 
 
 A reducible hernia, although not imme- 
 diately dangerous, leads to many unpleasant 
 consequences, from its constant increase in 
 size, and the visceral derangements that 
 ensue from this cause. It is also constantly 
 liable to strangulation. 
 
 In a strangulated hernia, the protruded 
 parts become inflamed, and this affection is 
 propagated over the rest of the surface of 
 the abdomen. Hence pain of the part, 
 and tension of the belly, are early symp- 
 toms. An entire suppression of the fecal 
 discharge is also a very leading character. 
 Nausea and vomiting ensue ; all the con- 
 tents of tlie stomach, and afterwards those 
 of the intestines, down to the stricture, 
 being rejected. The whole system is de- 
 ranged ; there is great anxiety and rest- 
 lessness, with a small and hard pulse, and 
 cold extremities. At length hiccough su- 
 pervenes, the pulse is hardly sensible, the 
 respiration weak, and the whole body is 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 covered by a cold and clammy sweat. 
 Mortification and death now speedily suc- 
 ceed. The intensity of the symptoms and 
 their duration before the occurrence of the 
 fatal event, are modified by numerous cir- 
 cumstances, as the age and strength of the^ 
 patient, size of the rupture, closeness ot 
 the stricture, &c. ; so that a case may tei • 
 minate fatally within twenty-four hours, or 
 it may be protracted for two or tliree 
 weeks. Hence the strangulation has been 
 distinguished into the acute and chronic. 
 
 The treatment of a reducible rupture 
 comprehends the return of the protruded 
 parts, and their retention within the abdo- 
 minal cavity by means of an appropriate 
 truss. Various proceedings were recom- 
 mended by the older surgeons for producing 
 a radical cure, as castration, caustic, the 
 royal stitch, &c. ; but as these expose the 
 patient’s life to the most imminent risk, 
 without affording any greater chance ot an 
 etfectual cure than the use of trusses would 
 bestow, they have gone entirely into disuse. 
 Herniary bandages are of two kinds ; the 
 elastic and non-elastic. The former are 
 constructed with a piece of steel nearly en- 
 circling the body, and termed .the spring, 
 by means of which they maintain a cotistant 
 pressure on the opening, through which the 
 parts protrude. 
 
 If their use be continued for a sufficient 
 length of time, it even affords a prospect of 
 a radical cure. Since the constant pressure 
 of the pad of the truss keeps the neck of the 
 sac empty, and thereby brings on a gradual 
 contraction and obliteration of its cavity. 
 Non-elastic trusses are so inferior to the 
 others, that they are now universally laid 
 aside. As the best constructed trusses 
 will not afford a certain protection from 
 descent of the bowels, the ruptured person 
 should avoid all great bodily exertions ; and, 
 if the hernia should descend, he should im- 
 mediately go to bed and send for surgical as- 
 sistance. 
 
 As an irreducible hernia does not admit 
 of the employment of a truss, the tumour 
 must be supported by a suspensory bandage, 
 and the patient, by temperance in diet, con- 
 stant attention to the state of his bowels, 
 and avoiding all great exertions, must en- 
 deavour to obviate the risk of strangulation, 
 to which he is constantly exposed, and to 
 prevent the incretise of the tumour. Con- 
 finement to bed for a few weeks, with 
 bleeding, mercurial medicines, purges, and 
 low diet, has sometimes caused irreducible 
 
 hernia to go np ; but great caution is ne- 
 cessary in adopting such a plan. 
 
 In the treatment of strangulated heniia 
 we attempt first to replace the protruded 
 parts ; which operation is technically termed 
 tlie taxis. The patient should lie down, 
 with his pelvis placed higher than the shoul- 
 ders, with the thigh, in inguinal and crural 
 hernia, bent and rolled inwards ; the blad- 
 der being previously emptied, and a caution 
 being given to abstain from coughing, hold- 
 ing the breath, &c. Gentle pressime must 
 now be made on the tumour, and increased 
 to a certain extent, but, if possible, not so 
 as to give pain. A general pressure may 
 be made with both hands, or the tumour 
 may be grasped with one, while the otlier is 
 placed at the aperture, and employed in 
 facilitating the entrance of the parts, or in 
 keeping up those which have been already 
 returned. The pressure should be exerted 
 according to the course in which the parts, 
 have been protruded ; i. e. upwards and 
 outwards in the bubonocele, backwards and 
 then upwards in the femoral hernia. Small 
 hernise are the most difficult of replace- 
 ment; and the taxis succeeds also oftener 
 in the early than the later periods of stran- 
 gulation. It should not be persevered in 
 when the rupture becomes painful. Mild 
 purgatives and clysters should be used, even 
 if the taxis succeeds. When we have not 
 succeeded in replacing the parts, various 
 means may be adopted in the treatment of 
 a strangulated rupture. Tliose which are 
 the most to be relied on are, bleeding, the 
 warm bath, clysters of the decoction or 
 smoke of tobacco, and ice or other cold ap- 
 plications to the part. The former remedy 
 must not be used indiscriminately, nor with- 
 out a due attention to the patient’s age and 
 strength, nature of the symptoms, &c. Yet 
 it should be employed with vigour when we 
 have resolved on its use ; and a considerable 
 quantity should be drawn suddenly from a 
 large orifice to induce fainting. Tliis, with 
 'the warm bath, and the employment of ice, 
 or of the freezing mixtures, made by tlie solu- 
 tion of salts, are the means to be employed 
 first; and if they fail, the tobacco clyster 
 made by boiling one dram of tobacco for 
 ten minutes in a pint of water, should be 
 instantly tried. If this does not succeed 
 after two or three attempts, the operation 
 must be performed without delay. A smart 
 purge of calomel and jalap will sometimes 
 succeed in the ^arly stage of strangulation, 
 particularly in old and large hernia, where 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 disorder of the bowels may have been the 
 cause of strangulation, and wliere the symp- 
 toms are not very urgent. Opium is of use 
 to allay the sickness. The surgeon should 
 act with the greatest decision in these cases, 
 and should particularly avoid all unnecessary 
 delay. He should try at once the most 
 powerful means, and operate as soon as it is 
 found that they will not succeed. Surgeons 
 are now universally agreed, that the danger 
 of the operation arises chiefly from its being 
 deferred until the local or general distur- 
 bance Iiave proceeded to such a height, that 
 a favourable result can hardly be expected ; 
 and that the chance of recovery is very con- 
 siderable when it is performed unticr more 
 favourable circumstances. We shall des- 
 cribe the operation in speaking of inguinal' 
 hernia. 
 
 Inguinal hernia. The spermatic chord in 
 the male subject, and the round ligament of 
 the uterus in the female, pass through a 
 canal in the lower and front part of the ab- 
 dominal muscles, called the abdominal ring. 
 This canal is oblique in its course, com- 
 mencing at the mid space between the spine 
 of the ilium and angle of the pubes (upper 
 or internal aperture), running downwards 
 and forwards, and terminating just over the 
 pubes (lower, or external aperture). ' The 
 upper opening is formed in a fascia, which 
 ascends from Paupart’s ligament, behind 
 the abdominal muscles, and it is crossed 
 above by the under edge of the internal, 
 oblique, and transversalis muscles ; the lower 
 opening is formed by the tendon of the ex- 
 ternal oblique alone, and the distance be- 
 tween these is about two inches and a half. 
 The inguinal hernia generally descends di- 
 rectly over the spermatic chord, which is 
 consequently placed Just behind the hernial 
 .gac j but it sometimes comes out directly 
 from the abdomen, through the tendon of 
 the external oblique, without traversing the 
 canal of the abdominal ring; and here con- 
 sequently the spermatic chord is on the 
 outer side of the rupture. In the former 
 and most frequent case, the epigastric ar- 
 tery runs along the inner edge of the mouth 
 of the sac, while in the latter its course is on 
 the outer side of the same part. The stric- 
 tm-e may be situated, either at the upper or 
 lower aperture of the ring, or in both. 
 
 Besides the common symptoms belonging 
 to all heyniae, there are certain local cha- 
 racters which designate this species. Tiie 
 tumour descends from the abdominal ring 
 to various distances in the scrotum ; appear- 
 
 ing first in the grmn, and passing down- 
 wards in front of the spermatic chord. The 
 testicle may be felt below or behind the 
 swelling, which always appears to extend 
 into the ring, and is hence distinguished from 
 most other affections of these parts. It is 
 much more frequent in the male than in the 
 female subject. It must be distinguished 
 from hydrocele, varicocele, sarcocele, hernia 
 humoralis, and bubo. 
 
 In operating for bubonocele, the patieut'.<» 
 thigh should be bent, and the hair shaved 
 from the swelling and neighbouring parts. 
 An incision should be carried through the 
 integuments from an inch above the ring to 
 the bottom of the tumour. The cellular 
 substance intervening between the skin 
 and hernial sac is then to be divided, layer 
 by layer, with the knife and dissecting for- 
 ceps ; and the sac itself should then be 
 opened with the edge of the knife held ho- 
 rizontally. A small portion of fluid is usually 
 discharged at the aperture, which must be 
 enlarged so as to expose the whole tumour. 
 The stricture, in whatever part it may be 
 situated, must now be divided by the probe- 
 pointed knife, cjonducted by the finger or 
 director, and carried directly upwards, so 
 as to cut the middle of the upper part of the 
 contracted portion. This incision, which is 
 technically named the dilatation of the ring, 
 should not be carried further than is abso- 
 lutely necessary for leturning the parts. 
 If the protruded parts are sound, and not 
 adherent to each other, nor to the sac, they 
 may be immediately replaced, the limb be- 
 ing alway bent and rolled inwards in this 
 part of the operation, to relax the opening 
 as much as possible. Intestine, although 
 very much discoloured, will recover when 
 replaced in the cavity. If any adhesions 
 exist, they must be destroyed by the knife, 
 or finger if they are not strong. The omen- 
 tum is often found in a state in wliich it 
 would be improper to return it. This vis- 
 ens becomes thickened and hardened in an 
 old hernia, so that its return would require 
 a very free incision of the ring ; and it is 
 often discoloured by the inflammation con- 
 sequent on the strangulation, In all such 
 instances it should be cut away as far as it 
 is affected, and the remainder returned into 
 the abdomen, after any bleeding vessels 
 have been secured by fine ligatures. The 
 practice qf tying the omentum in a mass 
 previoivsly to cutting it off is very pernici- 
 ous, and has often been fatal. The wound 
 should be closed by sticking plaister, assist- 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 ed, if necessary, ■with one or two points of 
 suture. Common clysters, and mild pursa- 
 tive.«, such as manna and Epsom salts, dis- 
 solved in mint water, should be taken after 
 the operation, and the strictest regimen ob- 
 served until the recovery is complete. Pe- 
 ritoneal inflammation, which is not an un- 
 frequent consequence, must be treated by 
 the most vigorous antiphlogistic means; ot 
 which copious and repeated venesections 
 are the most important. 
 
 The operation above described would not 
 be. suitable in a case of large and old rup- 
 ture. The extensive snrfiice which must 
 be exposed, and the violence necessary in 
 sepai'ating adhesions, give rise to so much 
 inflammation, that the consequences would 
 be much dreaded ; and the bulk of pro- 
 truded parts has been sometimes so great, 
 that they could not be retained in the belly 
 after the operation. Here then the surgeon 
 should take off the stricture without open- 
 ing the sac, and push back as much of the 
 contents as will pass up readily. 
 
 When mortification has taken place in 
 the contents of a rupture, our conduct must 
 be adapted to the circumstances of the case. 
 It is sometimes found to have occurred in 
 the protruded parts, when no sympton had 
 previously led the surgeon to suspect it. 
 But the mortification generally spreads to 
 the superincumbent parts : the swelling be- 
 comes soft; the integuments deep red, livid, 
 and afterwards black ; the cellular mem- 
 brane is emphysematous ; the pulse sinks ; 
 lastly, the integuments give way, and wind 
 and feces are discharged. Although these 
 cases are generally fatal, yet their event is 
 sometimes fortunate. ' We must chiefly 
 trust to natqre, and be careful not to inter- 
 rupt those processes which she employs for 
 the restoration of parts. The intestine is 
 adherent to the parietes of the abdomen be- 
 hind the ring ; these adhesions are of great 
 importance in the subsequent progress of 
 the cure, and should therefore never be dis- 
 turbed. If the intestine has not already 
 given way, we may remove the stricture: 
 where an opening has taken place, we may 
 make such incisions through the sphacelated 
 parts as will provide a free exit for the fecal 
 matter. In either case, mild purgatives and 
 clysters, will be proper to unload the bowels, 
 and to deterpiine the course of the feces 
 towards the anus. The use of both these 
 means with the latter object, constitutes a 
 very important part of the treatment of all 
 cases of mortified intestine. 
 
 In cases where the mortification has not 
 
 gone so far, the protruded gut may be af- 
 fected either in one or more small spots; or it 
 may have become mortified through a 
 greater or less extent of its whole diameter. 
 
 In the former case it has been advised to 
 leave the gut in the wound, after removing 
 the stricture ; or to return the intestine, and 
 retain it in the neighbourhood of the ring 
 by means of a ligature passed through the 
 mesentery. The fear of an effusion of fe- 
 cal matter into the abdomen, on the separa- 
 tion of the slough, formed the objection to 
 the replacement of a mortified portion of 
 gut : and the intent of the ligature placed 
 in tlie mesentery was to prevent the possi- 
 bility of this much dreaded effusion, by 
 keeping the .sphacelated part opposite to the 
 ring. Since, however, numerous facts have 
 shown that neither of these events are to be 
 expected, there can be no doubt as to the 
 conduct required, where a portion only of 
 the gut is affected with gangrene. We 
 slionld replace it in the cavity wjth the mor- 
 tified portion towards the wound, and aw'ait 
 the result of the operations of nature with- 
 out interference. 
 
 AVhen the whole diameter has mortified, 
 the excision of the dead part, and the intro- 
 duction of the upper into tlie lower end of 
 the gut, where it is to be secured by liga- 
 ture, has been advised. , We have also been 
 recommended to keep the two ends near the 
 ring, by ligatures in the mesentery. We ad- 
 vise, that after dilating the stricture, the 
 subsequent progress of the case should be 
 left entirely to nature. The sloughs will be 
 cast off ; the ends of the gut are retained 
 by the adhesive process, in a state of appo- 
 sition to each other, the most favourable 
 for their union ; the wound contracts, and 
 often completely closes, so that the con- 
 tinuity of the alimentary canal is perfectly 
 re established. The interference of art can 
 only be prejudicial in this process. Perhaps 
 the only step which would be justifiahio, is 
 that of making an incision in the sphacelat- 
 ed part; this will promote tlie evacuation 
 of the alimentary canal, and afford consider- 
 able relief. 
 
 In all cases of mortified intestine there is 
 considerable danger of the feces passing off 
 constantly through the wound, by what is 
 called an artificial anus. Here we must en- 
 deavour tp alleviate those distressing incon- 
 veniences which arise from the involuntary 
 discharge of wind and feces through the 
 new opening, by supplying the patient with 
 an apparatus, in which these may be re- 
 ceived as they pass off. 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 Femoral hernia is formed by the protru- daction or dimimitioii; often there is a de^ 
 
 Bion or some or tne abdominal contents un- 
 der the inferior margin of the external ob- 
 lique muscle (which part is called also Poii- 
 part’s ligament): and the swelling is situated 
 towards the inner part of the bend of the 
 thigh. It is much the most frequent in 
 women, and is generally very small ; hence 
 it may be mistaken for a swollen gland, 
 unless great attention be paid to the symp- 
 toms. The precise point at which this her- 
 nia descends is the space left under the 
 crural arch between the femoral vein and 
 the thin posterior edge of Poupart’s liga- 
 ment. Tlie latter part has a broad inser- 
 tion into the pubes, and this insertion ends 
 in a thin and very sharp margin, turned to- 
 wards the vein. The contents of the abdo- 
 men cannot escape in any other situation, 
 because the crural aich is filled by parts 
 going under it, and covered by a fascia ex- 
 ^nding over the iliacus internus muscle. 
 The rupture first descends, and then conies 
 forward, to which we must attend in en- 
 deavouring to reduce it. The peritoneal 
 sac is covered by a very complete exterior 
 investment, as in the ingninal species. The 
 spermatic chord, or round ligament, passes 
 directly over the mouth of the sac, and the 
 epigastric lies on its outer edge. The stric- 
 ture, which is always very close, should be 
 relieved by detaching the thin edge of 
 Poupart’s ligament from the pubes. 
 
 Umbilical hernia, exomphalos, or ompha- 
 locele, is formed by the protrusion of the 
 y^cera through the tendinous opening term- 
 ed the navel. An elastic truss for this rup- 
 ture is described by Mr. Hey,and is the best 
 hitherto contrived. 
 
 There is nothing peculiar in the treat- 
 ment or operation, nor in tliose of the ven- 
 tral and congenital kinds. The surgeon, 
 however, in the latter will be aware that the 
 hernial contents lie in the same bag with the 
 testis, in consequence of the communication 
 that exists in one period of the fetal exist- 
 ence between the abdomen and tunica 
 vaginalis testis never having been closed. 
 Hence, in such a case, the testis cannot be 
 felt distinctly from the hernial swelling. 
 
 Hydrocele is a collection of watery fluid 
 in the cavity of the tunica vaginalis testis, 
 or in the spermatic chord. The former is 
 exactly similar in its nature to the drop.sical 
 affections of the peritoneum, pleura, or peri- 
 cardium. Theswellingis colourless, smooth, 
 and pyriform; extending slowly and gra- 
 dually upwards from the lower part of the 
 scrotum; fluctuating and incapable of re- 
 
 gree of transparency, so that the light can 
 be discerned through it ; but as the tunica 
 vaginalis is frequently thickened, neither 
 this circumstance, nor the fluctuation, can 
 be entirely depended on. The testis cannot 
 be felt, but the spermatic chord may be 
 discerned clearly, in a natural state, above 
 the swelling. The cure is either radical, or 
 palliative : the latter consists in letting out 
 the fluid with a trochar, after which a piece 
 of soap plaister may be applied, and a bag- 
 tniss worn. The fluid accumulates again. 
 In the radical cure, the hydrocele should 
 be tapped with a trochar at its anterior and 
 inferior part, and as soon as the fluid is en- 
 tirely discharged, the cavity of the tunica 
 vaginalis is to be distended to its former 
 dimensions, with an injection composed of 
 two parts of red wine, and one of warm 
 water. The injection may remain in the 
 part about five minutes, after which it is to 
 be discharged through the trochar. The 
 consequence of this treatment is a consider- 
 able inflammation of the part, terminating 
 in the effusion of coagulating lymph, and 
 the consequent obliteration of the cavity of 
 the tunica vaginalis. The inflammation is 
 to be treated like hernia huraoralis, if it 
 runs too high. 
 
 Hydrocele of the chord may either con- 
 sist of an effusion of water into the cellular 
 substance, or of a single cyst of various 
 magnitude. If the former prove trouble- 
 some, a free incision through it seems to be 
 the only means of treatment; the latter 
 may be treated by the port wine injection. 
 
 Hannatocele is a swelling of the scrotum, 
 caused by the effusion of blood into the 
 tunica vaginalis. Its most common cause 
 is the wound of a blood-vessel in tapping a 
 hydrocele: the water, as it flow’s off, is 
 generally discoloured, and the swelling soon 
 after regains its former magnitude. Discii- 
 tieiit lotions, as that of the sal ammoniac, or 
 cerussa acetata and vinegar, will generally 
 cause the absorption of the blood ; cam- 
 phorated liniments and mercurial ointment 
 may also be employed, if the case be obsti- 
 nate. .Should these means fail entirely, an in- 
 cision must be made through the integuments 
 and tunica vaginalis, and the blood removed. 
 
 Sarcocele is a chronic fleshy enlargement 
 of tile testicle. It exhibits very different 
 appearances in different cases. It may pre- 
 sent a vascular mass of uniform appearance, 
 without enlargement of the chord, or any 
 very painful symptoms. It may have a 
 white caseous substance, intermixed wi^ 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 this ; or it may contain several cells, filled 
 with different coloured fluids. But it is also 
 liable to schirrus and cancer ; in which case 
 it forms a hard brownish mass, with portions 
 of a membranous or gristly firmness inter- 
 mixed ; attended with severe pain darting 
 along the chord to the loins ; and having an 
 imequal knotty feel. The chord too be- 
 comes enlarged, and the health is affected. 
 .Sometimes this kind of sarcocele forms a 
 foul ulcer, with bleeding fungus, &c. When 
 the chord is affected, the disease generally 
 appears in the inguinal glands, and soon 
 al ter destroys the patient. A mild sarcocele 
 may be treated with leeches and discutient 
 lotions, setons, and mercurial frictions, with 
 the view of dispersion; but if these fail, 
 castration is the only remedy. The same 
 means should be immediately employed in 
 a case of schirrus ; for that affords no hope 
 of|pure. The operation would also be too 
 late if deferred until the chord has become 
 indurated and knotty. Chronic enlarge- 
 ments of the testicle are sometimes attend- 
 ed with an accumulation of limpid fluid in 
 the tunica vaginalis ; and the disease is then 
 termed hydro-sarcocele. 
 
 The operation of castration consists in 
 making a longitudinal incision from the ab- 
 dominal ring to the bottom of the tumour ; 
 in dissecting down on each side of the sper- 
 matic chord, so as to be able to take it be- 
 tween the finger and thumb; in dividing 
 the chord, and tying any bleeding vessels 
 on its surface ; and then in dissecting away 
 the testis, by free sweeps of the knife, from 
 the scrotum. All bleeding vessels should 
 be carefully secured ; the edges of the in- 
 teguments retained by two or three points 
 of suture, and in their intervals by sticking- 
 plaster; over which a pledget, compress, 
 and T bandage, are to be applied. 
 
 Varicocele is an enlargement of the veins 
 of the scrotum, or spermatic chord, attend- 
 ed with a very peculiar feel, and causing a 
 tumour, which is generally indolent, but 
 may be troublesome. It is often mistaken 
 for omental hernia; and sometimes is at- 
 tended with wasting of the testicle. If the 
 'swelling be painftd, leeches, saturnine and 
 discutient lotions, purgative medicines, hori- 
 zontal position, and a bag-truss, are proper. 
 The varicous veins have been tied with 
 success in very obstinate cases. 
 
 Hernia tmmoralis is an inflamed state of 
 the testicle, in which that gland is much 
 enlarged, and very painful. Tiie scrotum 
 is distended and red, and the pain shoots 
 into the loins. Irritation of the urethra is 
 
 the most frequent cause, and particularly 
 that which takes place in gonorrhoea. The 
 unpleasant symptoms of the latter com- 
 , plaint cease when the testicle swells, and 
 often recur when the hernia hiimoralis 
 abates. A recumbent posture, frequent 
 application of leeches, saline purgatives, 
 cold saturnine, or discutient washes ; or in 
 some cases poultices, and in all instances a 
 suspensory bandage are the means of relief. 
 Camphorated mercurial ointment should be 
 rubbed on the epididymis, when a hardness 
 of that part remains. 
 
 Cancer scroti, or chimney-sweeper’s can- 
 cer, commences in the scrotum with an 
 ulcerated wart, or rugged ill-looking sore, 
 with hard and elevated margin. It penetrates 
 the scrotum, affects the testis, ascends along 
 the chord, contaminates the inguinal glands, 
 and terminates the patient’s existence in a 
 most deplorable way. Extirpation in the 
 early state is the only effectual mode of 
 treatment. 
 
 Gonorrhoea is the discharge of a mucous 
 or purulent fluid from tlie urethra, occasi- 
 oned by the application of infectious matter 
 from another subject labouring under the 
 disorder, and generally communicated by 
 coition. The urethra may be irritated, so 
 as to furnish a preternatural quantity of se- 
 cretion, by other causes ; as strictures, use 
 of bougies, &c. It generally comes on 
 from six to twelve days after the infection ; 
 and commences with an itching and fulness 
 of the mouth of the urethra. A discharge 
 follows, first of a watery and transparent 
 kind, and then becoming thicker and white, 
 yellow or greenish. The glans swells, and 
 the membrane at the mouth of the urethra 
 becomes smooth, red, and swoln. An acute 
 scalding pain is experienced in making 
 water, which is voided frequently, and in a 
 diminished stream. Troublesome erections 
 are experienced at night. Various sympa- 
 thetic affections often attend ; as pain and 
 soreness over the whole pelvis, in the scro- 
 tum, testicles, anus, &c. ; enlargement of 
 the inguinal glands, forming sympathetic 
 bubo, and irritability of the bladder. It 
 has been much disputed whether the matter 
 of gonorrhoea and chancre be the same, and 
 consequently whether the constitution can 
 be affected from a gonorrlioBa. But at pre- 
 sent most surgeons are inclined to support 
 the negative side of the question ; and all 
 act in the treatment of the complaint on 
 this supposition. 
 
 In ordinary cases the affection does not 
 seem to extend more than about two inches 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 along the a'rethra. The complaint increases 
 in violence for about three weeks, and 
 then gradually declines ; a discharge often 
 Bemainiiig when the other symptoms have 
 entirely subsided, and being then ternred a 
 gleet. There is litlle power of stoppmg the 
 course of the complaint, at least without 
 great risk of inducing hernia humoralis ; so 
 that the safest plan is to palliate. Occasion- 
 al saline pni-ges, abstemious regimen, and 
 copious draughts of diluting and mucilagi- 
 nous liquors are proper with this view. Sus- 
 pension of the testicles is useful as a precau- 
 tion against hernia humoralis. Cold appli- 
 cations to the penis. After a few days, 
 astringent injections may be employed, 
 often with the effect of lessening the dura- 
 tion of the dLscharge considerably. Zinc, 
 vitriol, gr. ijss. in two ounces of water ; or 
 bydr. mnriat gr. j. in eight ounces of water 
 will do for the beginning ; but their strength 
 may be increased. Opium and antimony 
 where the symptoms of irritation are very 
 considerable ; balsam, copaivae is also very 
 useful. 
 
 The ^eet which remains after a gonorrhoea 
 is not infectious, although veiy trouble- 
 some. Astringent injections may be tried 
 for it ; as liydr. mur. gr. ij. in aq. distillat. 
 5 viii. or ziiicum vitriol, or cupr. vitriol, in 
 larger proportions. Balsam copaivae or 
 tinct. cantharid. may be taken internally. 
 
 Chordee is an indammatiun attended 
 with extravasation of coagulating lymph 
 into the corpus spongiosum urethrae, or 
 corpoia cavernosa penis, which renders the 
 penis curved in its erect state. Bleeding 
 by leeches, fomentations and poultices, 
 with the antiphlogistic regimen generally ; 
 and afterwards camphorated mercurial oint- 
 ment. 
 
 Sympathetic bubo should be treated as 
 a case of common inflammation. Affection 
 of the bladder may be combated by the 
 warm bath, venesection, leeches, and fomen- 
 tations to the perineum and bladder, and 
 ppiate clysters. 
 
 Phymosis and Paraphymosis. In the 
 former the prepuce is so contracted, that it 
 cannot be withdrawn over the glans ; while 
 in the latter it cannot be drawn forward 
 from behind the glans. The irritation of 
 chancres, gonorrhoea, &c. is the common 
 Cause of these affections j but some per- 
 sons are born witlr a phymosis. Frequent 
 injections under the prfepuee are necessary 
 in phymosis, which need not prevent the use 
 of mercury if it is required. If the contrac- 
 tion be so great as to confine the matter, 
 
 and absolutely prevent its discharge, tho 
 prepuce may be slit open, but not otherwise 
 in the inflamed state. When the complaint 
 has subsided, and the contraction still re- 
 mains, the following operation may be per- 
 formed. The surgeon grasps the prepuce 
 with a pair ot harelip forceps, leaving out 
 as much of the outer fold as he wishes to 
 remove, and cutting this away at one stroke 
 of the knife. He then slits up the inner 
 fold with a crooked bistoury passed in a di- 
 rector. 
 
 In paraphymosis die glans can generally 
 be returned by pressing the blood out of it, 
 after immersion in cold water, and drawing 
 forwards the prepuce. Leeches may be ap- 
 plied to the glans to diminish its bulk. If 
 these means do not succeed, the stricture 
 must be cut through. 
 
 Amputation of the penis is necessary in 
 cancer of that organ ; but it should be 
 done before the glands are affected. One 
 stroke of the knife is sufficient for tfie pur- 
 pose, after which the bleeding vessels must 
 be secured. 
 
 r 
 
 Strictures in tlie urethra are contractions 
 of tlie canal ; which may be either tempo- 
 rary, w’hen they are called spasmodic j or 
 permanent, in which case there is a projecting 
 ridge of the membrane, or a contirmed con-' 
 traction occupying some length of the canal. 
 The latter are also subject to attacks of spasm 
 from inflammation, &c. ; and vary in their 
 state under different circumstances. If ’ 
 there be only a single stricture, it will be 
 generally found at the bulb of the urethra ; 
 that is, about six and a half or seven inches 
 from the mouth of the urethra ; and where 
 strictures are situated nearer to the end of 
 the penis, there is almost alwa; s one in the 
 former part. The symptoms’ of the com- 
 plaint are diminished stream of urine, which 
 is voided more frequently than is natural, 
 and with difficulty ; gleet, nocturnal emis- 
 sions, impeded ejection of the seminal 
 fluid in coition ; irritability of the bladder, 
 which secretes a mucous fluid. Sometimes 
 there is a complete paroxysm of fever ; and 
 occasionally swelling of the testicle. Stran- 
 giiary and total retention of urine are some- 
 times the consequence of a stricture, which 
 becomes affected with spasm from some oc- 
 casional cause. 
 
 Our first object in treating strictures is to 
 ascertain the number and situation of the 
 contractions. The bougie should be curved 
 to the requisite degree (which is necessary 
 in all cases where these instruments are in- 
 troduced) and oiled before its introduction, 
 

 
 
 SURGERY. 
 
 Tlie surgeon holds the glans penis lightly 
 with the fore finger and thumb ef the lett 
 hand, just under the corona glandis, and 
 introduces the bougie with the right hand, 
 carrying it forwards gently, and drawing tlie 
 penis upwards, so as to make the urethra 
 tense. When he meets with an obstniction, 
 he waits a little and tries again. He should 
 make a mark with the nail on the bougicj 
 opposite to tlie end of the urethra, if he 
 cannot pass a stricture ; and then try a 
 smaller instrument. The same plan must 
 be pursued, until all the contractions are 
 ascertained. If he makes this examination 
 with a soft white bougie, he may get an 
 impression of the stricture by pressing 
 gently, which will be of service in the sub- 
 sequent treatment. For the cure of the 
 complaint common bougies ntay be used ; 
 or they may be armed with caustic. 
 
 The common bougie acts mechanically, 
 by dilating the contracted portion. The 
 largest instrument, that the urethra will ad- 
 mit, should be passed into the bladder 
 daily, and left there for ten minutes at 
 first, gradually lengthening the time. It 
 should be secured by tying it to the end of 
 the penis. The size of the bougie should 
 be increased, as the strictures dilate. 
 
 Where caustic is used, a smalt piece of 
 argentum nitratum is inserted in the end of 
 a bougie, and surrounded laterally by its 
 substance. This is termed an armed bougie. 
 In using this method, we ascertain first 
 how large a common bougie will pass to the 
 stricture, and mark accurately the distance 
 of the contraction; then take a caustic 
 bougie of the same size, and mark the dis- 
 tance on this also. We then carry it pretty 
 quickly down to the stricture, against which 
 we hold it steadily, at first for a short time 
 (less than a minute) but afterwards longer. 
 This is to be repeated every other day, and 
 to be practised successively with the dif- 
 ferent strictures that are met with. Mr. 
 Whately has recommended a peculiar 
 mode of employing caustic. He breaks a 
 piece of kali purura, with a hammer, into 
 bits, of which the largest should not exceed 
 a pin’s head, and keeps these in a phial with 
 a ground stopper. He passes a bougie 
 through the stricture, and marks tlie si- 
 tuation of the contraction. In the end of 
 this he makes a small hole with a pin, in- 
 serts a bit of the kali smaller than a pin’s 
 head, and covers it with lard. He passes 
 this bougie, properly curved, down to the 
 Stricture, and lets it rest for a few seconds, 
 tliat the kali may dissolve ; he then urges it 
 
 about one-eighth of an inch forward*, 
 allows it to rest, and then passes it on about 
 as much further. He now withdraws it to 
 the beginning of the stricture, and passes it 
 through again once or twice. This is to be 
 repeated every seven days, the size of the 
 bougie being increased as much as the stric- 
 ture will admit. Mr. Wliately adopts this 
 plan, from supposing that the membrane of 
 the urethra is diseased for some extent. 
 
 A new pa.ssage is sometimes formed by 
 tire use of bougies. Here all instruments 
 should be laid aside, if the circumstances 
 admit, to give an opportunity for the parts 
 to recover. 
 
 Fistula in perinea. When the urethra is 
 very much obstructed, nature often endea- 
 vours to procure relief by ulceration on the 
 inside of lliat part of the urethra, which is 
 between the stricture and tlie bladder. 
 Hence the urine insinuates itself into the 
 cellular substance of the perineum, scrotum, 
 &c. causing suppuration and mortification. 
 If the patient survive, the sloughs are de- 
 tached, leaving a free communication be- 
 tween the uretlira and the external sur- 
 face ; and the openings thus produced, by 
 which urine is evacuated, are called fistulas 
 in perineo. The treatment consists in re- 
 moving the stricture, which is the cause of 
 the. complaint ; and this must be attempted 
 both by the caustic and common bougie. 
 If the fistula does not heal, when the urethra 
 is perfectly restored to its natural dimen- 
 sions, it should be laid open like any other 
 sinus, which does not seem disposed to 
 heal. A catheter or staff having been 
 passed into the bladder, a director is intro- 
 duced along the sinus, until it meets the 
 former instrument ; then it will be easy to 
 divide the sinuses with the crooked knife. 
 An elastic catheter should be worn until 
 the wound has healed, which should be 
 dressed from the bottom. The treatment 
 of the complaint, which terminates in a 
 fistula in perineo will be considered under 
 the next bead. 
 
 Retention of urine. When the evacuation 
 of urine is prevented by any particular 
 cause, the bladder becomes remarkably- 
 distended. Its fundus ascends towards the 
 nave), and forms a hard circmnscribed 
 swelling above the pubes, wltile the 'lower 
 portion of the viscus bulges towards the 
 rectum. Violent pain and straining, ten- 
 sion of the abdomen, cold sweats, anxiety, 
 &c. are attendant symptoms. When the 
 cause of the retention does not close the 
 urethra, and it has proceeded to a consi- 
 

 SURGERY. 
 
 ii 
 
 siderable extent, the urine comes away by 
 drops through the natural passage, leaving the 
 bladder still distended. If the canal, through 
 which the urine ought to flow be obstructed, 
 inflammation and ulceration or sloughing 
 ensue. Wlien this happens in the urethra, 
 tistul® in perineo are the consequence. But 
 the bladder itself may slough and burst. 
 Retention of urine arises from the follow- 
 ing causes. Weakness, or paralysis, of the 
 bladder, inflammation of this viscus or of 
 the adjacent parts, a spasmodic affection of 
 the urethra, or some actual contraction of 
 the passage. 
 
 The paralytic retention of urine may be 
 caused by an injury to some part of the spi- 
 nal marrow ; by an overdistensioii of the 
 bladder, arising from retaining the water 
 too long after an inclination is felt to void 
 it, &c. Two objects are to be accomplished 
 in the treatment*; to draw oiF the fluid dis- 
 tending the bladder, and to restore the na- 
 tural contractile power of the viscus. The 
 use of the catheter at certain stated periods 
 accomplishes the first of these ; tlie internal 
 use of cantharides, blisters to the sacrum, 
 pubes, or perineum, cold water thrown on the 
 hypogastrium, cold bath, &c. promote the 
 second indication. The catlieter must be 
 used regularly and frequently, until the 
 cure is completed. 
 
 The retention arising from enlargement 
 of the prostate belongs to this, division. A 
 negleet of the patient to obey the natural 
 calls to void his urine is the first cause ; and 
 the regular use of the catheter is the most 
 efficacious means of cure. 
 
 Use of the catheter. Thi^ instrument is 
 either inflexible and made of silver, or flex- 
 ible and elastic, which is composed of the 
 elastic gum. There are also flexible cathe- 
 ters made of a fusible metal, and others 
 composed of the bougie plaster; but the 
 former are employed the most frequently. 
 The elastic catheter is less irritating to the 
 urethra than a silver tube, and it can be in- 
 troduced in cases wheie a metallic inflexi- 
 ble instrument will not pass. The most 
 favourable posture lor the introduction of 
 the catheter is that in which the patient lies 
 down, with his pelvis at the edge of the bed, 
 and the legs hanging to the ground. The 
 corona glandis should be held between the 
 thumb and fore finger of the left hand, so as 
 to avoid compressing the corona glandis. 
 The catheter, well oiled, should be intro- 
 duced, with the concavity towards the ab- 
 domen, until its point has nearly reached 
 the bulb. The handle should now be 
 
 brought slowly forwards, between the pa- 
 tient’s thighs, and the point will conse- 
 quently describe that portion of a circle which 
 is necessary for its entering the bladder. In 
 the latter stage of the operation, the penis, 
 which before had been drawn upwards, 
 should be allowed to sink down. If an 
 impediment is met with in any direction, 
 let the point be withdrawn a little, and 
 then pushed gently onwards according to 
 the course of the urethra ; but force should 
 be avoided by all means. The fore-finger 
 of the left hand introduced into the rectum 
 will sometimes facilitate the operation. 
 When the prostate gland is enlarged, the 
 urethra turns upwards very suddenly, just 
 behind the pubes ; hence the end of the 
 catheter should be more bent upwards. It 
 has also been found, that by withdrawing 
 the stilet of an elastic gum catheter for a 
 small distance, the instrument itself be- 
 comes more curved ; and by this means the 
 point of the instrument may be elevated in 
 the urethra in the due direction. Many 
 surgeons into.duce the catheter as far as the 
 perineum, with its convexity towards the 
 abdomen, then keeping the point station- 
 ary, they make the handle describe a semi- 
 circular movement upwards, so as to bring 
 the concavity of the instniment towards the 
 pubes ; after which the operation is finished 
 as in the former method. 
 
 When the retention of urine arises from 
 an inflammatory cause, the nature of the 
 disorder is entirely altered. Strictures in the 
 urethra, when very bad, and irritated so as 
 to fall into spasmodic contraction, are the 
 most frequent source of this kind of reten- 
 tion. However, virulent gonorrhaea, bad 
 piles, injuries of the perineum, fistula in 
 ano, and the absorption of cantharides from 
 blisters may have the same effect. The 
 treatment of such cases must be of the anti- 
 phlogistic kind ; venesection, leeches to the 
 perineum, warm baths, fomentations to the 
 perineum, and hypogastric region ; opium 
 by the mouth, and in clysters, are conse- 
 quently to be employed. The use of the 
 tinctura ferri muriati internally is also a 
 very powerful assistant in such affections. 
 The patient may take fifteen drops every 
 ten minutes until it acts. A common clys- 
 ter will often suffice in slight cases. 
 
 If none of these methods succeed, and 
 the catheter or bougie cannot be intro- 
 duced, it becomes necessary to puncture 
 the bladder ; which operation is neither 
 dangerous nor painful, and fails in success 
 probably, because it is employed generally 
 

 
 ry“- 
 
 ' -f -r-f 
 
 
 'f-f 
 
 
 SURGERY. 
 
 too late. It may be done from the peri- 
 neum, pubes, or rectum. The two latter 
 places are so much preferable to the for- 
 mer, that we shall describe those operations 
 only. When the prostate gland is enlarged, 
 {and such a case often requires the para- 
 centesis vesicie) the operation must be done 
 above the pubes : if the patient should be 
 fat, it would be preferable to puncture from 
 the rectum. When all circumstances are 
 equal, experience has not hitherto disco- 
 vered any very decisive advantage in either 
 of these methods over the othei’. 
 
 When the distension of the bladder can 
 be clearly felt above the pubes, the sur- 
 geon may plunge a curved trochar directly 
 into its cavity, about an inch above the 
 bone, as in the paracentesis abdominis. He 
 should remember to direct the point of the 
 instrument in the axis of the bladder; and 
 not to urge it forwards when the resistance 
 to the point ceases. Then the stil^t should 
 be withdrawn, and the canula pushed on- 
 wards. The tatter part must be confined 
 in its situation, and should remain in the 
 bladder until the natural passage is re-esta- 
 blished : or, after a few days, an elastic 
 catheter may be Introduced through it, and 
 the canula withdrawn. If the bladder cannot 
 be felt so distinctly, the surgeon may dis- 
 sect down to its surface before he pene- 
 trates it with the trochar. 
 
 In operating from the rectum q long 
 curved trochar should be employed. The 
 two first fingers of the left hand serve as a 
 direction to the instrument, which is firm- 
 ly held in the right ; and should be passed 
 through the very middle of the projection 
 caused by the distended bladder, care being 
 taken to accommodate its direction as much 
 as possible to the axis of the bladder. After 
 forty-eight hours the canula may be with- 
 drawn, and the artificial opening will serve 
 until the natural passage is restored. 
 
 In women the bladder should be lapped 
 above the pubes, although it might be done 
 from the vagina. 
 
 If the surgeon should not be called in 
 until the urethra has ulcerated, and the 
 urine become diffused, it w'ill be his duty to 
 make free incisions, particularly in the pe- 
 rineum, for the discharge of that fluid, and 
 to use those general means which are likely 
 to allay the constitutional irritation. He 
 must then wait until the operations of na- 
 ture have separated the sloughs caused by 
 the urine, endeavouring however to intro- 
 duce an elastic catheter, where he should 
 allow it to remain. Poultices, fomenta- 
 
 tions, and the warm bath should be resorted 
 to, if there are any appearances of inflam- 
 mation ; and abscesses, or accumulations of 
 urine, should be opened early and freely. 
 
 Incontinence of urine. Sometimes this 
 fluid dribbles away without any sensation 
 of the patient. Here paralysis of the blad- 
 der is the cause, and may be induced in 
 various ways, as from injuries of the spine, 
 over-distension of the organ, &c. In the 
 latter case, the urine should be carefully 
 drawn off at regular intervals ; cold bathing, 
 bark, blistering the sacrum or perineum, 
 electricity, tincture of cantharides internal- 
 ly, &c. will be of service. 
 
 Sometimes the patient can hold his urine 
 to a certain degree, when an irresistible 
 propensity to evacuate it comes on. Here 
 irritability of the bladder is the cause, and 
 may be induced by bad piles, fistula in ano, 
 &c. Opium, the warm batli, fomenta- 
 tions, diluting drinks, &c. may be resorted 
 to when no obvious cause appears. 
 
 Imperforate vagina. Sometimes the labia 
 have their opposed surfaces grown together, 
 leaving perhaps merely a small opening, 
 through which the urine is imperfectly dis- 
 charged, but marked with a line, showing 
 the proper distinction. This may be con- 
 genital, or the effect of disease. Sometimes 
 a thin membrane closes both the meatus 
 urinarius and vagina in newly bom chil- 
 dren. In both these cases the use of the 
 knife is necessary; and lint should be inter- 
 posed between the divided surfaces. There 
 is another form of the same mal-formation, 
 in which the vagina alone is closed ; and no 
 symptoms appear until puberty, when the 
 menstrual discharge does not flow. Tlie 
 uterus swells, and at last a kind of labour 
 pains comes on. Here the membrane must 
 be divided to discharge the accumulated 
 menses, and the edges of the cut kept asun- 
 der. 
 
 Imperforate anus. The part may either be 
 closed by a membrane, or be too contracted 
 to- allow the feces to be evacuated. It 
 may be rightly formed at its outer part, 
 but terminate in a cul de sac ; or there 
 may be no vestige whatever of anus. In 
 the first species, a division of the membrane 
 is the remedy ; and in the second, a dila- 
 tation of the contracted part by the crooked 
 bistoury. If an obstruction should be dis- 
 covered within the gut, it may be perfo- 
 rated with the trochar, introduced accord- 
 ing to the course of the intestine. The lat- 
 ter species is attended with very little hope 
 of saving life. The surgeon may cut in the 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 sitiiation of the anus, and follow his dissec- 
 tiou along the sacrum in order to find the 
 end of the gut, which, when found, should 
 be punctured. 
 
 Fistula in uno. Any formation of matter 
 near the anus is very likely to terminate in 
 this complaint ; the suppuration extends in 
 the fat and cellular substance round the 
 rectum, and sinuses form, having small ex- 
 ternal apertures, and seldom healing with- 
 out an operation. The commencement of 
 the disorder may be. a phlegmonous abscess, 
 attended with considerable sympathetic fe- 
 ver ; or it may have a more erysipelatous 
 character, spreading moi-e widely, being 
 more superficial, and attended with depres- 
 sion of the powers of the constitution. The 
 former is seen in young, strong, and healthy 
 subjects ; the latter in weakened, intempe- 
 rate, and unhealthy constitutions. The parts 
 in the neighbourhood ot the disease are of- 
 ten affected ; and hence retention of urine, 
 strangury, prolapsus and tenesmus, piles, 
 &c. are produced. The complaint some- 
 times begins in an induration of the skin 
 near the anus without pain. This hardness 
 gradually, softens and suppurates. The mat- 
 ter may either point in the buttock, at a 
 distance from the anus, or near this latter 
 part, or in the perineum. It may escape 
 ,from one opening, or from several. Some- 
 times there is not only an external aperture, 
 but another internal one, communicating 
 with the cavity of the intc.stine. 
 
 A soft poultice and fomentations are the 
 best means of treating these abscesses j 
 which, if they are phlegmonous, should not 
 be opened until the skin has become thin ; 
 but, when they are of the ervsipelatous 
 kind, should be punctured immediately to 
 prevent any farther extension of the ma- 
 lady. The general treatment must corres- 
 pond with the nature of the constitutional 
 disturbance. In all abscesses about the anus, 
 the incision should comprehend ail the skin 
 covering the matter, as tlie cavity is then 
 most likely to fill up from the bottom. The 
 dressing should be small in quantity, light, 
 and unu ritating. It, however, the case passes 
 into a fistula, it will be necessary to make 
 it an open wound by cutting through the 
 rectum, from the end of the hollow to the 
 anus. A probe having been introduced at 
 the external opening of the fistula, serves as 
 a director for the probe-pointed knife, 
 which will be felt in the rectum by the snr- 
 geon’s left fore finger. If the fistula should 
 not have penetrated the gut, the bistoury 
 should be pushed through if.s side. The 
 
 probe may now be withdrawn, and the 
 operation completed by bringing the knife 
 out with its point applied to the finger 
 which was in the intestine; and tlius ail be- 
 tween the edge of the knife and the amis 
 must be divided. A soft piece of lint 
 should now be placed in the wound, and re- 
 main until it is loosened by suppuration, 
 and all the future dressings should be mild 
 and unirritating. The callosities of wliich 
 surgeons have complained so much in these 
 cases, arise from injudicious treatment, and 
 particularly from the use of caustic and 
 stimulating applications. 
 
 Prolapsus ani. Tlie internal coat of the 
 gut may be protruded through the sphinc- 
 ter ; or a portion of the intestine with all 
 its coats may descend. Causes which 
 weaken the sphincter, and such as force 
 the intestine downwards, contribute to this 
 aft'ection. Costiveness, tenesmus kept up 
 by liemorrhoids, ascaridcs, fistula in ano, 
 stone, &c. are of this kind. The cause 
 should be removed when that is practicable. 
 The gut must be replaced, but previously 
 clysters, fomentations and poultices, or 
 leeches, and cold washes, are necessary. 
 Horizontal posture, and avoiding costive- 
 ness, are very important points. A com- 
 press and bandage may he necessary to 
 retain the replaced gut; and astringent 
 clysters have been advised. If the pro- 
 truded part has become indurated, thick- 
 ened, and painful, and wilt not admit of 
 reduction, it may be extirpated. Some- 
 times an introsusception, commencing at 
 the c*cnm, has protruded at the anus. 
 This case is quite beyond the powers of 
 art. 
 
 Prolapsus, inversio, and retroversio uteri, 
 are considered under the article Mid- 
 wifery. 
 
 EITIIOTOMY. 
 
 The existence of a stone in the bladder 
 causes various symptoms in the bladder it- 
 self, and others in neighbouring parts. The 
 former are frequent inclination to void the 
 urine, which sometimes stops suddenly fl ora 
 tlie stone mechanically obstructing its pas- 
 sage ; pain in making water, and particu- 
 larly after the discharge, from the bladder 
 contracting on the foreign body; mucus, 
 and sometimes blood in the urine, and pain 
 on exercise. I he latter are an uneasiness 
 and itching at the end of the penis, leading 
 the person to draw and elongate the pre- 
 puce ; sense of weight in the perineum ; 
 tenesmus; numbness of the fhighs, &c. 
 
fry 
 
 V.- 
 
 nryf 
 
 
 \-f-r.-r 
 
 
 
 SURGERY. 
 
 Tiiese symptoms come on in fits. In order 
 to ascertain the tact,- a solid steel instrument, 
 shaped likea catheter, and called asound,is 
 introduced into the bladder, where its point, 
 meeting the stone, gives decided informa- 
 tion to the surgeon. It must be moved in 
 various directions after its introduction, as 
 it may not immediately or easily come in 
 contact with the stone. The operation 
 .should never be perforuted, unless the stone 
 can he plainly felt before the operation: 
 the rectum should be previously emptied, 
 but it is more advantageous for the bladder 
 to be full. The patient is to be placed with 
 liis pelvis at the edge of a table, and the 
 sttiff introduced into the bladder. The 
 thighs and legs are then bent so as to ena- 
 ble him to grasp the soles of the feet with 
 his hands, and the liml)s are retained in this 
 position by broad garters, doubled and 
 placed by means of a noose round the 
 wrists, cariied over tlie back of the hand, 
 and inside of tlie foot; then brought up 
 again, and continued round the wrist and 
 ankle and firmly tied. The staff is shaped 
 like a sound or catheter, and has a groove 
 for conducting a cutting instrumeiit into the 
 bladder. An assistant standing on tlie pa- 
 tient’s right side holds the handle of the 
 staff with one hand, making its convexity 
 project in the perineum, and draws aside 
 tile scrotum with the otlier. An incision 
 should be made through the integuments, 
 commencing on tlie left side of the raphe 
 of the perineum just opposite to the mem- 
 branous part of the urethra, and continued 
 obliquely downwards and outwards for 
 about three inches between the anus and 
 ischium. The transversalis perinei should 
 tiien be cut through, and the membranous 
 part of the urethra freely opened, so as to 
 expose the groove of tlie staff. The beak 
 of the gorget is now introduced into the 
 groove, and the opevator takes the handle 
 of the staff into his- left hand, holding the 
 gorget in his right. He then thnists the 
 gorget into the bladder, keeping its beak 
 ill close contact with the groove of the 
 staff’, and bringing the handle of the latter 
 instrument downwards and forwards, in or- 
 der to raise its point, and make its direc- 
 tion coincide with the axis of the bladder. 
 The cutting edge of the gorget, by this 
 mode of introduction, divides the pros- 
 tate gland and neck of the bladder. This 
 instrument is used of various figur,es by 
 diiferent surgeons. The best perhaps is 
 that in wliich the cutting edge of the in- 
 strument e.\tends horizontally from its beak, 
 
 from which it may be carried to the length 
 of three quarters of an inch. A good ana- 
 tomist may perform the operation with a 
 scalpel, which instrument will enable him 
 to divide the parts with more exactness. 
 Tlie escape of the urine shows that the, 
 bladder is opened. The stalF should now 
 be witlidrawn, and a proper pair of for- 
 ceps passed along the concave surface of 
 the gorget into the bladder, for the purpose 
 of seizing and extracting the stone. Tliis 
 instrument is first employed as a probe to 
 ascertain the position of the stone, which 
 being accomplished, the blades are to be 
 expanded and moved in sucii a direction as 
 to grasp it ; and the instrument very firmly 
 held, may then be slowly withdrawn, be- 
 ing moved from side to .side in order to 
 bring the foreign body through the wound. 
 If the stone be very large, it may be expedi- 
 ent to dilate the wound with a curved knife, 
 or to break the stone in the bladder by 
 means of forceps constructed for that pur- 
 pose. In the latter case, and in instances 
 where the stone is broken in the operation 
 of extracting it, the bladder should be 
 washed out with lukewarm water to re- 
 move any small fragments. Careful exa- 
 mination with the finger is necessary to 
 ascertain tliat nothing is left behind. A 
 compress of lint, pledget, and T bandage, 
 may be put on, but they are of little service, 
 as the urine escapes through the wound. 
 Since peritoneal inflammation is the occur- 
 rence most to be, feared after lithotomy, 
 great attention to the state of the abdomen 
 is required, and on the least indication of 
 such a consequence, venesection, leeches, 
 warm bath, warm fomentations, blisters, 
 emollient clysters, and purgatives,- should 
 be rc.sorted to, according to the symptoms. 
 
 This mode of performing lithotomy is 
 called the lateral operation ; it has been 
 performed with an instrument called a li- 
 thotome cacli^, instead of the gorget. This 
 is a long narrow knife, concealed in a groov- 
 ed instrument, which is psissed into the 
 bladder along the groove of the staff exposed 
 in the way already described. A spring 
 being then compressed makes the knife rise 
 out of the groove, and the instrument is 
 withdrawn in this state, cutting the pros- 
 tate and biadder as it recedes. In former 
 times an opening has been made into the 
 bladder above the pubes, particularly the 
 young subjects ; this was called the high 
 operation, but has long been disused. 
 
 iSfjiina hijiAa is a swelling situated on the 
 spiue of infants at the lime of birth. It 
 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 consists of a sac, filled with an aqueous 
 fluid, and composed of the integuments and 
 the membranous sheath of the spinal mar- 
 row protruding through a fissure caused by 
 a deficiency in the bones. The subjects 
 are generally weak ; diarrhoea, paralytic 
 state of the lower limbs, and inability to 
 retain the urine and feces often attend. 
 The tumour enlarges, inflames and ulce- 
 rates, and then the patient dies; but this 
 occurrence takes place at different periods. 
 No treatment has hitherto been of any ser- 
 vice. 
 
 Caries of the vertebree. This is a disease 
 of the spine, generally attended with a de- 
 gree of curvature, and with a paralytic 
 state of the lower limbs. It is most fre- 
 quent in children, but not peculiar to them. 
 The affection of the limbs is first observed. 
 There is an unwillingness to move about, 
 and the patient often trips and stumbles. 
 The legs involuntarily cross each other. The 
 power of directing the feet to any exact 
 point is then lost, and the natural sensibility 
 of the legs and thighs becomes much im- 
 paired. At this time there is usually a 
 more or less marked bending of the spine 
 forwards, occasioning an angular projec- 
 tion of the spinous processes. The general 
 health becomes much affected, and the 
 urine and feces are discharged involuntarily. 
 The cause of all these complaints is the 
 diseased state of the vertebrae, which are 
 softened, and more or less absorbed, affect- 
 ing the inclosed medulla spinalis. In the 
 progress of the disorder the bodies of 
 three or four vertebr® may be intirely de- 
 stroyed so as to lay bare the front of the 
 spinal marrow. We are indebted to Mr. 
 Pott for proposing the only treatment that 
 has ever afforded relief in this affection, 
 viz, that of making an issue on each side of 
 the diseased portion of the spine. This can 
 be best accomplished with the calx cum 
 kali puro. Several pieces of sticking plais- 
 ter are to be stuck together, and a hole 
 should then be cut in the mass correspond- 
 ing to the size of the intended issue. This 
 is applied on the back, and a thin layer of 
 the caustic placed in the hole, and covered 
 by another piece of plaister. In four or five 
 hours the plaister should be removed, and a 
 poultice applied until the eschar separates. 
 The issue is then filled with peas or beans, 
 confined by adhesive plaister, over which 
 pressure should be made by firmly binding 
 on a piece of sheet lead. The issues must 
 be kept open until the complaints have in- 
 tirely disappeared. 
 
 AMPUTATION. 
 
 In whatever part this is performed, the 
 surgeon’s object is the same, viz, to save 
 enough of the surrounding soft parts to co- 
 ver the extremity of the bone, and enough 
 of skin to cover the whole. The stump is 
 always treated as a wound which should be 
 united by the first intention ; its sides are 
 therefore brought together, and retained in 
 apposition by straps of adhesive plaister, 
 and appropriate bandages. By this, which 
 is the improved method of modern surgery, 
 introduced by Mr. Alanson of Liverpool, 
 the wound made by removing a thigh is 
 often agglutinated in forty-eight hours, and 
 the patient consequently escapes the dread- 
 ful pain and irritation, and vehement sym- 
 pathetic affection of the constitution, wliich 
 almost invariably attended the old practice 
 of dressing -the stump with dry lint as an 
 open wound, and consequently healing by 
 means of granulation and cicatrization, in- 
 stead of adhesion. 
 
 In amputation of the thigh, surgeons used 
 to cut at once down to the bone, and saw 
 that through ; but in order to save more 
 soft parts, and thereby to avoid the projec- 
 tion of the bone, which commonly attended 
 that method, the double incision was de- 
 vised ; by which the skin and muscles are 
 divided separately. More difficulty is ex- 
 perienced here than in any other amputa- 
 tion, in saving muscles enough to cover the 
 bone, which, in this particular instance, is 
 especially desirable, from the pressure 
 which the end of the stump must expe- 
 rience in supporting the weight of the 
 body. The sound leg should be tied to the 
 table, and the tourniquet applied on the in- 
 side of the thigh. The limb should be cut 
 off as near to the knee as possible. A cir- 
 cular incision slionld then be made by the 
 surgeon, standing on the outside of the 
 limb, through the skin and adipous sub- 
 stance. The integuments should be drawn 
 upwards by an assistant, and any cellular 
 connection that prevents their retraction 
 should be divided. A cut should now be 
 carried through the loose muscles, at the 
 part to which the skin has been withdrawn, 
 and when they have retracted, those which 
 are fixed to the bone should be divided at 
 the point to which the former had retract- 
 ed. The latter may be separated from the 
 surface of the bone, for a short distance, by 
 a common scalpel, to allow of the bone be- 
 ing sawed higher up than it could be other- 
 wise. This part of the operation should fol- 
 low, the surface of the wound being kept out 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 of the way of the saw, by means of a re- 
 ti-actor, wliich is a piece of linen somewhat 
 broader than the stump, torn at one end, in 
 its middle part to the extent of about eight 
 or ten inches. It is applied by placing the 
 exposed part of the bone in the slit, and 
 drawing the ends of the linen upward on 
 each side of the stump. Besides defending 
 the surface of the wound from the teeth of 
 the saw, the retractor will undoubtedly en- 
 able the operator to saw the bone higher 
 up than he otherwise could do. The femo- 
 ral artery should be drawn out by means of 
 a pair of forceps, and tied separately; other 
 large arteries should also be secured, with- 
 out including any ot the surrounding soft 
 parts. Smaller branches must be taken up 
 with the tenaculum. It is necessaiy to 
 slacken the tourniquet, in order to discover 
 the vessels. The wound should then be 
 thoroughly cleansed from all coagulated 
 blood, by means of a soft sponge and wa- 
 ter, and one end of each ligature removed. 
 The skin and muscles are now to be placed 
 over the bone, in such a direction that the 
 wound shall appear only as a line across the 
 face of the stump, with the angles at each 
 side, from which the ligatures should be 
 brought out. The skin is supported by 
 long strips of adhesive plaister, applied at 
 right angles to the line of union of the 
 wound, the ligatures are guarded by lint 
 spread with spermaceti cerate ; and a linen 
 roller is carried round from above down- 
 wards, two cross pieces having first been 
 put over the end of the stump. The dress- 
 ings should not be moved for four days. 
 
 In amputating the leg, the bones should 
 be sawn through, about four inches below 
 the patela. The tourniquet is applied in 
 the lower part of the thigh. After cutting 
 through the skin, which should be drawn 
 upwards, it must be reflected from the flat 
 surface of the tibia, and front of the leg, so 
 as to cover those parts which could not be 
 covered by any large muscle. The calf is 
 then to be cut through, by an oblique inci- 
 sion slanting upwards ; the rest of the mus- 
 cles, and the interosseous ligament, should 
 be divided by a double-edged knife, called 
 a catlin, and the bones sawn, after the pre- 
 vious application of a double-tailed re- 
 tractor. 
 
 In ar/tputating the arm, or fore-arm, we 
 should preserve as great a length of the 
 limb as the case will allow. 
 
 Amputation of the shoulder-joint has 
 been done in various ways. An incision 
 should be carried through the skin and del- 
 VGL. VI. 
 
 toid muscle, down to the bone from the 
 front of the joint, a little below the clavicle, 
 obliquely downwards and outwards. The 
 deltoid should tlien be turned up so as to 
 expose the head of the bone, which must 
 be brought entirely into view, by dividing 
 the orbicular ligament all round. One cut 
 of an amputating knife will then separate 
 the limb. The axillary artery should be 
 immediately tied. This vessel must be 
 firmly, compressed, by an assistant, above 
 the clavicles, during the whole of the ope- 
 ration. 
 
 The fingers and toes should be removed 
 at their joints. Make a circular incision 
 through the skin, about one third of an inch 
 below the articulation; draw the integti- 
 ments up, and cut through one lateral liga- 
 ment of the joint, which y ovi can then dislo- 
 cate. The remaining connections are ea- 
 sily divided. Bring the skin together over 
 the end of the bone. If you amputate at 
 the first joint, make two cuts, one at the 
 back, and the other towards the front ; 
 these must meet when the bone is removed. 
 It is sometimes necessary to tie the arte- 
 ries. 
 
 Paronychia, or whitlow, is an abscess oc- 
 curring about the nails, or still more deeply 
 under the soft parts of the fingers. In the 
 latter case, swelling of the arm, inflamma- 
 tion of the lymphatics, and considerable 
 constitutional disturbance frequently at- 
 tend. The complaint is always very pain- 
 ful, attended with great throbbing ; and 
 often terminating in the loss of the nail. 
 We should, if possible, prevent suppuration, 
 by the employment of local antiphlogistic 
 means. If these do not succeed, a soft 
 poultice may be used, and the collection 
 should be opened as soon as possible. 
 
 Venesection. When a vein is to be open- 
 ed in any part of the body, pressure must 
 be made on the vessel, between the place 
 where the puncture is to be made, and the 
 lieart. This prevents the return of blood 
 through the vessel, makes it swell, and be- 
 come conspicuous. As the supply of blood 
 is still continued through the arteries, the 
 vein bleeds freely when it is opened ; but 
 care must be taken, particularly in the arm, 
 not to apply the ligature so tightly as to 
 stop the ptilse. The bandage should be 
 placed a little above the elbow, and the 
 most prominent and conspicuous vein may 
 be opened ; excepting that, if equally con- 
 venient, one would avoid the vessel lying 
 over the brachial artery. The vein may be 
 fixed by placing the thumb of the left hand 
 Y 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 a little below tlie place where it is designed 
 to introduce the lancet. Tliat instrument 
 should be pushed obliquely into the vein, 
 and when its point is a little within the ca- 
 vity, the opening may be rendered suffi- 
 ciently large, by carrying the front edge 
 forward and upward, so as to bring it out 
 of the part. In many cases, where we wish 
 to make a sudden impression on the vascu- 
 lar system, we make the opening longer 
 than usual, that the blood may be with- 
 drawn more suddenly, and cause fainting. 
 The stream may be accelerated by putting 
 the muscles of the fore-arm into action. It 
 stops when the ligature is removed, or at 
 least, if the surgeon press with his left 
 thumb below the vein. The sides of the 
 incision should be placed in contact, and 
 maintained in that condition by a small 
 compress of linen, bound on with the bleed- 
 ing fillet applied in the form of the figure 
 of eight In opening tlie external jugular 
 vein, the pressure must be made with the 
 surgeon's finger ; and the compress should 
 be fastened by means of sticking plaister. 
 The temporal artery may be opened by a 
 simple puncture ; and the bleeding may al- 
 ways be stopped by a compress fastened 
 by means of sticking plaister. The opera- 
 tion of bleeding may be followed by, various 
 unpleasant consequences ; as ecchymosis 
 round the vein, inflammation of the mtegu- 
 ments, absorbents, fascia, or vein itself. 
 The former symptom- generally disappears 
 of itself in a week or ten days ; the others 
 may be treated according to the general 
 principles of surgical practice. 
 
 PARTICULAR FRACTURES. 
 
 We shall say a few words on the most 
 common and important kinds of fracture. 
 
 Fracture of the lower jaw may be detect- 
 ed by introducing a finger into the month, 
 and pressing on the front portion of the 
 bone, while the fingers of the other hand 
 are applied on the outside to the back of 
 the bone. Alternate pressure in these situ- 
 ations occasions a very distinguishable cre- 
 pitus, When the broken ends are adapted 
 to each other, some wetted pasteboard is 
 to be applied along the outer surface and 
 base of the bone ; and over this a bandage, 
 w ith four tails, should be placed. The cen- 
 tre of this bandage is applied to the chin : 
 the two posterior tails tied together at the 
 top of the head, and the other two more 
 posteriorly. The wet pasteboard adapts 
 itself to the figure of the part, and consti- 
 tutes, when dry, a splint exactly accommo- 
 
 dated to the form of tlie jaw. All motion 
 of the broken bone should be avoided ; 
 hence talking, chewing, &c. are improper ; 
 hence, too, the food should be soft, and in- 
 troduced by a spoon. 
 
 The fracture of the clavicle is attended 
 with a displacement of the bone ; its scapu- 
 lar portion being drawn downwards and for- 
 wards. In order to restore it, let the shoul- 
 der be drawn backwards, and the arm 
 raised ; then the surgeon should place the 
 fracture in "as even a position as he can, co- 
 ver it with a piece of soap plaister, and keep 
 the shoulder back by means of the figure 
 of eight bandage : the fore-arm and elbow 
 being well supported by a string. A lea- 
 ther apparatus lacing behind, and having 
 straps to pass in front of the shoulders, si- 
 milar to the instruments used for girls with 
 the view of keeping the shouldere back, is 
 a more effectual mode of accomplishing the 
 object. , 
 
 It is often difficult to detect fracture of 
 the ribs. By placing the fingers where 
 pain is felt, or where the blow was re- 
 ceived, a crepitus can be distinguished in 
 many cases, on making the patient cough ; 
 yet if the matter be doubtful, the safest, 
 plan is to treat the patient as if his ribs 
 were broken. It will be readily seen how 
 emphysema, extravasation of blood, &c. 
 may occur when the bone is displaced in- 
 wardly. Our object is to keep the broken 
 ends motionless. Hence, after a jnece of 
 soap plaister has been applied externally on 
 the situation of the fracture, a broad roller 
 should be put firmly round thfe chest ; or 
 we may apply an apparatus made expressly 
 for the purpose, consisting of a broad girth, 
 with three or four buckles and straps, 
 which maybe tightened at pleasure. Bleed- 
 ing is proper, unless particular circum- 
 stances contraindicate it. / 
 
 In fractures of the os brachii, after re- 
 storing the limb to its natural figure, and 
 putting on a piece of soap plaister, apply a 
 splint, lined with a pad of soft materials, 
 from the acromion to the external condyle, 
 and another from the margin of the axilla 
 to the internal condyle. Some add tw'o 
 others, one before and one behind. They 
 must all be carefully fastened with tapes; 
 and the fore arm and liand should be well 
 supported by a sling. There is always, a 
 distinguishable crepitus in fractures of the 
 fore- arm .j After a piece of soap-plaister 
 has been applied, two splints must be em- 
 ployed : one is to be placed along the in- 
 side, and the other along the outside of the 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 fore-arm. 'riie limb is to be in the mid 
 state, between pronation and snpination ; 
 ajid the inner splint should reach far enough 
 into the hand to support it, and prevent it 
 from falling into the prone state. 
 
 In fractures of the olecranon the elbow 
 must be placed straight, to approximate as 
 much as possible the broken ends, and the 
 limb must be continued in that position un- 
 til the patient has recovered. 
 
 When the os femoris is broken, there is 
 severe local pain, an incapacnty to move 
 the limb, a distinguishable crepitus on mo- 
 tion, and deformity of the part from retrac- 
 tion of the lower portion. The latter ap- 
 pearance will occur more readily, in pro- 
 portion as the fracture is more oblique ; and 
 it arises entirely from the action of the 
 muscles which are fixed in the bone below 
 the fracture, together with the flexors of 
 the knee. Besides the shortening of the 
 limb, produced by the retraction of the 
 lower portion of the fractured bone, there 
 is another deformity arising from its being 
 rotated outwards ; an effect produced by 
 most of the large muscles of the thigh. 
 The higher the fracture, the more difficult 
 is it to^ prevent displacement. When the 
 neck of the thigh bone is broken, there is 
 severe pain in the groin, much aggravated 
 by motion of the part. The extremity is 
 shortened, the limb turned out, and the 
 trochanter higher than usual towards the 
 pelvis. Yet the limb may be drawn down 
 to its natural length, in doing which a cre- 
 pitus is sometimes perceived. In order to 
 relax as much as possible the muscles which 
 .tend to displace the broken bone, a bent 
 position of the thigh and le^ was recom- 
 mended by Mr. Pott. He recommended 
 that the patient should lie on the side of the 
 fractiue, with tlie thigh bent on the pelvis, 
 and the knee half bent. A broad splint 
 well padded should be placed under the 
 thigh, from above the trochanter to below 
 the knee, and another should extend from 
 the groin below the knee on the opposite 
 surface. Narrower splints should occupy 
 the intervals between those on the inside 
 and outside of the thigh. I'be splints 
 should be fastened as firmly as they can be 
 borne, by means of leathern straps. A pa- 
 tient with a broken os femoris should by no 
 means be placed on a soft bed, as the trunk 
 of the body depresses it into a hollow', and 
 by sliding downwards increases the dis- 
 placement. 
 
 Fracture of the patella is generally caused 
 by violent exertion of the muscles, whose 
 
 tendons are inserted into this bone, and not 
 by direct violence. The upper end of the 
 bone is drawn upwards by the muscles, and 
 a total inability to extend the leg is gene- 
 rally observed. The muscles should be re- 
 laxed, by extending the knee, and bending 
 the thigh on the pelvis ; they may also be 
 surrounded with a roller, a compress being 
 placed just above the upper portion of the 
 broken bone. The newly-foi med substance 
 which unites the broken ends is of a liga- 
 mentous or cartilaginous nature, and not 
 bony. 
 
 Fractures of the leg. If they affect both 
 bones, there can be no doubt of the nature 
 of the case ; but the symptoms are more 
 uncertain, when the fibula alone is broken. 
 The limb should be laid on its outside, with 
 the knee moderately bent. Japanned iron, 
 or wooden splints shaped to the part, and 
 covered with soft pads, are employed. The 
 leg having been placed in the above-men- 
 tioned position, extension is made, if ne- 
 cessary ; and the under splint, covered witir 
 its pad, and having an eighteen-tailed ban- 
 dage laid on it, is passed under the limb. 
 Having observed that the ends of the bones 
 are in exact contact, the surgeon places his 
 soap plaister over the fractured portion, and 
 lays down the bandage. Another soft pad 
 is then put over the upper surface of the 
 leg, and the other splint applied. The lea- 
 ther straps attached to the splints are fas- 
 tened with sufficient tightness, to prevent 
 any motion of the fractured part. When 
 the pressure of the splints is painful, soft 
 pads are necessary. 
 
 Ruptured tendo Achillis. The large ten- 
 don of the muscles of the calf of the leg 
 is sometimes torn asunder by the violent 
 exertion of those muscles. An inability to 
 extend the ankle, and a consequent im- 
 paired power of progression follows. The 
 ends of the tendon maybe approximated 
 by straightening the ankle and bending the 
 knee. The foot may be kept in this posi- 
 tion by the assistance of baudage.s. The 
 case requires about the same degree of 
 confinement as a fracture. Some persons 
 have not kept their bed for this accident, 
 but have walked about with a high-heeled 
 shoe. The tendon of the plantaris muscle 
 is sometimes ruptured, and the accident is 
 attended with the symptoms as if the tendo 
 Achillis were torn. 
 
 P.-VUTICULAR DISI.OCATIONS. 
 
 Lower jaw. This bone can only be lux- 
 ated forwards, when the condyloid pro- 
 
 \ -2 . 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
SURGERY. 
 
 cesses advance beyond the eminentiae arti- 
 culares. In tliis Case the mouth remains 
 open, and cannot be sliiit ; tliere is pain ; 
 impaired and almost destroyed articula- 
 tion and deglutition, &c. One or both 
 condyles may be displaced. To reduce it, 
 the thumbs well covered should be intro- 
 duced as far backward as possible along the 
 grinding teeth. The surgeon then elevates 
 the front of the bone witli his fingers, and 
 the palms of his hands, while he depresses 
 the condyles with his thumbs ; and the latter 
 prominences are thus forced back into the 
 glenoid cavities of the temporal bones. 
 
 Dislocations of the head and vertebrm 
 are probably imaginary occurrences, as we 
 know hitherto of no well attested example 
 of their occurrence. 
 
 Tin os humeri is probably luxated more 
 frequently than any other bone. It may be 
 displaced downwards, forwards, and back- 
 wards. In all these cases a vacancy is dis- 
 tinguishable under the acromion, in conse- 
 quence of the absence of the head of the 
 humerus from the glenoid cavity of the 
 scaprda. The head of the bone foms a 
 preternatural tumour in some situation. The 
 elbow cannot be carried close to the chest, 
 nor can the limb be elevated, without ex- 
 treme pain, to a line with the acromion. 
 Great pain is’ caused by the pressure of the 
 head of the bone in its unnatural position, 
 particularly when it lies in the axilla. Our 
 object is to dislodge the head of the os bra- 
 chii from its unnatural situation, in order to 
 bring it on a level with the glenoid cavity of 
 the scapula. To accomplish this puipose, ex- 
 tension must be made ; that is, the limb must 
 be drawn forcibly outwards ; and the bone 
 itself should be made to operate as a lever, 
 which can be best effected by the surgeon's 
 knee placed under it towards the head, 
 while he depresses the elbow at the proper 
 time, so as to raise the head towards the 
 glenoid cavity. The patient’s body should 
 be fixed by placing a broad towel round the 
 chest, and tying it to some immoveable 
 point. The extension should be gradual, 
 and kept up unremittingly, which cap be 
 best effected by means of pullies. Tiis 
 elbow should be bent, and the extending 
 power applied just above the condyles of 
 the humerus. When the surgeon finds that 
 thehead'of the bone is drawn out of its 
 unnatural position, he may allow the exten- 
 sion to be remitted, and depress the elbow. 
 The arm should afterwards be kept quietly 
 in a sling, a piece of soap plaister, and a 
 spica bandage being applied to the shoulder. 
 
 Elboiv, Dislocations at this joint are very 
 difficult to discover, from the swelling which 
 comes on so quickly. The radius may be 
 displaced forwards ; and here the flexion 
 of the elbow is almost entirely destroyed. 
 The nina may at the same time be driven 
 backward? : it may also be pushed inwards, 
 80 as to occupy the place of the radius. 
 All these are easily reduced, when they are 
 ascertained. Leeches and cold washes 
 should be employed afterwards. 
 
 Wrist. The distortion consequent on a 
 displacement of the carpus is so consider- 
 able, that the nature of the case is rendered 
 immediately obvious. The reduction is 
 easy ; and after it has been accomplished, 
 tlie hand and fore-arm should be bound on 
 a splint, and supported by a sling. 
 
 Thigh. The os feraoris may be displaced 
 downwards and inwards, so that the head 
 rests on the obturator foramen ; upwards 
 and outwards, when the head is towards 
 the sacro-iscliiatic foramen, and the tro- 
 chanter forwards; and upwards and for- 
 wards, so that the head rests upon the os 
 pubis. In the first case the toes are turned 
 out, and tlie limb elongated. In the se- 
 cond, the limb is shortened, the foot turned 
 inwards, and the buttock more prominent. 
 Great pain is excited by attempting to 
 move the limb in all cases of luxation, and 
 a vacuity is discernible in the natural siin- 
 ation of the head of the bone. The patient 
 should be placed on the side opposite to the 
 accident, and liis pelvis should be fixed by 
 means of a sheet passed under the perine- 
 um. Extension may be made by fixing a 
 broad towel, or the pullies, just above the 
 condyles. When the head of the bone is 
 on the dorsum ilii, the extension is to be 
 continued until it has been brought to the 
 acetabulum, into which the surgeon must 
 guide it. In the dislocation on the obtura- 
 tor foramen, we should make a lever of the 
 bone by passing a towel under the thigh, 
 near tlie trochanter, and elevating it after 
 a slight extension has been made, the con- 
 dyles being at the same time depressed. 
 
 The patella may be dislocated either in-, 
 wards or outwards. Its reduction is very 
 easy when the muscles inserted into it have 
 been relaxed. 
 
 The knee hardly admits of complete lux- 
 ation without sucli injury of the parts as 
 would render the loss of the limb necessary. 
 The nature of the accident must be obvioiw 
 from the altered figure of the parts, and re- 
 placement is perfectly easy. Inflammation 
 must be guarded against afterwards. 
 
SUR 
 
 The ankle may be dislocated outwards, 
 the fibula; being at the same time broken. 
 This is generally a compound luxation ; the 
 extremity of the tibia, when displaced from 
 the asti-agulus, very ofteq penetrating the 
 integuments. Formerly this accident was 
 considered as a cause of amputation ; and 
 many practitioners have been in the h^it 
 of sawing off the projecting portion. Yet 
 by replacing the bone, closing the wound, 
 keeping the parts quiet, &c. the injury has 
 been often recovered. Luxation may also 
 occur in the opposite direction, and for- 
 wards. The latter is very difficult to re- 
 tain in place, as the muscles of the calf are 
 so apt to move the foot. 
 
 SURIANA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of Joseph Donat Surian, a genus of 
 the Decandria Pentagynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Succulentae. Rosacese, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : caljpr five- 
 leaved ; petals five ; styles inserted into the 
 inner side of the germs ; seeds five, naked. 
 There is but one species, vis. S. maritima, 
 a native of the sea coast of South America, 
 and the islands of the West Indies. 
 
 SURRENDER, in law, a deed on in- 
 strument, testifying that the particular te- 
 nant of lands or tenements for life, or years, 
 doth sufficiently consent and agree, that he 
 which has the next or immediate remainder 
 or reversion thereof, shall also have the 
 present estate of the same in possession ; 
 and that he yields and gives up the same 
 unto him ; for every surrenderor ought 
 forthwith to give possession of the things 
 surrendered. Where a surrender is made 
 in consequence of a fresh lease, and that 
 lease turns out invalid, the surrender is 
 considered as not valid, and the former 
 lease is established. Surrender into the 
 hands of the lord is the mode of passing 
 copyholds, and a surrender to the use of a 
 will is necessary, in order to pass them by 
 a will. 
 
 SURROGATE, one who is substituted 
 or appointed in the room of another j as the 
 bishop of chancellor’s surrogate. 
 
 SURSOLID, in arithmetic and algebra, 
 the fifth power, or fourth multiplication of 
 any number or quantity, considered as a 
 root. See Root. 
 
 SCRSOi.iD probUnn, in mathematics, is 
 that which cannot be resolved but by 
 curves of a higher nature than a conic sec- 
 tion, v. gr. in order to describe a regular 
 endecagon, ”or figure of eleven sides in a 
 circle, it is required to describe an isosce- 
 les triangle on a right line given, whose an- 
 
 SUR 
 
 gles, at the base, shall be quintuple to that 
 at the vertex ; which may easily be done 
 by the intersection of a quadratris, or any 
 other curve of the second kind. 
 
 SURVEYING. This important art, how- 
 ever difficult its attainment may appear, i» 
 nevertheless to be com^irised within a very 
 few general rules. The accuracy of the 
 work must depend entirely on the correct- 
 ness of the instruments employed, the steadi- 
 ness of the hand and eye of the operator, 
 and the faithfully tracing the given lines 
 and angles on the paper designed to exhibit 
 the estate, or premises, under examination. 
 The following leading principles will give 
 an insight into the mode of displaying the 
 results, whatever may be the means em- 
 ployed for their computation. First. We 
 are to reject the actual curvature of our 
 globe, in all land surveys; that is, where no 
 current of water, or the level of any fluid, 
 is under consideration : such curvature 
 amounts to about eight inches in every 
 mile, either of latitude or of longitude. In 
 brief, we consider the earth to be flat, in- 
 stead of spherical. Secondly. We must 
 ever carry in mind, that every triangle is 
 equal to half a parallelogram of equal base 
 and altitude; as shown under the head of 
 Geometry. Thirdly. That wherever there 
 is a deviation from the horizontal, there will 
 be a greater extent of surface displayed on 
 a scite than if the same were horizontal. To 
 illustrate this, let an orange be cut through 
 in the middle, and the flat part, i.e. the 
 section, be placed on a level table : it is 
 evident that the round surface of tlie half 
 orange will offer more surface than the flat 
 section which lays upon the table : but, if 
 it were required to build on the semi-sphe- 
 rical surface, it would be found that no 
 more houses, &c. could be raised thereon, 
 than would stand on the extent of the flat 
 section. The reason of which is, that ho 
 more perpendiculars can be raised on one 
 than on the other. This shows how falla- 
 cious is the mode of purchasing what is 
 called side-long, or hanging land, by the 
 acre. The greater the deviation from the 
 horizontal, the more is the base diminished. 
 Fourthly, The surveyor must recollect that 
 all planes, of whatever extent or form, may 
 be divided into, and be represented by, 
 triangles of various forms and dimensions, 
 whose aggregate will amount to the measure- 
 ment of the area thus partitioned off: for, 
 as Euclid justly observes, “All the parts, 
 taken together, are equal to the whole.” It 
 will be further seen, that every figure may 
 
SURVEYING. 
 
 either directly, or circuitously, be com- 
 muted into a triangle, of corresponding 
 area : but it may be necessary, at the same 
 time, to observe, that the squaring of the 
 circle has not hitherto been perfected; 
 though we have arrived so nearly to the 
 completion of that object as to leave no 
 room for regret at the want of absolute 
 precision. 
 
 These points being completely under- 
 stood, the learner may proceed to the rudi- 
 ments of surveying ; supposing him to be 
 grounded in the few preliminary problems 
 which enable him to describe the ordinary 
 figures : should he not have obtained any 
 previous information on that subject, we 
 recommend that he turn back to the heads 
 of Geometry and Mathematical instru- 
 ments; under which he will find various 
 items indispensable towards his progress. 
 
 We shall submit a few propositions which 
 the student may work with his compasses, 
 plain scale, and protractor : when able to 
 do all that may be needful on paper, be 
 may then try his hand with one or other of 
 the various instruments in use among sur- 
 veyors. 
 
 Propusition 1. “To ascertain the contents 
 of the square field A B CD, fig. 1. Plate XV. 
 Miscel.” Here little is to be done ; one of 
 the sides being measured, say 70 yards, and 
 multiplied by itself, will give 4,900 square 
 yards for the area ; or one acre (i. e. 4,800 
 square yards) and 100 square yards. 
 
 Proposition II. “To survey the field 
 A BCD, fig. 2.” This figure having the 
 sides AB and CD parallel, and at right an- 
 gles to A D, add the lengths of those parallels, 
 say 70 and 90 yards, together; divide half 
 their sum (i.e. 80) and multiply that half by 
 the depth of AD, say 70 ; v/hich being mul- 
 tiplied by the medium length, GF, gives an 
 area of 5,600 square yards. The parallelo- 
 gram, ABED, might have been computed 
 by simply imdtiplying its length by its 
 breadth ; and the triangle, BCE, might be 
 taken separately, thus: the depth, (or alti- 
 tude) BE, 70 yards, to be multiplied by 
 half CE, (i.e. 10 yards) this would give 
 700 ; and the produce of A B, which is 70, 
 by B E which is also 70, would be 4,900 ; 
 niaking in all 5,600, as above shown. 
 
 Proposition III. “ To survey the inclined 
 parallelogram A B C D, fig. 3.” It is to be 
 observed that, in all inclined figures, the 
 altitude is ascertained by a perpendicular 
 from the base, as at C, to the parallel of 
 that base, as at E on the line A B. Now 
 the triangle B EC being equal to the tiian- 
 
 gle DFA, and likewise similar thereto, it 
 is evident that by transposing the former 
 from the right to the left of the figure, it 
 would make it rectangular ; as shown by the 
 dotted line: therefore multiply the base 
 D C, say 100 yards, by the altitude C E, 
 say 80 yards, and the area will be found to 
 contain 8,000 square yards. 
 
 Proposition IV. “ To survey the irregulars, 
 *fig. 4.” Here AC and BD are parallel, 
 butn either C D nor A B are perpendicular 
 thereto, nor parallel between themselves. 
 We must, therefore, cut off the triangles 
 A E B and C F D ; whose areas will be 
 found by multiplying half their respective 
 breadths, by tlieir whole depths; or their 
 whole breadths, by half their depths : the 
 centre part, ECBF, is treated as a paral- 
 lelogram, already described; The whole of 
 the calculations being added together give 
 the area of the entire figure AC B D. ” 
 
 Proposition V. “To ascertain the area of 
 the trapezium, A BCD.” This figure is no 
 where parallel, and has all its sides of un- 
 equal lengths. The easiest mode of survey- 
 ing it, is by drawing a diagonal between the 
 two most distant points, C and B; and 
 making olf-sets, rectangular to that diago- 
 nal, from E to A, and from F to D. These 
 ofiF-sets give the altitudes ; E A being the 
 altitude of the triangle CAB, say 40 yards ; 
 and F D be.ing the altitude of the triangle 
 B D C, which we will take at 80 yards, 
 Now the diagonal, CB, becomes a base 
 common to both triangles; theiefore add 
 the two altitudes together; namely, 40 to 
 80, which make ISO ; take their half = 60, 
 and multiply by the base, which we will 
 call 140: the area will contain 8,400 square 
 yards. It will be seen that this proposition 
 IS, in a great measure, the foundation of all 
 horizontal computation; and the student 
 should remark that all figures, having many 
 sides, may be divided into trapezia, and 
 those again into triangles : each figure will 
 have two sides more than the numbers of 
 triangles it contains : thus, fig. 5, has four 
 sides, and contains two triangles; fig. 6, has 
 five sides, and contains three triangles. 
 
 Proposition VI. “To survey the penta- 
 gon, or five-sided field, A B C D E, fig. 6 .'’. 
 Divide it into the three triangles, ABC, 
 
 D A C, E A D, and having found their re- 
 spective altitudes, as already shown, by per- 
 pendiculars drawn to their summits from 
 their respective bases, multiply half those 
 altitudes by those bases, and the three pro- 
 ducts will amount to the whole area of thq 
 pentagon. 
 
SURVEYING. 
 
 - Propomon VII. “To ascertain the area 
 of tlie irregular six-sided figure, or hexagon, 
 (fig. 7) A B C D EF.” In this, some of the 
 angles point inward. First draw the line C E, 
 which will divide the figure into two trape- 
 zia ; viz. C EB A and C E F D, next divide 
 each of these trapezia by the diagonals B E 
 and' CD, into two triangles respectively : the 
 areas of the four triangles, B A E, B C E, 
 FCD, and CED, will, when added toge- 
 ther, exhibit the contents of the whole 
 figure. 
 
 Proposilion VIII. “ To measure the irre- 
 gular field A B CD E, fig. 8.” The figure 
 here given has two curved sides, one of 
 which projects, the other which inflects: 
 the ordinary parts, which can be divided 
 into triangles, are worked in the manner 
 already shown ; but the curved parts must 
 be measured in the following mode ; Draw 
 the line ED, and from it make three, or 
 more, off-sets to the curved part ; take from 
 E to 1, as a base, and half the depth of the 
 ofi'-set 1, as an altitude ; multiply them to- 
 gether : then take from 1 to 2, as a base, 
 and the mean of the depths of the off sets 
 2 and 3, for the altitude ; multiply these also 
 together: do the same for the space between 
 2 and 3, and calculate the end, between 3 
 and D, as was done from E to 1 ; the sum 
 of their several products, added together, 
 will show the area of the curve. As the 
 other curve bends inward, draw the line 
 AE, and treat it the same as was done 
 regarding E D : then, considering the entire 
 triangle, A E D, as a part of the field, com- 
 pute its contents, and deduct from it the 
 measures taken by means of the off-sets 
 4, 5, 6 : the residue, added to the contents 
 of the curve from E to D, and of the trian- 
 gles ABC, and ACD, wall show the area 
 of the whole figure A B C D E. It is ob- 
 vious that, in this manner, the extent of 
 water may be deducted from the area of 
 any field. 
 
 The next figure. No. 10, shows the me- 
 thod of surveying with a plain-table, which 
 usually stands upon three legs, and has a 
 compass attached to one side. There is a 
 box- wood frame that fits on the board of 
 the plain-table, and is graduated with 360 
 degrees. This serves to show the direction 
 of any line from the centre of the board, 
 where there is a brass stud, or plate, let in ; 
 and it also compresses the paper so as to 
 prevent its shifting. To this instrument 
 there is a brass rule of two feet long, with 
 ends turned up at right angles, in which are 
 slits, or Sights, to direct the surveyor’s eye. 
 
 He places the rule so as to touch the brass 
 centre, arid directing it to any particular 
 point, observes the angle it makes, accord- 
 ing to the index on the box-wood frame, 
 while an assistant measures the distance, 
 from the centre under the plain-table, to 
 the point observed. The surveyor draws a 
 tine on the paper, in the direction of the 
 brass rule, from the exact centre of the 
 plain-table, and notes down at the side of 
 that line, what its length may be in chains, 
 links, &c. according to Gunter’s scale ; or 
 else in yards and feet, as in familiar measure- 
 ment. Thus, in fig. 10, A represents the 
 plain table, placed in the centre of the field- 
 BCDE: fg is the rule with sights: the 
 figures written on the sides of the lines pro- 
 ceeding to the four corners, express their 
 several distances from the centrg of the 
 plain-table. This mode of surveying is pecu- 
 liarly suited to small surveys ; especially to 
 the interiors of enclosed places ; and has the 
 advantage of forming the plan on the paper, 
 as the survey proceeds : for the number of 
 yards, &c. being set off, from the scale on 
 the, brass rnle, on the several directing lines, 
 as from the centre A to B, C, D, and E, 
 respectively ; and their lengths being deter- 
 mined by their several due measures, the 
 lines BC, CD, D E, EB, will give a true 
 fac-simile of the shape of the field. The 
 contents must be ascertained by dividing 
 the field, as . before explained, into triangles, 
 whose conjoint measurements will amount 
 to its contents. 
 
 Although the plain-table is not a sufficient 
 instrument for general purposes, it is in the 
 foregoing instance extremely convenient: 
 its use may be extended, under due pre- 
 caution, to ascertaining the distances of re- 
 mote, or of inaccessible, objects, situated 
 on tlie same level with itself. But tor such 
 purposes a theodolite, standard-triangle, cir- 
 cumferentor, or some instrument capable 
 of taking heights, as well as levels, is ordi- 
 narily employed. The following proposition 
 will illustrate the above point. 
 
 Proposition XI. To ascertain the dis- 
 tance of an object at C, from the point B, 
 fig. 11.” Draw the base line, B A, in any 
 convenient direction, and from each station 
 (commonly marked by surveyors © ) ob- 
 serve what angle is madej viz. at B, ascer- 
 tain the value (or extent) of the angle CBA, 
 and at A, the value of the angle CAB: 
 take care to be very correct as to the 
 measurement of your base line ; which we 
 will take at 120 yards. Now, tlie points 
 A and B being established at a certain dis- 
 
SUR 
 
 fanee, and th« two angles they mutually form 
 with C being ascertained by the graduated 
 edge of the instrument ; it follows that the 
 intersection of the two sights, from B to C, 
 and from A to C, will determine the exact 
 locality of C ; let the line B C be measured 
 on the same scale from which BA was 
 taken, and it will show the distance of C 
 from B. In this manner the whole horizon 
 may be surveyed from the base line A B ; 
 except such parts as may lay in, that is, 
 occupy the same direction therewith. And 
 it is to be observed, that in laying a base 
 line, the nearer the angle of intersection, as 
 at C, is to a right angle, the more exactly 
 will the distance be denoted. Hence a 
 great extent of base line is to be preferred, 
 when at command ; and, if practicable, no 
 angle under'twenty degrees should be made : 
 it is always better to take a new station 
 than to make acute angles with the object 
 to be surveyed ; which may, for the most 
 part, be easily avoided in horizontal sights; 
 but in vertical observations, very acute an- 
 gles will ordinarily occur. 
 
 Thus, in Proposition X, “ which relates to 
 ascertaining the heights of P and 0 ,(fig. 12) 
 from the level of C, and the distance ofC from 
 
 B, cannot be effected but by acute angles." 
 Here, in lieu of laying the base line, AB, 
 as nearly as possible square with the point 
 
 C, we place it in, the exact direction there- 
 with. Then, after taking the angles of ele- 
 vation from the horizon at the station B, to 
 the two points O and P, and measuring the 
 e^act length of the base line A B, the in- 
 strument is removed from B to A ; where 
 two more sights are taken to O and P. We 
 have thus the two angles, PB A and P A B, 
 determining the locality of P; and the two 
 angles, O B A and O A B, determining the 
 locality of O. Now the line, BA, being 
 prolonged, and the perpendicular, P O, be- 
 ing likewise continued, will intersect in C. 
 The lines, P B, O B, and C B, being mea- 
 sured on the same scale whence the base 
 line, A B, was taken, the altitudes of P and 
 of O, with their intermediate distance, will 
 be given ; while the distance of C from B 
 will be exhibited. 
 
 We shall conclude this article with a few 
 words on the manner of carrying a line of 
 sight over a hill, as is often done for the for- 
 mation of a road, or for the conducting a 
 canal over a rising ground ; in which cLe 
 tlie level must be preserved. 
 
 Proposition XL “ To carry a line of 
 sight, 01- a level, in the direction of A B 
 over the rising ground C.” Ascertain where 
 
 SUS 
 
 the line of sight strikes the hill at e; carry 
 the instrument to that point, and, in the 
 exact direction of the former sight, take a 
 second sight from e to a, or to any conve- 
 nient spot, where a pole and target should 
 be fixed. See Levels. As this survey for 
 a canal is to be taken by means of a spint 
 level, the exact attitude of each sight must 
 be taken, by noting the height of the target 
 from the plain, A B, at every sight, or by 
 following up a regular succession of levels, 
 each of which will be the height of the in- 
 strument above the last. Thus the hill will 
 be ascended : the descent on the other side 
 is effected by the inversion of the fore- 
 going mode ; always taking the descending 
 levels of the target for canals ; but for 
 loads, or for laying down a meridional line, 
 when once the summit is gained, a long 
 sight may be taken to a distant object: 
 this subject is pleasingly exemplified in a 
 nevv work published by Longman and Co. 
 entitled “ Mathematics simplified, and prac- 
 cally illustrated,” in which a great variety 
 of instructive and useful matter will be 
 found, together with the description of a 
 new instrument, on a very simple construc- 
 tion, said to be equal to every branch of 
 surveying. 
 
 SUS, the hog, in natural history, a genus 
 of Mammalia, of the order of Beliii®. Ge- 
 neric character : four front teeth in the up- 
 per jaw, converging ; six in the lower, pro- 
 jecting ; two tusks in the upper jaw, short; 
 two in the lower standing out ; snout trun- 
 cate, prominent, and moveable: feet cloven. 
 These animals are allied by their teeth to 
 the carnivorous quadrupeds, and by their 
 cloven feet to the ruminating ones. Tliey 
 feed almost indifferently upon animal and 
 vegetable substances, devouring with avidi- 
 ty what is most nauseous and disgusting. 
 Tliey use their snout for digging up the 
 ground in quest of roots, are fond of rolling 
 and wallowing in mud, and are distinguished 
 by extreme fecundity. There are six spe- 
 cies, of which the following are the most 
 important ; 
 
 S. scroft, the common hog. All the va- 
 rieties of this animal originate in the w>ild 
 boar, which is found in most of the tempe- 
 rate regions of Europe and Asia. It is 
 smaller than the domesticated animal, and 
 uniformly of a dark grey colour, approach- 
 ing to black. It is armed with formidable 
 tusks, sometimes ten indies, or even more, 
 in length ; those in the under jaw curviuK in- 
 wards, and capable from their size, strength, 
 and sharpness, of inflicting the most dread- 
 
sus 
 
 fil wounds. Before these animals attain 
 tleir third year they are gregarious, and, 
 when danger is at hand particularly, they 
 muster in numerous parties, and with great 
 promptitude, at the signal of alarm. Unit- 
 ing thus, they present so formidable an ar- 
 ray, as speedily to disperse the enemy, few 
 creatures, or none, daring to commence an 
 attack against such a combination of strength 
 and valour as they exhibit. When the wild 
 boar is complete in growth, he depends up- 
 on his solitary exertions for his protection, 
 is seldom seen in society, ranging the forests 
 alone ; rarely commencing an attack, as his 
 food consists almost solely of roots and ve- 
 getables, but repelUiig one with all the 
 fierceness of courage, and all the resent- 
 ment of rataliation. 
 
 These animals are often hunted by dogs, 
 particularly of the mastiff breed. After 
 many' pauses in their progress, in which 
 they turn round, and defy their enemies to 
 the attack, which, however, is generally de- 
 clined, they at length refuse to proceed, 
 aud halt for the grand and final conflict ; 
 in which, though eventually overpowered 
 by the number of dogs, and the spears of 
 the hunters, they defend themselves with 
 the most astonishing intrepidity, perseve- 
 rance, and energy ; and, regarding their 
 case as absolutely desperate, determine, at 
 least, not to die unrevenged. See Mamma- 
 lia, Plate XXI. fig. 1- 
 
 The common hog has smaller tusks and 
 larger ears than the wild boar, and is gene- 
 rally of a dull, or dirty, yellowish-white. 
 It is clumsy in its shape, filthy in its man- 
 ners, and gross and ravenous in its food, de- 
 vouring almost every variety of rejected 
 animal or vegetable substance, and dis- 
 tinguislied by the quantity nearly as much 
 as by the rankness of its food. The offal 
 of the kitchen, garden, and barn, furnishes 
 it with an exquisite banquet. It was re- 
 jected as unclean both by the founders of 
 the Jewish and Mahometan religion, as un- 
 fit for human sustenance, for which it is, 
 nevertheless, most admirably adapted, and 
 of incalculable value. The sailors of the 
 British navy are in a great degree support- 
 ed by the flesh of that animal which Moses 
 and Mahomet decided to be unfit for the 
 food of man ; and in most countries of Eu- 
 rope, it is an important and iudispensible 
 article of the food of the inhabitants. The 
 hog is possessed of an acute smell, and is’ 
 highly agitated during the violent blowing 
 of certain winds, uttering the most dread- 
 ful screams, and exhibiting the highest rest- 
 
 SUS 
 
 lessness, apprehension, and turbulence. It 
 is fattened to an extraordinary size, and has ^ 
 been known to attain the almost incredible 
 weight of 1215 pounds. It produces two 
 litters in the year, and in each from ten to 
 twenty young ones. The male must be 
 kept at a distance from these, as it will 
 otherwise destroy and devour them, and the 
 female herself has often acted this unnatural 
 part, and is particularly apt to do it, if ob- 
 served attentively, during the crisis of par- 
 turition. The hog was unknown in Ameri- 
 ca when that quarter of the world was dis- 
 covered by the Spaniards, but now abounds 
 in every part of it. The Chinese breed is 
 most valued in England. There is an acci- 
 dental variety of the domestic hog with un- 
 divided hoofs. 
 
 S. Ethiopicus, or the Ethiopian hog, is 
 very similar to the last. It is fierce aud 
 formidable in the highest degree, and bur- 
 rows in the ground, in deep recesses which 
 it prepares with both its hoofs and nose. It 
 is particularly distinguished by a large lobe, 
 or wattle, beneath each eye. 
 
 S. baby-roussa is remarkable for the form 
 and situation of the upper tusks, which are 
 placed externally, and turn upwards in a 
 curve towards the forehead. It abounds in 
 the Indian islands, lives solely on vegetables, 
 and rests itself, in sleep, by hooking its 
 upper tusks round the branch of a tree. It 
 can swim with rapidity, and is valued for 
 food. 
 
 S. sajassu, or the Mexican hog, or pe- 
 cari, is the only animal of the genus nativ ; 
 of America, where it is gregarious, fierce 
 and dangerous, and is occasionally seen in 
 herds of several hundreds. It feeds on fruits 
 and roots, and also on serpents, lizards, and 
 toads, and will attack and devour the rattle- 
 snake, we are told, without the slightest in- 
 jury. It is less than the common hog, has 
 bristles nearly resembling the prickles of 
 an hedge-liog, and is also distinguished by 
 an orifice on its back, from which perpe- 
 tually issues a most fetid watery humour. 
 The pecari will skin snakes by means of its 
 teeth and feet, before it devours them, with 
 great dexterity. The common hog is re- 
 ported, on good authority, to attack and 
 eat the rattle-snake with the same impu- 
 nity as the pecari. For the baby-roussa, 
 see Mammalia, Plate XX. fig. 2. 
 
 SUSPENSION, or Points of Suspetision, 
 in mechanics, are those points in the axis or 
 beam of a balance, wherein the weights 
 are applied, or from which they are sus* 
 pended. 
 
S WE 
 
 Suspension of arms, in war, a short truce 
 agreed on by both armies, in order to bury 
 the dead, wait for fresh instructions, or the 
 like. 
 
 Suspension, in rhetoric, is tlie carrying 
 on a period or discourse, in such a manner 
 as to keep the reader in expectation of 
 something considerable in the conclusion. 
 But great care must be taken that the read- 
 er’s expectation be not disappointed ; for 
 nothing is more contemptible than to pro- 
 mise much and perform little ; or to usher 
 in an errant trifle with the formality of pre- 
 face and solemn preparation. 
 
 SWABBER, an inferior oflicer on board 
 ships of war, whose employment it is to see 
 that the decks are kept neat and clean. 
 
 SWARTZIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Olof Swartz, M. D., a genus of 
 the Polyadelphia Polyandria class and or- 
 der. Essential character: calyx four-leaved; 
 petals single, lateral, flat; legume one- 
 celled, bivalve ; seeds arillated. There are 
 six species. 
 
 SWEDENBORGIANS, a modern reli- 
 gious sect, so called from their founder, 
 Emanuel Swedenborg, a Swedish noble- 
 man, who was born at Stockholm in the 
 year 1689, and died at London, 1772, at 
 the advanced age of eighty-four years. His 
 father was a Lutheran bishop, and was pre- 
 sident of tlie Swedish churches. During 
 the early part of his life, Emanuel Sweden- 
 borg devoted himself, with uncommon as- 
 siduity, to the study of useful and honour- 
 able science, and his labours and acquire- 
 ments soon procured him the notice of 
 Charles XII. King of Sweden, who made 
 him extraordinary assessor to the Royal 
 College of the Mines, &c. a place of great 
 honour, trust, and emolument. 
 
 In the year 1734, he printed at Leiptic 
 his “ Regnum Minerale,” in three volumes, 
 folio. He also wrote a treatise on the Po- 
 sition and Course of the Planets, and an- 
 other on the Tides. Had the ingenious ba- 
 ron confined his attention to these useful 
 and honourable pursuits, his learning and 
 virtues would have secured to his memory 
 the universal esteem and respect he would 
 so justly have merited ; but leaving the pur- 
 suits of learning for the mysteries of a 
 new theological creed, he entirely devoted 
 himself to metaphysical speculations and 
 spiritual inquiries. Believing himself to 
 have received an extraordinary manifesta- 
 tion of supernatural light, he forsook the 
 paths Of learning and rational science, and 
 became the friend and associate of angels, 
 
 S WE 
 
 and disembodied “ ministers of graces” 
 “ I am,” says he, in a letter to a friend, 
 “ a fellow, by invitation, of the Royal 
 Academy of Sciences at Stockholm, but 
 have never denied to be of any other com- 
 munity, as I belong to the society of an- 
 gels, in which things spiritual and heavenly 
 are the only subjects of discourse and enter- 
 tainment; whereas, in our literary societies, 
 the attention is wholly taken up with things 
 of this world.” 
 
 Thus abstracted from sublunary inter- 
 course, and thus highly privileged to “ see 
 things invisible,” the pious baron devoted 
 a long life, and employed his extraordinary 
 talents and genius in forming and establish- 
 ing the following curious and ingenious sys- 
 tem of Christian theology, which constitutes 
 the subject of the present article. 
 
 1. Contrary to Unitarians, who deny, 
 and to Trinitarians who hold, a trinity of 
 persons in the godhead, the Swedenbor- 
 gians maintain that there is a divine trinity 
 in the person of Jesus Christ, consisting of 
 Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, just like'the 
 human trinity in every individual man, of 
 soul, body, and operation ; and as the latter 
 trinity constitutes one man, so the former 
 constitutes one Jehovah God, who is at 
 once the Creator, Redeemer, and Regene- 
 rator. 
 
 2. That Jehovah God himself came down 
 from heaven, and assumed human nature 
 for the purpose of removing hell from man, 
 of restoring the heavens to, order, and pre- 
 paring the way for a new church upon 
 earth ; and that herein consists the true na- 
 ture of redemption, which was effected 
 solely by the omnipotence of the Lord’s di- 
 vine humanity. 
 
 3. They hold the notion of pardon ob- 
 tained by a vicarious sacrifice or atone- 
 ment, as a fundamental and fatal error ; but 
 that repentance is the foundation of the 
 church in man ; that it consists in a man’s 
 abstaining from all evils, because they are 
 sins against God, &c. ; that it is productive 
 of regeneration, which is not an instanta- 
 neous, but a gradual work, effected by the 
 Lord alone, through charity and faith, dur- 
 ing man’s co-operation. 
 
 4. That man has free-will in spiritual 
 things, whereby he may join himself by re- 
 ciprocation with the Lord. 
 
 .5. That the imputation of the merits and 
 righteousness of Chiist is a thing as absurd 
 and impossible, as it would be to impute to 
 any man the works of creation: for the 
 merits and righteousness of Christ consist 
 
SWEDENBORGIANS. 
 
 in redemption, which is as much the woik 
 of a divine and omnipotent being, as crea- 
 tion itself. They maintain, however, that 
 the imputation, which really takes place, is 
 an imputation of good and evil ; and tliat 
 this is according to a man’s life. 
 
 6. That the doctrine of predestination 
 and justification by faith alone, is a mere 
 human invention, and not to he found in 
 the word of God. 
 
 7. That the two sacraments of baptism 
 and the holy supper are essential institu- 
 tions in the New Church, the genuine and 
 rational uses of which are now discovered, 
 together with the spiritual sense of the holy 
 word. 
 
 8. That the sacred scripture contains a 
 threefold sense, namely, celestial, spiritual, 
 and natural, which are united by corres- 
 pondences ; and that in each sense it is di- 
 vine truth, accommodated, respectively to 
 the angels of the three heavens, and also to 
 men on earth. 
 
 9. That the books of the word, (or the 
 scriptures), are those which have the inter- 
 .nal sense, and are the five books of Moses, 
 the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, 
 the Psalms, and all the Prophets : also, the 
 four Evangelists, and the Revelation ; and 
 that the other books, viz. the books of 
 Ruth, the Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Es- 
 ther, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of 
 Solomon, in the Old Testament; and the 
 Acts, together with all the Epistles in tire 
 New, not having the internal sense, are not 
 the word, or divine revelation. 
 
 10. That in the spiritual world there is a 
 sun distinct from that of the natural world, 
 the essence of which is pure love from Je- 
 hovah God, who is in the midst thereof; 
 that the heat also proceeding from that sun, 
 is, in its essence, love ; and the light thence 
 proceeding is, in its essence, wisdom ; and 
 by the instrumentality of that sun, all things 
 were created, and continue to subsist, both 
 in the spiritual and in the natural world. 
 
 11. They maintain, that there is not in 
 the universal heaven, a single angel that 
 was created so at the first, nor a single de- 
 vil in all hell that had been created an angel 
 of light, and was afterwards cast out of hea- 
 ven ; but that all both in heaven and hell 
 are of the human race ; in heaven such as 
 had lived in the world in heavenly love and 
 
 ' faith, and in hell such as lived in hellish 
 love and faith. 
 
 12 . That the material body never rises 
 again ; but that man, immediately after his 
 departure from this life, rises again as to his 
 
 spiritual or substantial body, (which was 
 inclosed in his material body, and formed 
 from his predominant love, whether it be- 
 good or evil), wherein he continues to live 
 as a man, in a perfect human form, in all 
 ■respects as before, save only the gross ma- 
 terial body, which he puts off by death, 
 and which is of no further use. 
 
 13. That the state and condition of man 
 after death is according to his past life in 
 this world ; and the predominant love, 
 which he takes with him into the spiritual 
 world, continues with him for ever, and 
 can never be changed to all eternity ; but 
 if evil, he abides in hell to ail eternity. 
 
 14. That true conjugal love, which- can 
 only subsist between one husband and one 
 wife, is a primary characteristic of the new 
 church, being grounded in the marriage 
 of goodness and trtitli, and corresponding 
 with the marriage of the Lord and his 
 church ; and therefore it is more celestial, 
 spiritual, holy, pure, and clean, than any 
 other love in angels or men. 
 
 1.5. That the science of correspondences, 
 (which has been lost for some thousands of 
 years, btit is now revived in the Theological 
 Vkorks of the Honourable Emanuel Swe- 
 denborg), is the only key, to the spiritual, 
 or internal sense of the holy word, every 
 page of which is written by correspon- 
 dences, that is, by such things in the natural 
 world as correspond with and signify things 
 in the spiritual world. 
 
 16. That all those passages in the scrip- 
 tures generally supposed to signify the de- 
 struction of the world by fire, &c. com- 
 monly called the last judgment, must be 
 understood according to the above science, 
 which teaches, that by the end of the world 
 is not meant the destruction of it, but the 
 destruction or end of the present Chris- 
 tian church, both among Roman Catholics 
 and Protestants of every description, and 
 that this last judgment took place in the 
 spiritual world in the year 1757. 
 
 17. That the second advent of the Lord, 
 which is a coming, not in person, but in the 
 spiritual or internal sense of his holy word,, 
 has already commenced ; that it is effected 
 by means of his servant Emanuel Sweden- 
 borg, before whom he hath manifested 
 liimself in person, and whom he hath filled 
 with his spirit, to teach the doctrines of the 
 new church by the word from him ; and 
 that this is what is meant in the Revelation 
 by the new heaven and new earth, and the 
 new Jerusalem thence descending. 
 
SWI 
 
 « 
 
 Tliese doctrines, to say the least of them, 
 are ingenious. Many persons indeed, of great 
 respectability, Snd not a few men of learning 
 and talent, even of the present day, believe 
 that these doctrines are something more than 
 ingenious. It is, however, not a little ex- 
 traordinary, that, although the Swedenbor- 
 gians openly deny the commonly received 
 doctrine of a trinity of persons in the God- 
 head, and believe, as they certainly do, that 
 to assert that doctrine is nothing less than 
 tritheism ; and when it is also considered 
 that the system of the highly-illuminated 
 baron has excluded that other orthodox 
 doctrine of a vicarious sacrifice by the 
 death of Christ, we say, under these con- 
 siderations, it is not a little to be wondered 
 at, that there should be found any persons 
 still in communion with our established 
 chiircb, who profess themselves members 
 of the New Jerusalem church, as revealed 
 by Emanuel Swedenborg. But the wonder 
 increases much, upon the consideration that 
 some, even of the regular clergy of the Eng- 
 lish Church, are to be found among the dis- 
 ciples of the honourable baron ! The pre- 
 sent venerable and respectable minister of 
 St. John’s, Manchester, the Reverend Mr. 
 Clowes, is not only an open professor of 
 the faith of the New Church, but is also 
 the well-known translator of all the baron’s 
 theological publications ! The forbearing 
 temper of many of our present ecclesiasti- 
 cal governors, and the liberal spirit of the 
 times, are circumstances not a little ho- 
 nourable to the national character in gene- 
 ral, and to our national clergy in particu- 
 lar. May this spirit and this forbeaiance 
 continue to increase, until no discrepancy 
 of meie opinion whatever, while unaccom- 
 panied by errors of conduct or depravity of 
 heart, shall be made the foundation of ha- 
 tred, or the pretext for exclusive civil and 
 religious privileges ! 
 
 SWERTIA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of Eman. Sweert, a genus of the Pen- 
 tandria Digynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Rotaceas. Gentian®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : corolla wheel-shaped ; 
 nectariferous pores at the base of the seg- 
 ments of the corolla ; capsule one-celled, 
 two valved. 'I'liere are six species. 
 
 SWIETENIA, in botany, mahogany tree, 
 so named, iu honour of the illustrious Ge- 
 rard, L. B. k Swieten, arebiater to Maria 
 Teresa, Empress of Germairy, a genus of 
 the Decandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Trihilat®, Melim, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx five-cleft ; petals 
 
 SWI 
 
 five ; nectary cyliudric, bearing the anthers 
 at the mouth ; capsules five-celled, wmody, 
 openingat the base ; seeds imbricate, winged. 
 There are three species. The S. mahogani, 
 mahogany tree, is very lofty and spreading, 
 with a wide handsome head ; leaves reclin- 
 ing, alternate, shining, eight inches long, 
 numerous on the younger branches ; leaf- 
 lets mostly in four pairs, quite entire, acu- 
 minate, bent iu backwards, petioled, oppo- 
 site, an inch and half long ; racemes sub- 
 corynibed, with about eight flowers in each, 
 axillary, solitary, two inches long; flowers 
 small, whitish. The mahogany tree is a na- 
 tive of the warmest parts of America, and 
 grows plentifully in the islands of Cuba, 
 Jamaica, and Hispaniola; in these islands 
 the tree grows to a very large size, so as to 
 cut into planks of six feet breadth : those 
 on the Bahama Islands are not so large ; 
 these, however, are frequently four feet iu 
 diameter, and rising to a great height, not- 
 withstanding they are generally found on 
 the solid rock, where there seems to be 
 scarcely any earth for their nourishment. 
 The wood brought from the Bahama Islands 
 has usually passed under the name of Ma- 
 deira wood ; this the Spaniards make great 
 use of for building ships ; it is better adapt- 
 ed to this purpose than most sorts of wood 
 yet known, being very durable, resisting 
 gun shots, and burying the shot without 
 splintering. The excellency of this wood 
 for all domestic purposes has been long 
 known in England. 
 
 SWIMMING, the art, or act, of sustain- 
 ing the body in water, and of moving there- 
 in; in which action the air-bladder and fins 
 of fishes bear a considerable part. Some 
 have supposed, that the motion of fish in 
 the water, depends principally upon the 
 pectoral fins, but the contrary is easily 
 proved by experiment ; for if the pectoral 
 fins of a fish are cut off, and it be again put 
 into the water, it will be found to move 
 forward or sideways, upward or downward, 
 as well as it did when it had them on. If a 
 fish be carefully observed, whila swimming 
 iu a bason of clear water, it will be found 
 not to keep these pectoral fins constantly 
 expanded, but Only to open them at such 
 times as it would stop or change its course ; 
 this seeming to be their principal, if not 
 their only, use. The pectoral and ventral 
 fins, in the common fishes of a compressed 
 form, serve in the same manner in keeping 
 the fish still, and serve in scarce any other 
 motion than that towards the bottom : so 
 that this motion of the fish, which has beta 
 
 » 
 
generally attributed to tlieir fins, is almost 
 wholly owing to their muscles, and the equi- 
 poise of their air-bladder. That the use of 
 the pectoral and ventral fins is to keep the 
 fish steady and upright in the water, is evi- 
 dent from the consequences of their loss : 
 if they are cut off, and the fish put again 
 into the water, it cannot continue in its na- 
 tural erect posture, but staggers about and 
 rolls from side to side. The fins of the 
 back and anus are also of great use to the 
 keeping the creature in its natural posi- 
 tion, as is easily seen by cutting them off, 
 and observing the motions of the fish after- 
 wards. Though a great deal depends on 
 the motion of the muscles of the several 
 parts of the body, in the swimming of the 
 fish, yet the tail, and those muscles which 
 move the lower part of the body, to which 
 it is affixed, are the great instruments by 
 which their swift motions in the water are 
 performed. The moving the tail, and that 
 part of the body to which it adheres, back- 
 ward and forward, or sideways any one 
 way, throws the whole body of the fish 
 strongly the contrary way ; and even in 
 swimming strait forward, the motion and 
 direction are both greatly assisted by the 
 vibrations of this part, as may be expe- 
 rienced in the motion of a boat, which, 
 when impelled forward, may be firmly guid- 
 ed by means of an oar held out at its stern, 
 and moved in the water as occasion directs. 
 The dorsal muscles, and those of the lower 
 part of the body between the anus and tail, 
 are the principal that are used in the mo- 
 tion of this part, and these are therefore 
 the most useful to the fish in swimming. 
 The muscles of the belly seem to have their 
 principal use in tlie contracting the belly 
 and the air-bladder. They have been sup- 
 posed of use to move the belly-fins; but 
 there are too many of them for .such a pur- 
 pose, and these fins have each its peculiar 
 muscle fully sufficient to the business. The 
 use of the tail in swimming is easily seen, 
 by cutting it off, and committing the fish to 
 the water without it, in which case it is a 
 most helpless creature. 
 
 Brutes swim naturally, but men attain 
 this art by practice and industry : it consists 
 principally in striking alternately with the 
 hands and feet; which, like oars, row a per- 
 son forward : he must keep his body a little 
 oblique, that he may the more easily erect 
 his head, and keep his mouth above water. 
 
 We shall here insert some maxims on the 
 art of swimming that may be useful, and 
 
 SWIMMING. 
 
 which are said to liave been written by the 
 late Dr. Franklin. 
 
 1. That though the tegs, arms, and’head, 
 of a human body, being solid parts, are spe- 
 cifically something heavier than fresh water, 
 yet the trunk, particularly the upper part, 
 from its hollowness, is so much lighter than 
 water, as that the whole of the body, taken 
 together, is too light to sink wholly under 
 water, but some part will remain above, 
 until the lungs become filled with water; 
 which happens from drawing water into 
 them instead of air, when a person, in the 
 fright, attempts breathing while the month 
 
 and nostrils are under water. 2. That the 
 
 legs and arms are .specifically lighter than 
 salt water, and will be .supported by it, so 
 that a human body would not sink in salt 
 water, though the lungs were filled as above, 
 but from the greater specific gravity of the 
 head. 3. That therefore a person throwing 
 himself on his back in salt water, and ex- 
 tending his arms, may easily he so as to 
 keep his mouth and nostrils free for breath- 
 ing; and, by a small motion of his hands, 
 may prevent turning, if he should perceive 
 any tendency to it. 4. Tliat in fresh wa- 
 ter, if a man tlirows himselt on his back, 
 near the surface, he cannot long continue in 
 that situation, but by proper action of his 
 hands, on the water. If he uses no such 
 action, the legs and lower part of the body 
 will gradually sink till he comes into an up- 
 right position, in which he will continue 
 suspended, the hollow of the breast ^keep- 
 ing the head uppermost. 5. But if in thi.s 
 erect position, the head is kept upiight 
 above the shoulders, as when we stand on 
 the ground, the immersion will, by the 
 weisht of that part of the head that is out 
 of water, reach above the mouth and nos- 
 trils, perhaps a little above the eyes, so that 
 a man cannot long remain suspended in wa- 
 ter with his head in that position. 6. The 
 body continuing suspended as before, and 
 upright, if the head be leaned quite back, 
 so that the face looks upwards, all the back 
 part of the head being then under water, 
 and its weight consequently in a great mea- 
 sure supported by it, the face will remain 
 above water quite free for breathing, will 
 rise an inch higher every inspiration, and 
 sink as much every expiration but never so 
 low as that the water may come over the 
 mouth. 7 . If therefore a person, unac- 
 quainted with swimming, and falling acci- 
 dentally into the water, could have pre- 
 sence of mind sufficient to avoid struggling 
 
SYL 
 
 SYL 
 
 and plunging, and to let the body take this 
 natural position, he might continue long 
 safe from drowning, till perhaps help would 
 come. For as to the clothes, their addi- 
 tional weight while immersed is very incon- 
 siderable, the water supporting it ; though 
 when he comes out of the water, he would 
 find them very heavy indeed. The subject 
 has within the last two or three years been 
 investigated in Nicholson’s Philosophical 
 Journal, whence it should seem that if a 
 person could have sufficient presence of 
 mind never to raise his hands above water, 
 he could not sink. 
 
 ^ SWIVEL, in gunnery, a small piece of 
 artillery carrying a shot of half a pound 
 weight, and fixed in a socket on the top of 
 a ship’s side, stern, or bow, and also in the 
 tops ; the trunnions of this piece are con- 
 tained in a sort of iron crotch, the lower 
 end of which terminates in a cylindrical pi- 
 vot, resting in the socket so as to support 
 the weight of the cannon. By means of this 
 swivel, which gives name to the piece of 
 artillery, and an iron handle, the gun may 
 be directed by hand to any object. 
 
 SW ORD, an offensive weapon wmrn at 
 the side, and serving either to cut or stab. 
 Its parts are the handle, guard, and blade ; 
 to which may be added the bow, scabbard, 
 pummel, &c. Fencing masters, however, 
 divide the sw'ord into the upper, middle, 
 and lower part; or the fort, middle, and 
 foible. 
 
 SYENA, in botany, a genus of the Tri- 
 andria Monogynia class and order. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx three-leaved ; petals 
 three; anthers oblong ; capsule one-celled, 
 three waived. There is only one species, 
 vh. S. fluviatilis ; this is a minute mossy 
 plant; stem somewhat branched, decum- 
 bent ; leaves capillaceous, in whorls ; flow- 
 ers axillary, white, peduncled, solitary. It 
 is a native of Guiana, in rivulets. 
 
 pSYLLABLE, in grammar, a part of a 
 word, consisting of one or more letters, 
 pronounced together. 
 
 According as words contain one, two, 
 three, four, &c. syllables, they are denomi- 
 nated monosyllables, bissyllables, trissylla- 
 bles, tetrasyllables, polysyllables, &c. and 
 the division of a word, into its constituent 
 syllables, is called spelling. 
 
 pSA'LIjABUS, in matters of literature, de- 
 notes a table of contents, or an index of 
 the chief heads of a book or discourse. 
 SYLLOGISM, in logic, an argument or 
 
 term of reasoning, consisting of three pro- 
 positions ; the two first of which are called 
 premises, and the last the conclusion. Syl- 
 logisms are nothing but the expressions of 
 our reasonings, reduced to form and me- 
 thod : and hence, as every act of reasoning 
 implies three several judgments, so every 
 syllogism must include thf ee distinct propo- 
 sitions. Thus, in the following syllogism ; 
 
 Every creature possessed of reason and 
 liberty is accountable for his actions. 
 
 Man is a creature possessed of reason 
 and liberty : 
 
 Therefore man is accountable for his ac- 
 tions. 
 
 We may observe that there are three se- 
 veral propositions, expressing the three 
 judgments implied in the act of reasoning: 
 the two first propositions answer the two 
 previous judgments in reasoning, and are 
 hence called premises: as being placed be- 
 fore the other, which is termed the conclu- 
 sion. We are also to remember, that the 
 terms expressing the two ideas whose rela- 
 tion we inquire after, as here, “ man” and 
 “ accountableness,” are in general called 
 the extremes; and that the intermediate 
 idea, by means of which the agreement or 
 disagreement of the two extremes is traced, 
 rAz. “ a creature possessed of reason and 
 libel ty,’ takes the name of the middle 
 terra. Hence, by the premises of a syllo- 
 gism, we are always to understand the two 
 propositions where the middle term is seve- 
 rally compared to the two extremes; for 
 these constitute the previous judgments, 
 whence the truth we are in quest of is by 
 reasoning deduced. The conclusion is that 
 other proposition, in which the extremes 
 themselves are joined or separated, agreea- 
 bly to what appears upon the above com- 
 parison. As, therefore, the conclusion is 
 made up of the extreme terms of the syllo- 
 gism ; SO that extreme, which serves as the 
 predicate of the conclusion, goes by the 
 name of the major term ; and the other 
 terra, or subject of the conclusion, is called 
 the minor tenrr. From this distinction of 
 the extremes arises also a distinction be- 
 tween the premises ; that proposition, which 
 compares the greater extreme vsith the 
 middle term, being plied the major propo- 
 sition ; and the other, where the lesser ex- 
 treme is compared with the middle term, 
 being called the minor proposition. In a 
 single act of reasoning, the premises of the 
 syllogism must be self evident truths, othei-v 
 
SYLLOGISM. 
 
 wise the conclusion could not follow. For 
 instance, in the major of the above-men- 
 tioned syllogism, vis. “ every creature pos- 
 sessed of reason and liberty is accountable 
 for his actions,” if the connection between 
 the subject and predicate could not be per- 
 ceived by a bare, attention to the ideas 
 themselves, the proposition would require a 
 proof itself; in which case, a new middle 
 term must be sought for, and a new syllo- 
 gism formed to prove the said major : and 
 should it so happen, that in this second 
 essay there was still some proposition whose 
 truth did not appear at first sight, recourse 
 must be had to a third syllogism fo prove 
 it. And when, by conducting our thoughts 
 in this manner, we at last arrive at some 
 syllogism, where the premises or previous 
 propositions are intuitive, or self-evident, 
 truths, the mind then rests in full security, 
 as perceiving that the several conclusions it 
 has passed through stand upon the immove- 
 able foundation of self-evidence, and when 
 traced to their source terminate in it. The 
 great art lies, in so adjusting our syllogisms 
 to one another, that the propositions seve- 
 rally made use of as premises may be mani- 
 fest consequences of what goes before, so 
 as to form one connected demonstration. 
 
 With respect to the different forms or 
 figures of syllogisms, it frequently happens 
 that the middle term is the subject of the 
 major term, and the predicate of the minor: 
 bnt though this disposition of the middle 
 term be the most natural and obviotis, it is 
 not, however, necessary ; since the middle 
 term is often the subject of both the pre- 
 mises, or the predicate in both; and some- 
 times it is the predicate in the major, and 
 the subject in the minor proposition. Now 
 this variety in the order and disposition of 
 the middle term, constitutes what logicians 
 call the forms or figures of syllogism. 
 
 But besides this distinction of syllogisms 
 into different figures, there is also a further 
 subdivision of them in every figure, called 
 modes, or moods. See Mood. 
 
 Tiiese distinctions of syllogism, accord- 
 ing to figure and mood, respect chiefly 
 simple syllogisms, or those limited to three 
 propositions, all simple ; and where the ex- 
 tremes and middle term are corinecied im- 
 mediately together. But as the mind is not 
 tied down to any one form of reasoning, 
 bnt sometimes makes use of more, some- 
 times of fewer premises, and often takes in 
 compound and conditional proposition', 
 there hence arises other distinctions of syl- 
 logisms. r 
 
 When in any syllogism the major is a 
 conditional proposition, the syllogism itself 
 is termed conditional. Such is the follow'- 
 ing one : 
 
 If there is a God, he ought to be wor- 
 shipped ; 
 
 But there is a God : 
 
 Therefore he ought to be worshipped. 
 
 In syllogisms of this kind, the relation 
 between the antecedent, or the conditional 
 part “ if there is a God,” and the conse- 
 quent “ he. ought to be worshipped,” must 
 ever be real and true ; that is the antece- 
 dent must always contain some certain and 
 genuine condition, which necessarily im- 
 plies the consequent; otherwise the propo- 
 sition itseif will be false, and therefore 
 ought not to be admitted into our reason- 
 ings. There are two kinds of conditional 
 syllogisms, one of which is called in the 
 schools modus ponens-, because from the 
 admission of the antecedent they argue to 
 the admission of the consequent, as in the 
 syllogism above : the other is called modus 
 tollens, because in it both antecedent and 
 consequent are rejected, as in the following 
 syllogism : 
 
 If God were not a being of infinite good- 
 ness, neither would he consult the hap- 
 piness of his creatures; 
 
 But God does consult the happiness of 
 his creatures ; 
 
 Tliereibre he is a being of infinite good- 
 ness. 
 
 Again, as from the major’s being a condi- 
 tional proposition, we obtain conditional 
 syllogisms ; so where it is a disjunctive pro- 
 position, the syllogism is also called disjunc- 
 tive, as in the following example. 
 
 The world is either self-existent, or the 
 work of some finite, or some infinite 
 being. 
 
 But it is not self existent, nor the work 
 of a finite being: 
 
 Therefore it is the work of an infinite 
 being. 
 
 Now a disjunctive proposition is that, 
 where of several predicates, we affirm one 
 necessarily to belong to the subject, to the 
 exclusion of all the rest, but leave that 
 particular one undetermined : hence it fol- 
 lows, that as soon as we determine the par- 
 ticular predicate, all the rest are to be of 
 course rejected ; or if we reject all the pre- 
 dicates but one, that one necessarily takes 
 place. When, therefore, in a disjunctive 
 syllogism, the several predicates are enume-r 
 rated in the major ; if the minor establishes 
 axiy one of these predicates, the conclusion 
 
SYL 
 
 A to remove all the rest; or if in the 
 
 Aor, all the predicates but one are re- 
 itioved, the conclusion must necessarily es- 
 tablisli that one. 
 
 , In the several kinds of syllogisms hither- 
 to mentioned, we may observe, that the 
 parts are complete; that is, the three pro- 
 positions of which they consist, are express- 
 ed in form. But it often happens, that 
 some one of these premises is not only an 
 evident truth, but also familiar and in the 
 mouths of all men; in which case it is 
 usually omitted, whereby we have an im- 
 perfect syllogism, that seems to be made 
 up of only two propositions : such is the 
 following one : 
 
 Every man is mortal ; 
 
 Therefore every king is mortal. 
 
 Here the minor proposition, “ every 
 king is man,” is omitted, as being so clear 
 and evident, that the reader may easily snp- 
 ply it. 
 
 SYLVAN, in mineralogy, a genus which 
 is divided into four species; tiz. 1. “The 
 native sylvan,” of which the colour is inter- 
 mediate between tin white and silver white : 
 it occurs massive and disseminated, and also 
 in various kinds of crystals : internally it is 
 shining, and its lustre is metallic: its specific 
 gravity is from 4.1 to 6.1. Its constituent 
 parts are 
 
 Sylvan 
 
 Iron 7.20 
 
 Gold O.-g.a 
 
 loo 
 
 Before the blow-pipe it melts as easily as 
 lead, emits a thick white smoke, and burns 
 with a light green colour, and a sharp dis- 
 agreeable odour. When exposed to a low 
 heat, it is converted into an oxide : by an 
 increase of temperature, it melts into a 
 brownish black glass, in which gold grains 
 are interspersed : at a still higher heat, the 
 oxide is completely volatilized. It occurs 
 in veins, and is accompanied with iron py- 
 rites, blende, lead-glance, quartz, and litho- 
 marge, and is found in Transylvania. It 
 bears a strong resemblance to antimony, 
 and was formerly called “ auriim proble- 
 inaticum white gold ore,” &c. It 
 
 was denominated “ sylvan” by Kirwan, and 
 is so called by Jameson, who thinks it more 
 expressive than “ tellurium,” a name pro- 
 posed by Klaproth. 
 
 2. “ Graphic ore,” which is likewise 
 fomtd in Transylvania : it is worked as an 
 
 SYM 
 
 ore of gold, and has obtained the name of 
 graphic gold : it consists of 
 
 Sylvan 60 
 
 Gold.... 50 
 
 Silver 10 
 
 100 
 
 It occurs, in veins, in clay porphyiy, accom- 
 panied with iron pyrites, grey copper ore, 
 blende, and sometimes, though rarely, with 
 native gold. Before the blow-pipe it burns 
 with a green flame, and is volatilized. 
 
 3. “ Yellow sylvan ore,” which is white, 
 inclining to yellow, and is found disseminat- 
 ed and crystallized. Specific gravity 10.6. 
 It dissolves in nitrous acid, and during the 
 solution nitrous gas is evolved ; the consti- 
 tuent parts are 
 
 Gold ,.... 
 
 
 Lead 
 
 
 Silver 
 
 8.5 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 
 100 . 
 
 Tliis is found in Transylvania, and is worked 
 on account of the prophrtions of the silver 
 and gold. 
 
 4. “ Black sylvan ore,’’ which is of an 
 iron black colour, and occurs mas.sive, and 
 in small, thin, and iongisli six-sided tables ; 
 externally it is splendent, wulh a metallic 
 lustre: and within it is shining: specific 
 gravity is almost 9. Its constituent part* 
 
 are 
 
 Sylvan i8.8 
 
 Lead 24.8 
 
 Gold 4.15 
 
 Silver ; o.25 
 
 Copper 0.6 
 
 Sulphur 1.4 
 
 Oxide of manganese 9.2 
 
 Quartz 43.7 
 
 100 . 
 
 It is found in Transylvania: it melts before 
 the blow pipe : the sulphur and sylvan are 
 soon volatilized, and a blackish brown glo- 
 bule remains, which being melted with bo- 
 rax, a sort of silvery gold grain appears. It 
 dissolves with effervescence in acids, and 
 the nitro-muriatic acid extracts the gold 
 from it. 
 
 SYMPHONIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monodelphia Pentandria class and order. 
 Essential character: one styled; corolla 
 globular; berry five-celled. There is only 
 
one species : viz, S. globulifera, a native of 
 Surinam. 
 
 SYMPHYTUM, in botany, comfi-ey, a 
 genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Asperifolise. 
 Borragincae, Jussieu. Essential character; 
 corolla tubular, ventricose ; throat closed by 
 lanceolate ray*. There are three species. 
 We shall notice the S. ofRcinale, common 
 comfrey : this plant has a perennial fleshy 
 root, externally black ; stem two or three 
 feet high, upright, leafy, winged, branched 
 at the top, clothed with short bristly hairs, 
 which point downward; leaves waved, 
 pointed, veiny, rough ; the radical leaves on 
 foot-stalks, broader than the rest ; clusters 
 of flowers, in pairs, on a common footstalk, 
 with an odd flower between them ; corolia 
 yellowish white, sometimes purple; the rays 
 downy at each edge. It is a native of Eu- 
 rope and Siberia ; it is frequent in watery 
 places, on the banks of rivers and ditches ; 
 flowering from the end of May toSeptember. 
 
 SYMPLOCOS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Polyadelphia Polyandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Guaiacanae, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx live-cleft ; corolla 
 five-petalled, erect at the base ; stamens in 
 four rows, growing to the tube of the corol- 
 la ; fruit five-celled. There are four species. 
 
 SYNDIC, in government and commerce, 
 an officer in divers countries entrusted with 
 the affairs of a city, or other community, 
 who calls meetings, makes representations 
 and solicitations to the ministry, magistracy, 
 &c. according to the exigency of the case. 
 The syndic is appointed to answer and ac- 
 count, f6r the conduct of the body, he 
 makes and receives proposals for the advan- 
 tage thereof, controuls and corrects the 
 failings of particular persons of the body, or 
 at least procures their correction at a public 
 meeting. In effect, the syndic is at the same 
 time both the agent and censor of the com- 
 munity. 
 
 SYNECDOCHE, in rhetoric, a kind of 
 figure or rather trope, frequent among ora- 
 tors and poets. There are three kinds of 
 synecdoches; by the first, a part is taken 
 for the whole, as the point for the sword, 
 the roof for the house, the sails for the ship, 
 &c. By the second, the whole is used for a’ 
 part. By the third, the matter whereof 
 the thing is made is used for the thing itself; 
 as steel for sword, silver for money, &c. 
 To which may be added another kind, when 
 the species is used for the geous, or the 
 genus for the,species» 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 SYNGENESIA, in botany, the name 
 of the nineteenth class in Linnmns’s system, 
 consisting of plants in which the anthers, or 
 male organs of generation, are united into a 
 cylinder, the filaments on which they are 
 supported being separate and distinct : this 
 class contains the numerous tribe of com- 
 pound flowers. The orders of this class 
 arise from the differ ent mo-^es ef intercom- 
 munication of the florets, or lesser partial 
 flowers contained within the common calyx. 
 This intercommunication admits of the tour 
 following cases. 1. When the florets are 
 all hermaphrodite. 2. When they are her- 
 maphrodites and females. 3. When there 
 are hermaphrodites and florets of no sex : 
 and, 4. When they are males and females. 
 
 SYNGNATHUS, the pipe-fish, a genus 
 of fishes of the order Cartilaginei. Generic 
 character : sriont nearly cylindrical ; moutli 
 terminal, without teeth or tongue, and fur- 
 nished with a lid; body lengthened, jointed, 
 and mailed with many sided scales ; no ven- 
 tral fins. These fishes frequent the coasts 
 of the sea, and subsist upon worms and in- 
 sects, and the ova of fishes. There are 
 eight species of which we shall notice the 
 following. 
 
 S. acus, or the great pipe-fish, sometimes 
 attains the length even of three feet, but is 
 generally only fourteen inches long, ex- 
 tremely slender, and tapering towards the 
 extremity. Its ova are found lying in 
 spring in a longitudinal channel at the bot- 
 tom of the abdomen, and the young are 
 produced from this groove completely form- 
 ed. It is found in the seas of Europe. 
 
 The S. hippocampus, or sea-horse pipe- 
 fish, inhabits the shores of the European 
 and Indian seas, and is about ten inches 
 long. When the head is bent dow'nwards, 
 it has a very considerable resemblance to 
 that of a horse. 
 
 S. foliatns, or the foliated pipe-fish, is the 
 most singular species of the genus, and this 
 singularity consists chiefly in its possessing 
 appendages, situated on very strong and 
 rough spines, on the back, tail, and abdo- 
 men, of the shape of leaves, and which 
 might easily be supposed by a cursory ob- 
 server the real leaves of some of tlie foci 
 tribe. In the one presented to Sir Joseph 
 Banks, and engraved in Shaw’s Zoology, 
 there are fourteen of these curious processes. 
 This animal presents one of the most extra- 
 ordinary objects exhibited by nature in the 
 immense variety of her living productions. 
 See Pisces, Plate VI. fig. 3. 
 
 ' Z 
 
SYN 
 
 SYNOD, in astronomy, a conjunction, 
 or concourse of two or more stars, or pla- 
 nets, in the same optical place of the hea- 
 vens. 
 
 SYNODENDRON, in natural history, 
 a genus of insects of the order Ooleoptera : 
 antennae clavate ; the chib lamellate ; thorax 
 gibbous, muricate or unequal j tip filiform, 
 liorny, palpigerous at the tip. There are 
 four species. 
 
 SYNODICAL, something belonging to 
 a synod ; thus synodical epistles are circular 
 letters written by the synods to the absent 
 prelates and churches, or even those gene- 
 ral ones directed to all the faithful, to in- 
 form them of what had passed in the synod. 
 For the synodical month, see the article 
 Month. 
 
 SYNOVIA, the name given to a liquid 
 secreted within the capsular ligaments of 
 the Joints, to facilitate motion by lubricat- 
 ing these parts. The synovia of the ox is a 
 viscid, semi-transparent fluid, of a greenish 
 white colour, which soon acquires the con- 
 sistence ofjelly, and not long after becomes 
 again fluid, depositing a filamentous matter. 
 Synovia mixes with watei-, and renders it 
 viscid. When this mixture is boiled it be- 
 comes milky, and some pellicles are depo- 
 sited on the sides of the vessel. Alcohol 
 produces a precipitate when added to syno- 
 via. This precipitate is albumen. After 
 this matter is separated, the liquid still re- 
 mains viscid ; but if acetic acid be added, 
 the viridity disappears, and it becomes 
 transparent, depositing a white filamentous 
 substance, which resembles vegetable glu- 
 ten. It is soluble in cold water, and in 
 concentrated acids and pure alkalies. This 
 fibrous matter is precipitated by acids and 
 alcohol in flakes. The concentrated mine- 
 ral acids produce a flaky precipitate, which 
 is soon re-dissolved ; but the viscidity of the 
 liquid is not destroyed till they are so much 
 diluted with water, that the acid taste is 
 only perceptible. When syfiovia is exposed 
 to dry air, it evaporates, and cubic crystals 
 remain in the residuum, with a white saline 
 efflorescence. The first are muriate of 
 soda, and the latter carbonate of soda. This 
 substance soon becomes putrid, giving out 
 ammonia during its decomposition. By 
 distillation in a retort, it yields water, which 
 soon becomes putrid ; water containing a 
 portion of ammonia, and an empyreumatic 
 oil, with carbonate of ammonia : by wash- 
 ing the residuum, muriate and carbonate of 
 soda may be obtained. A small portion of 
 phosphate of lime is found in the coaly mat- 
 
 SYS 
 
 ter. The constituent parts of synovia are 
 the following : 
 
 Fibrous matter 11.8 
 
 Albumen 4.5 
 
 Muriate of soda 1.7 
 
 Soda 0.7 
 
 Phosphate of lime 0.7 
 
 Water 80.6 
 
 100.6 
 
 SYNTAX, in grammar, the proper con- 
 struction, or due disposition of the words of 
 a language, into sentences, or phrases ; or 
 the manner of constructing one word with 
 another, with regard to the different termi- 
 nations thereof, prescribed by the rules of 
 grammar. Hence the office of syntax is to 
 consider the natural suitablene.«s of words 
 with respect to one another, in order to 
 make them agree in gender, number, per- 
 son, mood, &c. To offend in any of these 
 points, is called, to offend against syntax ; 
 and such kind of offence, when gros?, is 
 called a solecism, and when more slight, a 
 barbarism. Syntax is generally divided into 
 two parts, viz. concord, wherein the words 
 are to agree in gender, number, case, and 
 person ; and regimen, or government, where- 
 in one word governs another, and occasions 
 some variations therein. 
 
 SYNTHESIS, tlie putting of several 
 things together, as making a compound me- 
 dicine of several simple ingredients, &c. 
 
 Synthesis, in logic, denotes a branch 
 of method opposite to analysis, called the 
 synthetic method. 
 
 SYRINGA, in botany, lilac, a genus of 
 the Diandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Sepiarite. Jasmine®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: corolla four- 
 cleft; capsule two-celled. There are four 
 species, with several varieties. The S. vul- 
 garis, common lilac, is a shrub growing to 
 the height of eighteen or twenty feet, divid- 
 ing into many branches ; those of the white 
 sort grow more erect than the blue ; and 
 the purple, or Scotch lilac, has its branches 
 yet more diffused. The lilac is very com- 
 mon in the English gardens, where it has 
 been long cultivated as a flowering shrub. 
 It is supposed to grow naturally in some 
 parts of Persia; but is so hardy as to resist 
 the greatest cold of this country. 
 
 SYRINGE, an instrument serving to im- 
 bibe, or suck in a quantity of any fluid, and 
 to squirt or expel the same with violence. 
 
 SYRUP. See Pharmacy. 
 
 SY^STEM, in general, denotes an assem- 
 
N 
 
 t 
 
 blage Di- chain of principles and conclusions, 
 or the whole of any doctrine, the several 
 parts whereof are bound together, and fol- 
 low or depend on each other; in which 
 sense we say, a system of pliilosophy, a 
 system of divinity, &c. 
 
 System, in astronomy, denotes an hypo- 
 thesis or supposition of an arrangement of 
 the several parts of the universe, whereby 
 astronomers explain all the phenomena or 
 appearances of the heavenly bodies, their 
 motions, changes, &c. This is more pro- 
 perly called the systems of the world. Sys- 
 tem and hypothesis have much the same 
 signification, unless perhaps hypothesis be a 
 more particular system, and system a more 
 general hypothesis. The three most cele- 
 brated systems of the world are the Coper- 
 nican, the Ptolemaic, and Tychonic. 
 
 SYSTOLE, in anatomy, the contraction 
 of the heart, whereby the blood is drawn 
 out of its ventricles into the arteries ; the 
 opposite state to which is called the di- 
 astole, or dilation of the heart. 
 
 S YZ\ GY, in astronomy, a term equally 
 used for the conjunction and opposition of 
 a planet with the sun. On the phenomena 
 and circumstances of the syzygies a great 
 part of the lunar theory depends. For, ] . It 
 is shown in the physical astronomy, that the 
 force which diminishes the gravity of the 
 moon in the syzygies, is double that which 
 increases it in the quadratures : so that in 
 the syzygies, the gravity of the moon, from 
 the action of the sun, is diminished by a 
 part which is to the whole gravity as 1 to 
 
 TAB 
 
 89,36 : for in tlie quadratures, the addition 
 of gravity is to the whole gravity as 1 to 
 ' 178,7'3. 2 . In the syzygies, the disturbing 
 force is directly the distance of the moon 
 fi'oin the earth, and inversely as the cube of 
 the distance of the earth from the sun. And 
 at the syzygies, the gravity of the moon to- 
 wards the earth, receding from its centre, 
 is more diminished than according to the in- 
 verse ratio of the square of the distance 
 from that centre. Hence, in the motion of 
 the moon from the syzygies to the quadra- 
 tures, the gravity of the moon towards the 
 earth is continually increased, and the moon 
 is continually retarded in its motion ; and 
 in the motion from the quadratures to the 
 syzygies, the moon’s gravity is continually 
 diminished, and its motion in its orbit acce- 
 lerated. 3. Further, in the syzygies, the 
 moon’s orbit, or circle, round the earth, is 
 more convex than in the quadratures, for 
 which reason the moon is less distant from 
 the earth at the former than the latter. 
 When the moon is in the syzygies, her ap- 
 sides go backwards, or are retrograde. 
 
 When the moon is in the syzygies, the 
 nodes move in antecedentia fastest : then 
 slower and slower, till they become at rest, 
 when the moon is in the quadratures. 
 
 Lastly, When the nodes are come to the 
 syzygies, the inclination of the plane of the 
 orbit is least of all. Add that these several 
 irregularities are not equal in each syzygy, 
 but all somewhat greater in the conjunc- 
 tion than in the opposition. 
 
 T. 
 
 'T' Or t, the nineteenth letter, and fif- 
 J teenth consonant, of our alphabet, 
 the sound whereof is formed by a strong 
 expulsion of the breath through the mouth, 
 upon a sudden drawing back of the tongue 
 from the fore part of tlie palate, with the 
 lips at the same time open. The proper 
 sound of this letter is that in tan, ten, tin, 
 &c. When it comes before i, followed by 
 a vowel, it is sounded like s, as in nation, 
 potion, &c. When A comes after it, it has 
 a twofold sound ; one clear and acute, as 
 
 in tAi?i, thief, Sec. the other mote obtuse 
 and obscure, as in then, there, &c. 
 
 TABBYING, the passing a silk or stuff 
 under a calendar, the rolls of which are 
 made of iron or copper, variously engraves, 
 which, bearing unequally on the stuff, ren- 
 ders the surface thereof unequal, so as to 
 reflect the rays of light differently, making 
 the representation of waves thereon. 
 
 T. ABERNiEMONTANA, in botany, so 
 named in memory of James Theodore, sur- 
 named Tabernaemontanus, from BergZap 
 Z2 
 

 TAC 
 
 bern, tlie place where he was born ; a ge- 
 nus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and 
 Older. Natural order of Contortas. Apo- 
 cin®, Jussieu, Essential character : con- 
 torted ; follicles two, horizontal ; seeds im- 
 mersed in pulp. There are nineteen spe- 
 cies, among which we shall notice the T . 
 cyniosa, cyme-flowered tabern®moiitana ; 
 this is an elegant upright little tree, or 
 shrub, about six feet in height ; leaves 
 acute, quite entire, scarcely waved, half a 
 foot long. Cymes ample, handsome, con- 
 vex, axillary ; flowers without scent, dirty 
 white, or reddish brown, about forty in a 
 cyme ; tube of the corolla, quinquangular, 
 ventricose at the base ; stamens in the en- 
 larged base of the tube ; stigma margined 
 at the base ; follicles oblong, very blunt, 
 curved in, very large, reddish, with rust-co- 
 imired spots ; one of each pair is commonly 
 abortive; the pulp is orange-coloured. It> 
 is found in the woods and cojrpices about 
 Carthagena in New Spain, flowering An 
 July and August. 
 
 TABES dorsalis^ in medicine, a distem- 
 per which, according to a late author, is a 
 particular species of a consumption, the 
 proximate cause of which is a debility of 
 tile nerves. 
 
 TABLE, in perspective, denotes a plaiii 
 surface, supposed to be transparent, and 
 perpendicular to the horizon. It is alw'ays 
 imagined to be placed at a certain distance 
 between the eye and the objects, for the 
 objects to be represented thereon, by 
 means of the visual rays passing from every 
 point thereof through tlie table to the eye ; 
 whence it is called perspective-plane. 
 
 Tabi,e, among the jewellers. A table- 
 diamond, or other precious stone, is that 
 whose upper surface is quite flat, and only 
 the sides cut in angles ; in which sense a 
 diamond, cut table-wise, is used in opposi- 
 tion to- a rose-diamond. 
 
 Table is also used for an itidex or repef- 
 tory, put at the beginning or end of a book 
 to direct the reader to any passage he may 
 have occasion for; tlius we say, table of 
 matters, table of authors quoted, &c. Ta- 
 bles of the Bible are called concordances. 
 
 Table, in mathematics, system of num- 
 bers calculated to be ready at hand for the 
 expediting astronomical, geometrical, and 
 other operations : thus we say, tables of the 
 stars ; tables of sines, tangeiits, and secants ; 
 tables of logarithms, rhumbs, &c. ; sexage- 
 nary tables ; loxodromic tables &c. 
 
 TA CCA, ill botany, a genus of the Hex- 
 andiia Mouogynia class and order., Natu- 
 
 TAC 
 
 ral order of Coronarim. Narcissi, Jussie®. 
 Essential character : calyx six parted ; co- 
 rolla six-petalled, inserted into the calyx, 
 anther bearing ; stigma stellate ; berry dry, 
 hexangular, many-seeded, infeiior. There 
 is only one species, viz. T. piniiatifida ; the 
 root of w'hich is tubei'ous, composed of 
 many tubers heaped together, here and 
 there emitting fibres ; radical leaf siibsoli- 
 tary, petioled, ternate, or biternate ; leaf- 
 lets laciniate pinnatified, acute, spreading, 
 decurrent a little along the sides of the pe- 
 tiole, a foot in length ; scape half a fathom 
 in height, herbaceous, fistular, grooved to- 
 wards the top, erect ; umbel terminating, 
 sessile; peduncles four to eight; anthers 
 twelve, on short filaments ; germs three, 
 or one three-lobed ; styles three, short : 
 stigma obcordate, two-lobed ; berry black ; 
 seeds brown. It is a native of the East In- 
 dies, China, Cochin China, Banda, and the 
 Society Isles. 
 
 TACK, in a ship, a great rope having a 
 wale-knot at one end, which is seized or 
 fastened into the clew of the sail; so is reef- 
 ed first through the chesse-trees, and then 
 is brought through a hole in the ship’s side. 
 Its use is to carry forward the clew of the 
 sail, and to make it stand close by a wind : 
 and whenever the sails are thus trimmed, 
 tlie main-tack, the fore-tack, and mizen- 
 lack, are brought close by the board, and 
 haled as much forward on as they can be. 
 The bowlings also are so on the weather-side; 
 the iee-sheets are haled close aft, and the 
 lee-braces of all the sails are likewise braced 
 aft. Hence they say, a ship sails or stands 
 close upon a tack, i. e. close by the wind. 
 The w'ords of command are, hale aboard 
 the tacks, i. e. bring tlie tack down close to 
 the chesse-trees. Ease the tack, i. e. slack- 
 en it, or let it go, or run out. Let rise the 
 tack, i. e. let all go out. 
 
 The tacks of a ship are usually belayed 
 to the bitts, or else there is a chevil on pur- 
 pose to fasten them. 
 
 Tack about, in the sea-language, is to 
 turn the sliip about, or bring lier head 
 about, so as to lie the contrary way. In 
 order to explain tlie theory of tacking a 
 ship, it may be necessary to premise a 
 kitown axiom in natural philosophy, “ that 
 every body will persevere in a state of rest, 
 or of moving uniformly in a right line, un- 
 less it be compelled to change its state by 
 forces impressed, and tliat tire clrange of 
 motion is proportional to the moving force 
 impressed, and is made according to the 
 light line in v.hich that force k exerted.” 
 
TAC 
 
 By this principle it is easy to conceive how 
 a ship is compelled to turn in any direction, 
 by the force of the wind acting upon her 
 sail in horizontal lines. For the sails may 
 be so arranged as to receive the current of 
 air either directly, or more or less obliquely ; 
 hence the motion fcommimicated to the, 
 sails must of necessity conspire with tiiat of 
 the wind upon their surfaces. To make 
 the ship tack, or turn round with her head 
 to the windward, it is therefore necessary, 
 after she has received the first impression 
 from the helm, that the heail-sails should be 
 so disposed as to diminish the eftort of the 
 wind, in the first instant of her motion, and 
 that the whole force of the wind should be 
 exerted on the after sails, which, operating 
 on the ship’s stem, carries it round like a 
 weathercock. But since the action of the 
 after sails, to turn the ship, will unavoidably 
 cease when her head points to the wind- 
 ward, it then becomes necessary to use the 
 head-sails to prevent her from falling off, 
 and returning to her former situation. 
 These arc accordingly laid aback on the 
 lee-side, to push the vessel’s fore part 
 towards the appointed side, till she has 
 fallen into the line of her course thereon, 
 and fixed her sails to conform with that 
 situation. 
 
 TACKLE, or Tackling, among seamen, 
 denotes all the ropes or cordage of a ship, 
 used in managing the sails, &c. In a more 
 restrained sense, tackles are small ropes 
 running in three parts, having at one end a 
 pendant and a block; and at the other end, 
 a block and hook, to hang goods upon that 
 are to be heaved into the ship or out of it. 
 See Ship. 
 
 TACTICS, in their general acceptation, 
 relate to those evolutions, manoeuvres, and 
 positions, which constitute the main spring 
 of military and naval finesse : they are the 
 means whereby discipline is made to sup- 
 port the operations of a campaign, and are, 
 in every regular service, studied for the 
 purpose of training all the component parts 
 according to one regular plan or system; 
 whereby celerity, precision, and strength, 
 are combined, and the whole rendered com- 
 pletely etficient. Of military tactics, the 
 Romans may be considered the first nation 
 whose military array could be termed regu- 
 lar, and whose forces maintained that order, 
 which rendered each inferior individual sub- 
 ject to the control of certain subaltern 
 officers commanding small bodies, corres- 
 ponding with our sections ; which being 
 again compacted under officers of a second 
 
 TAC 
 
 class, formed small divisions, gs in onr pla- 
 toons, OP companies ; and which divisions 
 being collected under a third class ot offi- 
 cei’s, constituted what we terra battalions. 
 The soldiers of ancient Italy were not only 
 inured to great hardships, as a part of their 
 usual exercise, but were taught many evo- 
 lutions suited to the modes of warfare in 
 those days. 
 
 Time has occasioned a considerable 
 Change in that particular ; for since the in- 
 vention of gunpowder, our battle.s have 
 frequently been decided by distant can- 
 nonades ; and by no means resembled those 
 arduous conllicts in which the heroes of old 
 used to engage, individually contending for 
 the day, and causing the wiinle field to re- 
 semble an infinity of single combats. In 
 this practice all barbarous nations seem uni- 
 formly to agree ; the sword, the tomahawk, 
 the club, &c. being the chief instruments ; 
 though in some instances the javeline, or 
 spear, or the bow and arrow, may be pri- 
 marily resorted to. Hence such warfare is 
 far more sanguinary than that carried on 
 with fire-arms ; which rarely do much exe- 
 cution, unless when aided by artillery, and 
 then only when at such distances as to be 
 within reach of case-shot. It w'ill no doubt 
 surprise most of our readers, but is strictly 
 true, that, taking the average quantify of 
 musket ammunition expended, as a sum to 
 be divided by the number of killed and 
 wounded, not more than one shot in fifty 
 will be found to take effect. Thus, after a 
 battalion of 1000 men may have fired 20 
 rounds per man, making in all 20,000 dis- 
 charges of musketry, they will have made 
 terrible havoc if 400 of the enemy be 
 disabled. 
 
 Hence we find, that the great features 
 in decisive actions are few indeed; and 
 they depend chiefljfon tactics. Thus where 
 a large force is brought to bear upon any 
 particular point, while the enemy is kept 
 in ignorance as to the object in view; or 
 where certain advantages of locality are 
 gained, merely by dint of superior science 
 in the art of conducting troops by the 
 shortest means, and in the greatest order ; 
 or where by certain evolutions a small force 
 is made to supply the purpose of a larger, 
 or to resist, independently of intrenchments, 
 &c. a more numerous body ; all these evince 
 the presence of the man of tactics, and qua- 
 lify him for the designation of “ an able 
 General.” 
 
 We have also another branch, which is in 
 a degree secondary, because it depends 
 
TACTICS. 
 
 ^treatly on the success of the fonnev ; name- 
 ly, the arrangement, or disposition, of a 
 line, in such manner as may allow each 
 description of force to act with effect : this 
 can be done only when the nature- of the 
 service to be performed is suited to the 
 nature of the troops by which it is to be 
 attempted. In this we necessarily mean to 
 restrict the operations of infantry to storm- 
 ing parties, cavalry to champaign operations, 
 and artillery to situations where it can be 
 duly protected, while rendering essential 
 service. Hence the able tactician always 
 arranges his force in such manner, as to 
 allow each to perform its duty without in- 
 terfering with the evolutions of any other 
 class ; and in, what is called, manoeuvring 
 his army, never fails to estimate the dis- 
 tances, and the time in which each may 
 execute tlie assigned duty ; so that the whole 
 may coincide with one great intention, and 
 insure success by the accurate execution of 
 its respective functions : were it to be 
 otherwise, the whole must be subject to 
 disorder ; one failure often leading to the 
 most serious consequence ; the same as is 
 caused by the want of a cog, or tooth, of 
 any wheel in a piece of machinery. From 
 this it may be seen how great a superiority 
 that commander must possess who, by 
 means of this science, fully comprehends the 
 most ready arrangement of troops, where 
 change of position becomes necessary ; and 
 %vho has, in the first instance, so disposed 
 them as to be able to make those changes 
 (even under the disadvantages ever atten- 
 dant upon such necessity) with celerity, 
 and in good order. 
 
 But, however skilful the commander, the 
 whole of his good qualities will be abortive 
 unless the materials wherewith he is to per- 
 form his part be duly prepared in every 
 respect. It is indispensably requisite, that 
 every individual soldier should be so far 
 trained, as to corapreliend fully the general 
 intention of every internal service of the 
 company of which he is a part. He must 
 have a complete knowledge of the parade 
 duties, and consider himself as a mere auto- 
 maton under the guidance of a superior, or 
 disposing, power : he must be cool, obe- 
 dient, and passive; and he must possess a 
 sufficient share of physical powers, and of 
 activity, to enable his participating in the 
 movements of the company at large. - This, 
 which is assuredly a most important matter, 
 nevertheless has been only within a few 
 years properly attended to : it was formerly 
 considered fully sufficient if the soldier 
 
 could wheel, face about, and fire with cofr 
 rectness ; the conducting of a regiment 
 through its evolutions during an engage- 
 ment being left entirely to its commander. 
 It is true, the pageantry of home duties 
 was rather ostentatious, and wondrous pains 
 were taken to go through a review with 
 eclat; but the drum and fife were consi- 
 dered indispensable ; without them the sol- 
 dier could mot preserve the cadence ; he 
 had no regtilated length of pace — no regu- 
 lated time for various evolutions. Now, 
 that we see how much the whole depends 
 on its parts, each individual is trained sys- 
 tematically, and enters the field fully quali- 
 fied to act vyithout more instruction, at the 
 moment, than is needful to convey to the 
 corps at large the general intention : this 
 not only prevents confusion, but gives to 
 each a certain confidence, both in his com- 
 rades and in himself. Habituated to cer- 
 tain regulated paces, independent of musieal 
 bias, each soldier preserves his situation 
 with correctness, and feels himself, in all 
 situations, fully competent to fulfil the 
 orders of his officer. 
 
 We shall endeavour to explain, in as brief 
 terms as the subject may admit, the manner 
 in which the British forces are now trained; 
 commencing with the first stages of the 
 recruit’s tuition, and proceeding, in a regu- 
 lar course, through the operations of com- 
 panies, battalions, and lines ; whereby the 
 chain of connection will be best preserved, 
 and the whole be duly exhibited. The fol- 
 lowing preamble, taken from the “ Rules 
 and Regulations for Formation, Field-Ex- 
 ercise, and Movements, of his Majesty’s 
 Forces,” is so admirably suited to our pur- 
 pose, that we present it to our readers as 
 the best preparation we can afford : 
 
 “ The great object in view is, one gene- 
 ral and just system of movement, which, 
 directing the government of great as well 
 as of small bodies of troops, is to be rigidly 
 conformed to, and practised by, every regi- 
 ment in his Majesty’s service. To attain 
 this important purpose, it is necessary tq 
 reconcile celerity to order; to prevent 
 hurry, which must always produce confu- 
 sion, loss of time, unsteadiness, irresolution, 
 inattention to command, &c. ; and to insure 
 precision and correctness, by which alone 
 great bodies will be able to arrive at tlieir 
 object in good order, and in the shortest 
 space of time ; to inculcate, and to enforce, 
 the necessity of military dependence, and 
 of mutual support in action, which are the 
 great ends of discipline ; to simplify tlie 
 
TACTICS. 
 
 execution, and to abridge the variety of 
 movements, as much as possible, by adopt- 
 ing such only as are necessary for combin- 
 ing exertions in corps, and that can be re- 
 quired or applied in service, regarding all 
 matters of parade and show merely as se- 
 condary objects j to ascertain to all ranks 
 the part each will have to act in every 
 change of situation that can happen, so that 
 explanation may not retard at the moment 
 the execution that should take place ; to en- 
 able the commanding officer of any body of 
 troops, whether great or small, to retain the 
 whole relatively, as it were, in his hand and 
 management, at every instant, so as to be 
 capable of restraining the bad effects of such 
 ideas of independent and individual exer- 
 tion as are visionary and hurtful, and of di- 
 recting them to then- true and proper ob- 
 jects, those of order, of combined effort, 
 and of regulated obedience, by the united 
 force of all which, a well disciplined army 
 can only be defeated. The rules laid down 
 will be found ftw, simple, and adapted to the 
 understanding of every individual; biit they 
 will require perfect attention in all ranks. 
 In the soldier, an equal and cadenced 
 march, acquired and confirmed by habit, 
 independently of music or sound : in the 
 officer, precision and energy of command ; 
 the preservation of just distances; and the 
 accurate leading of divisions on given points 
 of march and formation. These circum- 
 stances, together with the united exertions 
 of ail, will soon attain that precision of 
 movement, w’luch is so essentia4 and with- 
 out which valour alone will not avail.” 
 
 After this, the work in question proceeds 
 to state; “ The reciuit must be carried on 
 progressively ; he should comprehend one 
 thing before he proceeds to another, and he 
 should not be uselessly fatigued ; he is to 
 be trained singly and in squad ; nor is he to 
 be allow’ed to join in battalion until he may 
 be confirmed in every requisite ; for one awk- 
 ward man will frequently derange a whole 
 line.” The incipient parts of instruction, 
 however simple they may appear, are by 
 far the most difficult to inculcate ; but they 
 are of the most imperious consequence: 
 when a good foundation is obtained, the 
 work will proceed with rapidity and firm- 
 ness, and the pupil will, from being sensible 
 how much he has acquired at the onset, 
 move and act, throughout the ulterior stages, 
 with promptitude and confidence. Stand- 
 ing perfectly silent and motionless, fixing 
 his eyes steadily either to the front, or to 
 the right or left, as may be ordered ; dress- 
 
 ing up to the same line with others ; carry 
 ing his body erect, the toes turned out, the 
 limbs firm, but pliant, erect, raised, and his 
 weight rather borne on the fore, than on 
 the hind, parts of the feet, are all matters 
 tending greatly to bis perfectisn. He learns 
 to face to the right and left, or about ; to move 
 forward in a perfectly straight line, with- 
 out losing squareness to the front ; to move 
 obliquely to the right or left under the same 
 precaution ; and to mark time, to step out, 
 or to step short; to change feet when he 
 does not move with the rest of the com- 
 pany ; to close, (or take room,) to the right 
 or left, by the side step ; to change from 
 quick to ordinary time, or vice versa, with 
 unerring readiness ; to march in file ; to 
 wheel either forward or backward ; and, in 
 general, to acquire a habitude of acting in 
 concert with his companions in arms, so as 
 not only to avoid embarrassing them, hut 
 proving a firm support, and becoming a 
 manageable tool in the hands ot his officer. 
 All these are indispensably necessary to be 
 fully acquired : they must be so perfectly 
 familiar as to seem rather tlie effect of in- 
 stinct than of education. ’ 
 
 Thus much being duly attained, the le- 
 cruit is instructed in the nsG of arms, in 
 which he cannot be too periect : the great 
 difficulty is to impress him, in a sufficient 
 manner-, with the advantages of close mo- 
 tion, and of preserving the body from dis- 
 tortion, or change of position, so far as re- 
 lates to uprightness, squareness to the front, 
 and undeviating attention to dressing in 
 line. For it is to be observed, that unless 
 very great strictness be observed on the 
 part of the drill serjeant, the whole course 
 w'ill be perverted by the handling ot the 
 musket. It would not suit our purpose, 
 nor could it be equal to the views of cur 
 readers, were w'e to enter upon all the de- 
 tails, regarding the motions of the firelock ; 
 or what is called the manual exercise ; in 
 the prpseni posture of political affairs, such 
 woidd be perhaps unnecessary ; it having, 
 within these few years, become the duty of 
 many, and the amusement of all, to acquire 
 some knowledge of that branch of disci- 
 pline : we shall therefore proceed to treat 
 pf the firings, which constitute a very prin- 
 cipal part of the soldier’s duty, and greatly 
 interest both the officers commanding di- 
 visions, and those in clrarge of whole batta- 
 lions. A¥e must, at the same time, express 
 our hope, that the frivolous practice of ex- 
 pending so many rounds of light cartridges, 
 will be in time much curtailed ; in order to 
 
TACTICS. 
 
 make way for a more extended practice 
 with ball ; the propriety of enforcing a cor- 
 rectness of aim must be self-evident ; and is 
 considerably enhanced by the little execu- 
 tion done by musketry, as has already been 
 shown. 
 
 Troops are drawn up in tw’O or three 
 ranks, according to the nature of the ser- 
 vice on vvhich they are to be employed, or 
 the enemy to which they are to be opposed. 
 To resist the charge of cavalry, it is found 
 that three ranks are preferable; as is also 
 the case where an enemy advances en 
 masse, or bears down in column ; in this ar- 
 rangement, the front being diminished one 
 third, many objections may be urged under 
 local circnmstances, especially when acting 
 behind entrenchments, when covered by mo- 
 rasses, or when the enemy cannot advance 
 with rapidity in compact heavy bodies. The 
 mode of drawing up in two ranks is pecu- 
 liarly adapted to the foregoing, and on some 
 occasions must be adopted, in spite of every 
 adverse argument, tor the purpose of ex- 
 tending a front; add to this, that both the 
 round and the grape shots, from the ene- 
 my’s artillery, do less execution among two, 
 than when three ranks are opposed to them. 
 When a battalion is drawn up in two ranks, 
 they both fire standing ; but when in three 
 ranks, only the two rear ranks fire, whilst 
 the front kneels, and presents a formidable 
 impediment to the charge of an enemy, 
 both by its reserved fire, and by its line of 
 sloped bayonets. 
 
 According to our improved system of dis- 
 cipline, one officer and one covering ser- 
 jeant perform all the evolutionary duties 
 of each company, when formed in line ; the 
 rest being disposed of in the rear, for the 
 purposes of keeping the men to their duly, 
 and of being in readiness to take command 
 of those lesser portions into which the com- 
 panies occasionally break. By this arrange- 
 ment the utmost precision is secured; espe- 
 cially as select men are placed on the flanks 
 of all the companies, also of their sub-divi- 
 sions and sections, whose dutv it is to regu- 
 late their wheelings, or changes of locality, 
 by constantly preserving the distances and 
 alignements of their respective portions. 
 
 Perhaps among the greatest improve- 
 ments of the day, we may count the mo- 
 dern method of marching by files; formerly 
 this was effected in a kind of open order 
 the leaders giadually gaining distance, so as 
 to give a greater space between the files, 
 under the appreliension of treading on each 
 other’s heels ; bpt it is now the practice to 
 
 make every soldier retain the same dis- 
 tance on all occasions from his neighbours ; 
 hy which means, the right leg of one crosses 
 at tiie side of tlie left leg of the other, and 
 vice versa. It is obvious, that while the 
 leaders were allowed to gain ground, so as 
 to open the distances between the several 
 files, some time was required for the rear 
 files to close up after the front had halted ; 
 and, that if the battalion were to be or- 
 dered to front, while in the act of marching 
 by files, under the old system, it would ap- 
 pear of double its due extent : for they 
 would be so distant as to allow space for an 
 additional file between every man in the 
 ranks. Onr readers cannot fail to perceive 
 the high importance of keeping troops al- 
 ways to the same extent of front as when 
 Termed in line ; for if allowed to vary, from 
 any inattention fo regularity, it would be 
 utterly impossible for the commander to 
 perform his evolutions upon a given scale; 
 or for any dependance to be placed on the 
 ' exertions of a line, (particularly in resisting 
 a charge), of which the solidity, that is, the 
 compactness, could not be ascertained. 
 
 The extreme difficulty which prevails in 
 the ordinary course of actual service, in 
 keeping the due distances between march- 
 ing files, has in a great measure rendered 
 that mode obsolete; besides, the facility 
 with which troops move in small divisions, 
 or even by whole companies, in column, 
 &c. whereby intervals are left between 
 them, tending greatly to the convenience 
 and ease ot the men, certainly gives the lat- 
 ter mode every claim lApreference, except 
 under particular local circnmstances. But 
 even in proceeding by files, it is best to 
 march by fours, causing the files to be 
 doubled previous to stepping oflT. By this 
 means, the whole corps is broken into ranks 
 of four men each, with one space interval 
 between the several ranks. A battalion, 
 thus arranged, is formed in an instant, by 
 tlie files resuming their places. Yet it can- 
 not be said that this method is so eligible as 
 that of marching by divisions, especially 
 when consisting of only two ranks : in such 
 case the front rank moves on with perfect 
 freedom, each man seeing the obstacles he 
 is to surmount many paces before he arrives 
 at them; and tlie rear rank, keeping a well 
 opened distance, is considerably liberated, 
 in consequence of the great interval behind 
 it. Add to this, the promptness with which 
 the line can be formed either to the right 
 or left, by the several divisions wheeling up 
 accordingly. 
 
TACTICS. 
 
 We sliall [now proceed to show the ope- 
 rations of a body of men according to the 
 existing regulations, illustrating the several 
 movements by means of figures, which 
 will be found in Plate XV. Miscellanies : 
 they will suffice to give a general idea of 
 the evolutions of armies on a large scale, 
 as well as of small parties, the principles of 
 motion being the same in both. 
 
 'I’lie first matter requiring consideration 
 is the. act of wheeling, which may be per- 
 formed either to a given point, say to the 
 right ; or on a given point, say on the left ; 
 in either case the front will be to the right. 
 .But when a body of men has wheeled to 
 the right, as A, in fig. 11 . changing place to 
 B, and that it be required to wheel up into 
 line, i. e. to the left, such body will have 
 gained both to the right and to the front 
 equally ; the intermediate angle being 90”, 
 and the third position, C, standing at an an- 
 gle of 45° from the position, A. Conse- 
 quently a succession of wheeling, to the 
 riglit and left alternately, will occasion the 
 several positions, in succession, to represent 
 an escalier, or flight of steps. It requires, 
 therefore, but little demonstration to show 
 the utility of wheeling backward on the 
 left, in the first instance, to proceed along 
 an aligneinent, O Q ; because the troops, by 
 wheeling to the left, would always come up 
 to the line of their left hand pivots (or files.) 
 Simple as it may seeni, this precaution is 
 not yet sufficiently understood, or, at least, 
 not invariably attended to ; whereby many 
 oblique movements are made to remedy the 
 error thus generated. 
 
 But troops do not always make a full 
 wheel, i. e. of 90”, in many instances, as in 
 fig. 12; v/here an oblique position, D, is to 
 be taken, the whole line, F, wheels by small . 
 divisions, only an octave, i. e. the eighth of 
 the circle, corresponding with 45”, and thus 
 show a succession of fronts, like the teeth 
 of a saw, all parallel to the new position of 
 45”. This is called eghellon (a French term, 
 signifying tlie steps of a ladder). Where 
 the angle of the new position is more or less 
 acute than 45”, the wheel may be made to 
 correspond nearly therewith ; so that, when 
 the different divisions marcli to their seve- 
 ral places in the new line, they may move 
 fully to their fronts, and come up square 
 into their places. Where the ground is 
 bad, and that file marching is necessary, the 
 line may wheel to the riglit in eghellon, to 
 the requisite angle, to point the left flanks 
 of the divisions to Ihcir proper situations in 
 the new line, F. When the right or left 
 
 flank of a corps is the pivot for. the new di- 
 rection, it becomes a point d’appui, and the 
 division nearest thereto is arranged properly 
 upon the new line, wliere it remains as a 
 guide for the others, w’hich, arriving in suc- 
 cession, prolong the new front. Tiie eghellon 
 movement may be considered peculiarly 
 safe, af the same time tliat they are rapid 
 and regular; tlie line may be tbnned in- 
 stantly, provided the leaders of the se- 
 veral divisions preserve their appropriate 
 distances. 
 
 It is to be remarked, that eghellon move- 
 ments may be made in any direction, whe- 
 ther to front or rear ; the divisions wheeling 
 to front or rear accordingly ; thus, in tia. 13, 
 vyhich represents a change of from G to H, 
 as the new direction runs tiirough tiie old 
 one, tliose divisions which are to be in front 
 wheel forward, while those which are to be 
 in the rear of the first position, G, face 
 about, and wheel towards the rear ; ob- 
 serving that the whole wheel the same 
 way, i. e. to the right. The two companies 
 nearest the line, H, may be previously 
 posted thereon to advantage, so as to be 
 settled by the time tiie word is given for the 
 others to march. When those of the rear 
 have come to their places, tliey face about 
 to the front, and dress. And here it is ne- 
 cessary to remark, that the exterior flank of 
 every company, after been settled in its 
 post, become the point d’appui for the next 
 which is to arrive, and to place itself on 
 that flank ; but that the officer always 
 looks from the point d’appui towards some 
 object, such as a banneret, or a staff of- 
 ficer, See. fixed as a guide for the aligne- 
 ment, at that point, which is to be on the 
 flank, as at S S in this example. 
 
 The column, which is one of the most 
 frequent and important figures of the tactic 
 system, may be found in a variety of modes; 
 the most ordinary is by wheeling, eirlier 
 wholly, or in eghellon ; but it is often useful 
 to form it, by the march of divisions in files 
 towards their posts, as shown in fig. 14. 
 When this is done, three files (the leading 
 ones) of each division turn towards their 
 new stations, at whicli their several pivot- 
 men are ready placed ; the whole, when 
 ordered, march towards tho.se men, and 
 wiien the division, on which the column 
 forms, is duly covered, each company, in 
 succession, fronts in conformity with tliat 
 division. 
 
 This figure shows a battalion, he. form- 
 ing upon its sixth company, the left in 
 front; to effect this, the five divisions, on 
 
the right, filjc.from their left flanks, and pro- 
 ceed to place themselves behind the sixth 
 company ; while the two companies of the 
 left, file from their right flanks towards the 
 front, and cover. Our readers will per- 
 ceive, that this is on the same principle as 
 the change of front already described ; in 
 fact, the formation of a column is tanta- 
 mount thereto ; it being obvious, that the 
 one unavoidably prepares for the other. In 
 this we suppose the operation to be done 
 in a proper manner; for a column may be 
 easily formed, having its flanks reversed, so 
 that, when ordered to wheel up into line, 
 the flanks of companies will all be mis- 
 placed ; tliis is called, “ clubbing a batta- 
 lion,*’ meaning, that it is thrown into a state 
 of confusion. 
 
 The column ma}’, with great advantage, 
 be formed from the centre of a battalion, 
 the colours moving forward, supported by 
 the two adjunct companies, the residue of 
 each wing facing inwards, and following its 
 respective leading company. Thus the 
 whole will exhibit a column of grand divi- 
 sions, each of which is formed ota company 
 from either wing. Ifhcn the column is to 
 be of only one company in width, the re- 
 serve leads off with the colours, and the 
 companies of either wing follow alternate- 
 ly ; in this manner the ten companies will 
 all be separated. To form the line from 
 such a column, it is usual either to face the 
 whole outward, excepting the leading divi- 
 sion, and causing each to move out direct 
 to the direct parallel of its place in line, or- 
 der them respectively to front, and move 
 up in sncccssion : or upon the whole facing 
 outward, they may be led by files to their 
 several stations. MTicn the column is in 
 narrow bounds, from w.hich it cannot de- 
 ploy (or unfold) in either of the above 
 modes, the centre must halt, or step short, 
 while the several divisions close np thereto, 
 and then wheel, or face, to the right and left, 
 according to the wings they may belong to, 
 and countermarch along the rear until they 
 arrive opposite to their respective stations 
 in line. Fig. 15, shows the deploy from a 
 column of grand divisions ; the companies 
 of the right wing proceeding straight for- 
 ward to their parallels ; the companies of 
 the left wing leading by files into line. 
 Fig. 16, shows a column of companies alter- 
 nately from the right and left wings; the 
 right wing making a half wheel into e^hcllon 
 of whole companies, which as they arrive at 
 the point d’appui dress np into line ; the 
 companies of the left wing not having 
 
 space for deploying, move up nearly to the 
 rear of the centre, wheel to left, connter- 
 tnarch along the rear of those divisions 
 which precede them respectively, and ar- 
 riving at the point d'appui, wheel to the 
 right into line. 
 
 Hie column of grand divisions cannot al- 
 ways proceed ; otherwise it would be by 
 far the most eligible for the march of single 
 battalions, in situations where the enemy’s 
 cavalry might make an attack ; the grand 
 divisions should all close up to half dis- 
 tance, so that w'hen ordered to wheel np 
 and form the square, they might leave no 
 gap in either of the flank faces ; the two 
 rear companies moving up to the spot on 
 which the grand division immediately pre- 
 ceding them wheeled off, right and left ; 
 the front companies, halting daring the- 
 wheel, and closing up to the centre as the 
 reserve, with the colours, passes into their 
 rear. When there are guqs with a bat- 
 talion, they move on such occasion to the 
 angles mo.st liable to be attacked ; four 
 pieces of cannon are needful to render a 
 square perfectly safe; but, for their accom- 
 modation, it will be necessary for each 
 face to move forward seven paces ; where- 
 by the interior of the square will be greatly 
 increased, and space given for ihe cannon 
 to be served at the angles ; this evolution 
 is exhibited under fig. 17. 
 
 The column cn pofcnce, that is in form of 
 a gibbet, is peculiarly deceptive; espe- 
 cially when that column is a close one, 
 havingno intervals between the companies ; 
 in this the whole form one solid mass. If 
 discovered, the enemy will certainly direct 
 their artillery towards it; thereby doing 
 
 great execution. The great object of tliis 
 
 formation is to push forward a strong force 
 against some particular point, so as to bear 
 down whatever opposes it, or suddenly to 
 form a flank where a charge of cavalry is 
 expected ; in the latter case, the rear divi- 
 sion of the column halts until there i.s space 
 enough for it to wheel, (to the right, if to 
 secure the right flank) and, as each division 
 does the same in succession, it is evident a 
 line is formed, at right angles with the 
 front line, which keeps moving on until all 
 the divisions of the column have wheeled. 
 We have shown, in fig. 18, how this is done 
 on tlie right flank ; while on the left we 
 have shown an eghellon flank, which moves 
 with more ease than the close column, 
 and is not subject to so much mischief 
 from the enemy’s artillery ; but this is not 
 so deceptive ; however it affords the ad- 
 
TACTICS. 
 
 ▼antage of being ready either to form a 
 flank, by wheeling backwards an octave, 
 or to move forward into line ; which can- 
 not be* done from a close column without 
 deploying. 
 
 When a column is advancing towards an 
 enemy, it is proper that its cannon should 
 precede it, to clear the way by their fire ; 
 but when retreating, the cannon should be 
 in the rear, to check pursuit. The passage 
 of rivers is generally conducted on the same 
 principle ; adverting to one point, where a 
 choice can be made ; viz. always to cross at 
 a re-entering bend of , -the stream, as shotvn 
 in fig. 19, by reference to which it will be 
 seen, that in crossing from A to B, tlie pas- 
 sage cannot be flanked by the enemy ; while 
 it is defended by the troops which first 
 cross : change the position, and cross from 
 B to A, and the enemy will flank the pas- 
 sage, which you cannot defend ; because 
 they will enfilade whatever troops or can- 
 non you post for that purpose ; they having 
 the command of a greater extent of front 
 than yourself in the latter instance. 
 
 One of the most arduous situations in 
 which an officer can be placed is the cover- 
 ing, or conducting, of a convoy ; especially 
 when heavy carriages are in question. A 
 numerous convoy can rarely travel more 
 than six or seven miles within the day, how- 
 ever favourable the roads may be ; unless 
 it may be practicable to draw two or three 
 carriages abreast, which can be practicable 
 on plains only ; for whenever a pinch or de- 
 file might present itself, so as to occasion 
 only one carriage to proceed at a time, 
 though only for a few feet, as in passing a 
 narrow bridge, it would have the same ef- 
 fect as if the whole day’s journey were per- 
 formed in single trains : this is not the case 
 in chainpain situations, because one column 
 of waggons may keep moving on while ano- 
 ther is stopt ; and, if a carriage should break 
 down, others may pass round it : in this 
 way the columns should not be far distant. 
 When we consider that a hundred waggons 
 will cover a mile in leiiglh, we cannot but 
 admire the frequent success of officers, per- 
 haps with only four or five battalions under 
 their command, in conducting convoys of 
 many hundreds of heavy carriages, through 
 an exposed country, from one place to an- 
 other ; sometimes, indeed, for full an hun- 
 dred miles. On such service it is highly 
 necessary to have a body of cavalry ; else 
 every little party of the enemy’s horse 
 would subject the convoy to perpetual dan- 
 ger and delay. 
 
 When a general expects a convoy, he 
 must favour its approach and safety by 
 every possible means : one of the best de- 
 vices is, that of threatening an attack ; so 
 as to prevent the enemy from detaching his 
 cavalry. When the convoy is near, and it 
 is suspected that an attempt will be made 
 to cut it off by a sudden movement, the ge- 
 neral must, if circumstances admit, make 
 one retrograd_e march with his whole force 
 to meet it ; or, if that be not practicable, 
 he may send orders for it to follow such 
 route as may be most under cover, or best 
 removed from the danger of assault. We 
 often see instances of a campaign being de- 
 cided by the safe arrival, or vice versa^ by 
 the loss of, a convoy. The utmost skill 
 sometimes cannot oppose the overbearing 
 prowess of superior power ; but, as we al- 
 ways suppose an army to place itself be- 
 tween its expected supplies and the enemy, 
 it is evident, that if of equal forc^, every 
 advantage is on its side ; for the enemy, 
 having a greater distance to inarch, when 
 about to attack a convoy, than the de- 
 fenders have to proceed to its rescue, and 
 any detached party being liable to destruc- 
 tion while passing round the flank, it is evi- 
 dent, that by retaining the intermediate si- 
 tuation, we may generally afford every ne- 
 cessary protection. When it happens other- 
 wise, we commonly find, that the enemy 
 are superior in cavalry, which they detach 
 to a great distance to intercept the convoy, 
 while their infantry remains in some strong 
 position. In such case a retreat is indis- 
 pensably necessary, and reliance must be 
 placed in the commander of the convoy, (if 
 he is warned of the enemy’s approach) be- 
 ing able either to take refuge under the 
 walls of some fortified place ; or, on his 
 taking possession of some village, or form- 
 ing a barrier against the enemy, by drawing 
 up his waggons, &c. to the best advantage : 
 in such case he is virtually entrenched ; his 
 cattle and troops being within an area im- 
 penetrable to cavalry, and furnishing an ex- 
 cellent cover for the keeping up a most de- 
 structive fire on the assailants. If he can 
 command a supply of water, he may do 
 wonders ; at all events, he may easily hold 
 out until relieved. 
 
 A retreat, well managed, is usually more 
 favourable than a dear earned victory. To 
 insure the means of retreating, without con- 
 siderable loss, a second, or even a third, 
 line may be requisite : at all events, a re- 
 serve of select troops, with a good park of 
 artiUery, chiefly supplied with grape and 
 
•I 
 
 TACTICS. 
 
 case-sliot, will be indispensable. Tlic post- 
 ing a reserve requires great judgment, both 
 in regard to the enemy’s designs, and the 
 temper of your own troops. 
 
 , The celebrated retreat of Moreau, 
 through the Black Forest, placed him, ipso 
 facto, on a footing with the greatest con- 
 querors of the day ; it tore from his oppo- 
 nent’s brows those laurels which tlie latter 
 claimed, in consequence of having urged 
 the French general to quit the open coun- 
 try. In that instance, however, it may, 
 perhaps, be said, and not without some 
 show of Justice, that the nature of the coun- 
 try was greatly in favour of the latter ; but, 
 on the other hand, it must be taken into 
 account, tliat, unless most skilfully managed, 
 a retreat before a very superior force must 
 have been peculiarly dangerous, especially 
 to the cavalry : we may, indeed, admire 
 that system of tactics, which enabled Mo- 
 reau to save his artillery and baggage. To 
 do this, it is evident he must have shown a 
 firm front, so arranged, that his opponent 
 dared not to venture an attack. The ex- 
 cellence of the manoeuvre consisted in the 
 deceptions practised ; for it was not until 
 that movement, when Moreau had secured 
 his baggage and artillery, and, as it were, 
 buried his army among the wildernesses, 
 that the Austrian general could believe it 
 possible for the French to escape being 
 captured. Tlie device used, was a feint to 
 escape along the skirts of the forest, which 
 occasioned a change of position in the Aus- 
 strian camp, and left Moreau at liberty to 
 push in the opposite direction towards a 
 pass, scarcely, indeed, passable for car- 
 riages, and thus to defy pursuit; however 
 it answered his purpose, for he escaped 
 with his whole army. 
 
 We cannot close this article withotit 
 showing how essentially a well chosen posi- 
 tion contributes to success. Where an ar- 
 my is weak in cavalry, it should invariably 
 be parted so that, at least, one of its flanks 
 may be covered from the enemy’s horse. 
 By this means, if its own cavalry be held 
 in reserve, or nearly so, but with full 
 powers to support the open wing, the 
 enemy must be kept in suspense, as to the 
 point to which it will direct its charge ; and 
 be compelled, in many instances, to keep 
 his horse divided, for the purpose of op- 
 poyiig that charge on either flank. A flank 
 may be securely covered by a town, duly 
 defended by infantry ; or by a river ; a mo- 
 rass ; a fhi( k wood : a steep hill, having a 
 battery duly posted ; or even by broken 
 
 ground. , In some instances, a slight in. 
 trcnchment may be necessary. 
 
 Tactics, mml, relate to those opera- 
 tions in the management of a vessel, which 
 enable her to attain any particular object, 
 such as reaching a port, avoiding danger, 
 gaining an advantage over an enemy, &c. 
 In a more extended sense, they denote 
 those manoeuvres, stratagems, and decep- 
 tions, employed by the commander of a 
 fleet, for the purpose of gaining a weather- 
 gage, cutting off any part of a line, or 
 attacking any particular portion thereof, in 
 such manner as may either defeat the views 
 of a hostile fleet, or subject it to loss and 
 discomfiture. The old system of tactics in 
 this, as well as in the military branch, was 
 burthened with ceremonies, and with re- 
 ceived opinions, which were held to be in- 
 violable : the difference of one or two ships 
 in favour of the enemy, was considered a 
 sufficient excuse for a variety of precau- 
 tions generally amounting to forbearance 
 from engaging the superior power; and, 
 although we certainly can count a number 
 of gallant exploits performed by our fleets 
 when somewhat interior to the enemy, it 
 has been reserved for latter times to exhibit 
 what could be done by the British navy, 
 even when opposed to nearly double their 
 own force. This wonderful change was in- 
 troduced by Rodney; who, in the year 1782, 
 engaged the French fleet under Count de 
 Grasse ; when by boldly cutting off a part 
 of its rear, he compelled nearly half the 
 enemy’s force to surrender ; the rest sought 
 their safety in flight. Since that date. Ad- 
 miral Jervis, by a skilful manoeuvre, cut off 
 a large portion of a Spanish fleet, near 
 Cape St. Vincent’s, (whence the peerage 
 bestowed on him received its designation;) 
 but the late Lord Nelson appears most con- 
 spicuous in that mode of attack which, in 
 general, secured a victory. The battle of 
 the Nile was doubtless a master piece of 
 tactical science ; it merits notice from its 
 simplicity, and, if we may be so bold as to 
 use the term, its infallibility. The manoeu- 
 vre he used was, to throw two of his ships 
 upon every one of the weather-most of the 
 enemy’s line, by causing his fleet to divide 
 as it approached them ; consequently in- 
 cluding each French ship between two of 
 ours, fliie residue, which were moored in 
 a line a head, fully expected to see ours 
 lange up their whole length, and oppose 
 ship to ship. They saw their error when it 
 was too late ; being to leeward, it was im- 
 possible for them to render efficient' aid, 
 
•• } '/m. 
 
 
 t V -r.y 
 
 'V 
 
 TACTICS. 
 
 and they fell in detail ; vrith the exception 
 of a very small portion, which escaped by 
 putting out to «ea, whither we were not itr 
 a condition to follow with any hopes ot 
 overtaking them. See fig. 20. 
 
 In the famous battle of Trafalgar, in 
 which the immortal Nelson quitted his 
 earthly frame, the combined fleeU were 
 drawn up in the form of a crescent, and 
 awaited our attack, which was made in a 
 double column, apparently bearing down 
 upon their centre. This novel mode of 
 coming into action kept the enemy com- 
 pletely in suspense : it threatened every pai t 
 of their line. If our two columns had turned 
 the same way, tiiey would have been able 
 to do infinite damage in that quarter, be- 
 fore the other wing of the enemy could 
 come up to succour their overpowered 
 friends : if the two columns should cut 
 through the centre, tliey must destroy it, 
 and eft’ectually separate the two wings, so 
 as to leave them ignorant of each other’s 
 fate. Such was the fact: the enemy, though 
 superior in numbers, lost no less than nine- 
 teen sail of the line. The reader may form 
 some conception of that glorious event by 
 a reference to fig. 21. 
 
 Perhaps nothing can place a fleet in a 
 more dangerous state, and render it less 
 able to resist an attack, than making sail 
 before the wind, in aline of battle a-head, 
 to avoid a pursuing enemy. In such a case, 
 whenever the rear of that line can be 
 brought to action, it becomes subject to an 
 accumulating force, in consequence of the 
 pursuing fleet thickening upon it; while 
 the van of its own line, being to leeward, 
 must make many tacks, or at least two long 
 ones, before it can succour its rear. The 
 disadvantage must be very great even if all 
 the ships, on both sides, sail upon an exact 
 equality; but, as that is never the case, 
 many of the flying ships will be probably 
 driven completely to leeward, and never be 
 able to afford the smallest assistance. Yet 
 British seamen, even when compelled fo 
 retire before a very superior force, gene- 
 rally manage, by some well contiived de- 
 vice, to intimidate their pursuers, or to put 
 on so good a face, as to convince them of 
 the dear price at which the victory is to be 
 bought. Of this we cannot quote a more 
 appropriate instance than the escape of five 
 sail of our ships, under the command of 
 Admiral Cornwallis, from no less than nine- 
 teen sail of French ships of the Ime: an 
 escape resulting entirely from the raanocn- 
 vrea of the British Admiral ; whereby he 
 
 fully conviuced the French that a larga 
 force was at hand. 
 
 The present unparalleled State of dis- 
 cipline, throughout our navy, would, of it- 
 self give us the command of the ocean ; 
 but we are greatly indebted, at the same 
 time, to an excellent code of signals, both 
 for the day and the night, whereby every 
 operation and nianceiivre, may be directed 
 with readiness and perspicuity. The day- 
 signals are, for the most part, made by flags, 
 jacks, and pennants; the night signals by 
 lanterns, blue lights, maroons, &c.: in both, 
 the firing of guns, either to windward or 
 to leeward, occasionally is added. When 
 fleets are large, or their duty extensive, 
 especially in cruizing to intercept a convoy 
 of merchant vessels, &c. there are repeating 
 frigates, which display the several signals 
 made by the commander; so that they may 
 be communicated to all the vessels ; every 
 signal being kept flying until answered by 
 all ships to which they may relate. 
 
 We sliall now offer to our readers some 
 minutia; relative to the fighting of a ship, 
 under ordinary circumstances; observing, 
 that under the head of Navigation much 
 will be found to instruct the learner in as- 
 certaining a vessel’s course, way, &e. ; aud 
 under the, head of Quadrant what relates 
 to the common mode of taking observa- 
 tions, for the purpose of ascertaining a ves- 
 sel’s locality. 
 
 When orders are given to “ clear ship for 
 action,” the boatswain and his mates whis- 
 tle, and call, at the various hatchways, to 
 warn all who are between decks : the ham- 
 mocks, or beds, are instantly unhooked, 
 packed, and sent on deck, to be put into 
 the nettings on the waist, forecastle, quar- 
 ters, poop, &c. where they serve as an ex- 
 cellent defence against musketry. While 
 some of the seamen are thus employed be- 
 tween decks, others are aloft seeming the 
 yards in chain slings, so as to prevent them 
 from falling when the haul-yards may be 
 severed by cannon shot ; materials for re- 
 pairing the rigging are also placed in readi- 
 ness ; shot-tdiigs, for stopping holes near, 
 or under, the surface of the water, are dis- 
 pensed; and every attention is paid to 
 ascertain that the pumps are. in order, so 
 as to clear the hold in case of leaks. The 
 decks are cleared of every incumbrance, by 
 the removal of chests, &c. into the bold; 
 the various gun-tackles are inspected ; and 
 all the necessary implements, such as pow- 
 der-ladles, worms, rammers, sponges, &c. 
 are duly supplied. All being ready, the sur- 
 
Tactics. 
 
 jTOh tind his mate, together with the chest 
 of medicines, inslniments, bandages, &c. are 
 prepared in the cock-pit ; that is, down the 
 hatchway, below the ordinary reach of the 
 enemy’s shot. The otBcers and men repair 
 to their posts, the powder-room is opened, 
 the hatches are all laid, the marines drawn 
 up on the forecastle, quarter-deck, and 
 poop, the guns are run out and levelled, 
 and the courses, (that is, the lower sails) 
 are clued up, to prevent their being set on 
 tire by the dischaips from the cannon; 
 also to render the ship more manageable. 
 
 The greatest attention is always paid to 
 taking a good aim before a gun is fired ; 
 that every shot may hit some part of the 
 enemy’s hull ; the nearer to the water’s edge 
 the better. The captain, master, purser, 
 &c. remain on deck to fight the ship, and 
 to note down all occurrences, while the sig- 
 nal-master attends to and answers what- 
 ever signals may be tlirown out by the 
 commander of the fleet, or division. It is 
 ever a primary object to place the ship in 
 such a position as may annoy the enemy 
 most ; yet, at the same moment, evade his 
 principal defences: this is best done by 
 laying diagonally upon her quarter, or bow, 
 and especially across her stern, so as to 
 rake her fore and aft ; whereby her guns 
 will soon be dismounted, and the men driven 
 fl'om their quar ters. 
 
 This description of the manner in which 
 the battle is carried on by each ship, will 
 serve as an illustration of the whofe ; but it 
 may be necessary to add, that the disposi- 
 tion of a fleet must be suited to the posi- 
 tion the adversary may have assumed. 
 When an enemy opposes a direct line, op- 
 posite to that of his own fleet, the admiral 
 rarely does more than make the signal for 
 line of battle abreast, perhaps a cable’s 
 length asunder, thus coming at once to 
 close engagement, ship opposed to ship, 
 rather the two fleets intermixed alter 
 
 iiafely, their heads laying different ways ; 
 if they should pass each other, it is usual to' 
 put about, and resume the engagement in 
 the fame manner. When the enemy bear 
 down in a line a head, it is customary to 
 receive them in the same manner, to pre- 
 vent their cutting off a part of the line • 
 this depends greatly on the direction of the 
 wind : but if it be on the beam, that is full 
 on the side; or in any direction affording*- 
 the means of aiding your van, without d(> 
 lay, by a press of sail, such a mode of at- 
 tack will subject the enemy to liave his 
 own line cut, as was done by Rodnev • 
 
 or doubled upon, as it? the battle of the 
 Nile. 
 
 Diiring an engagement, the courses are 
 commonly hauled up, as before stated ; the 
 top-gallant-sails and stay sails are also furled. 
 The movement of each ship is chiefly regu- 
 lated by the main and fore-top sails, and the 
 jib, reserving the mizen to fill, or to be 
 thrown aback, as an aid, either to accelerate 
 the ship, or as a check to prevent her pass- 
 ing the enemy. The frigates, tenders, and 
 other small vessels generally lay to, or 
 hover about in the rear, to repeat signals, 
 or to aid crippled ships. These, not being 
 considered as ships of the line, are not 
 attacked, except by vessels of their own 
 class ; therefore, when a fleet is not w'ell 
 manned, it is common to take all the spare 
 hands from such to assist on board the fight- 
 ing ships. When a fleet is superior in num- 
 bers, it is proper to keep some of them in 
 reserve, stationing them behind the weaker 
 parts of the line to succour such as may, by 
 the loss of masts, &c. become unmanage- 
 able, and to take advantage of any opportu- 
 nity to chase, and lay aboard of whatever 
 ■of the enemy’s ships may quit the line for 
 the purpose of escaping. In order to ob- 
 serve what is going on, the admiral gene- 
 rally removes to some frigate, on board 
 which he hoists his flag ; near him should 
 be some of the best sailing cutters, brigs, 
 &c. to convey orders which could not be 
 accurately delivered by signal, or by tele- 
 graph. 
 
 Boarding is most commonly resorted to 
 y piivateers, in their attacks upon mer- 
 chant vessels; but among ships of the line 
 IS raiely practised. Our commanders are 
 perhaps more forward than those of any 
 other nation, except the Turks, in this 
 kind of enterprke, which is replete with 
 hazard. The'best mode of boarding, espe- 
 cially if there be any swell, is to keep on 
 the enemy’s weather quarter; now and 
 then, if the sailing of your ship will allow 
 yawing, so as to throw your fire into her 
 stern : when, by this means, you have done 
 any execution, it will be proper to pass 
 close under the enemy’s stern, raking her 
 lore and aft with your guns double shotted 
 and then lay her aboard upon her lee beam’ 
 having your tops well manned to fire 
 upon the enemy’s decks, on which also 
 gienadcs, stink-pots, fire-balls, &c. should 
 be discharged. Having grappled the ship 
 to your adversary’s chains, your boarders 
 jump into her, under the cover of the fire 
 of your small arms. In case of repulse. 
 
T7ENIA. 
 
 the attack to leeward is most favourable to 
 the retreat of your men ; besides, it is far 
 easier to cast off from tlie enemy, than 
 it would be if you were to windward of 
 her. 
 
 TiENIA, in natural history, tape-worm j 
 body flat, and composed of numerous arti- 
 culations ; head with four orifices for suc- 
 tion, a little below the mouth : mouth ter- 
 minal, continued by a short tube into two 
 ventral canals, and generally crowned with a 
 double series of retractile hooks or holders. 
 Gmelin has enumerated almost one huri- 
 dred species, besides varieties r he has di- 
 vided them into sections. A. Those found 
 in other parts besides the intestines, and 
 furnished with a vesicle behind. B. Those 
 found in the intestines only, and without a 
 terminal vesicle. C. Those with the head 
 unarmed with hooks. The worms of the 
 first section are found infesting Mammalia, 
 reptiles, and fish. Those of the second sec- 
 tion are found in the Mammalia, in birds, 
 and in fish ; and those of the third section 
 infest Mammalia, birds, reptiles, and fish. 
 This genus of worms are destined to feed 
 on the juices of various animals, and ate 
 usually found in the alimentary canal, gene- 
 rally at the upper part of it. They are 
 sometimes found in great numbers, and oc- 
 casion the most distressing disorders. They 
 have the power of reproducing parts which 
 have been broken off, and are therefore 
 removed with the utmost difficulty : they 
 are oviparous, and discharge their eggs from 
 the apertures on the joints. We shall give a 
 few of the more remarkable species. 
 
 1. T. visceralis, which is inclosed in a 
 vesicle, broad in the fore part, and pointed 
 in the hinder part; inhabits the liver, the 
 placenta uterina, and the sac which con- 
 tains the superfluous fluid of dropsical per- 
 sons. 2. T. cellulosa, which is inclosed in a 
 cartilaginous vesicle, inhabiting the cellular 
 substance of the muscles ; is about an inch 
 long, half an inch broad, and one-fourth of 
 an inch thick, and is very tenacious of life. 
 
 3. T. dentata, has a pointed head; the 
 large joints are streaked transversely, and 
 the small joints are all dilated; the oscuhim 
 or opening in the middle of both margins is 
 somewhat raised. It is narrow, ten or 
 twelve feet long, and broad in the fore 
 parts : its ovaria are not visible to the naked 
 eye; and the head underneath resembles a 
 heart in shape. It inhabits the intestines. 
 
 4. T. lata, is white, with joints very short 
 and knotty in the middle ; the osculum is 
 solitary. It is from eighteen to ooe hun- 
 
 dred and twenty feet long; its joints are 
 streaked transversely; its ovaria are dis- 
 posed like the petals of a rose. 5. T- 
 vulgaris, has two lateral mouths in each 
 joint ; it attaches itself so fiinily to the in- 
 testines, that it can scarcely be removed by 
 the most violent medicines; it is slender, 
 and has the appearance of being mem- 
 branaceous ; it is somewhat pellucid, from 
 ten to sixteen feet long, and about four 
 lines and a half broad at one end. 6. T, 
 trnttae, which chiefly inhabits the liver of 
 the trout, but is also to be fomid in the in- 
 testines of the human species. 7. T. so- 
 lium, has a marginal mouth, one on each 
 joint. 8. , T. ovilla, found in the liver 
 and omentum of sheep. 9. T. celebralis 
 is aggregate ; numerous animalcules united 
 by their base to a large common vesicle, 
 distributed about the surface and retractile 
 within it. This is found in vast numbers in 
 the brain, or spinal marrow, immediately 
 beneath the brain of sheep. Tlrese no- 
 xious animalcules occasion giddiness and 
 staggering, and the disease known by the 
 name of the dunt or rickets: which if the 
 containing vesicle be broken, is inonrable ; 
 for these minute worms, in size scarcely 
 larger than a grain of sand, are each of 
 them furnished with from thirty-two to 
 thirty-six hooks on the head, by which they 
 fix themselves firmly to the substance of 
 the brain, or its coats. 
 
 Tlie structure and pljysiology of the tae- 
 nia are curious, and it may be amusing as 
 well as instructive to consider it with at- 
 tention. The tcenia appears destined to 
 feed upon such juices of animals as are al- 
 ready animalized ; and is therefore most 
 commonly found in the alimentary canal, 
 and in the upper part, where there is the 
 greatest abundance of chyle ; for chyle 
 seems to be the natural food of the toenia. 
 As it is thus supported by food which is al- 
 ready digested, it is destitute of the com- 
 plicated organs of digestion. As the TJ 
 solium is most frequent in this country,, it 
 may be proper to describe it more particu- 
 larly. 
 
 It is from three to thirty feet long, some 
 say sixty feet. It is composed of a head 
 in which are a mouth adapted to drink up 
 fluids, and an apparatus for giving the head 
 a fixed situation. The bod)' is composed 
 of a great number of distinct pieces arti- 
 culated together, each joint having an or- 
 gan by which it attaches itself to the neigh- 
 bouring part of the hmer coat of the intes- 
 tine, Tire joints nearest the head are al- 
 
T^N TAF 
 
 V’ays small, and they become gradually en- of the animal. As it has no excretory 
 larged as they are further removed from it j ducts, it would appear that the whole of its 
 but towards the tail a few of the last joints alimentary fluid is fit for nourishment; the 
 again become diminished in size. The ex- decayed parts probably dissolve into a fluid 
 tremity of tiie body is terminated by a which transudes through the skin, which is 
 small semicircular Joint, which has no open- extremely porous. 
 
 ing m it. This animal has nothing resembling a 
 
 The head of this animat is composed of brain or nerves, and seems to have no or- 
 
 the same kind of materials as the other 
 parts of its body ; it has a rounded opening 
 at its extremity, which is considered to be 
 its mouth. This opening is continued by a 
 short duct into two canals; these canals 
 pass round every joint of the animat’s body, 
 and convey the aliment. Surrounding the 
 opening of the mouth are placed a number 
 of projecting radii, which are of a fibrous 
 texture, whose direction is longitudinal. 
 These radii appear- to serve the purpose of 
 tentacula for fixing the orifice of the mouth, 
 as well as that of muscles to expand the ca- 
 vity of the mouth, from their being insert- 
 ed along the brim of that opening. After 
 the rounded extremity or head has been 
 narrowed into the neck, the lower part be- 
 comes flatted, and has two small tubercles 
 placed upon each flatted side ; the tuber- 
 cles are concave in the middle, and appear 
 destined to serve the purpose of suckers for 
 . attaching the head more efiectually. Tire 
 internal structme of the joints composing 
 the body of this animal is partly vascular 
 and partly cellular ; the substance itself is 
 white, and somewhat resembles in its tex- 
 ture the coagulated lymph of the human 
 blood. The alimentary canal passes along 
 each side of the animal, sending a cross ca- 
 nal over the bottom of each joint, which 
 connects the two lateral canals together. 
 
 Mr. Carlisle injected with a coloured 
 size, by a single push with a, small syringe, 
 three feet in lengtli of these canals, in the 
 direction from the mouth downwards. He 
 tried the injection the contrary way, but it 
 seemed to be stopped by valves. The ali- 
 mentary canal is impervious at the extreme 
 joint, where it terminates without any open- 
 ing analogous to an anus. Each joint has a 
 vascular joint occupying the middle part, 
 which is composed of a longitudinal canal, 
 from which a great inimber of lateral canals 
 blanch off at right angles. These canals 
 contain a fluid like milk. 
 
 The taenia seems to be one of the sim- 
 plest vascular animals in nature. The way 
 in which it is nourished is singular; the 
 food being taken in by tlie mouth, passes 
 into the alimentary canal, and is thus made 
 to visit in a general way the different parts 
 
 gans of sense but those of touch. It is 
 most probably propagated by ova, wliich 
 may easily pass along the circulating vessels 
 of other animals. We cannot otherwise 
 explain the phenomena of worms being 
 found in the eggs of fowls, and in the intes- 
 tines of a foetus before birth, except by 
 supposing their ova to have passed throngti 
 the circulating vessels of tlie mother, and 
 by this means been conveyed to the foetus. 
 
 The chance of an ovum being placed in 
 a situation where it will be hatched, and 
 the young find convenient subsistance, must 
 be very small; hence the necessity for their 
 being very prolific. If they had the same 
 povyers of being prolific which they now 
 have, and their ova were afterwards very 
 readily hatched, then the multiplication of 
 these animals would be immense, and be- 
 come a nuisance to the other parts of the 
 creation. 
 
 Another mode of increase allowed to t»- 
 nia (if we may call it increase) is by an ad- 
 dition to the number of their joints. If wo 
 consider the individual joints, as distinct be- 
 ings, it is so ; and w hen we reflect upon the 
 power of generation given to each joint, it 
 makes this conjecture the more probable. 
 We can hardly suppose that an ovum of a 
 tmnia, which at its full growth is thirty feet 
 long, and composed of four hundred joints, 
 contained a young taenia composed of this 
 number of pieces ; but we have seen young 
 tcEiii® not half a foot long, and not possess- 
 ed of fifty joints, which still were entire 
 worms. We have also many reasons to be- 
 lifeve, that when a part of this animal is 
 broken off from the rest, it is capable of 
 forming a head for itself, and becomes an 
 independent being. The simple construc- 
 tion of the head makes its regeneration a 
 much more easy operation than that of the 
 tails and feet of lizards, which are composed 
 of bones and complicated vessels ; but this 
 last operation has been proved by the ex- 
 periments of Spallanzani and many other 
 naturalists. 
 
 TAFFETY, in commerce, a fine smooth 
 s'lken stuff, remarkably glossy. See Silk. 
 lliere are talfeties of all colours, some plain, 
 and others striped with gold, silver, &c> 
 
Sorex riiuwtii<? : minute t^hrew . Yiq . 2 .S.raduTtiii; : radmted ,dn'eM\ rrw s chains : musky sh'cw. 
 
 Fip . q . ShTcoItto Indicus ; Fip . o Sc 6 . Talpa T.w'op<va : common mole S' radiated mole . 
 
 IhihUshtd DecVit^idoS. h\- Lotynum,Euj'st,B.er^f, i: (fnnc.laErtw^'ter Roiv 
 
' "Mtaft 
 
TAL 
 
 others chequered, others flowered, &c. ac- 
 cording to tlie fancy of the workmen. 
 
 TAGETES, in botany, manjgold, a genus 
 of the Syngenesia Polygamia Snperflua class 
 and order. Natural order of Composita? Op- 
 positifoliae. Corymbiferas, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tia' character : calyx one leaved, five-tooth- 
 ed, tubular ; florets of the ray five, perma- 
 nent ; down with firm erect chaffs ; recep- 
 tacle naked. There are four species, and 
 several varieties; the T. erecta, African 
 marygold, is from three to four feet in 
 height, divided from the middle into ifiany 
 branches, each bearing one large flower; 
 leaves long, pinnate; leaflets dark green; 
 flowers yellow, from brimstone to orange 
 colour ; of this there are five varieties, all 
 annuals. 
 
 TALC, in mineralogy, is divided into 
 three sub species, viz. 1. The earthy talc, 
 which is of a greenish white colour, com- 
 posed of glimmering pearly small scaly 
 parts : it soils a little, and feels rather 
 greasy. It occurs in the tjn mines near 
 Freyburg, in Saxony. 2. Common Vene- 
 tian talc is of an apple green, which passes 
 on one side into greenish white, and even 
 into silver white ; on the other, into aspara- 
 gus green. It is massive, disseminated,, and 
 in extremely delicate crystals. It is splen- 
 dent and shining: feels very greasy, and is 
 easily frangible. It is infusible before the 
 blow pipe, without addition ; and its con- 
 , stituent parts are 
 
 Magnesia 44 
 
 Silex dO 
 
 Alumina 6 
 
 too 
 
 This is frequently confounded with mica, 
 from which it is, however, distinguished by 
 want of elasticity; by its greasy feel, and 
 colour. It is almost entirely confined to 
 the primitive mountains, where it occurs in 
 beds, imbedded in serpentine, and also in 
 veins. It abounds in the mountains of Ty- 
 rol and Salzburg, hence it is brought to Ve- 
 nice, and on that account has obtained the 
 name of Venetian talc. It is employed as 
 a basis for coloured crayons, and for the 
 finest rouge. 
 
 3. Indurated talc is of a greenish grey 
 colour : it occurs massive ; lustre shining, 
 passing to glistening, and is pCarly, feels 
 rather greasy. It occurs in primitive moun- 
 tains, where it forms beds in clay, slate, 
 and serpentine. It is thought to be an in- 
 termediate link between steatite and pot- 
 stone, which see. It is found in the Alps, 
 
 VOL. VL 
 
 TAL 
 
 in Stiria, and in Austria, and Hungary; 
 also in some parts of Scotland : the consti- 
 
 tuent parts are ; 
 
 Magnesia 38:54 
 
 ' Silica 38.12 
 
 Alumina 6.66 
 
 Lime 0.41* 
 
 Iron 15.02 
 
 98.75 
 
 Loss 1.25 
 
 100.00 
 
 TALENT, money of account amongst 
 the ancients. Amongst the Jews, a talent 
 in weight was equal to sixty maneh, or 113 
 It). 10 oz. 1 dwt. 10 f gr. 
 
 JALES, i. e. tales de circumstantibus, by- 
 standers, is used in law for a supply of men 
 impanelled on a jury, and not appearing, or 
 on their appearance challenged and disallow- 
 ed, when the judge upon motion orders a 
 supply to be made by the sheriff of one or 
 more such persons as are present in court, 
 to make up a full jury. 
 
 TALLOW tree, a remarkable tree grow- 
 ing in great plenty in China ; so c8’'ed from 
 its producing a substance like tallow, which 
 serves for the same purpo.se; it is, about the 
 height of a cherry-tree, its leaves in form of 
 a heart, of a deep shitiing red colour, an.d 
 its bark very smooth. Its fruit is inclosed 
 in a kind of pod, or cover, like a chesnut, 
 and consists of three round white grains, of 
 the size and form of a small nut, each hav- 
 ing its peculiar capsule, and within a little 
 stone. This stone is encompassed with a 
 white pulp which has all the properties of 
 true tallow, both as to consistence, colour, 
 and even smell, and accordingly the Chi- 
 nese make their candles of it ; which would 
 doubtless be as good as those in Europe, if 
 they knew how to purify their vegetable, 
 as welt as we do our animal, tallow. All 
 the preparation they give it is to melt it 
 down, and mix a , little ,oil with it, to make 
 it softer and more pliant. It is true their 
 candles made of it yield a thicker smoke, 
 and a dimmer light than ours ; but those 
 defects are owing in a great measure to the 
 wicks, which are not of cotton, but only 
 a little rod of dry light wood covered 
 with the pith of a rush wound round it; 
 which, being very porous, serves to filtrate 
 the minute parts of the tallow, attracted 
 by the burning stick, which, by this means, 
 is kept alive. See Tomex. 
 
 TALPA, the mole, in natural history, a 
 genus of Mammalia, of the order Ferae. 
 Generic character ; six fore-teeth in flie 
 A a 
 
TAL 
 
 upper jaw, unequal, eight in the lower; 
 tusks solitary, in the upper jaw larger; se- 
 ven grinders in the upper, and six in the 
 lower. There are four species. 
 
 T.' EuropeSt, the common mole, is aboht 
 six inches in length, without the tail. Its 
 body is large and cylindrical, paid its snout 
 strong and cartilaginous. Its skin is of ex- 
 traordinary thickness, and covered with a 
 fur, short, but yielding to that of no other 
 animal in fineness. It hears with particu- 
 lar acuteness, and, notwithstanding the po- 
 pular opinion to the contrary, possesses 
 eyes, which it is stated to he able to with- 
 draw, or project, at pleasure. It lives 
 partly on the roots of vegetables, but prin- 
 cipally on animal food, such as worms and 
 insects, and is extremely voracious and 
 fierce. Shaw relates, from Sir Thomas 
 Brown, that a mole, a toad, and a serpent 
 have been repeatedly inclosed in a large 
 glass vase, and that the mole has not only 
 killed the others, but has devoured a very 
 considerable part of them. It abounds in soft 
 ground, in which it can dig with ease, and 
 which furnishes it with the greatest supply 
 of food. It forms its subterraneous apart- 
 ments with great facility by its snout and 
 feet, and with a very judicious reference to 
 escape and comfort. It produces four or 
 five young, in the spring, in a nest a little 
 beneath the surface, composed of moss and 
 herbage. It is an animal injurious to the 
 grounds of the farmer, by throwing up in- 
 numerable hills of mould, in the construc- 
 tion of its habitation, or the pursuit of its 
 food, and many persons obtain their sub- 
 sistence from the premiums which are, on 
 this account, given for their destruction. 
 Moles can swim with considerable dexte- 
 rity, and are thus furnished with the means 
 of escape in those sudden inundations to 
 which they are frequently exposed. In 
 Ireland, the inole is unknown. See Mam- 
 malia, Plate XX. fig. 5. 
 
 T. radiata, Or the radiated mole, is very 
 similar to the above, from which it is prin- 
 cipally distinguished by a circle of radiated 
 tendrils, resembling the ray of a boot-spur, 
 attached to the nose. It is a native of 
 North America. See Mammalia, Plate 
 XX. fig. 6. 
 
 TALUS, in fortification. Talus of a bas- 
 tion, or rampart, is the slope or diminution 
 allowed to such a work, whether it be of 
 earth or stone, the better to support its 
 weight. The exterior talus of a work, is 
 its' slope on the side towards the country, 
 which is always made as little as possible. 
 
 TAM 
 
 to prevent the enemy’s scalado ; unless the 
 earth be bad, and then it is absolutely 
 necessary to allow a considerable talus for 
 its parapet. The interior talus of a work 
 is its slope on the inside towards the place. 
 
 TAMARINDUS, in botany, tatnarind 
 free, a genus of the Monadelphia Tiiaiidria 
 class and order. Natural order of Lomen- 
 lace®. Leguminoste, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx four-parted ; petals three ; 
 nectary of two short bristles under the fila- 
 njents ; legume pulpy. There is only one 
 species, viz. T. indica, tamarind tree, vvliich 
 grows to a large size in those countries, 
 where it is a native ; the stem is very large, 
 covered with a brown bark, dividing into 
 many branches at the top, and spreading 
 wide every way ; the flowers come out 
 from the side of the branches, five, six, or 
 more together, in loose branches ; the pods 
 are tliick and compressed, those from the 
 West Indies are from two to five inches in 
 length, containing two, three, or four seeds ; 
 those from the East Indies are nearly twice 
 as long, and contain five, six, and even se- 
 ven seeds ; plants raised from both these 
 are so much alike as not to be distinguish- 
 ed ; the difference in the size of the pods is 
 probably owing to soil and culture. The 
 calyx is straw-coloured ; Ihe'petals are yel- 
 lovVish, beautifully variegated with red 
 veins; peduncles half an inch in length, 
 each furnished with a joint, at which the 
 flower turns inwards ; filaments commonly 
 three ; they are purple, and the anthers are 
 brownish. The timber of the tamarind tree 
 is heavy, firm, and hard ; sawn into boards, 
 it is converted to many useful purposes in 
 building. The fruit is used both in food 
 and medicine. In many parts of America, 
 particularly in Curasao, they eat abundance 
 of it raw, without any inconvenience. In 
 Martinico also, they eat the unripe fruit, 
 even of the most austere kind. 
 
 TAMARIX, in botany, tamarnk, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Succulent®. Portiilaceae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx five- 
 parted ; petals five ; capsule one-celled, 
 three-valved ; seeds pappose. There are 
 four species : we shall notice the T. gallica, 
 French tamarisk, which is a native of the 
 south of France, .Spain, Italy, Russia, Tar- 
 tary, Barbary, and Japan, where it grows 
 to a tree of a middling size ; in England it 
 is rarely more than fourteen feet in height. 
 The bark is rough, and of a dark-brown co- 
 lour ; it sends out many slender branches, 
 most of which spread out flat, hansiui> 
 
TAN 
 
 downwards at their ends ; these are covered 
 with a chesnut coloured bark, and garnish- 
 ed with very narrow, finely-divided leaves, 
 of a bright green colour, having small leaves 
 or indentures, which lie over each other 
 like scales offish ; file flowers are produced 
 in taper spikes, at the end of the branches, 
 several of them growing on the same 
 branches ; the spikes are about an inch 
 long, the flowers are set very close all 
 round the spike ; they are small, and have 
 five concave petals, of a pale flesh colour, 
 with five slender stamina, terminated by 
 roundish red anthers ; the flowers appear in 
 July, and are succeeded by oblong, acute- 
 pointed, three-cornered capsules, filled with 
 small downy seeds, which seldom ripen in 
 England. 
 
 TAMBAC, a mixture of gold and cop- 
 per, which the people of Siam hold more 
 beautiful, and set a greater value on, than 
 gold itself. 
 
 TAMBOUR, in architecture, a term ap- 
 plied to the Corinthian and Composite ca- 
 pitals, as bearing some resemblance to a 
 drum, which the French call tambour. 
 
 Tambour is also used for a little box of 
 timber-w'ork, covered with a ceiling, with- 
 in side the porch of certain churches, both 
 to prevent the view of persons passing by, 
 and to keep off the wind, &c. by means of 
 folding doors. 
 
 TAMU.S, in botany, black bryony, a ge- 
 nus of the Dioecia Hexandria class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Sarmentaceaa. As- 
 paragi, Jussieu. Essential character : ca- 
 lyx six-parted ; corolla none : female, style 
 trifid , berry three-celled, inferior ; seeds 
 two. There are two species, viz. T. com- 
 munis, common black bryony, and T. cre- 
 tica, Creton black bryony. 
 
 TANACETUM, in botany, a genus 
 of the Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua class 
 and order. Natural order of Compositse 
 Discoidae. Corymbiferaj, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx imbricate, hemisphe- 
 rical ; corolla rays obsolete, trifid, some- 
 times none, and all the flowers herr|iaphro- 
 dite ; down submarginate : receptacle 
 naked. There are nine species, of which 
 the T. vulgare, common tansy, haS a fibrous 
 creeping root, which spreads to a great dis- 
 tance; the herb is bitter, possessing a 
 strong aromatic smell. It is a native of 
 Europe and Siberia, in high meadows and 
 pastures, on the banks of livers, and in 
 swampy places, flowering from June to Au- 
 gust. 
 
 TANAECIUMjin botany, a genus of the 
 
 TAN 
 
 Didynamia Angiospermia class and order : 
 Essential character : calyx cylindrical, trun- 
 cate ; corolla tubular, almost equal, five- 
 cleft; rudiment of a fifth filament ; berry 
 corticose, very large. There are two sjie- 
 cies, viz. T. jaroba, and T. parasiticuin, 
 both natives of Jamaica. 
 
 TANAGRA, the tanager, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Passeres. 
 Generic character: bill conicj somewhat 
 inclining towards the point j upper mandi- 
 ble slightly ridged and notched near the 
 end. There are forty-four species, of which 
 the following deserve the chief attention. 
 
 T. jacapa, or the red-breasted tanager, is 
 of the size of a sparrow, and abounds in va- 
 rious parts of America. It feeds on fruits, 
 and frequents gardens. Its nest is of a cy- 
 lindrical form, fixed to the horizontal branch 
 of a tree, and the entrance is beneath. It 
 is generally seen in pairs. 
 
 The T. tatoa, or titmouse of Paradise, is 
 nearly as lai'ge as a goldfinch, is one of the 
 most beautiful birds of the genus, adorned 
 with the most brilliant plumage of scarlet, 
 blue, green, and gold. It is found in flocks 
 in Cayenne and Guiana, at the season when 
 a particular, but undeseribed, fruit tree is 
 in bearing, and is said to be found, in those 
 countries, only in the immediate vicinity of 
 these trees. It may be confined, and fed 
 on bread and milk ; but has no powers of 
 melody. 
 
 Tangent, in geometry, is defined, in 
 general, to be a right line, which touches 
 any arch of a curve, in such a manner, that 
 no ri;mt line can be drawn between the 
 right line and the arch, or within the angle 
 that is formed by them. The tangent of an 
 arch is a right line drawn perpendicularly 
 from the end of a diameter, passing to one 
 extremity of the arch, and terminated by a 
 right line drawn from the centre through 
 the other end of the arch, and called the se- 
 cant. ' And the co-tangent of an arch is the 
 tangent of the complement of that arch#, 
 The tangent of a curve is a right line which 
 only touches the curve in one point, but 
 does not cut it. • 
 
 In order to illustrate the method of draw- 
 ing tangents to curves, let A C G, Plate 
 XIV. Miscel. fig. 10, be a curve of any 
 kind, and C the given point from whence 
 the tangent is to be drawn. Then con- 
 ceive a right line, mg, to be carried along 
 uniformly, parallel to itself, from A towaids 
 Q ; and let, at the same time, a point, p, so 
 move in that line, as ta describe the given 
 curve, A C G : also let mm, or C », express 
 Aa $ 
 
TAN 
 
 TAN 
 
 tlie fluxion of Am, or the velocity where- 
 with the line, mg, is carried ; and let n S 
 express the corresponding fluxion of m p, in 
 the position mCg, or the velocity of the 
 point, p, in the line, mg: moreover, through 
 the point, C, let the right line, SF, be 
 drawn, meeting the axis of the curve, A Q, 
 in F. 
 
 Now, it is evident, that if the motion ofp, 
 along the line, mg, was to become equable at 
 C, the point, p, would be at S, when the line 
 itself had got into the position, mSg ; be- 
 cause, by the hypothesis. Cm and «S ex- 
 presses the distances that might be described 
 by the two uniform motions in the same time. 
 And if wsg be assumed to represent any 
 other position of that line, and s the con- 
 temporary position of the point, p, still sup- 
 posing an equable velocity of p ; then the 
 distances, Cv, and vs, gone over in the 
 same time by the two motions, will always 
 be to each other as the velocities, or as Cm 
 to M S. Therefore, since Cv:vs::Cn:nS, 
 (which is a known property of similar tri- 
 angles), the point, s, will always fall in the 
 right line, FCS, (fig. 11): whence it ap- 
 pears, that if the motion of the point, p, 
 along the line, mg, was to become uniform 
 at C, that point would then move in the 
 right line, C S, instead of the curve line, 
 CG. Now, seeing the motion ofp, in the 
 description of curves, must either be an ac- 
 celerated or retarded one ; let it be first 
 considered as an accelerated one, in which 
 case, the arch, C G, will fall wholly above 
 the right line, C D, as in fig. 10 ; because 
 the distance of the point, p, from the axis, 
 A Q, at the end of any given time, is greater 
 than it would be if the acceleration was to 
 cease at C ; and if the acceleration bad 
 ceased at C, the point, p, would have been 
 always found in the said right line, FS. 
 But if the motion of the point, p, be a re- 
 tarded one, it will appear, by arguing in 
 the same manner, that the arch, C G, will 
 fall wholly below the right line, CD, as in 
 fig. 11. 
 
 This being the case, let the line, m g, and 
 the point, if, along that line, be now sup- 
 ■ posed to move back again, towards A and 
 m, in the same manner they proceeded 
 from thence ; then, since the velocity of p 
 did before increase, it must' now, on the 
 contrary, decrease; and therefore, as p, at 
 the end of a given time, after repassing the 
 point, C, is not so near (o AQ, as it would 
 have been had the velocity continued the 
 same as at C, the arch, C h (as well as C G) 
 must fall wholly above the right line, F C D; 
 
 and by the same method of arguing, the 
 arch, C/r, in the second case, will fall 
 wholly below FCD. Therefore FCD, in 
 both cases, is a tangent to the curve at the 
 point, C ; whence the triangles, F m C, and 
 CmS, being similar, it appears that the sub- 
 tangent, »iF, is always a fourth propor- 
 tional to mS, the fluxion of the ordinate, 
 Cm, the fluxion of the absciss, and Cm, the 
 ordinate ; that is, S m : mG jm C : mi F. 
 Hence, if the absciss, Am = x, and the or- 
 
 dinate mi p == y, we shall have MtF = ^; 
 
 y 
 
 by means of which general expression, and 
 the equation expressing the relation be- 
 Iween x and y, tire ratio of the fluxions, x 
 and y will be found, and from thence the 
 length of the sub-tangent, m F, as in the fol- 
 lowing examples. 
 
 1. To draw a right line, C T, a tangent 
 to a given circle, (fig. n) B C A, in a given 
 point, C. Let CS be perpendicular to the 
 diameter, A B, and put AB =a, B S = x, 
 and S C = y. Then, by the property of 
 the circle , y^ (= C S^) = B S x A S (= x 
 X a — x) = a X — x* ; whereof the fluxion 
 being taken, in order to determine the ra- 
 tio of X and j, we get 2 y^ z=a x — 2xx; 
 
 consequently ~ = 
 
 3 y 
 
 a — 2x 
 
 ?/ 
 
 — X 
 
 ; which 
 
 multiplied by y, gives ^ f = , ^ the 
 y la — X 
 
 sub-tangent, ST. Whence, O being sup- 
 posed the centre, we have O § (= i a — x) 
 • C S (= 2t) " C S (= y) : S T ; which is also 
 found to be the case from other princi- 
 ples. 
 
 2. To draw a tangent to any given point, 
 C, (fig. 13) of the conical parabola, A C G. 
 If the latus rectum of the curve be denoted 
 by a, the ordinate, M C, by y, and its cor- 
 responding absciss, A M, by x ; then the 
 known equation, expressing the relation of 
 X and y, being a x = y^, we have, in this 
 
 case, the fluxion a x = 2 y y ; whence 
 
 = and consequently, 
 
 = 2 X r= M F. Therefor/ the sub-tangent 
 is just the double of its corresponding ab- 
 'sciss, A M. And so for finding the tangent* 
 of other species'of curves. 
 
 TANNING, the art of manufacturing 
 leather from raw hides and skins. Befora 
 we detail the process, it may be proper to 
 observe, that raw hides and skins being 
 composed of minute fibres intersecting each 
 other in every direction, the general opera- 
 tion of tanning consists chiefly in expanding 
 
TANNING. 
 
 the pores, and dissolving a sort of greasy 
 substance contained in them, and then, by 
 means of the astringency and guminy resi- 
 nous properties of oak bark, to fill and re- 
 unite them, so as to give firmness and dura- 
 bility to the whole texture. But this theo- 
 ry has been controverted by some chemists, 
 who suppose that the animal jelly contained 
 in the skin is not dissolved, but unites dur- 
 ing the process with the astringent prin- 
 ciple of the bark, and forms a combination 
 insoluble in water. 
 
 The process of tanning varies considera- 
 bly, not only in different countries, but 
 even in different parts of the same country. 
 The following is the method most approved 
 and practised in London and its vicinity. 
 The leather consists chiefly of three sorts, 
 known by the name of butts or backs, 
 hides, and skins. Butts are generally tpade 
 from tlie stoutest and heaviest ox hides, and 
 are managed as follows: After the horns 
 are taken off, the hides are laid smooth in 
 heaps for one or two days in the summer, 
 and for five or six in the winter: they are 
 then hung on poles, in a close room called a 
 smoke house, in which is kept a smoulder- 
 ing fire of wet tan ; this occasions a small 
 degree of putrefaction, by which means tire 
 hair is easily got off, by spreading the hide 
 on a sort of wooden horse' or beam, and 
 scraping it with a crooked knife. The hair 
 being taken off, the hide is thrown into a 
 pit or pool of watea' to cleanse it from the 
 dirt, &c. which being done, the hide is again 
 spread on the wooden beam, and the 
 grease, loose flesh, extraneous filth, &c. 
 carefully scrubbed out or taken off; the 
 hides are then put into a pit of strong li- 
 quor called ooze or wooze, prepared in pits 
 called letches or taps kept for the purpose, 
 by infusing ground bark in water; this js 
 termed colouring : after which they are re- 
 moved into another pit called a scowering, 
 which consists' of water strongly impreg- 
 nated with vitriolic acid, or with a vegeta- 
 ble acid prepared from rye or barley. 
 This operation (which is called raising,) by 
 distending the pores of the hides, occasions 
 tliera more readily to imbibe the ooze, the 
 effect of which is to astringe and condense 
 Ihe fibres, and give firmness to the leather. 
 The hides are then taken out of the scower- 
 ing, and spread smooth in a pit commonly 
 filled with water, .called a binder, with a 
 quantity of ground bark strewed between 
 each. 
 
 After lying a month or six weeks, they 
 
 are taken up ; and the decayed bark and 
 liquor being drawn out of the pit, it is fil el 
 again with strong ooze, when they are put 
 in as before, with bark between each hide. 
 They now lie two or three months, at the 
 expiration of which the same operation is 
 repeated; they then remaui four or five 
 months, when they again undergo the same 
 proce.ss ; and after being three months in 
 the last pit, are completely tanned, unless 
 the hides are so remarkably stout as to 
 want an additional pit or layer. 
 
 The whole process requires from eleven 
 to eighteen months, and some times two 
 years, according to the substance of the 
 hide, and discretion of the tanner. When 
 taken out of the pit to be dried, they are 
 hung on poles; and after being compressed 
 by a steel pin, and beat out smooth by 
 wooden hammers called beetles, the opera- 
 tion is complete ; and when thoroughly dry,' 
 they are fit for sale. Butts are chiefly used 
 for the soles of stout shoes. The leather 
 which goes under the denomination of hides 
 is generally made from cow hides, or the 
 lighter ox hides, which are thus managed. 
 After the horns are taken off, and the hides 
 washed, they are put into a pit of water sa- 
 turated with lime, where they remain a few 
 days, when they are taken out, and the 
 hair scraped off on a wooden beam, as be- 
 fore described, they are then washed in a 
 pit or pool of water, and the loose flesh, 
 &c. being taken off, they are removed into 
 a pit of weak ooze, where they are taken 
 up and put down (which is technically 
 termed handling) two or three times a-day 
 for the first week: every second or third 
 day they are shifted into a pit of fresh 
 002P, somewhat stronger than the former ; 
 till at the end of a month or six weeks; 
 they are put into a strong ooze, in which 
 they are handled once or twice a-week 
 with fresh bark for two or three months. 
 They are then removed into another pit, 
 called a layer, in which they are laid 
 smooth, with bark ground very fine, strew'ed 
 between each hide. After remaining here 
 two or three months, they are generally 
 taken up, when the ooze is drawn out, and 
 the hides put in again with fresh ooze and 
 fresh bark ; where after lying two or three 
 months more, they are completely tanned, 
 except a few veiy stout hides, which may 
 require an extra layer : they are then taken 
 out, hung on poles, and being hammered 
 and snmothed by a steel pin, are,, when dry, 
 fit for sale. These hides are called crop 
 
TANNING. 
 
 hides; they are from ten to eighteen months 
 in tanning, and are used for the soles of 
 shoes. 
 
 Skins is the general term for the skins of 
 calves, seals, hogs, dogs, &c. These, after 
 being washed in water, are pot into lime- 
 pits, as before mentioned, where they are 
 taken np and put down every third or 
 fourth day, for a fortnight or three weeks, 
 in order to dilate the pores and dissolve the 
 gelatinous parts of the skin. "Ihe hair is 
 then scraped off, and the flesh and excres- 
 cences being removed, they are put into a 
 pit of water impregnated with pigeon-dung 
 (called a grainer or mastring,) forming a 
 «trong alkaline ley, which in a week or ten 
 day, soaking out the lime, grease, and sapo- 
 naceous matter (during which period they 
 are several times scraped over with a 
 crooked knife to work out the dirt and 
 filth), softens the skins, and prepares them 
 for the reception of the ooze. They are 
 then put into a pit of weak ooze, in the 
 same manner as the hides, and being fie- 
 quently handled, are by degrees removed 
 into a stronger and still stronger liquor, for 
 a month or six weeks, when they are put 
 into a very strong ooze, with fresh bark 
 ground very fine, and at the end of two or 
 three months, according to their substance, 
 are sutficiently tanned ; when they are 
 taken out, hung on poles, dried, and fit for 
 sale. These skins are afterwards dressed 
 and blacked by the enrriet ; and are used 
 for the upper-leathers of shoes, boots, &c. 
 The lighter sort of hides, called dressing 
 hides, as well as liorse-hides, are managed 
 nearly in the same manner as skins; and 
 are used for coach- work, harness-work, &c. 
 
 Having given some account of the pro- 
 cess as is commonly used in this country, 
 we proceed to one recommended by M. Se- 
 giiin in France, who is supposed to have 
 done much towards simplifying and render- 
 ing perfect the art. In order to give cur- 
 rency to the knowledge which he had ob- 
 tained by a long course of experiments and 
 actual practice in the business, he exhibited 
 without reserve all that he had discovered, 
 and at the same time actually executed his 
 processes on the large scale, furnishing gra- 
 tuitously skins and tan, in order that others 
 who were witnesses to his plans might re- 
 peat for themselves, and at their leisure, 
 the experiments they had seen him go 
 through. We shall give an outline of his 
 plan and reasoning on this important sub- 
 ject. 
 
 Skins swell up, and become soft, by 
 moisture, which renders them permeable to 
 water. Hence they are easily .destroyed by 
 the putrid process which ensues, and they 
 become dry and brittle when the moisture 
 is evaporated. Accident, no doubt, occa- 
 sioned the discovery of the means of pre- 
 venting these inconveniences by the use of 
 certain vegetable substances, particularly 
 the bark of oak. It was seen that skins / 
 prepared with these substances acquired 
 new properties; that without losing their 
 flexibility they became less permeable to 
 water; more firm, more compact, and in 
 some measure incapable of putrefaction. 
 These observations gave birth to the art of 
 the tanner. This art, no doubt of high an- 
 tiquity, because founded on one of the ear- 
 liest wants ,of man in society, comprehends 
 a succession of processes which was execut- 
 ed by habit and imitation, without a know- 
 ledge of the essential objects. The pre- 
 paration of skins accordingly required seve- 
 ral years, and frequently, in spite of the 
 care, expense, and slowuess of the opera- 
 tion, the tanning, was incomplete; the skin 
 formed a soft and porous leather, which 
 was soon destroyed by moisture. These 
 defects essentially sprung from ignorance of 
 the true principles of this operation, be- 
 cause no discovery had been made respect- 
 ing the action of tan upon tlie skin, and the 
 circumstances, or conditions, which might 
 accelerate or retard the process. 
 
 To arrive at this knowledge in an accu- 
 rate manner, it is necessary to consider, 
 first, the nature and properties of tan, and 
 secondly, the structure and composition of 
 the skin. We stall not enter into the de- 
 tail of such precautions as are requisite iu 
 the choice of oak bark, the time and man- 
 ner of separating it from the tree, preserv- 
 ing it, or pulverising it. It will be suffi- 
 cient for our object to remark, that water: 
 poured into a vessel upon tan acquires, af- 
 ter some hours infusion, at the common 
 temperature of the atmosphere, a brown 
 colour, an astringent taste, and becomes 
 charged with the most soluble substances 
 contained in the tan ; that by drawing off 
 the water, and adding a similar quantity to 
 the tan repeatedly, the whole of the soliu- 
 ble parts may be successively extracted, 
 the water ceases to acquire colour, and 
 there remains in the tub a mere fibrous 
 matter, or parenchymatous texture, insolu- 
 ble iu water, and no longer adapted to pro- 
 mote the operation of tauniug, This resi- 
 
 I 
 
TANNING. 
 
 due is tlierefore always rejected in tlie 
 manufactories as useless. It is only used 
 by gardeners for their hot-beds, but might 
 probably be advantageously applied in the 
 tabrication of coar se paper. 
 
 It is therefore in tire water of infusion, 
 or the lixiviations of tan, that we must 
 seek for the soluble substances which alone 
 are efficacious in tanning. On examina- 
 tion of the water of the last filtration, it is 
 found to be not only clearer, less impreg- 
 nated and less acrid than the water of the 
 first lixiviation, but likewise that it possesses 
 all the properties of the gallic acid. It 
 reddens the infusion of tournsol, acts upon 
 metallic solutions, and more particularly it 
 precipitates a black fecula from sulphate of 
 iron, &c. And it is also found that a piece 
 of fresh skin, divested of its fat and san- 
 guine humours, and macerated in this li- 
 <juoi’, instead of becoming compact, is 
 softened and swells up. , 
 
 The liquor of the first lixiviation exhibits 
 a very different character. It is more co- 
 loured and astringent ; it not only exhibits 
 the properties of tlie gallic acid, by the al- 
 terations it causes in the blue colours of 
 vegetables, and the black precipitate it 
 forms with the sulphate of iron; but it like- 
 wise possesses the remarkable quality of 
 forming, with animal gelatine, or glue, a yel- 
 lowish abundant precipitate, insoluble in 
 water, not putrescible, which becomes hard 
 and brittle by drying; and if a piece of 
 skin properly prepared be immersed in this 
 fluid, it becomes gradually more compact, 
 and is converted into leather. 
 
 There exist, therefore, in the same fluid, 
 two very different substances : the one, 
 which precipitates a black matter from 
 iron, is the gallic acid or principle; the 
 other, whicli precipitates animal gelatine or 
 glue, is called the tanning principle, on ac- 
 count of its efficacy in the preparation of 
 leather. i 
 
 To leave bo doubt on this important point, 
 it was proved, by a number of. experiments 
 easy to be repeated. 1. That the liquor of 
 the last lixiviation, though coloured, and of 
 an astringent taste, affords no precipitate 
 with glue; a fact, which seems to show that 
 the gallic acid contained in the bark is less 
 soluble than the tanning principle. In 
 fact, as has already been remarked, when 
 water is successively poured on the tan, an 
 infusion is at last obtained which no longer 
 precipitates glue, though it precipitates sul- 
 phate of iron very well. The liquor of 
 the first lixiviation, after having been satu- 
 
 rated with glue or animal gelatine, and form- 
 ing an abundant precipitate witli that snb- 
 stanoe, is entirely deprived of the tanning 
 principle. It no longer differs from the li- 
 quor of the last filtrations, and contains 
 liierely a portion of the gallic acid. Hence 
 the addition of sulphate of iron affords a 
 new precipitate with this liquor, o. As 
 the tannipg principle has a strong attrac- 
 tion to the animal gelatine, with wliich it al- 
 ways forms an insoluble precipitate, this 
 property affords a very convenient re-agent 
 to ascertain its presence immediately in 
 any fluid, and to determine with precision 
 its quantity. Accordingly, the infusion of 
 tan poured into milk, whey, serum, broth, 
 &c. forms with tliese liquors, a precipitate 
 more or less abundant, according to the 
 quantity of gelatine they contain. 
 
 This peculiar property of tire tanning 
 principle affords an JippUcation which may 
 become of great importance in the art of 
 treating diseases, to determine the nature 
 of urine, and to ascertain some, of its 
 changes. In the healthy subject, all whose 
 functions are duly exercised, the urine does 
 not contain gelatine, nor afford a precipitate 
 witli the infusion of tan: on the contrary, 
 in all the gastric affections, tire urine is 
 more or less cliavged with gelatine, and 
 forms, witli the infusion of tan, a precipi- 
 tate move or less abundant. The same ob- 
 servation is applicable to acute and chroni- 
 cal diseases, in which the assimilating or di- 
 gestive forces are troubled, deranged, or 
 perverted. 4. The gallic acid, or, if other 
 terms be preferred, the principle which pre- 
 cipitates the sulphate of iron, is often 
 found alone, or at least without being ac- 
 companied by tire tanning principle. Thus, 
 quinquina, crude or torrefied coffee, the 
 roots of the strawberry-plant, scrofularia, 
 milfoil, arnica, the flowers of Roman camo- 
 mile, and all the multitude, of plants va- 
 guely comprised under the title of astrin- 
 gents, contain the gallic acid only. All 
 these form with tire sulphate of iron a pre- 
 cipitate more or less coloured and abun- 
 dant ; but none of them produce tire slight- 
 est change in the solution of animal glue. 
 On the contrary, the tanning principle has 
 never been found alone, but always united 
 or combined with the gallic principle. It 
 was long supposed to exist exclusively in 
 the oak, the nut-gall, and sumac, the only 
 substances used at the tau-works ; but it is 
 found more or less abundantly in the sili- 
 quastrum, the rose-tree, tire larix, several 
 species of pines, the acacias, the lotus, th» 
 
TANNING. 
 
 squill, the roots of bistort, of rhubarb, of 
 parella, and several other plants. We have 
 also found this principle in the products of 
 distillation of different vegetable substances, 
 where it was in some measure formed dur- 
 ing the operation. 
 
 From these different considerations, found- 
 ed on experiment, the following general 
 principles may be deduced : 1. Every sub- 
 stance of which the infusion is capable of 
 precipitating animal jelly, possesses the 
 tanning property, g. Every substance 
 which possesses the tanning property, like- 
 wise precipitates the sulphate of iron black. 
 3. Every substance which precipitates the 
 sulphate of iron, but not the solution of 
 glue, does not possess the tanning pro- 
 perty. 
 
 Upon M. Seguin’s principle, a patent was 
 some years since taken out by Mf. W. Des- 
 mond, who obtains the tanning principle by 
 digesting oak-bark, or other proper mate- 
 rial, in cold water, in an appa'-atus nearly 
 similar to tliat used in the salt petre works. 
 That is to say, tlie water which has remained 
 upon the powdered baik for a certain time, 
 in one vessel, is drawn off by a cock, and 
 poured upon fresh tan. This is again to be 
 drawn off, and poured upon other fresh tan ; 
 and in this way the process is to be conti- 
 nued to the fifth vessel. The liquor is then 
 highly coloured, and marks, as Mr. Des- 
 mond says, from six to eight degrees on the 
 hydrometer for salts. He calls this the 
 farming lixivium. The criterion to distin- 
 guish its presence is, that it precipitates 
 glue from its aqueous solution, and is also 
 nsefiil to examine how far other vegetable 
 substances, as well as oak-bark, may be 
 suitable to the purpose of tanning, The 
 strong tanning liquor is to be kept by itself. 
 It is found, by trials with the glue, that the 
 tanning principle of the first digester which 
 receives the clear water, is, of course, first 
 exhausted ; bat the same tan will still give 
 a certain portion of the astriiige.nt principle, 
 or gallic lixivium, to water. Tlie presence 
 of tliis principle js ascertained by its strik- 
 ing a black colour when added to a small 
 quantity of the solution of vitriol of iron, or 
 green copperas. As soon as the water from 
 the digester ceases to exhibit this sign, the 
 tan is exhausted, and must be replaced with 
 new. The gallic lixivium is resej ved for 
 the purpose of taking the hair off from 
 hides. Strong hides, after washing, clean- 
 ing, and fleshing, in the usual way, are to 
 be immersed for two or three days in a 
 mixture of gallic lixivium, and a thou- 
 
 sandth part, by measure, of dense vitriolic 
 acid. By this means the hair is detached 
 from the hides, so that it may be scraped 
 off with a round knife. When swelling or 
 raising is required, the bides are to be im- 
 mersed for ten or twelve horns in another 
 vat, filled with water, and one five hun- 
 dredth part of the same vitriolic acid. The 
 hides being then repeatedly washed and 
 dressed, are ready for tanning ; for which 
 purpose they are to be immersed for some 
 hours in a weak tanning lixivium, of only 
 one or two degrees ; to obtain which, the 
 latter portions of the infusions are set apart, 
 or else some of that which has been partly 
 exhausted by use in tanning. Tlie hides 
 are then to be put into a stronger lixivium, 
 where, in a few days, they will be brought 
 to the same degree of saturation with the 
 liquor in wliich they are immersed. The 
 strength of the liquor will by this means be 
 considerably diminished, and must therefore 
 be renewed. When the hides are by this 
 means completely saturated, that is to say, 
 perfectly tanned, they are to be removed, 
 and slowly dried in the shade. Calfskins, 
 goat-skins, and the like, are to be steeped 
 in lime-water, after the usual fleshing and 
 washing. These are to remain in the lime- 
 water, wliich contains more lime than it 
 can dissolve, and requires to be stirred 
 several times a-day. After two or three 
 days, the skins are to be removed, and per- 
 fectly cleared of their lime by washing and 
 pressing in water. The tanning process is 
 tlien to be accomplished in the same man- 
 ner as for the strong hides ; but the lixivium 
 must be considerably weaker. Mr. Des- 
 mond remarks, that lime is used instead of 
 tlie gallic lixivium for such hides as are re- 
 quired to have a close grain ; because, the 
 acid mixed with that lixivium always swells 
 the skins more or less : but that it cannot, 
 with the same convenience, be used with 
 thick skins, on account of the considerable 
 labour required to clear them of the lime ; 
 any part of wliich, if left, would render 
 them harsh, and liable to crack. He recom- 
 mends, likewise, as the best method to 
 bring the whole siirtace of tlie hides in con- 
 tact with the lixivium, tiiat they should be 
 suspended vertically in the fluid, by means 
 of transverse rods or bars, at such a distance 
 as not to touch each other. By this prac- 
 tice, much of the labour of turning and 
 handling may be saved. Mr. Desmond 
 concludes his specification by observing, 
 that in some cases it will be expedient to 
 mix fresh tan witli tlie lixivium and that 
 

 
 TAN 
 
 various modifications of strengtli, and other 
 circumstances, will present tiiemselves to 
 the operator. He affirms that, in addition 
 to the great saving of time and labour in 
 this method, the leather, being more com- 
 pletely tanned, will weigh heavier, wear 
 better, and be less susceptible of moisture, 
 than leather tanned in the usual way ; that 
 cords, ropes, and cables, made of hemp or 
 speartery, impregnated with the tanning 
 principle, will support much greater weights 
 without breaking, be less liable to be worn 
 out by friction, and will run more smoothly 
 oil pullies ; insomuch that, in his opinion, 
 it v’ill render the use of tar in many cases, 
 pai'ticularly in the rigging of ships, unne- 
 cessary ; and, lastly, that it may be substi- 
 tuted for the preservation of animal food 
 instead of salt. The intelligent manufac- 
 turer will readily perceive, that this new 
 method is grounded on two particular cir- 
 cumstances, besides a more scientific ma- 
 nagement of the general process than has 
 been usual. The first consists in the me- 
 thod of determining the presence and quan- 
 tity of the tanning principle, by the hydro- 
 meter, and the precipitation of glue : the 
 second, in applying this principle, in a con- 
 centrated state, more early in point of time 
 tlian has, perhaps, been hitherto done. Our 
 tanners, after the common previons pro- 
 cesses, and unhairing by acids, by lime, or 
 by piling the hides that they may heat and 
 begin to putrify, apply the solution of tan, 
 which they call ouze, in a great n-nmber of 
 pits in the tan-yard. They begin with the 
 weakest solution, which has been \ ised, and 
 is of a lighter colour than the other; and 
 they pass the hidps, according to tlheir judg- 
 ment andexperience, into ouzes 'which are 
 sti onger and stronger ; until at las t, in cer- 
 tain cases, the hides come to be b nried, for 
 a certain time, in a solid mass c if tan, or 
 oak-bark. The oak-bark itself, i; i the pits, 
 is not only the source from which the water 
 extracts the tanning principle, b ut seems, 
 likewise, in some measure, durin 5 the last 
 stages of the process, to operate jnechani- 
 caily, by keeping the surfaces of the hides 
 from touching each other. 
 
 TANTALITE, in mineralogy, a; metallic 
 fossil of an iron black colour on the external 
 surface, but internally between blu ish-grey, 
 and iron-black. It occurs imbeilded, in 
 masses of the size of a hazel nut, wh ich hav e 
 a tendency to the octahedral form. Exter- 
 nally it is smooth and glimmering ; inter- 
 nally it is shining, and its lustre metallic. 
 Specific gravity is 7.93. Its constituent 
 
 TAN 
 
 parts are tantalium, irbn, and manganese. 
 
 It is found imbedded in quartz, in Sweden ; 
 its name is derived from the new metal 
 denominated Tantalium, which see. 
 
 TANTALIUM, a metal discovered by 
 M. Ekeberg,in the mineral just mentioned ; 
 and in another named Ytrotantalite. From 
 each he extracted by means of the fixed 
 alkalies a white powder, which he ascer- 
 tained to be the oxide of a peculiar metal ; 
 to this he gave the name of tantalium. 
 When this oxide is powerfully heated with 
 charcoal, it yields a button moderately 
 hard, which, externally, has a metallic 
 lustre, but internally it is blacA, and with- 
 out any degree of brilliancy. The acids 
 will reduce it again to an oxide, but they 
 will not dissolve it. It melts before thh- 
 blow-pipe with borax, or pJiosphate of soda, 
 but gives no colour to either of them. Its 
 specific gravity is about 6.5. 
 
 TANTALUS, the il/is, in natural history, 
 a genus of birds of f,ie order Grallm. Ge- 
 neric character : bill long ; thick at the 
 base, incurvated ,• face naked, and some- 
 times all the hea'i ; tongue broad and short ; 
 nostrils linear and oval ; four thes, con- 
 nected by a membrane at the base. There 
 are ninefaen species, of which we shall 
 notice fne following. T. loculator, the 
 wood itjis, is of the size of a goose, and the 
 length of three feet, and is found in Caro- 
 lina, and in many countries of South Arae- 
 ricii, haunting, particularly, those low tracts 
 which are inundated during summer. These 
 birds subsist on reptiles and fish, have 
 little sagacity, and are often seen in cypress 
 trees of extraordinary height, with their 
 heavy bills reposing on their breasts. They 
 are in use for the table, though far from 
 being excellent. 
 
 T. ruber, or the scarlet ibis, is found in 
 America, and the neighbouring islands. Its 
 plumage is of a most ardent scarlet, and it 
 is one of the most beautiful birds of the ge- 
 nus. It subsists on insects, and the ova of 
 fishes, for which, on the ebbing of the tide, 
 it frequents the shores. It perches in 
 trees, but lays its eggs on the ground, l^e 
 old birds and the young keep in distinct 
 flocks. They do not attain the full lustre 
 and glow of plumage till their third year ; 
 and in sickness and confinement lose almost 
 all their brilliancy. 
 
 T. ibis, or the Egyptian ibis, is more 
 than three feet long, and as large as a 
 stork. On the retreating of the Nile, it is 
 found in Lower Egypt in great numbers, 
 subsisting on insects and frogs. It perches 
 
TAP 
 
 «n palm trees, and sleeps in an erect atti- 
 tude, its tail tOHchinp: its legs. It is sup- 
 posed by some naturalists to be the ibis of 
 the ancients, and is known to destroy and 
 devour serpents. Others suppose it to be 
 the ox-bird described by Shawi For the 
 blackheaded ibis, see Aves, Plate XIV. 
 fig. 2. 
 
 TANTALUS’S cup, in hydraulic!!, a siphon 
 so adapted to a cup, that the short leg 
 being in the cup, the long leg may go down 
 through the bottom of it. 
 
 The bended siphon is called Tantalus’s 
 cup, from the resemblance of the experi- 
 ment made with an image in the glass, re- 
 presenting Tantalus in the fable, fixed up in 
 the middle of the cup with a siphon con- 
 cealed in his body, beginning in the bottom 
 of his feet, and iwcending to the upper part 
 of his breast; there it makes a turn, and 
 descends through the other leg, on which 
 he stands ; and from thence down through 
 the bottom of the enp, where it runs out, 
 and causes the water to subside in the 
 cup ; as soon as it rises to the height of the 
 siphon, or to the chin of the image, the 
 water will begin to run through the siphon 
 concealed in the figure, till the cup is 
 emptied in the manner explained under 
 siphon, and represented more distinctly in 
 the article Hydraulics. 
 
 TAPE worm. .See Taenia. 
 
 TAPESTRY. It has been supposed 
 that the use of tapestry was introduced into 
 the various nations of Europe from the Le- 
 vant, by the princes and nobles who com- 
 manded in the different crusades, under- 
 taken to recover the Holy Land from the Sa- 
 racens ; but this supposition seems in a 
 great measure to rest on the fact, that the 
 workmen employed in this pursuit in 
 France were called Sarrassinois. We do 
 not find, upon referring to tlie travels of 
 Bei trandon de la Broequiere to Palestine, 
 in 1432, any thing to support the assertion, 
 neither do our modern tourists mention ta- 
 pestry as used by the present inhabitants of 
 that country. Lempriere describes- the 
 apartments of the Harem at Morocco to 
 have been hung with rich damasks • hut as 
 the same rooms had European mirrors on 
 the walls, it does not appear quite clear 
 that the hangings were not introduced by 
 the same means. 
 
 There is not a doubt that the Greeks used 
 tapestry, as Homer freqtiently mentions 
 the labours of the loom in a manner that 
 proves the production of it could have been 
 employed in no other way. 'Those coua- 
 
 TAP 
 
 tries which are subject to long and colil 
 winters, made it necessary that the rich 
 and powerfiil should adopt some method to 
 check its disagreeable effects on domestic 
 comfert, and besides the feudal system 
 universally prevailing; their residences were 
 calculated for military purposes only, and 
 every consideration of internal convenience 
 was sacrificed to the means of defence from 
 their jealous and envious neighbours of the 
 same rank in the state ; hence they con- 
 structed flieir mansions with walls as solid 
 and impenetrable as those of a fortified 
 city, in which the windows were little 
 better than loop-holes for missive wea- 
 pons externally, whence they were wi- 
 dened inwards to make tlie most of the 
 little light and air they were capable of ad- 
 mitting. 
 
 Cold and dreary as all their apartments 
 were, every possible contrivance was made 
 to temper the damp chill of the walls ; for 
 this purpose vast fire places were con- 
 structed, occupying almost one side of the 
 square, and hangings were suspended to ex- 
 clude from view the rough surface of the 
 massy stones, and to confine the humidity 
 in them from immediately attaching to the 
 family. That which may have been used in 
 Greece, in Palestine, and throughout Asia, 
 for the double purposes of ornament, and 
 for the convenience of easy removal during 
 the warmth prevailing in those countries 
 where tapestry or hangings make the most 
 pleasant partitions or separations of apart- 
 ments, became necessary in the greatest 
 part of Europe through a directly opposite 
 cause. 
 
 Whatever was the nature of the original 
 hangings in our quarter of the globe, and 
 wherever they were introduced from, it is 
 very certain that the, French have had the 
 honour of giving them their present deno- 
 mination, which is derived from tapisser, to 
 line, and that from the Latin tapes. It is 
 very prolable that the tapestry of ancient 
 times in England, and on the Conlinenf, 
 was equally rude and barbarous with the 
 paintings of the same period, and perhaps 
 more so, and in the present state of the 
 country it is difficult to ascertain when it 
 improved or when attempts were made to 
 introduce figures In the weaving of it. When 
 the feudal system ceased, our castles and 
 castellated mansions were gradually de- 
 serted, and their posse-ssors mixing more 
 with the general population, began to ad- 
 mire tlie comforts of society, and to adopt 
 some of the customs of those they bad hi- 
 
tberto despised ; lienee occuned a new 
 mode of building, which, though it m some 
 degree resembled that of their ancestois, 
 was attended with infinite improvement. It 
 is in the residences thus produced that we 
 are now to took for the tapestry once so ne- 
 cessary, but in the latter instance pre- 
 served threugh alaudable family pride, and 
 as objects of curiosity. At Haidwncke 
 Hall in Derbyshire, one of the seats of the 
 Duke of Devonshire, built by a CounUss 
 of Shrewsbury, in the reign of Queen Eli- 
 zabeth, some very interesting tapestry and 
 hangings of a bed are shown, which were 
 worked by Mary, Queen of France and 
 Scotland, during her long confinement at 
 that place, previously to her execution. As 
 may be anticipated from her mode of faith, 
 and the circumstances of her situation, the 
 colours and subjects are of a sombre and 
 melancholy cast, but sufficiently well done 
 to excite approbation. 
 
 Those it will be remembered are the pro- 
 duct of the needle, and are therefore very 
 different from that which adorns the walls 
 of the House of Lords from the loom, and 
 are nearly coeval with the performances of 
 the royal captive ; the latter have long b^fn 
 celebrated as the only representations we 
 possess of the destruction of the Spanish 
 Armada, but their age and the fading of 
 their colours have greatly lessened their In- 
 tel est. Exclusive of those there are spe- 
 cimens of ancient tapestry at the Charter 
 House, placed there by the Duke of 
 Norfolk in the reign of Elizabetli, and at 
 St. James’s Palace, which is the best in 
 every particular of all that has been men- 
 tioned. 
 
 It will be perceived, that in each of these 
 instances the dates nearly correspond, 
 whence it may be safely concluded, that 
 very little use was made ot tapestry after 
 the reign of James I. in England . Next to 
 the English, the Flemings were most ex- 
 pert at weaving of rich hangings, the French 
 who subsequently exceeded all other na- 
 tions in this art, did not apply themselves to 
 it till the reign of their Henry IV. when an 
 establishment was made in the year 1607 m 
 the Fauxbourg St. Michael at Paris ; after 
 the assassination of that monarch, the ma- 
 nufactory was neglected, nor was it re- 
 vived till the reign of Louis XIV . under the 
 auspices of Colbert,, who caused a recepta- 
 cle for this work to be constructed, whore 
 two brothers named Giles and John Gobe- 
 lins, had long before been celebrated as ex- 
 cellent dyers, whence the name, whicti an 
 
 TAPESTRY. 
 
 edict issued by Louis, confirmed under tlm 
 title of Hotel Royal des Gobelins. As it 
 was the intention of the luxurious moiiarch 
 just mentioned to excel all his contemporary 
 sovereigns of Europe in the splendour of 
 his palaces and establishments, the manu- 
 factory of the Gobelins was placed by him 
 under a complete system of government, 
 and it flourished with some fluctuations of 
 neglect and encouragement as a royal insti- 
 tution, till the late revolution, during which 
 dreadful period it was consigned, to all ap- 
 pearance, to irretrievable ruin ; but the 
 subsequent consulship of Bonaparte, and his 
 further elevation to the throne of France, 
 has in a gieat degree recovered it, though 
 the change in public opinion in the manner 
 of decorating walls will prevent it from ob- 
 taining its pristine encouragement. 
 
 The reader will forgive our enlarging on 
 this subject, as the Gobelins is the only 
 manufactory of tapestry remaining in Eu- 
 rope worthy of particular notice, and where 
 paintings are imitated w.th all the strength 
 and beauty of colouring of the pictures fiom 
 which thev are copied. M. Le Maistre, 
 who visited Paris in 1802, mentions two 
 pieces made about that time, one repie- 
 senting the assassination of Admiral Co- 
 ligni, and the other the heroic conduct of 
 the President Molt', of uncommon excel- 
 lence. Ninety persons were then em- 
 ployed, and appeared to work with the ut- 
 most ease, though six years apprenticeship 
 and much attention and care are required 
 to attain superior skill. Previously to the 
 
 change in the government of France, the 
 workmen were in a great degree state pri- 
 soners, but such is the jealousy of rivalship, 
 that they are still under the special care or 
 surveillance of the police ; and the pieces 
 manufactured were destined principally to 
 ornament the favourite residence of St. 
 Cloud, and some other.public buildings. To 
 this information we shall subjoin the still 
 more recent account ot Mr. Pinkerton in 
 1805. “ In the ancient method,” says that 
 gentleman, “ the workmen were obliged 
 to stoop, which was found detrimental to 
 their health, and the pictures were de- 
 stroyed, being cut in pieces in the width of 
 the loom ; the figures were also reversed. 
 Neilson, at intelligent foreraat^, contrived 
 to save tlie pictures, in traciiig them with 
 oil-paper. Nor were the figures reversed 
 as before, and the picture itself vvas placed 
 behind the workman, that he might accu- 
 rately express the shades and tone of co- 
 lour. Still the result could not be judged 
 
tapestry. 
 
 of, till each division was perfected in the 
 loom. Vaucanson superadded an easy and 
 ingenious mechanism, to examine with 
 pleasure the progress of thei work; but 
 the manufacture continued to be guided by 
 a servile routine.” 
 
 The last director introduced three im- 
 provements, which cannot very well be ex- 
 plained, but the result has been of great ad- 
 vantage in the manner of weaving, and as 
 more judgment has been evinced in the se- 
 lection of pictures for copying, the style of 
 colouring partakes more of the taste of each 
 master than when it was the custom to 
 make all the tints vivid and gaudy ; besides, as 
 they have ceased to use silk, the tapestry is 
 much less subject to fade. “ Yet,” adds 
 Mr. Pinkerton, “ the colours are suffici- 
 ently bright and various to represent, with 
 exquisite truth, all tlie fine tints of beautiful 
 liowers. It is however to be regretted 
 that ffiese splendid tapestries become so 
 expensive, from the length of time required 
 in the workmanship, that even the rich 
 tremble ; and the sale to the government, 
 which presents them to distinguished fo- 
 reigners, affords the chief if not sole con- 
 sumption. The sum annually allowed, to 
 support the manufacture in its greatest 
 activity, is estimated at one hundred and 
 fifty thousand francs.” 
 
 As it is not in our power to obtain the 
 precise improvements made in the manner 
 of weaving tapestry, we are compelled to 
 describe the mode by which that now re- 
 maining in England was made, and which is 
 undoubtedly the basis of the present method 
 in use at the Gobelins. The loom employ- 
 ed for this purpose stands perpendicularly, 
 and is composed of four principal pieces, 
 two of w'hich are long planks, and the 
 others rollers or beams of considerable dia- 
 meter ; the planks are placed upright, and 
 the beams cross them at either extremity 
 of the loom, the lower at about twelve 
 inches from the fioor, each have trunnions 
 which suspend them on the planks, and they 
 are turned with bars. The rolleis are 
 grooved lengthways, in which ai-e fastened 
 long cylinders of wood with hooks ; the use 
 of these is to fasten the ends of the warp 
 to, the, latter of twisted woollen thread en- 
 circles the ^qpper roller, and it is worked as 
 last as wove oq the lower. 
 
 The planks already mentioned are seven 
 or eight feet in height, from fourteen to fif- 
 teen inches broad, and tliree or more in thick- 
 ness; their interiorsurfacesare pierced into 
 holes the whole length, for the admission of 
 
 tliick pieces of iron with hooks at their 
 ends, which are intended to support what is 
 called the coat-stave ; tiiose irons are also 
 pierced to r eceive pins, by which the stave 
 is contracted or expanded at pleasure. The 
 coat-stave, three inches in diameter, extends 
 the whole length of the loom, and on it are 
 fixed the coats or threads, and thus the 
 threads to the warp cross each other, in this 
 particular having nearly the same effect 
 with the Spring-stave and treddles in tlie 
 common looms. Tiie coats, as tliey are 
 called, are threads tastened to each thread 
 of tlie warp by a sliding knot; those keep 
 the w^arp open, and thus the broaclies bear- 
 ing the material for weaving are passed 
 freely through, according to the will of the 
 workman ; besides the process is further fa- 
 cilitated by small pieces of wood, witich are 
 used to make the thread of the warp iuter- 
 sect each other, and that those may keep 
 their due situation, a packthread is run 
 among the threads above the stick. 
 
 . We will now suppose the loom prepared 
 with the warp, the operator then proceeds 
 to sketch the principal outline on the 
 threads composing it from the picture or de- 
 sign to be copied, and this is done by 
 placing the painting, or a cartoon, on the 
 back of the intended tapestry, and tracing 
 it with a black-lead pencil; after accom- 
 plishing the transfer, the original is rolled 
 on a cylinder, and placed behind the work- 
 man, who unrolls it in the same progressioir 
 with which he weaves. Exclusive of the 
 instruments already mentioned, a broach a 
 reed, and an iron needle, are required for 
 introducing the silk or wool of the woof 
 amongst the threads of the warp ; the first 
 is about two-tihrds of an inch thick, and 
 seven or eight Indies in length, terminating 
 at one extremity in a point with the other, 
 formed into a kind of handle, and is made of 
 hard wood; this broacli, as it is termed, 
 serves as a shuttle, the silk, wool, gold, or 
 silver tliread being wound on it. Tlie reed 
 is a kind ot comb, made of W’ood, eight or 
 more inches in length, and an inch thick at ' , 
 the back, tapering thence to tlie teeth 
 which vary in their distance from each 
 other, according to the fineness of the ta- 
 pestry. Tiie needle varies from the com- 
 mon instrmiient of that name only in its 
 size, and its use is to press the material close 
 in those pai lx wliere any defect is observed. 
 TLhe most singular part ot the weaving of 
 tapestry is the position of the weaver who 
 works on the wrong side of the piece, and 
 with his back to the picture he is to imitate, 
 
TAP 
 
 consequently he is frequently compelled to 
 leave his position and pass to the opposite 
 side of the loom, to ascertain wlfether he 
 has been correct in his proceedings. When 
 he is about to pot the material in the warp, 
 he tirrns and examines the original ; then 
 having furnished the broach with the co- 
 lour required, he introduces it amongst the 
 threads of the warp, which he brings across 
 each other witlr his fingers, through the as- 
 sistance of tlie coats or threads secured to 
 the staff, and this operation is repeated with 
 every change of tint. After the wool or 
 silk is placed, he presses it close with the 
 -reed or comb, and examining the picture, 
 he makes the necessary amendments with 
 the needle. Those subjects which are very 
 large maybe worked upon by more than 
 one weaver at a time. The method we 
 have described is called the high warp, 
 another, the low warp, though rather dif- 
 ferent in the manner of weaving it, so nearly 
 resembles the tapestry of the high warp that 
 it is unnecessasy to describe it. 
 
 TAPIR, in natural history, a genus of 
 Mammalia of the order Beiiuse. Generic 
 character: ten fore tqeth in each jaw; 
 tusks in both jaws single and incurvated ; 
 five grinders on each side in both jaws ; feet 
 with three hoofs, and on the fore feet a false 
 hoof. The only species is the T. Amtrica- 
 nns. This is a native of South America, 
 and when perfect in growth is about the 
 size of a heifer. Its colour is a dark brown, 
 and the male is distinguished by a species 
 of very short proboscis. The tapir is per- 
 fectly inoffensive, and considerably timid, 
 seeking safety in flight, and often plunging 
 into waters, in which he swims with great 
 rapidity, and in which sometimes he pro- 
 ceeds for a tong way, ranging at the bottom 
 at a very great depth; in this respect re- 
 sembling the hippopotamus. When resting, 
 the tapir sits in the manner of a dog. In 
 feeding, its trunk is employed m drawing 
 into its mouth the vegetables which consti- 
 tute its nourishment. In some parts of 
 Guiana it has been domesticated, and, when 
 taken young, is easily familiarized. Its 
 flesh is not excellent for flavour or delicacy, 
 hut is nevertheless used for food ; and its 
 skin, which is of uncommon toughness, is 
 converted to various purposes of usefulness. 
 It is slow in its movements, sleeps duripg 
 the greater part of the day, and is destroyed 
 by the Indians, who decoy it by the imita- 
 tion of its peculiar sounds, by poisoned ar- 
 rows. It produces but one at a birth, in 
 
 TAP ^ 
 
 the care of which it is extremely assiduous 
 and affectionate. 
 
 TAR, a thick, black, unctuous substance, 
 obtained from old pines and fir trees, by 
 burning them with a close smothering'heat : 
 it is used for coating and caulking ships, &c. 
 and varioirs other purposes. 
 
 TARANTULA. See Aranea. 
 TARCHONANTHUS, in botany, Afri- 
 can jie«-6one, a genus of the Syngenesia Po- 
 lygamia iEqnalis class and order. Natural 
 order of Nucamentaoeae. Corymbiferae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx one- 
 leafed, commonly half seven-cleft, turbi- 
 nate ; seeds covered with down ; receptacle 
 villose. There are three species: these 
 plants are all natives of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 TARE, is an allowance for the outside 
 package, that contains such goods as can- 
 not be unpacked without detriment, or for 
 the papers, threads, bands, &c. that inclose or 
 bind any goods imported loose ; or, though 
 imported in casks, chests, &c. yet cannot be 
 unpacked and weighed net. Several sorts 
 of goods have their tares ascertained, and 
 those are not to be altered or deviated 
 from, in any case, within the port of Lon- 
 don, unless the merchant thinking himself, 
 or the officers of the crown, to be prejudic- 
 ed by such tares, shall desire that the goods 
 may be unpacked, and the net-weight taken; 
 which may be done either by weighing the 
 goods in each respective cask, &c. net, or 
 (as is practised in East India goods particu- 
 larly) by picking out several casks, &c. of 
 each size, and making an average, compute 
 the rest accordingly. But this must not be 
 done without the consent of two surveyors, 
 attested by their hands in the landwaiter’s 
 books; and in the out-ports, not without 
 the consent of the collector and surveyor. 
 And as to those goods which have not their 
 tares ascertained, two surveyors in London, 
 and the collector and surveyor in the out- 
 ports, are to adjust and allow the same, in 
 like manner. Sometimes the casks, &c. are 
 weighed beyond sea, before the goods are 
 put in ; and the weight of each respective 
 cask, &:c. marked thereon Cas is usual for 
 most goods imported from the British plan- 
 tations), or else inserted in the merchant’s 
 invoice ; in which case, if the real invoice 
 be produced, and the officers have satisfied 
 themselves (by unpacking and weighing 
 some of them) tliat those weights are just 
 and true, they do then, after having reduced 
 them to British weight, esteem them to be 
 
TAll 
 
 the real tares, and pass them accordingly. 
 Blit the unpacking goods, and taking the 
 net weight, lieing supposed the justest me- 
 thod, hotli for (lie crown and merchant, it 
 is usually practised in the port of London, 
 in all cases where it can be done with con- 
 venicncy, and without detriment to the 
 goods. 
 
 TARGIONIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Cypriani Targioni, M. -D. ol’ Flo- 
 rence, a genns of the Cryptogamia HepaticEB, 
 Generic character; calyx two-valved, com- 
 pressed, containing at bottom a capsule 
 nearly globular, many-seeded. There is 
 only one species ; viz. T. hypophylla, a na- 
 tive of Italy, Spain, Constantinople, Flan- 
 ders; Saxony, about Dresden ; and Eng- 
 land, near Dawlish, in Devonshire ; flower- 
 ing from March to May. 
 
 TARTARIC acid, in chemistry, was 
 procured by Scheele in a separate state in 
 the year 1770. The process which he fol- 
 lowed was by boiling a quantity of the sub- 
 stance called tartar, or cream of tartar, in 
 water, and adding powdered chalk till ef- 
 fervescence ceased, and the liquid no longer 
 reddened vegetable blues. It was then 
 allowed to cool ; the liquor filtered ; and a 
 white insoluble powder remained on the 
 filter, which was carefully removed and 
 well washed. This was put into a matrass, 
 and a quantity of sulphuric acid, equal in 
 weight to the chalk employed, diluted witli 
 .water, poured upon it. The mixture was 
 allowed to digest for twelve hours on a sand 
 bath, stirring it occasionally with a glass 
 rod. The sulphuric acid combined with 
 the lime, and formed a shlphate of lime, 
 which fell to the bottom. The liquid con- 
 tained the tartaric acid dissolved in it. This 
 was decanted off, and a little acetate of 
 lead dropped into it, as a test to detect the 
 sulphuric acid, should any remain, and if this 
 be the case, it must be digested again with 
 more tartrate of lime, to carry off what re- 
 mains of the sulphuric acid. It is then to 
 be evaporated, and about one-third of the 
 weight of the tartar employed is obtained 
 of concrete tartaric acid. To purify this, 
 the crystals may be dissolved in distilled 
 water, and again evaporated and crystalliz- , 
 ed. It seems probable that this acid exists 
 in a state of purity in some vegetables. 
 Vauqitelin found a 64th part in the pulp of 
 the tamarind. Tartaric (or tartaroiis) acid 
 thus obtained is in the form of very fine 
 needle shaped crystals ; but they have been 
 differently described by different chemist^. 
 
 TAS 
 
 According to Berginen, they are in the 
 form of small plates, attached by one extre- 
 mity, and diverging at the other. They 
 have been found by others grouped toge- 
 ther in the shape of needles, pyramids, re- 
 gular six-sided prisms, and square and small 
 rhoniboidal plates. The' specific gravity is 
 1.6. This acid has a very sharp, pungent 
 taste ; diluted with water, it resembles the 
 tasteof lemon juice ; and it reddens str ongly 
 blue vegetable colours. When it is exposed 
 to heat, on burning coals, it melts, blackens, 
 emits fumes, froths up, and exhales a sharp 
 pungent vapour. It then burns with.a blue 
 flame, and leaves behind a spongy mass of 
 charcoal, in which some traces of lime have 
 been detected. In the decomposition of 
 the tartaric acid by heat, one of the most 
 remarkable products which particularly 
 characterizes it, is an acid liquor of a reddish 
 colour, which amounts to one-fourth of the 
 weight of the former. This was formerly 
 known by the name of pyrotartarous acid. 
 It has a slightly acid taste, pt odiices a disa- 
 greeable sensation on (he tongue, is strongly 
 empyreumatic, and reddens the tincture of 
 turnsole. But it has been found by the ex- 
 periments of Fourcroy and Vauquelin to be 
 the acetic acid impregnated with an oil. 
 Tartaric acid is very soluble in water. The 
 specific gravity of a solution formed by 
 Bergman, was found to be 1.2. This sohi- 
 tion in water is not liable to spontaneous 
 decomposition, unless it is diluted. While 
 it is concentrated, it loses nothing of its acid 
 nature or its other properties. According 
 to the analysis of Fourcroy and Vauquelin, 
 100 parts ot this acid are composed of 
 
 Oxygen 70.5 
 
 Carbon jg q 
 
 Hydrogen 10.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 Tartaric acid is not applied to any use, 
 and bnt few of ifs combinations are em-. 
 ployed hi the practice of medicine. 
 
 TASTE, se7ise of. The senses of taste 
 and smell are nearly allied to the sense of 
 feeling ; indeed they may be considered as 
 modifications of feeling. They however 
 are properly distinguished from it, because 
 they have each a peculiar organ, and are 
 each affected by peculiar properties of bo- 
 dies. The chief organ of taste is the tongue ; 
 and it is fitted for its office by the nume- 
 rous extremities of nerves which are lodged 
 
 
 

 
 y-' 
 
 TAW 
 
 along its surface, and particularly at tire 
 top and sides. Hartley considers this sense 
 as extending to the otiier parts of the month, 
 down the throat, the stomach, and the other 
 parts of the clrannel tor food. Taken in 
 this comprehensive sense, the sense of taste 
 conveys to the mind sensations not only of 
 flavours, hut of hunger and thirst. 
 
 In order to produce the sense of taste, 
 the nervous extremities of the tongue must 
 he moistened, and the action of eating ge- 
 nerally produces an effusion of a fluid from 
 different parts of the mouth, which answers 
 the purpose of exciting the taste and of as- 
 sisting digestion. The pleasures derived 
 from taste arc very considerable; and the 
 power of yielding pleasurable sensations ac- 
 companies the taste through the whole 
 of life. Hence it is reasonable to infer 
 that the pleasures of taste constitute one 
 grand source of the mental pleasures, that 
 is, those which can be felt without the di- 
 rect intervention of sensation. They leave 
 their relicts in the mind ; and these com- 
 bine together, with other pleasures, and 
 thus form feelings which often connect 
 themselves w'ith objects which have no im- 
 mediate connection with the objects of 
 taste. To this source Hartley traces the 
 principal origin of the social pleasures ; and 
 there cannot be a doubt that the pleasures 
 of taste are the chief original sources of the 
 tilial affection. It appears that one end of 
 the long continuance of the pleasures of 
 taste is to supply continual accessions of vi- 
 vidness to the mental pleasures ; but doubt- 
 less, the principal object is to make that a 
 source of pleasure, which is necessary for 
 self-preservation. Tiie pams of taste are 
 ranch less numerous than those of feeling. 
 They arc only such as are necessary to 
 prompt to avoid excessive abstinence or 
 gialification, and to prevent the employ- 
 ment of improper food ; and therefore de- 
 pend much more upon causes which man 
 usually has under his own contronl. 
 
 Ta\jGHT, a term used in maritime bu- 
 siness, to denote the state of being extend- 
 ed, or stretched out, and is usually applied 
 in opposition to slack. 
 
 TAURUS, the bull, in zoology. See 
 Bos. 
 
 Taurus, in astronomy, one of the twelve 
 ' signs of the zodiac, the second in order, con- 
 sisting of forty-four stars, according to Pto- 
 lemy ; of forty-one, according to Tycho ; 
 and of no less than one hundred and thirty- 
 five, according to the Britannic catalogue. 
 
 TAWING, the art of dressing skins in 
 
 TEA 
 
 vvliite, so as to be fit for divers manufac- 
 tnre.s, particularly gloves, &c. All skins 
 may be tawed ; but those chiefly used for 
 this purpose are lambs, sheep, kids, and 
 goat skins. 
 
 TAXUS, in botany, yeiv-tree, a genus of 
 the Dioecia Monadelpliia class and order. 
 Natural order ofConiferae. Essential cha- 
 racter : male calyx none ; corolla none ; sta- 
 mina many ; anthers peltate, eight-cleft ; 
 female corolla none ; style none ; seed one, 
 in a berried calycle that is quite entire. 
 There are four species, we shall notice the 
 T. haccata, common yew-tree, which has a 
 straight trunk, with a smooth, deciduous 
 bark; the wood is hard, tough, and of a 
 fine grain ; leaves thickly set, linear, smooth, 
 ev.er-green ; flowers axillary, enveloped with 
 imbricate bractes ; the male on one tree, 
 sulphur-coloured, without a calyx; the fe- 
 male on another, with a small green calyx, 
 sustaining the oval flattish seed, which ca- 
 lyx at length becomes red, soft, full of a 
 sweet slimy pulp. The yew-tree is a native 
 of Europe, North America, and Japan ; its 
 proper situation is in mountainous woods, 
 or more particularly the clef ts of high calca- 
 reous rocks. England formerly possessed 
 great abundance, and it is now not very un- 
 common, in a wild state, in some parts of 
 the country. Of planted trees there are 
 yet several in church yards. Mr. Evelyn 
 mentions a yew-tree in the church-yard 
 of Crowhurst, in Surrey, which was ten 
 yards in compass ; another in Braburne 
 church yard, not far from Scot’s Hall, in 
 Kent, being fifty-eight feet, eleven inches, 
 in circumference, or nearly twenty feet in 
 diameter. 
 
 TE-ARS, a name for the limpid fluid se- 
 creted by the lachrymal glands, arid flowmg 
 on the surface of the eye; either in conse- 
 quence of local irritation, or the emotions 
 of gt ief. Some part of this aiiueous fluid is 
 dissipated in the air; hut the greatest part, 
 after having performed its office, is propell- 
 ed by the orbicular muscle, which so close- 
 ly constrinses the eye-lid to the ball of the 
 eye as to leave no space between, unless in 
 the internal angle, where the tears are col- 
 lected. 
 
 From this collection the tears are ab- 
 sorbed by the orifices of the punctae lachry- 
 maliae; from thence they are propelled 
 through the lachrymal canals into the la- 
 chrymal sac, and flow tbrongh the dnetns 
 nasalis into the cavity of the nostrils, under 
 the inferior concha nasalis. The tears have 
 no smell, but a saltish taste. The uses of the 
 
TEC 
 
 tears are these : 1. They contiinially moisten 
 the surface of the eye and eye-lids, to pre- 
 vent the transparent cornea from drying and 
 becoming opaque, or the eye from concret- 
 ing with the eye-lids. 2. They prevent that 
 pain whicli would otherwise arise from the 
 friction of the eye-lids against the ball of tile 
 eye from continually winking. 3. They wash 
 kway dust, or any thing acrid, that may 
 have fallen into tlie eye. This liquid is 
 transparent and colourless, has no percep- 
 tible smell, but a saline taste. It communi- 
 cates to vegetable blues a permanent green 
 colour. When it is evaporated nearly to 
 dryness, cubic crystals are formed, which 
 are muriate of soda. Soda is in excess, be- 
 cause vegetable blues are converted by it 
 to a green colour. A portion of mucilagi- 
 nous matter, which becomes yellow as it 
 dries, remains after the evaporation. This 
 liquid is soluble in water, and in alkalies. 
 Alcohol produces a white flaky precipitate, 
 and when it is evaporated, muriate of soda 
 and soda remain behind. By burning the 
 residuum, some traces of phosphate of lime 
 and of soda are detected. The component 
 parts of tears are therefore, 
 
 Water, Muriate of soda, 
 
 Mucilage, Phosphate of lime. 
 
 Soda, Phosphate of soda. 
 
 The mucilage of tears absorbs oxygen 
 from the atmosphere, and becomes thick, 
 viscid, and of a yellow colour. It is then 
 insoluble in water. Oxymuriatic acid pro- 
 duces a similar effect. It is converted into 
 muriatic acid, so that it has been deprived 
 of its oxygen. The mucus of the nose con- 
 sists of the same substances as the tears ; 
 but being more exposed to the air, it ac- 
 quires a greater degree of viscidity from 
 the mucilage absorbing oxygen. 
 
 TECHNICAL expresses somewhat re- 
 lating to arts or sciences : in this sense we 
 say technical terms. It is also particularly 
 applied to a kind of verses wherein are con- 
 tained the rules or precepts of any art,4h’us 
 digested to help the memory to retain them ; 
 an example whereof may be seen in the 
 article Memory. 
 
 TECTONA, in botany, a ghniis of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Vitices, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : corolla five-cleft ; stigma 
 toothed ; drupe dry, spongy, within the in- 
 flated calyx; nut three-celled. There is 
 only one species ; viz. T. grandis, teak 
 wood, or Indian oak ; the trunk of this tree 
 grows to an immense size ; bark ash-colour- 
 
 TEL 
 
 ed ; branches cross-armed, numerous, spread- 
 ing ; young shoots four-sided ; leaves oppo- 
 site, above scabrous, beneath covered with 
 soft white down ; the leaves on young trees 
 from twelve to twenty-four inches long, and 
 from eight to sixteen broad ; petiole short, 
 thick, laterally compressed ; panicle termi- 
 nating, very large, cross-armed ; divisions 
 dichotomous, with a sessile fertile flower in 
 each cleft : the whole covered with a hoary 
 farinaceous substance ; flowers small, white, 
 very numerous, fragrant ; nectary very small ; 
 nut exceedingly hard, four-celled. It is a 
 native of the large forests in Java and Cey- 
 lon, Malabar, Coromandel, Pegu, Ava, the 
 confines of Cochinchina, and Cambodia, 
 &c. The wood of this tree has by long ex- 
 perience been found to be the most useful 
 timber in Asia ; it is light, easily worked, 
 and at the same time both strong and dura- 
 ble ; for ship building the teak is reckoned 
 superior to any other sort of wood. A du- 
 rable vessel of burthen cannot be built in 
 the river of Bengal, without the aid of teak 
 plank ; some of the finest merchant ships 
 ever seen on the river Thames have arrived 
 from Calcutta, where they were built of 
 teak timber. 
 
 TEETH. See Anatomy. Teeth have been 
 analyzed by Mr. Pepys, who has found the 
 constituent parts of teeth of different ages 
 to be, in different proportions : phosphate 
 of lime, carbonate of lime, and cartilage. 
 
 According to Fourcroy and A^auquelin, 
 the enamel is composed of 
 
 Phosphate of lime 72.9 
 
 Gelatine and water 27.1 
 
 100 
 
 TELEGRAPH, a word derived from 
 the Greek, and which is very properly 
 given to an instrument, by means of which 
 information may be almost instantaneously 
 conveyed to a considerable distance. The 
 telegraph, though it has been generally 
 known and used by the moderns only for a 
 few years, is by no means a modern in- 
 vention. There is reason to believe that 
 amongst the Greeks there was some sort of 
 telegraph in use. The burning of Troy was 
 certainly known in Greece very soon after 
 it happened, and before any person had re- 
 turned from thence. Now that was alto- 
 gether so tedious a piece of business, that 
 conjecture never could have supplied the 
 place of information. A Greek play begins 
 witli a scene in which a watchman descends 
 from the top of a tower in Greece, and 
 
TELEGRAPH. 
 
 givfes the information that Troy was taken. 
 
 I have been looking out these ten years 
 (says he)' to see when that would happen, 
 and this night it is done.” Of the antiquity 
 of a mode of conveying intelligence quickly 
 to a great distance, this is certainly a proof) 
 The Chinese, when they send couriers on 
 the great canal, or when any great man 
 travels there, make signals, by fire, from 
 pne day’s journey to another, to have every 
 thing prepared; and most of the barbarous 
 nations used formerly to give the alarm of 
 war by fires lighted on the hills or rising 
 grounds. 
 
 It does not appear that the moderns had 
 thought of such a machiue as a telegraph 
 till the year 16C3, when the Marquis of 
 Worcester, in his “ Century of Inventions,” 
 affirmed that he had discovered “ a method 
 by which, at a window, as far as eye can 
 discover black from white, a man may 
 hold discourse with his correspondent, with- 
 out noise made or notice taken; being ac- 
 r^rding to occasion given, or means afford- 
 ed, ex re nata, and no need of provision 
 before hand ; though much better if fore- 
 seen, and course taken by mutual consent 
 of parties.” This could be done only by 
 inteans of a telegraph, which in the next 
 sentence is declared to have been rendered 
 so perfect, that by means of it the corres- 
 pondence could be carried on “ by night as 
 well as by day, though as dark as pitch is 
 black.” 
 
 About forty years afterwards M, Amon- 
 tons proposed a new telegraph. His me- 
 thod was this : Let there be people placed 
 in several stations, at such a distance from 
 one another, that by the help of a telescope 
 a man in one station may see a signal made 
 in the next before him ; he must imme- 
 diately make the same signal, that it may be 
 seen by persons in the station next after him, 
 who are to communicate it to those in the 
 following station, and so on. These signals 
 may be as letters of the alphabet, or as a 
 cypher, understood only by the two persons 
 who are in the distant places, and not by 
 those who make the signals. The person 
 in the second station making the signal to 
 the person in the third the vety moment he 
 sees it m the first ; the news may be car- 
 ried to the greatest distance in as little 
 time as is necessary to make the signals in 
 thd first station. The distance of the seve- 
 ral stations, which must be as few as possi- 
 ble, is measured by the reach of a tele- 
 scope. Amontons tried this method in a 
 small tract of land, before several persons 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 of the highest rank, at ffie court; of France. 
 It was not, however, till the French revo- 
 lution that the telegraph was applied to use- 
 ful purposes. 
 
 Whether M. Chappe, who is' said to have 
 invented the telegraph first used by the 
 French about the end of 1793, knew any 
 thing of Amonton’s invention or not, it is 
 impossible to say ; but his telegraph was 
 constructed on principles nearly similar. 
 The manner of using this telegi-aph was as 
 follows : At tlie. first station, which was on 
 the roof of the palace of the Louvre at 
 Paris, M. Chappe,. the inventor, received 
 in wiling from the Committee of Public 
 Welfare, the words to be sent to Lisle, near 
 which the French army at that time was. 
 An upright post was erected on tlie Louvre, 
 at the top of which were two transverse 
 arms, moveable in all directions by a single 
 piece of mechanism, and with inconceivable 
 rapidity. He invented a number of posi- 
 tions for these arms, which stood as signs 
 for the letters of the alphabet ; and these, 
 for the greater celerity and simplicity, he 
 reduced in mimher as much as possible. 
 The grammarian will easily conceive that 
 sixteen signs may amply supply all the let- 
 ters of the alphabet, since sonie.letters may 
 be omitted not only without^ detriment but 
 w'ith advantage. These signs, as they were 
 arbitrary, could be changed every week ; so 
 that the sign of B for one day, might be, the 
 sign of M the next ; and it was only necessary 
 that the persons at the extremities should 
 know the key. The intermediate operators 
 were only instructed generally in' these six- 
 teen signals ; wliich were so distinct, so 
 marked, so different the one from tire other, 
 that they were easily remembered. 
 
 The construction of the machine was 
 such, that each signal was uniformly given 
 in precisely the same manner at all times : 
 It did not depend on the operator’s manual 
 skill; and the position of the arm could 
 never, for any one signal, be a degree higher 
 or a degree lower, its movement being re- 
 gulated mechanically. M. Chappe having 
 received at the Louvre the sentence to be 
 conveyed, gave a known signal to the second 
 station, which was Mont Martre, to pre- 
 pare. At each station there was a watch 
 tower, where telescopes were fixed, and 
 the person on watch gave the signal of pre- 
 paration which he had received, and this 
 communicated successively through all the 
 line, which brought them all into a slate of 
 readiness. Tr.e person at Mont Martre 
 then received, letter by letter, the sentence 
 B b 
 
TEL 
 
 from the Louvre, which he repeated with 
 liis own machine; and this was again re- 
 peated from the next height, with incon- 
 ceivable rapidity, to the final station at 
 Lisle. 
 
 Various experiments ivere in consequence 
 tiied upon telegraphs in this country ; and 
 one was soon after set up by government, 
 in a chain of stations from the Admiralty 
 office to the sea-coast. It consists of six 
 octagon boards, each of which is poised 
 upon an axis in a frame, in such a manner 
 that it can be either placed vertically, so 
 as to appear with its full size to the obser- 
 ver at the nearest station, or it becomes in- 
 visible to him by being placed horizontally, 
 so that the narrow edge alone is exposed, 
 which narrow edge is from a distance invisi- 
 ble. .Six boards make thirty-six changes, 
 by the most plain and simple mode of work- 
 ing; and they will make many more if more 
 iwere necessary : but as the real superiority 
 of the telegraph over all other modes of 
 making signals consists in its making letters, 
 we do not think that more changes than 
 the letters of the alphabet, and the arith- 
 metical figures, are necessary ; but, on the 
 contrary, that those who work the tele- 
 graphs should avoid communicating by 
 words or signs agreed upon to express sen- 
 tences ; for that is the sure method never to 
 become expert at sending unexpected in- 
 telligence accurately. This telegraph is, 
 without doubt, made up of the best number 
 of combinations possible ; five boards would 
 be insufficient, and seven would be useless. 
 It has been objected to it, however, that its 
 form is too clumsy to admit of its being 
 raised to any considerable height above the 
 building on which it stands;. and that it 
 cannot be made to change its direction, 
 and consequently cannot be seen but from 
 one particular point. Several other tele- 
 graphs have been proposed to remedy these 
 defects, and perhaps others to w'liich the 
 instrument is still liable. The dial-plate of 
 a clock would make an excellent telegraph, 
 as it might exhibit one hundred and forty- 
 four sign-s, so as to be visible at a great dis- 
 tance. A telegraph on this principle, with 
 only six divisions instead of twelve, would 
 be simple and cheap, and might be raised 
 tweiity or thirty feet high above the build- 
 ing without any difficulty : it might be sup- 
 ported Oil one post, and therefore turn 
 round ; and the contrast of colours would 
 always be the same. 
 
 TELESCOPE, au optical instrument, 
 which is used for discovering awl viewing 
 
 TEL 
 
 distant objects, either directly by glasses, 
 or by reflection. Telescopes are either re- 
 fracting or reflecting ; the former consist of 
 different lenses, through which the objects 
 are seen by rays refracted by them to the 
 eye ; and the latter, of specula, from which 
 tlie rays are reflected and passed to the eye- 
 The lens, or glass, turned to the object, is 
 called the object-glass ; and that next the 
 eye, the eye-glass ; and when the telescope 
 consists of more than two lenses, all but 
 that next tlie object are called eye-glasses. 
 
 The principal effects of telescopes de- 
 pend upon this maxim, “ that objects ap- 
 pear larger in proportion to the angles 
 which they subtend at the eye ; and the ef- 
 fect is the same, whether the pencils of 
 rays, by which objects are visible to us, 
 come directly from the objects themselves, 
 or from any place nearer to the eye, where 
 they may have been united, so as to fonn 
 an image of the object; because they issue 
 again from those points in certain direc- 
 tions, in the same manner as they did from 
 the corresponding points in the objects 
 themselves. In fact, therefore, all that is 
 effected by a telescope, is first to make 
 such an image of a distant object, by means 
 of a lens or mirror, and then to give the 
 eye some assistance for viewing that image 
 'as nearws possible ; so that the angle, which 
 it shall subtend at the eye, may be very 
 large, compared with the angle which the 
 object itself would subtend in the same si- 
 tuation. This is done by means of an eye- 
 glass, which so refracts tlie pencils of rays, 
 as that they may afterwards be brought to 
 their several foci, by the natural humours 
 of the eye. But if the eye had been so 
 formed as to be able to see the image, with 
 sufficient distinctness, at the same distance, 
 w'ithoiit an eye-glass,' it would appear to him 
 as much magnified, as it does to another 
 person who makes use of a glass for that 
 purpose', though he would not, in all cases, 
 have so large a field of view. 
 
 Although no image be actually formed 
 by the foci of the pencil without the eye, 
 yet if, by the help of an eye-glass, the pen- 
 cils of rays shall enter the pupil, just as 
 they would have done from any place with- 
 out the eye, the visual angle will be the 
 same as if an image had been actually form- ' 
 ed in that place. 
 
 Telescopes are of several kinds, distin- 
 guished by the number and form of their 
 lenses, or glasses, and denominated from 
 their particular uses, &c. such are the 
 “ terrestrial, or land telescope,” the “ celes- 
 

 
 ‘ -r 
 
 TELESCOPE. 
 
 tial, or astronomical telescope to which presentation of terrestrial objects through 
 
 may ne acidea^ tlie “ lialilean, or JDutch te- 
 lescope,” the “ reflecting telescope the 
 “ achromatic telescope,’’ &c. 
 
 We shah proceed to describe some of 
 these, in order to illustrate the principle. 
 
 The “ astronomical telescope ” consists of 
 two convex lenses, A B, K M, Plate XVI. 
 Miscel. fig. 1, fixed at the two extremities ol 
 a tube, that consists, at least, of two parts, 
 that slide one within the other, for adjust- 
 ing the focus in proportion to the distance 
 of the objects that are to be seen through 
 the telescope. 
 
 PQ represents the semi-diameter of a 
 very distant object, from every point of 
 'Which rays come, so very little diverging to 
 the object lens, K M, of the telescope, as to 
 be nearly parallel : p f/ is the picture of the 
 object, P Q, which would be formed upon 
 a screen situated at that place. Beyond 
 that place, the rays of every single radiant 
 point proceed divergingly upon another 
 lens, A B, called tlie eye-glass, which is 
 wore convex than the former, and are, hy 
 this, caused to proceed parallel to one ano- 
 ther, in which direction they enter the eye 
 of the observer at O. 
 
 The two lenses of this telescope have a 
 common axis, OLQ; L5 is the focal dis- 
 tance of the object lens, and E q is the focal 
 distance of the eye lens. An object view- 
 ed through this telescope, by an eye si- 
 tuated at O, will appear distinct, inverted, 
 and magnified ; viz. the object seen with- 
 out the telescope will be, to its appearance 
 through the telescope, as qE to 5L; that 
 is, as the focal distance of the eye lens to 
 the focal distance of the object lens. For 
 the rays, see Optics, which, after their 
 crossing at the place, rqp, proceed diverg- 
 ingly, fall Upon the lens, AB, in the same 
 manner as if a real object were situated at 
 rqpi and of course, on the other side of 
 that lens the rays of each pencil will pro- 
 ceed parallel. Now to the eye at O, the 
 apparent magnitude of the object, or of the 
 part, PQ, is measured by the angle, E O A, 
 or by its equal, q Ep; but to the naked eye 
 at Ly when the glass is removed, the appa- 
 rent magnitude of the object is measured 
 by the angle, Q E P, or by its equal, qEp- 
 therefore the apparent magnitude, to the 
 naked eye, is to the apparent magnitude 
 through the telescope, as the angle, jLp, 
 is to the angle, qEp; or as the distance^ 
 q E, is to the distance, q L. This telescope 
 is mostly used for astronomical observa- 
 tions; for, as it inverts the object, there- 
 
 It would not be pleasant. It is evident, 
 from the above explanation, that if the two 
 lenses of this telescope have equal focal dis- 
 tances, the telescope w’ill not magnify. It 
 also appears, that, with a given object lens, 
 the shorter the focus of the eye lens is, the 
 greater will the magnifying power be. But 
 when the disproportion of the two focal 
 lengths is very great, then the aberration, 
 arising from the figure of the lenses, and 
 from the dispersive power of glass, becomes 
 so very great as to do more damage than 
 can be compensated by the increased mag- 
 nifying power. Hence, in order to obtain 
 a very great magnifying power, those tele- 
 scopes have sometimes been made very 
 long, as, for instance, of 100 feet, or up- 
 wards ; and as they were used for astrono- 
 mical purposes, or mostly in the night time, 
 they were frequently used without a tube, 
 viz. fhfe object lens was fixed on the top of 
 a pole, in a frame capable of motion in any 
 required direction, and the eye lens was fix- 
 ed in a short tube that was held in the hand 
 of the observer. The distance, as well as 
 the direction, of the two lenses, was adjust- 
 ed by a strong cord stretched between the 
 frame of the object lens and the tube of the 
 eye lens. In this construction, the instru- 
 ment has been called an “ aerial telescope.” 
 Its use is evidently incommodious ; but it 
 was w'ilh such a telescope that five satellites 
 of Saturn, and other remarkable objects, 
 were discovered. 
 
 The object, which appears inverted 
 through this telescope, will appear upright 
 and distinct if two more convex eye glasses 
 be subjoined to it, at a distance from each 
 other, which is equal to the sum of their fo- 
 cal distances ; and when their local dis- 
 tances are equal, the object will be magni- 
 lied as much as without those additional 
 glasses ; but through them it w'ill appear 
 upright, and not inverted. Hence this te- 
 lescope has been mostly used for viewing 
 terrestrial objects, and is therefore called 
 the “ terrestrial telescope.” 
 
 The “ Galilean telescope ” consists of a 
 convex object lens, and a concave eye lens, 
 and derives its name from the great Gali- 
 leo, who is generally reckoned the inventor 
 of It. Fig. 2 shows, that the distance be- 
 tween the two lenses is less than tiie focal 
 distance of the object lens ; viz. instead of 
 the convex lens situated behind the place 
 of the image, to make the rays of each pen- 
 cil proceed in a parallel direction to the 
 eye, here a concave eye lens is placed as 
 B b 2 
 
TELESCOPE. 
 
 much before that image ; and this lens opens 
 the rays of each pencil that converged to q 
 and p, and makes them emerge parallel to- 
 wards the. eye ; as is evident Ky conceiving 
 the rays to go back again through the eye 
 lens, whose focal distance is l^q- 
 
 The eye must be placed close to the con- 
 cave lens,jn order to receive as many pen- 
 cils as possible; and then supposing an 
 emerging ray of an oblique pencil to be 
 produced backwards along A O, the appa 
 rent magnitude of the object is measured 
 by the angle, AOE, or its equal gEp, 
 wliicli is to the angle, gLp, or Q El , as g 
 to gE, viz. as in the astronomical telescope. 
 
 It is evident, that in this telescope the ob- 
 jects appear erect, for the rays .of light do 
 
 not cross each other. 
 
 The field of view, or quantity of objects 
 that are taken in at once in this telescope, 
 does not depend upon the 
 eyelens,asin the astronomical te escope, 
 but upon the breadth of the pupil of the 
 eye ; because the pupil is less than the ey 
 lens, A B, and the lateral pencils do not 
 now converge to, but diverge from, the axis 
 of the lenses. Upon this account the view 
 is narrower in this than in the preceding 
 telescope; vet the objects through it ap- 
 pear remarkably clear and distinct. 
 
 “The night telescope” is a short tele- 
 scope, viz. about two feet long, which re- 
 presents the objects inverted, much en- 
 lightened, but not much magmhed. Its 
 field of view is also very extensive. This 
 telescope, in consequence of those proper- 
 ties, is used at night mostly by navigators, 
 for the purpose of discovering objects that 
 are not very distant, but which cannot 
 otherwise be seen, for want of sufficient 
 . light ; such as vessels, coasts, rocks, &c. 
 On account of its extensive field, and great 
 lioht, this telescope has also been advan- 
 tageously used, by astronomers, for disco- 
 ■yering some celestial objects, whose sitiia- 
 tion was not exactly known, or for viewing 
 at once the relative situation of several stars 
 and other objects. 
 
 This telescope has a pretty large and sim- 
 ple object lens, whence it derives its great 
 light ; for as the rays which proceed from 
 every single point of the object fall upon 
 the whole lens of a telescope, and are 
 tlience refracteid to a focus, it is evident 
 that the larger tliht lens is, the greater num- 
 ber of rays \yill be thrown upon that focus, 
 and of course the brighter will the image 
 be. In this telescope latge lens may be 
 ased, because the telescope is not intended 
 
 to magnify mere than about four oi‘ si* 
 times in lineal extension. 
 
 Within this telescope a second lens is of- 
 ten used for shortening the focal length of 
 the object lens. The eye lens is sometimes 
 single, blit mostly double, {viz. a combina- 
 tion of two plano-convex lenses placed at a 
 little distance from each other) and preily 
 large : hence is derived the extensive field 
 of view, which in some of those telescopes 
 exceeds six or seven degrees. 
 
 AEe may observe, once for all, that in 
 every telescope the distance between the 
 object lens and the other lens or lenses must 
 be alterable, in order that the focus may be 
 adjusted according to tlie distance of the 
 objects. Hence, every telescope consists 
 at least of two tubes, one of which, viz. 
 that with the eye lenses, slides within the 
 other. To the .same telescope several eye 
 tubes, with a shallower or deeper lens, or 
 with a different number of lenses, may be 
 adapted successively, in order to give them 
 different magnifying powers, suitably to the 
 clearness of the air, of the objects, &c. as 
 also for converting them info astronomical 
 or terrestrial telescopes. 
 
 We now proceed to the reflected tele- 
 scope, which is likewise called the Newto- 
 nian telescoipe, for if not the original pro- 
 jector, Sir Isaac Newton is, at least, the^ 
 first person who executed a telescope of 
 this sort, which consists of reflecting and 
 refracting parts. 
 
 The general principle of this telescope is 
 the same as that of the djoptric or refract- 
 ing telescope. In the latter the rays which 
 come from a distant object are, by the action 
 of the donvex object lens, collected to a fo- 
 cus, and beyond that focus the rays of every 
 single radiant point are rendered again pa- 
 rallel by the action of the eye lens or eye 
 lehses. This is otherwise expressed, by 
 saying that the object lens forms an image 
 of the object, which image is viewed by the 
 eye lens. In the former, viz. in the reflect- 
 ing telescope, the rays which come from a 
 distant object, are, by the action of a con- 
 cave reflector, sent back convergingly to U 
 focus, wliere they form an image, which is 
 viewed through the eye lens. There are 
 several varieties of this telescope ; we shall 
 content ourselves with the description of 
 one only, viz. the Gregorian telescope, 
 which is represented in fig. 3. The large 
 concave speculum, B E, of this telescope is 
 perforated with a hole quite through its 
 middle. Witliin the tube of the telescope 
 a small concave speculum, x y, is supported 
 

 
 TELESCOPE. 
 
 by the arm, H, directly facing the large 
 speculum, B E. Two lenses, w x and n o, 
 are contained in the eye tube, and the ob- 
 server applies his eye to a small hole at P, 
 in order to view a magnified distant object. 
 
 The large reflector, BE, receives the 
 rays, ac, bd, from the distant object, and 
 reflects them to its focus, e, where they form 
 the inverted image, or where they cross 
 each other, and then fall divergingly upon 
 the small reflector, x y, whose focus is aty ; 
 viz. a little further than the focus, e, of the 
 large reflector : hence the rays are reflected 
 back upon the lens, to x, not in a parallel, 
 but in a converging manner ; and that con- 
 vergency is increased by the action ot that 
 lens, so as to come to a focus, or to form a 
 second image, R S, much larger than the 
 former, and erect like the object. Lastly, 
 this image is viewed through the eye lens, 
 n 0 ; or, in other words, the rays from every 
 single point of the object, after this second 
 crossing, fall divergingly upon the eye lenli, 
 which sends them nearly parallel to the eye 
 at P, through a very small hole. Some- 
 times the eye lens, n o, is double, rAz, it 
 consists of two lenses, which perform the 
 office of a single lens. 
 
 If the first lens, w x, were removed, the 
 image would.be formed some,what larger 
 at z; but the area or field of view would be 
 smaller and less pleasant. At the place of 
 the image, R S, there is situated a circular 
 piece of brass, called a diaphragm, with a 
 hole of a proper size to circumscribe the 
 image, and to cut off all superfluous or ex- 
 traneous light, in order that the object may 
 appear as distinct as possible. 
 
 The magnifying power of this telescope 
 is computed in the following manner: If 
 this telescope consisted of the two reflec- 
 tors only, and these were situated so that e 
 were the focus of each reflector ; then the 
 rays which came parallel from the distant ob- 
 ject to the large reflector, and divergingly 
 t'rom that to the small reflector, would, after 
 the second reflection, go parallel to the eye 
 at P, and of course the object would ap- 
 pear magnified in the proportion of the fo- 
 cal distance of the large reflector to the 
 foeal distance of the small reflector; so 
 that if the focal distance of the former be 
 to that of the latter as six to one, then the 
 object would be magnified six times in dia- 
 meter. But since the first image is magni- 
 fied into a second image much larger, which 
 is viewed through the eye lens ; therefore 
 the whole magnifying power is in a propor- 
 tion compounded of d e to ex, and of s x 
 
 to z 0. If the former proj^orlion be as six 
 to one, and the latter as eight to one ; then 
 the object will appear forty-eight {viz. six 
 by eight) times larger in diameter through 
 the telescope than to the naked eye. 
 
 The fourth species of reflecting telescope 
 goes under the name of “ Cassegrainian Te- 
 lescope.’’ It diflfers from the preceding, in 
 having the small reflector convex, instead 
 of concave; in consequence of which the 
 small reflector must be placed nearer to the 
 large reflector than the focus of the latter; 
 then the rays .from the large reflector fall 
 convergingly upon the convex small reflec- 
 tor, and are by it sent back' convergingly 
 upon the lens, w x, &e, Tire chief dif- 
 ference between this and the preceding 
 telescope is, that in this the object appears 
 inverted, because in it there is no image 
 formed, or the rays do not cross each other, 
 between the two reflectors. Also with the 
 same magnifying pow'er, &c. this telescope 
 is shorter than the Gregorian, by twice the 
 focal length of the small speculum. 
 
 To both those telescopes a long wire is 
 fixed all along the outside of the tube, at 
 the end of which there is a screw which 
 works into an external projection, g, of the 
 internal arm, H, and serves to move that 
 arm with the small speculum nearer to or 
 further from the large speculum, in order to 
 adjust the focus of the instrument, accord- 
 ing to the distance of the object. The ac- 
 tion of this wire is easily understood ; for it 
 passes through a hole at F, where it is pre- 
 vented going forwards or backwards by 
 two shoulders, which are indicated by the 
 figure: hence, when the observer looks 
 through the hole, P, he turns with his hand 
 the wire by the nut, Q, which screws the 
 projection, g-, of the arm nearer or further, 
 &c. until the object appears very distinct. 
 
 The largest reflecting telescope now ex- 
 isting, was constructed by that excellent 
 astronomer. Dr. Herschel. It is a tele- 
 scope in which the observer looks through 
 an eye lens down upon the large reflector, 
 whose polished surface is forty-eight inches 
 in diameter. Its focal length is about forty 
 feet. 
 
 There are however two useful appen- 
 dages to telescopes, which deserve to be 
 briefly described. A finder, viz. a short 
 telescope A, fig. 3 , is generally affixed to 
 the tube of a large telescope, for the pur- 
 pose of finding out an object expeditiously. 
 This finder does not magnify the object 
 more than four, six, or eight times ; but it 
 Las a great field of view, so that through if 
 
TELESCOPE, 
 
 a great part of the heavens may be seen at 
 once. In the inside of its tube, and ex- 
 actly at the focus of the eye glass, tliere 
 are two slender wires, which cros^ each 
 other in the axis of the telescopei Now 
 the finder is adjusted by means of screws 
 upon the tube of the great telescope, in 
 such a manner as that when an object, seen 
 through the finder, appears to be near the 
 crossing of the above-mentioned wires, it is 
 at the same time visible through the great 
 telescope: hence, when the observer wishes 
 to view a small distant object, as a star, a 
 planet, &c. he moves the instrument to one 
 side or tbe other, until, by looking through 
 the finder, he brings the object nearly to 
 coincide with the crossing of the wires, 
 and when that takes place, he immediately 
 looks through the large telescope, &c. 
 
 A micrometer is an instrument, which is 
 used with a telescope, for the purpose of 
 measuring small angles. A great variety of 
 micrometers have been contrived by va- 
 rious ingenious persons ; and they are more 
 or less complicated, more or less expensive, 
 as also more or less accurate. See Micro- 
 meter. 
 
 “ Achromatic Telescope,” is a name given 
 t6 the refracting telescope, invented by Mr. 
 John Dollond, and so contrived as to re- 
 medy the aberration arising from colours, 
 or the different l efrangibility of the rays of 
 liaht. The improvement made by Mr. 
 Dollond in his telescopes, by making two 
 object-glasses of crown-glass, and one of 
 flint which was tried with success when 
 concave eye-glasses were used, was com- 
 pleted by his son Peter Dollond; who, 
 conceiving that the same method might be 
 practised with success with convex eye- 
 glasses, found, after a few trials, that it 
 might be done. Accordingly he finished 
 an object-glass of five feet focal length, 
 with an aperture of 3| inches, composed of 
 two convex lenses of crown-glass, and one 
 concave of white flint glass. But appre- 
 hending afterward that the apertures might 
 be admitted still larger, he completed one 
 of 3i feet focal length, with tlie same aper- 
 ture of 3| inches. In tlie 17-inch improved 
 achromatic telescope, the object-glass is 
 composed of tliree glasses, viz, two convex 
 of crown-glass, and one concave of white 
 flint-glass: tlie focal distance of this com- 
 bined object-glass is about seventeen inches, 
 and the diameter of the aperture two in- 
 ches. There are four eye-glasses contained 
 in the tube, to be used for land objects ; 
 the magnifying power with these is near 
 
 fifty times; and they are adjusted to dif- 
 ferent sights, and to different distances of 
 the object, by turning a finger screw at the 
 end of the outer tube. Tiiere is another 
 tube, containing two eye glasses that mag- 
 nify about seventy times, for hstronomical 
 purposes. The telescope may be directed 
 to any object by turning two screws in the 
 stand on which it is fixed, the one giving a 
 vertical motion, and the other a horizontal 
 one. The stand may be inclosed in the in- 
 side of tbe brass tube. 
 
 The object-glass of the and 3i feet te- 
 lescopes is composed of two glasses, one 
 convex of crown-glass, and the other con- 
 cave of white flint glass ; and the diameters 
 of their apertures are two inches and 2| in- 
 ches. Each of them is furnished with two 
 tubes; one for land objects, containing four 
 eye-glasses, and another with two eye- 
 glasses for astronomical uses. They are 
 adjusted by buttons on the outside of the 
 wooden tube : and the vertical and horizon- 
 tal motions are given by joints in the stands. 
 The magnifying power of the least of these 
 telescopes, with the eye-glass for land ob- 
 jects, is nearly fifty times, and with those for 
 astronomical purposes, eighty times ; and 
 that of the greatest for land objects is nearly 
 seventy times, but for astronomical obser- 
 vations eighty and a hundred and thirty time.s ; 
 for this lias two tubes, either of which may 
 be used as occasion requires. Tliis tele- 
 scope is also moved by a screw and rack- 
 work, and the screw is turned by means of 
 a hook’s joint. 
 
 We must now say something of the spe- 
 cula of telescopes, having referred to this 
 place from the article Speculum. The 
 metals of reflecting telescopes are generally 
 composed of thirty-two parts of copper and 
 fifteen of grain tin, with tiie addition of two 
 parts of arsenic, to render the composition 
 more white and compact. It has been ascer- 
 tained, by a variety of experiments, that if 
 one part qf brass, and one of silver, be added 
 to this composition, and only one of arsenic 
 used, a most excellent metal will be ob- 
 tained, which is tlie whitest, hardest, and 
 most reflective. The first composition is, 
 however, for inexperienced persons, the 
 best, ,as the easiest to cast, to grind, and 
 polish. When this is employed, the cop- 
 per and tin should be melted, and when 
 mixed together should be poured into cold 
 water, wiiich will separate the mass into a 
 number of small particles. These small 
 pieces of metal are then to be collected and 
 put into the crucible, along with the silver 
 
 \ 
 
TEL 
 
 and brass: after they have been melted to- 
 gether in a separate crucible, t!ie proper 
 quantity of arsenic is to be added, and a 
 little powdered rosin thrown into the cruci- 
 ble before the metal is poured into the 
 flasks. For the particular methods of grind- 
 ing and polishing we. refer to Brewster’s 
 edition of Ferguson’s Mechanics, vol. i. 
 
 TELEPHIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 PentandriaTrigynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Portulaceae, Jussieu. Miscella- 
 neae, Linnmus. Essential character : calyx 
 five-leaved; petals live, inserted into the re- 
 ceptacle ; capsule one-celled, three-valved. 
 There are two species, viz. T. imperati, 
 true orpine; and T. oppositifolium, both 
 natives of Barbary. 
 
 TELLER, an officer of the Exchequer, 
 in ancient records called tallier : there are 
 four of these offioer.s, whose duty is to re- 
 ceive all suras due to the king, and to give 
 the clerk of the pells a bill to charge him 
 therewith. They likewise pay all money 
 due from the king, by warrant from the 
 auditor of the receipt, and make weekly 
 and yearly books, both of their receipts 
 and payments, which they deliver to the 
 lord-treasurer. 
 
 TELLINA, in natural history, a genus 
 of the Vermes Testacea class and order : 
 animal a tethys : shell bivalve, generally 
 sloping on one side; in the fore part of one 
 valve a convex ; of the other, a concave 
 fold ; hinge with usually three teeth, the 
 lateral ones smooth, in one shell. There are 
 about eighty species, divided into sections. 
 A. ovate and tliickish. B. ovate and com- 
 pressed. C. suborbicular. We shall notice 
 one or two only. T. gari : shell oval, with 
 transverse recurved stria; ; lateral teeth ob- 
 solete ; it inhabits the Indian ocean : the 
 fore part is inflected and very rough, with 
 transverse wrinkles crossed in the middle 
 by perpendicular striae ; sometimes cine- 
 reous, w'ith brown rays ; sometimes bluish 
 spotted with white, and white and red rays. 
 T. cornea: shell globular, glabrous, horn- 
 colour, with a transverse groove. This 
 Mr. Pennant has described in the British 
 Zoology : it inhabits the ponds and fresh 
 water of Europe : it is not larger than a 
 pea. The shell is pellucid, very finely 
 striate across ; vidthin bluish, white ; with- 
 out white, or pale or bluish-ash, with trans- 
 verse black curves, one of jyhich is more 
 distinct ; lateral teeth of the hinge elongated, 
 hardly any middle ones. 
 
 TELL-TALE, in music, a moveable piece 
 of ivory, or lead, suspended in the front of 
 
 TEM 
 
 a chamber-organ, on one side of tlie keys, 
 by a string ; one side of the keys being at- 
 tached to the bellows within, rises as they 
 sink, and apprizes the performer in what 
 degree the wind is exhausted. 
 
 TELLURIUM. See Sylvan. 
 
 TEMPERAMENT, in music, the ac- 
 commodation or adjustment of the imper- 
 fect sounds, by transferring a part of their 
 defects to the more perfect ones, in order 
 ,to remedy, in some degree, the false inter- 
 vals of those instruments, the sounds of 
 which are fixed ; as the organ, harpsichord, 
 piano-forte, &c. 
 
 TEMPERIN G of steel and iron, the ren- 
 dering them either more compact and hard, 
 or soft and pliant, according as the different 
 uses for which they are wanted may require. 
 
 The hardest steel is the most brittle ; but 
 in many cases it is necessary to diminish 
 the hardness, and this operation is called 
 tempering. The greatest difficulty consists 
 in applying the proper degree of heat uni- 
 formly over the whole mass. The common 
 method is, to judge by the colour assumed 
 by the clean surface of steel when thus 
 heated. The heat may be applied by the 
 fire, or a pan of charcoal, or the flame of a 
 candle or lamp, or by laying the piece upon 
 sand to be gradually heated, or upon melted 
 lead. Saw-makers, and those who manu- 
 facture springs, heat the article, rub it with 
 grease, and tlien heat it further till the 
 fumes take fire : this is called blazing, and 
 affords a temper nearly the same as wdien 
 the steel, by heat, has acquired a deep blue 
 colour. When the temper is given from the 
 colour, the first tinge is a faint straw co- 
 lour : this is suitable to pen knives and hard 
 cutting tools. The next colour, which is 
 purple, is rather too soft for a knife, and 
 too brittle for a spring. After this follows 
 the blue, of which there are several shades : 
 the deepest is very soft, and this succeeded 
 by a whitish-yellow, which indicates too 
 great a degree of softness for any cutting 
 tool. Mr. Hartley took out a patent for a 
 method of tempering steel, which w-as done 
 by heating the tools in oil raised to a high 
 temperature. Pen-knives require a heat of 
 450° of Fahrenheit. 
 
 TEMPLARS, or Templers, a religious 
 order instituted at Jerusalem, about the 
 year 1118. Some religious gentlemen put 
 themselves under the government of the 
 patriarch of Jerusalem, renounced property, 
 made the vow of celibacy and obedience, 
 and lived like canons regular. King Bald- 
 win assigned them an apartment in his 
 
TEN 
 
 TEN 
 
 palace. They had likewise lands given them 
 by the king, the patriarch, and the nobility, 
 for their maintenance. At first there were 
 blit nine of this order, and the two principal 
 persons were, Hugo de Paganis, and Geof- 
 frey of St. Omers. About nine years after 
 their institution, a rule w'as drawn up for 
 them, and a white habit assigned them, by 
 Pope Honorius II. About tw’enty years 
 after this, in the popedom of Eugenius III. 
 they had red crosses sewed upon their 
 cloaks, as a mark of distinction ; and in a 
 short time they weie increased to about 
 three hundred, in their convent at Jerusalem. 
 They took the names of Knights Templars, 
 because their first lionse stood near the 
 temple dedicated to oiir Saviour, at Jeru- 
 salem. This order, after having performed 
 many great exploits against the infidels, 
 became rich and powerful all over Europe ; 
 but the knights, abusing their wealth apd 
 credit, fell into great disorders and irregu- 
 larities. Many crimes and enormities being 
 alleged against them, they were prosecuted 
 in France, Italy, and Spain ; and at last, t^e 
 pope, by his bull of the 22d of May, 1312, 
 given in the council of Vienna, pi onounced 
 the extinction of the order of Templars, 
 and united tlieir estates to the order of St. 
 John of Jerusalem. 
 
 TENACITY, a term applied to metals, 
 by which is meant the power that a me- 
 tallic wire, of a given diameter, has of re- 
 sisting, without breaking, the action of a 
 weigltt suspended from its extremity. The 
 tenacity of different metals is very various: 
 an iron wire, of one-t»,nth of an inch in 
 diameter, will support, without breaking, 
 about 5 cwt. ; whereas one of lead will not 
 support 30 lb. 
 
 TENAILLE, in fortification, a kind of 
 outwork, resembling a liornwork, but ge- 
 nerally somewhat different ; for, instead of 
 two demi-bastions, it bears only in front a 
 re-entering angle between the same wings 
 without flanks and the sides are parallel. 
 Tenaille, double orflaiiked, is a work whose 
 front consists of four faces, luaking two 
 re-entering angles, and three saliant; the 
 wings or sides of this work being in like 
 manner correspondent in the front of the 
 gorge. Tenaille simple, a work having its 
 front formed by two faces, which make a 
 re-entering angle, the sides rumiiug directly 
 parallel from the head to the gorge. Te- 
 naille of. the place, is that wliich is com- 
 prehended between the points of two neigh- 
 bouring bastions ; that is to say, the curtain, 
 the two*flanks that are raised on the cur- 
 
 tain, and the two sides of the bastions which 
 face one another; so that it is the same 
 with what is otherwise called the face of 
 the fortress. Tenaille of the foss; is a low 
 work raised before the curtain in the mid- 
 dle of the fo.ss : it is of three sorts; the first 
 is composed of a curtain, two fiaiiks, and 
 two faces; the rampart of the curtain, in- 
 cluding the parapet and talus, is but five 
 fathom thick, but the rampart qf the flanks 
 and faces is seven. The .second is com- 
 posed only of two faces made on the, lines 
 of defence, whose rampart and faces are 
 parallel. The third sort differs from the 
 •second, only in this, that its rampart is pa- 
 rallel to the curtain of the place. All tliree 
 sorts are good, and cannot be hurt by the 
 besiegers’ cannon, till they are masters of 
 the covert w'ay, and have planted their 
 cannon there. 
 
 TENANT, signifies one who holds or 
 possesses lands or tenements by any kind of 
 right, either in fee, for life, years, or at 
 will. 
 
 TENCH. See Cyprinus. 
 
 TENDER, in law, is an offer to pay s 
 debt, or perform a duty. This is often 
 pleaded in an action as a bar to the plain- 
 tiff’s recovery ; and where the money de- 
 manded by the plaintiff has been tendered 
 or offered to him before the conimence- 
 nient of the shit, and he has refused to ac- 
 cept it, the plaintiff is barred of his action 
 and costs. In pleading a tender, the de- 
 fendant says, the plainriff ought not to have 
 his action, because, except as to so much, 
 specifying the sum, he owes nothing to ihe 
 plaintiff; and as to that sum, he lias been 
 always ready and willing to pay it, and be- 
 fore the commencement of the suit ten- 
 dered and offered it to the plaintiff, and 
 that he refused it ; which sum of money he 
 of course brings into dourt, to be paid to 
 the plaintiff, if he will accept the same ; and 
 this bringing money into court, on a plea of 
 tender, is done without a special motion. 
 In all other cases, the leave of the court 
 must be had, before money can be brought 
 into court. The rule under which this leave 
 is granted, is, as in the case of an eject- 
 ment by a mortgage, founded upon a par- 
 ticular act of parliament. In other cases it 
 is founded upon the discretionary power 
 vested in the court. By the discretionary 
 rule it is sometimes ordered, that upon 
 bringing money into court all proceedings 
 in an action shall be stayed. At other times 
 it is ordered, that the money brouglit into 
 court shall be struck out of the plaintiff's 
 
TEN 
 
 declaration, and that the plaintiff shall not, 
 at the trial of tlie issue, be permitted to give 
 any evidence as to this money. This rule, 
 by which the money brought into court is 
 ordered to be struck out of the declaration, 
 is from its being more frequently granted, 
 than that by which it is ordered that. the 
 proceeding shall be stayed, called the com- 
 mon rule. Upon a pleas of tender the de- 
 fendant must not plead the general issue, or 
 a full denial as to the whole demand, but 
 ordy to that part which is an excess above 
 the sum tendered. And the plaintiff in an- 
 swer to this must either deny the tender, 
 or reply that there was a demand and re* 
 fiisal, which is a sufficient answer to the 
 plea that states the defendant was always 
 ready to pay. If Bank notes have been 
 offered, and no objection made on that ac- 
 count, it has been considered by the Court 
 of King’s Bench as good tender. But to 
 constitute a tender there must not merely 
 be an offer by the defendant, that, if the 
 plaintiff will take it, he will give him so 
 much ; but there must be an actual offer 
 and readiness, accompanied with apparent 
 ability, to pay immediately, although it is 
 not absolutely necessary to produce the 
 money in tale upon the table. 
 
 It is said, a Bank note is no tender, nor 
 is it, if it is refused. But, by a late statute, 
 before any one can be arrested, and held to 
 bail, the plaintiff must swear that his debt 
 has not been tendered to him in Bank 
 notes, so that it is next to a legal tender ; 
 yet the plaintiff may sue by process, with- 
 out liolding to bail, and obtain judgment 
 against the defendant, with his costs ; on 
 which the sheriff will levy, and probably 
 tender the amount in Bank notes ; so that 
 the plaintiff will be put off in an endless 
 circle, if it is worth while to incur costs, 
 and Bank notes are now a legal tender in 
 every thing but tlie name, which is, in the 
 opinion of the best writers on political eco- 
 nomy, a circumstance that must depreciate 
 their real value. 
 
 Tender, a small ship, in the service 
 of.men of war, for carrying of men, provi- 
 sions, or any thing else that is necessary. 
 
 TENDONS. Membranes are those 
 parts of the body which include some of^ 
 the internal parts of animals. Many of 
 them are extremely thin, and they possess 
 different degrees of transparency. I’hey 
 become pidpy by maceration in water, and 
 by boiling are almost entirely converted 
 into gelatine, so that they are chiefly com- 
 posed of this substance. No phosphate of 
 
 TEN 
 
 lime, nor other saline matter, has been dc» 
 tected in the membranous substances hi- 
 therto analyzed. Tendons are reduced by 
 boiling to a gelatinous substance, so that 
 they are composed of a similar matter with 
 membranes. The ligaments afford a por- 
 tion of gelatine by boiling, but are not, 
 like the two former, entirely reduced to 
 jelly, so that some other substance besides 
 gelatine enters into the composition of liga- 
 ments. 
 
 TENEBRIO, in natural history, a genus 
 of insects of the order Coleoptera. Antennae 
 moniliform, the last joint roundish ; tliorax 
 planoconvex, margined; head projecting ; 
 shells rigid. There are about one hundred 
 species, divided into sections. A. Feelers 
 six, filiform ; fore-shanks formed for digging. 
 
 B. Feelers four. One of the most remark- 
 able species is T. mortisagus, which is black, 
 and about an inch long ; it is slow in its 
 motions, and distinguished by the remark- 
 ably pointed appearance of the wing- 
 sheatlis, which at their extremities project 
 a little beyond the abdomen. It is found 
 in dark, neglected places, beneath boards 
 in cellars, and if handled, and especially if 
 crushed', it gives out a very unpleasant 
 smell. T. gibbosus, or, according to Dr. 
 Shaw, T. globosus, is seen during the hot- 
 test part of summer about walls and path- 
 ways : it is distinguished by the globular 
 appearance of the body. T. molitor, is an 
 insect often found in houses, is coal black, 
 and very small. It proceeds from a larva 
 called the meal-worm, from its being com- 
 monly found in meal and bread. This is 
 said to be the favourite food of nightingales. 
 
 It remains two years before it changes into 
 a chrysalis. 
 
 TENEMENT, in its common accepta- 
 tion, is applied only to houses and other 
 buildings ; but in its original, proper, and 
 legal sense it signifies every thing that may 
 be holden, provided it be of a perma- 
 nent nature, whether it be of a substantial 
 or of an unsubstantial and ideal kind. Thus, 
 ft auk tenement, or freehold, is applicable 
 not only to lands and other solid objects, 
 but also to offices, rents, commons, and the 
 like ; and as lands and houses are tene- 
 ments, so is an advowson a tenement ; and 
 a franchise or office, a right of common, a 
 peerage, or other property of the like un- 
 substantial kind, are all of them, ipgally 
 speaking, tenements. 
 
 TENESMUS, in medicine, a name given 
 by medical writers to a complaint which 
 is a continual desire of goiqg to stool, 
 
TEN 
 
 but without any stool being ready to be 
 voided. 
 
 TENNE, Tenny, or Tawny, in lieva!- 
 dry, a bright colour made of red and 
 yellow mixed ; sometimes also called brusk, 
 and expressed in engraving, by thwart, or 
 diagonal strokes oi' hatches, beginning fi om 
 the sinister chief, like purpure, and marked 
 with the letter T. In the coats of all be- 
 low the degree of nobles, it is called tenny ; 
 but in those of nobles, it is called hya- 
 cinth; and in prince’s coats, the dragon’s 
 head. 
 
 TENNIS, a play at which a ball is driven 
 by a racket, which requires great prac- 
 tice to make a good player, so that nothing 
 can be done without it ; all we presume to 
 do is, to give an insight into the game, by 
 which a person may not seem a total stran- 
 ger to it when he happens to be in a tennis- 
 court. 
 
 The game of tennis is played in most ca- 
 pital cities in Europe, particularly in France, 
 whence we may venture to derive its ori- 
 gin. It is esteemed, with many, to be one 
 of the most ancient games in Cliristendom, 
 and long before King Charles I.’s time it 
 was played in England. This game is as 
 intricate as any game whatever; a person 
 who is totally ignorant of it n)ay look on 
 for a month together, without being able to 
 make out how the game is decided. 
 
 The size of a tennis-court is generally 
 about 96 or 97 feet by 33 or 34, there be- 
 ing no exact dimension asciibed to its pro- 
 portion, a foot more or less in length or 
 width being of no consequence, A line or 
 net hangs exactly across the middle, over 
 which the ball must be struck, either with 
 a racket or board, to make the stroke good. 
 Upon the entrance of a tennis-court, there 
 is a long ga,llery which goes to the dedans, 
 that is, a kind of front gallery, where spec- 
 tators usually stand ; into which whenever 
 a ball is struck, it tells for a certain stroke. 
 This long gallery is divided into different 
 compartments or galleries, each of which 
 has its particular name, as follows; from 
 the line towards the dedans are the first 
 gallery, door, second gallery, and the last 
 gallery, which is called the service side. 
 From the dedans to the last gallery are the 
 figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, at a yard distance 
 each, by which the cliaces are marked, and 
 is one of the most essential parts of the 
 game, as will appear in the following de- 
 scription. 
 
 I>n the other side of the line are also the 
 first gallery, door, second gallery, and last 
 
 TEN 
 
 gallery, which is called the hazard-side. 
 Every ball struck into the last gallery on 
 this side reckons for a certain stroke the 
 same as the dedans. Between the second 
 and this last gallery are the figures ], g, to 
 mark the chaces on the hazard-side. • Over 
 this long gallery, or these compartments, is 
 a covering, called the penthouse, on which 
 they play the ball from the service-side, in 
 order to begin a set of tennis, from which 
 it is called a service. AFhen they miss 
 putting the ball (so as to rebound from the 
 penthouse) over a certain line on the ser- 
 vice-side, it is deemed a fault, two of which 
 are reckoned for a stroke. If the ball rolls 
 round the penthouse, on the opposite of the 
 court, so as to fall beyond a certain line de- 
 scribed for that purpose, it is called passe, 
 reckons for nothing on either side, and the 
 player must serve again. 
 
 On the right-hand side of the court from 
 the dedans is what they call the tambour, a 
 part of the wall which projects, and is so 
 contrived in order to make a variety in the 
 stroke, and render it more difficult to be 
 returned by the adversary for when a ball 
 strikes the tambour, it varies its direction, 
 and requires some extraordinary judgment 
 to return it over the line. The last thing 
 on the right-hand side is called the grill, 
 wherein if the ball is struck, it is also 1.5,’ 
 or a certain stroke. 
 
 The game of tennis is played by what 
 they call sets; a set of tennis consists of six 
 games : but if they play what is called an 
 advantage-set, two above five games must 
 be won on one side or the other successively, 
 in order to decide ; or, if it comes to six 
 games all, two games must still be won on 
 one side to conclude the set; so that an ad- 
 vantage-set may last a considerable time ; 
 for which kind of sets the court is paid 
 more than for any other. , 
 
 We must now describe the use of the 
 chaces, and by what means these chaces de- 
 cide or interfere so much in the game. 
 When the player gives his service at the 
 beginning of a set, his adversary is sup- 
 posed to return the ball; and wherever it 
 fplls after the first rebound untouched, the 
 cbace is caded accordingly ; for example, 
 if the ball fells at the figure 1, the chace is 
 called at a yard, that is to say, at a yard 
 fiom tlie dedans: this chace remains till a 
 second service is given ; and if the player 
 on the service-side lets the ball go after his 
 adversary returns it, and if the ball falls on 
 or between any of these figures or chaces, 
 they must change sides, there being two 
 
TEN 
 
 chaces ; and he who then will be on the ha- 
 zard-aide, must play to win the first chace; 
 which if he wins by striking the ball so as 
 to fall, after its first rebound, nearer to the 
 dedans than the figure 1, without his adver- 
 sary’s being able to return it from its first 
 hop, he wins a stroke, and then proceeds in 
 like manner to win the second chace, 
 wherever it should happen to be. If a ball 
 falls on the line with tlie first gallery door, 
 second gallery, or last gallery, the chace is 
 likewise called at such or such a place, 
 naming the gallery- door, &c. When it is 
 just put over the line, it is called a chace at 
 the line. If the player on the service-side 
 returns a ball with such force as to strike 
 the wall on the hazard-side so as to re- 
 bound, after the first hop over the line,- it is 
 also called a chace at the line. 
 
 The chaces on the hazard-side proceed 
 from the ball being returned either too 
 hard or not quite hard enough; so that the 
 ball after its first rebound falls on this side 
 of the blue line, or line which describes the 
 hazard-side chaces; in which case it is a 
 chace at 1, 2, &c. provided there is no 
 chace depending. When they change sides, 
 the player, in order to win this chace, must 
 put the ball over the line any where, so 
 that his adversary does not return it. 
 When there is no chace on the hazard-side, 
 all balls put over the line from the service- 
 side, without being returned, reckon for a 
 stroke. 
 
 As the game depends chiefly upon the 
 marking, it will be necessary to explain it, 
 and to recommend those who play at tennis 
 to have a good and unbiassed marker, for 
 on him the whole set may depend ; he can 
 mark in favour of the one and against the 
 other in such a manner, as will render it 
 two to one at starting, though even players. 
 Instead of which the marker should be 
 very attentive to the chaces, and not be 
 any way partial to either of the players. 
 
 This game is marked in a very singular 
 manner, which makes it at first somewhat 
 difiymlt to understand. The first stroke is 
 called 15, the second 30, the third 40, and 
 the fourth game, unless the players get 
 four strokes each ; . in that case, instead of 
 calling it 40 all, it is called deuce; after 
 which, as soon as any stroke is got, it is call- 
 ed advantage ; and in case the strokes be- 
 come equal again, deuce again, till one or 
 the other gets two strokes following, which 
 win the game ; and as the games are won, 
 so they are marked and called ; as one 
 game love, two games to one, &c. towards 
 
 TEN 
 
 the set, of which so many of these games it 
 consists. 
 
 Although but one ball at a time is played 
 with, a number of balls are made use of at 
 this game to avoid trouble, and are lianded 
 to the players in baskets for that purpose ; 
 by which means they can play as long as 
 they please, without ever having occasion 
 to stoop for a ball. 
 
 TENON, in building, &c. the square 
 end of a piece of wood, or metal, dimi- 
 nished by one third of its thickness, to be 
 received into a hole in another piece, called 
 a mortise, for the jointing or fastening the . 
 two together. It is made in various forms, 
 square, dove-tailed for double mortises, 
 and the like, 
 
 TENOR, or Tenore, in music, the first 
 mean, or middle part, or that which is the 
 ordinary pitch of the voice, when neither 
 raised to a treble, or lowered to a bass. 
 The tenor is commonly marked in thorough 
 bass with the letter T. This is that part 
 which almost all grown persons can sing; 
 but as some have a greater compass of 
 voice upwards, others downwards, others 
 are confined to a kind of medium, and 
 others can go equally high or low ; hence 
 musicians make a variety of tenors, as a 
 low, a high, a 'mean, a natural tenor, to 
 wdiich may be added, a violin tenor, &c. 
 for instruments. 
 
 TENSE, Time, in grammar, an inflec- 
 tion of verbs, whereby they are made to 
 signify, or distinguish the circumstance of 
 time, in what they aflirm. 
 
 TENSION, the state of any thing 
 stretched as a'line, &c. Tims animals sus- 
 tain and move themselves by the tension of 
 their muscles and nerves : a chord, or mu- 
 sical string, gives an acuter or deeper sound, 
 as it is in a greater or less degree of tension, 
 that is, more or less stretched. 
 
 TENT, in surgery, a roll of lint worked 
 into the shape of a nail, with a broad flat 
 head. 
 
 TENTER, a machine used in the cloth 
 manufacture, to stretch out the pieces of 
 cloth, stuff. See. or only to make them even, 
 and set them square. It is usually about 
 four feet and a half high, and for length ex- 
 ceeds that of the longest piece of cloth. It 
 consists of several long pieces of wood, 
 placed like those w’hich form the barriers of 
 a manege ; so that the lower cross piece of 
 wood may be raised or lowered, as is found 
 requisite, to be fixed at any height, by 
 means of pins. Along the cross pieces, 
 both the upper and under one, are hooked 
 
TER 
 
 nails, cMled tenter hooks, driven in from 
 space to space. 
 
 TENTHREDO, in natural history, sate- 
 fly> ^ genus of insects of the order Hyme- 
 iioptera : mouth with a horned curved man- 
 dible, toothed within, the jaw straight and 
 obtuse at the lip, the lip cylindrical bifid ; 
 four feelers, unequal filiform ; wings tumid, 
 the lower ones less ; sting composed of 
 two serrate laminae, and almost secreted. 
 There are about one hundred and fifty spe- 
 cies, in divisions, distinguished by the an- 
 tenna;. A. antennae clavate ; B. antennae 
 inarticulate, thicker at the tip ; C. anten- 
 na; pectinate ; in D, they are filiform, with 
 from seven to nine articulations ; in E they 
 are filiform, with numerous articulations. 
 The insects of this genus feed on the leaves 
 of various plants ; the female uses her sting 
 in the manner of a saw, hence the common 
 name. It cuts out spaces iti the twigs or 
 buds of trees for the purpose of depositing 
 her eggs. The law® resemble those of the 
 order Lepidoptera, or real caterpillars, from 
 which they may be distinguished by their 
 more numerous feet, whidi are never fewer 
 than sixteen, though they are sometimes 
 found with as many as twenty-eight. It 
 feeds on the leaves of plants, and when 
 touched, rolls itself up spirally. The pupa 
 is folliculate ; the eggs increase in size every 
 day till the lar vae burst from them. The 
 larvae of the smaller species are often inju- 
 rious to different kinds of esculent vege- 
 tables. 
 
 TENURE, the manner whereby lands 
 or tenements are holden, or the service 
 that the tenant owes to his lord. Under 
 the word tenure, is included every holding 
 of an inheritance; but the signification of 
 this word, which is a very extensive one, is 
 usually restrained by coupling other words 
 with it ; this is sometimes done by words, 
 which denote the duration of the tenant’s 
 estate : as if a man hold to hiniself and his 
 heirs, it is called tenur.e in fee-simple. At 
 other times the tenure is coupled with words 
 pointing out the instrument by which an 
 inheritance is held : thus, if the holding be 
 by copy of court roll. At other times this 
 word is coupled with others that show the 
 principal service by which an inheritance is 
 held; as where a man held by knight’s 
 service, it is called tenure by knight’s ser- 
 vice. 
 
 TERAMNUS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Diadelphia Decandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Papilionaceae, or Legumi- 
 uosae. Essential character : keel very small 
 
 TER 
 
 concealed within the calyx ; stamina alter- 
 nate, five-barren ; stigma sessile, headed. 
 There are two species, viz. T. volubulis, 
 and T. uncinatus, both natives of Jamaica. 
 
 TEREBELLA, in natural history, a ge- 
 nus of the Vermes Mollusca class and order. 
 Body oblong, creeping, naked, often in- 
 closed in a tube, furnished with lateral fas- 
 cicles or tufts, and branchiae mouth placed 
 before, fuinished witli lips, without teeth, 
 and protruding a clavate pi oboscis ; feelers 
 numerous, cilia te, capillary, seated round 
 the mouth. There are eleven species. 
 
 TEREDO, in natural history, ship-worm, 
 a genus of the Vermes Testacea class aud 
 order. Animal a terrebella, with two cal- 
 careous hemispherical valves cut off before, 
 and two lanceolate ones ; shell tapering, 
 flexiious, and capable of penetrating wood. 
 There are three, species. 
 
 T. navalis, shell very thin, cylindrical, 
 snaooth; found in the sides and bottoms of 
 ships, and the stoutest oak pales, which 
 have remained some time under water, and 
 was imported from India. The destruction 
 which these woims effect under water is al- 
 most equal to that of the Termes, or white 
 ant, on land. The shell is more or less 
 twisted, rather obtuse at the lip, and from 
 four to six inches long (See Termes). They 
 will appear, on a very little consideration, 
 to be most important beings in the great 
 chain of creation, and pleasing demonstra- 
 tions of the infinitely wise and gracious 
 Power which formed, and still preserves, 
 the whole in Such wonderful order and 
 beauty ; for if it was not for the rapacity of 
 these and such animals, tropical rivers, and 
 indeed the ocean itself, would be choked 
 with the bodies of trees which are annually 
 carried down by the rapid torrents, as 
 many of them would last for ages, and pro- 
 bably be productive of evils, of which, hap- 
 pily, we cannot in the present harmonious 
 state of things form any idea ; whereas now 
 being consumed by these animals, they are 
 more easily broken in pieces by the waves ; 
 and the fragments which are not devoured 
 become specifically lighter, and are conse- 
 quently more readily and more eflfectually 
 thrown on shore, where the sun, wind, in- 
 sects, and various other instruments, spee- 
 dily promote their intire dissolution. 
 
 TERM, m geometry and algebra, is the 
 extreme of any magnitude, or that which 
 bounds and limits its extent. Thus the terms 
 of a line, are points ; of a superficies, lines ; of 
 a solid, superficies. The terms of an equa' 
 tion are the several names or members of 
 
 V 
 
 / 
 
^ER 
 
 which it' is composed, separated from one 
 another by the signs + or — Urns tlie 
 quantity a z+tbc-3az^ consists of three 
 terms, u z and 2 6 c and 3 a 2^ In an equa- 
 tion, tlie terms are the parts which contain 
 tlie several powers of the same unknown 
 fetter or quantity : for if the same unknown 
 quantity be found in several members in the 
 same degree or power, they pass for one 
 term, which is called compound, iii distinc- 
 tion from a simple or sin gle term : thus in 
 the equation a;’ -4- a — 3 a c ^ ^ > 
 
 the four tetms are x’ and a — 3 b. aqd 
 a c X and 6’: of which the second term 
 
 ^ 3 6. x’ is compound, and the other 
 
 three are simple terras. The terms ot a 
 product, or of a fraction, or of a ratio, or 
 of a proportion, &c. are the several quaiUi- 
 lies employed in forming or composing 
 them : thus the terms of the product a b are 
 a and 6 : — of the fraction | they are 7 and 9 : 
 
 of the ratio 8 : 9 tliey are 8 and 9 : and 
 
 of the proportion a: b : the terms 
 
 are a, b, x, and y. 
 
 Term in the arts, or Term of art, is 
 a word which, besides the literal and po- 
 pular meaning which it has, or may have, 
 in common language, bears a further and 
 peculiar meaning in some art or science. 
 
 Term, in logic. A proposition is said to 
 consist of two terms, i. e. two principal 
 ’ ■ ■ and the 
 
 and essential words, the subject; 
 
 attribute. _ , 
 
 Terms, are those spaces of time in which 
 tiie courts of justice are open for all that 
 Complain of wrongs or injuries, and seek 
 their rights by course ot law or action, in 
 order to their re dress, and during which 
 the courts in Westminster-hall sit and give 
 mdgnient, &c. But the high court of Par- 
 liament, the Chancery, and inferior courts, 
 do not observe the terms ; only the courts 
 of King’s Bench, Common Pleas, and Ex- 
 chequer, the higliest courts at common 
 law. Of these terms there are four in every 
 year, viz. Hilary Term, which begins the 
 23d of January, and ends the 12th of Fe- 
 bruary, unless on Sundays, and then the 
 day after ; Easter Term, which begins the 
 Wednesday fortnight after Easter-day, and 
 ends the Monday next after Ascension-day ; 
 Trinity Term, which begins the Friday 
 after Trinity Sunday, and ends the Wednes- 
 day fortnight after ; and Michaelmas Term, 
 which begins the 6th, and ends the 28th ot 
 November. 
 
 There are, in each of these terms, stated 
 days, called days in bank, that is days of 
 
 TER 
 
 appearance in the Court of Common PleaJ, 
 called usually baricum, or commune bancum, 
 to distinguish it from bancum regis, or the 
 Court of King’s Bench. They are gene- 
 rally at the distance of about a week froin 
 each other, and regulated by some festival 
 of the church. On some of these days m 
 bank, all original writs must be made re- 
 turnable, and therefore^they are generally 
 called the returns of that term ; the first 
 return in every term is, properly speaking, 
 the first day in that term, and thereon the 
 court sits to take essoins, or excuses for 
 such as do not appear according to the 
 summons of the writ ; wherefore this is usu- 
 ally called the essoin day of the term. But 
 the person summoned hath three day s grace 
 beyond the return of the writ, in which to 
 make his appearance ; and if he appear on 
 the fourth day inclusive, quarto die post, it 
 is sufficient. Therefore, at the beginning 
 of each term, the court doth not sit foi 
 dispatch of business till the fourth day, and 
 in Trinity Term, by statute 32 Henry VIII. 
 c. 21. not till the sixth day. 
 
 Terms, Oxfoi'd. Hilary, or Lent Term, 
 begins on January 14, and ends the Satur- 
 day before Palm Sunday. Easter Term 
 begins the tenth day after Easter, and 
 ends the Thursday before Whit Sunday. 
 Trinity Term begins the Wednesday alter 
 Trinity Sunday, and ends after the act, 
 sooner or later, as the Vice Chancellor and 
 Convocation please. Michaelmas Term be- 
 eins on October 10, and ends December 7. 
 
 Terms, Cambridge. Lent Term begins 
 on January 13, and ends the Friday before 
 Palm Sunday. Easter Term begins the 
 Wednesday after Easter week, and ends 
 the week before Whit Sunday. Trinity 
 Term begins tlie Wednesday after Trinity 
 Sunday, and ends the Friday afier the 
 commencement. Michaelmas Terra be- 
 gins October 10, and ends December 16. 
 
 TerhIs, Scottish. In Scotland, Candle- 
 mas Term begins January 23, and ends 
 February 12. AVhitsuntide Term begins 
 May 25. and ends June 15. Lammas 
 Term begins July 20, and ends August 8. 
 Martinmas Term begins November 3, and 
 ends November 29. 
 
 Terms, Irish, are the same as tlio^e m 
 London, except that at Michaelmas, which 
 commences October 13, and adjourns to 
 the beginning of November. 
 
 TERMES, in natural history, a genus of 
 insects of the order Aptera. Mouth with 
 two horny jaws; lip horny, four-cleft, the 
 divisions linear and acute; fom feelers. 
 
TER 
 
 equal, filiform ; two eyes. There are ten 
 species, in two sections: A. anteunse nioni- 
 liforin ; B. antennas setaceous. 
 
 T. fatale, or w'hite ant, is brown above ; 
 thorax with three segments; wings pale 
 with a testaceous rib. A most curious and 
 wonderful account of this insect is given in 
 the Philosophical Transactions, of which we 
 shall notice a few particulars. The animal 
 of this extraordinary community, far ex- 
 ceeding in wisdom and policy the hee, the 
 ant, or beaver, are inhabitants 'of East 
 India, Africa, and South America. They 
 build pyramidal structures ten or twelve 
 feet in height, and divided into appropriate 
 apartments, magazinesfor provisions, arched 
 chambers; and galleries of communication. 
 These are so firmly cemented that they 
 easily bear four men to stand upon then), 
 and in the plains of Senegal appear like the 
 villages of the natives. With such wonder- 
 ful dexterity and rapidity they destroy food 
 furniture, books, clothes, and timber of 
 whatever magnitude, leaving a mere thin 
 sill face ; that in a few hours a large beam 
 will be eaten to a mere shell, not thicker 
 than writing paper. Larva small, about a 
 quarter of an inch long ; six-footed, pale 
 with a roundish testaceous head ; eyes none ; 
 mandibles short, strong, and toothed.; an'.’ 
 tenn® as long as the thorax and ovate ab- 
 domen. These only are the labourers, who 
 build the structures, procure provisions for 
 the males and females, and take care of the 
 eggs ; they are the most numerous. Pupa 
 larger, about half an inch long, with a very 
 large ovate polished testaceous head ; eyes 
 none; mandibles projecting, as long as the 
 head, forked, without teeth, sharp and 
 black ; thorax and abdomen palish 
 
 TER 
 
 These never work, but act as superin- 
 tendams over the labourers, or as guards to 
 defend their habitations from intrusion and 
 violence. When a breach is made in the 
 dwelling, they rush forward and defend the 
 entrance with great ferocity ; some of them 
 beating with their mandibles against any 
 hard substance, as a signal to the other 
 guards, or as encouragement to the labour- 
 ers; they then retire and are succeeded by 
 the labourers, each with a burthen of tem- 
 pered mortar in his mouth, and w'ho dili- 
 gently set about to repair whatever injury 
 has been sustained. One of these attends 
 every six or eight hundred labourers who 
 are buildipg a wall, taking no active part 
 himself, but frequently making the noise 
 above mentioned, which is constantly an- 
 swered by a loud hiss from all the labour. 
 
 ers, who at this signal evidently redouble 
 tneir diligence. 
 
 The male and female are alike, and fur- 
 nished with four long horizontal wings- 
 head small, brown; mandibles short, acute’ 
 toothed; antenn® yellowdsh; eyes globu- 
 lar, prominent, black ; thorax with three 
 brown or dull testaceous margined seg- 
 ments; abdomen ovate; tlie back brown' 
 with white streaks ; legs pali.sh. ’ 
 
 These are extricated from the pupa state 
 and fly abroad in the night; but soon after 
 sun rise, the wings become dry and they 
 fall on the ground, and are devoured by 
 birds, or sought after by the inhabitants, 
 who roast and eat them with groat avidity. 
 A few that survive are collected by the 
 labourers or larvae, and inclosed by pairs in 
 apartments made of clay, the aperture of 
 which IS narrowed so that they cannot rai- 
 giate, and wdiere they are diligently fed 
 and attended by the labourers -whose bo- 
 dies are small enough to admit an easy 
 entrance. ■' 
 
 After impregnation, the abdomen of the 
 female grows to a prodigious bulk, exceed- 
 ing the rest of her body nearly two thousand 
 limes ; It IS then vesicular and white, with 
 transverse brown spots, and an undulate or 
 slightly lobed margin. In this state it con- 
 tains an immense number of small round 
 brown eggs, vvhich arc protruded to the 
 amount of eight thousand in twenty-four 
 hours. These are instantly taken up by 
 the labourers, and conveyed to separate 
 chambers, where after they are hatched, 
 the young are attended and provided for 
 till they are able to shift for themselves 
 and take their share in the labours of the’ 
 
 community. 
 
 1 . pulsatoriiis is a very small insect, fre- 
 quently found during the summer months 
 in houses, particularly where the wainscot 
 IS in any degree decayed, and is remarkable 
 tor continuing a long continued sound 
 resembling the ticking of a watch. 'It is 
 very common in collections of dried plants 
 which It injures very much. It is of so’ 
 tender a frame as to be easily destroyed bv 
 the slightest pressure, and is an animal of 
 very quick motions. When this insect is 
 first hatched, it bears a complete resem- 
 blance to a common mite, but after awhile 
 and undergoes a complete 
 
 *^otany, a genus of 
 the Polygamia Monoecia class and order. 
 Natural order of El^agni, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character: calyx five-parted; corolla 
 
T.ES 
 
 none; stamens ten; hermaplnodite, style 
 one; drupe inferior, boat-shaped. Ihere 
 are six species, natives of the !East and 
 West Indies. 
 
 TERNSTROEMIA, in botany, so nam- 
 ed in memory of Ternstroem, known by 
 his travels into China, a genus of the Poly- 
 andria Monogynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Coluraniferae. Aurantia, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: calyx five-part- 
 ed ; corolla one-petalled, wheel-shaped, 
 with the border bell-shaped, five or six- 
 parted ; anthers thick at the tip ; berry 
 juiceless, two-celled. There are five spe- 
 cies. 
 
 TERELLA, an appellation given to a 
 loadstone, when turned into a spherical 
 figure, and is placed so, that its poles and 
 equator, &c. corfespond to the poles and 
 equator of the world; as being a just repre- 
 sentation of the great raagnetical globe 
 which we inhabit. ^ 
 
 ' TERRIER, a book, or roll, wherein the 
 several lands, eithdr of a private person, or 
 of a town, college, church, &c. are de- 
 scribed. It should contain the number of 
 acres, and the scite, boundaries, tenants, 
 names, &c. of each piece or parcel. 
 
 TEST, in metallurgy, a vessel of the na- 
 ture of the coppel, used for large quantities 
 of metals at once. See Assaying. 
 
 TESTACEA, in natural history, an order 
 of the' class Vermes in the Linnean system. 
 It is described as a Molhisca, that is, a soft 
 animal, of a simple structure, covered with 
 a calcareous habitation or shell. There are 
 in tliis order thirty-six genera, in. sections. 
 
 A. Multivalves : shells with many valves. 
 
 Chiton Pholas 
 
 Lepas 
 
 B. Bivalves : shell with two valves. 
 
 Anomia 
 
 Mytillus 
 
 Anomia 
 
 Ostfea 
 
 Cardium 
 
 Pinna 
 
 Charaa 
 
 Solen 
 
 Donax 
 
 •Shondylus 
 
 Mactra 
 
 Tellina 
 
 Mya 
 
 ■Venus. 
 
 Univalves, with a.regular spire. 
 
 Argonauta 
 
 Miirex 
 
 Buccinum 
 
 Nautillus 
 
 Bulla 
 
 Nerita 
 
 Conus 
 
 Spombtis 
 
 Cyprma 
 
 Trochus 
 
 Haliotis 
 
 Turbo 
 
 Helix 
 
 Voluta. 
 
 TES 
 
 D. Univalves, without a regular^ spire. 
 
 Dentalium Tabella 
 
 Patella Teredo. 
 
 Serpula 
 
 TESTES. See Anatomy. 
 
 TESTUDO, the tortoise, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of Amphibia of the order Rep- 
 tiles. Generic character: body tailed, 
 covered above and beneath, defended by a 
 bony covering, covered by a horny, scaly, 
 or coriaceous integument ; a bony mouth, 
 without distinct teeth, and the upper man- 
 dible closing over the lower. These animals 
 feed on sea-weeds or on worms, are ex- 
 tremely prolific ; but in the state of eggs, 
 and while very young, are the prey of vari- 
 ous animals. Their movements are slow ; 
 they are capable of being tamed, and will in 
 that state eat almost any thing presented 
 to them. They exist long in such air as 
 would be destructive to other animals of the 
 same size, and have such tenaciousness of 
 life, that it is stated they will exhibit convul- 
 sive movements for several days after their 
 bodies have been opened, and even after 
 their heads have been cut off. In cold lati- 
 tudes the land tortoise is torpid during the 
 winter. There are thirty-five species, of 
 which we shall notice the following. T. 
 Graeca, or the common tortoise. Tiie weight 
 of this animal is three pounds, and the length 
 of its shell about seven inches. It abounds 
 in the countries surrounding the Mediterra- 
 nean, and particularly in Greece, where the 
 inhabitants not only eat its flesh and eggs, 
 but frequently swallow its warm blood. In^ 
 September or October it conceals itself, 
 remaining torpid till February, when it re- 
 appears. In June it lays its eggs, in holes 
 exposed to the full beams of the sun, by 
 which they are matured. The males will 
 frequently engage in severe conflicts, and 
 strike their heads against each other with 
 great violence, and very loud sounds. Tor- 
 toises attain most extraordinary longevity, 
 and one was ascertained to have lived in 
 the gardens of Lambeth to the age of nearly 
 120 years. Its shell is preserved in the ar- 
 chiepiscopal palace. So reluctant is the 
 vital principal to quit these animals, that 
 Shaw informs us, from Redi, one of theip 
 lived for six months after all its brain was 
 taken out, moving its limbs, and walking 
 as before., Another lived twenty-three days 
 after its head was cut oft', and the head itself 
 opened and closed its jaws for a quarter of 
 an hour after its separation from the body. 
 It may not only be tamed, but has in seve- 
 ral instances exhibited proofs in that state 
 
TES 
 
 •f Considerable sagacity, in distinguishing 
 its benefactors, and of grateful attachment 
 in return for their kindness, notwitlistanding 
 its general sluggishness and torpor. It will 
 answer the purpose of a barometer, and 
 nniformiy indicates the fall of rain before 
 night, when it takes its food with great ra- 
 pidity, and walks with a sort of mincing and 
 elate step. It appears to dislike rain with 
 extreme aversion, and is discomfited and 
 driven back only by a few and scarcely per- 
 ceivable drops. See Amphibia, Plate II. 
 fig. 4. 
 
 T. Intaria, or the mud tortoise, is com- 
 mon both in Europe and Asia, and particu- 
 larly in France, where it is much used for 
 food. It is seven inches long; lays its eggs 
 on the ground, though an aquatic animal; 
 walks quicker than the land tortoise; and is 
 often kept in gardefis, to clear them from 
 snails and various wingless insects. In fish- 
 ponds it is very destructive, biting the fishes, 
 and, when they are exhausted by the loss 
 of blood, dragging them to the bottom and 
 devouring them. 
 
 T. ferox, or the fierce tortoise, is found 
 in several parts of North America, and is 
 eighteen inches long. It is rapid and vigo- 
 rous in its movement, and will spring on 
 its enemy with great elasticity and vio- 
 lence. Its flesh is thought extremely good. 
 It is found in the muddy parts of rivers, 
 concealing itself among the weeds. It will 
 also dart with great celerity on birds. The 
 sea tortoises, or turtles, are distinguished 
 from the former by having very large and- 
 long feet, in the shape of fins, the claws of 
 some of the tdes not being visible, but in- 
 closed. 
 
 T. mydas, or the common green turtle, 
 is not unfrequently five feet long, and of 
 the weight ot oOO pounds ; and is denomi- 
 nated green, from a shade of that colour 
 assumed by the fat when the animal is in its 
 perfect state. In the West Indies it has 
 been long in the higtest estimation for the 
 table, and witliin sixty or seventy years it 
 has gradually been advancing in reputation 
 in this country for food, and is at present 
 considered as furnishing the highest grati- 
 fication of epicurism. It is imported into 
 England in vast numbers. It feeds on sea 
 grass called turtle grass. It is taken some- 
 times after being watched to its haunts ; 
 and being thrown on its back, is unable to 
 rise again on its feet ; sometimes it is struck 
 in the water with a long staff, armed with 
 iron at the end. The markets- of the West 
 Indies are supplied with the flesh of tJiesa 
 
 TET 
 
 animals as those of Europe are with mutton 
 and beef, and before they were much sought 
 as articles of exportation, forty sloops were 
 employed by the inhabitants of Port Royal 
 in catching them. They are seldom seen on 
 land but at the season of laying their eggs, 
 which they do at several times, after inter- 
 vals of fourteen days. They are occca- 
 sionally found, probably in consequence of 
 tempests, on the coasts of Europe. 
 
 T. imbricata, or the imbricated turtle, or 
 hawksbill, is so called from its shells lap- 
 ping one over another, like tiles on the roof 
 of a house. It is about three feet long; is 
 found in the seas both of Asia and America, 
 and sometimes also in theMediterrancan; and 
 is said to have been seen even of 600 pounds 
 weight. Its flesh is in no estimation ; but 
 its lamina are manufactured into that ele- 
 gant material known by the name of tortoise- 
 shell, which has been applied by human-in- 
 genuity to innumerable purposes both of 
 use and ornament. The thickness of the 
 plates varies in reference to the age and 
 size of the turtle. Those of a very young 
 one are of no value. A large one will sup- 
 ply ten pounds weight of valuable scales, 
 which being softened by heat, and lapped 
 ovCr each other, by means of pressure be- 
 come effectually united, so as to constitute 
 one piece of considerable extent, and with- 
 out any perceivable trace of their separa- 
 tion. This article was well known to the 
 Greeks and Romans, and was an important 
 material of luxury and commerce. Various 
 articles of furniture, and even beds, were 
 inlaid with it. The Egyplians exported 
 large cargoes of it to Rome for these pur- 
 poses, and in China, as well as Europe, it is 
 at present in very high demand for elegant 
 and ornamental mahafaciures. 
 
 Testudo, in the military art of the an- 
 cients, was a kind of cover or screen which 
 the soldiers, c. gr. a whole company, made 
 themselves of their bucklers, by holding 
 them up over their heads, and standing close 
 to each other. This expedient served to shel- 
 ter them from darts, stones, &c. thrown up- 
 on them, especially those thrown from above, 
 when they went to the assault. 
 
 Testudo was also a kind of large w'ooden 
 tower which moved on several wheels, and 
 was covered with bullock’s hides Head, serv- 
 ing to shelter the soldiers when they ap- 
 proached I he walls to mine them, or to bat- 
 ter them with rams. 
 
 TETHER, a string by which horses are 
 held from ranging too far in pastures, &c. 
 In figurative language, we say to go the 
 
.Vl}- 
 
■ 
 
 
 
 
 t-t-r.y 
 
 
 I‘^ 
 
 TET 
 
 Sength of one’s tetlier; to speak or act witji 
 as much freedom as circumstances will ad- 
 mit. 
 
 TETHYS, in natural history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Molhisca class and order : body 
 detached, rather oblong, fleshy, without pe- 
 duncles y mouth with a terminal, cylindri- 
 cal proboscis, under an expanded mem- 
 brane or lip ; two apertures on the left side 
 of the neck. There are two species, viz. 
 T. leporina, which inhabits the Mediterra- 
 nean, and T. fimbria, found in the Adriatic. 
 
 TETRACERA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Polyandria Tetragynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Rosaceoe, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character j calyx five or six-leaved ; co- 
 rolla four or five-petalled ; filaments widen- 
 ing above; and anther bearing on each 
 side; capsules four, opening on the side; 
 seed arilled at the base. There are twelve 
 species. 
 
 TETRACHORD, in the ancient music, 
 a concord consisting of four degrees or in- 
 tervals, and four terms or sounds ; called 
 also by the ancients diatessarron, and by us 
 a fourth. 
 
 TETRAD YN AMIA, in botany, the name 
 of the fifteenth class in the Linnaean system, 
 consisting of plants with hermaphrodite 
 flowers, having six stamina, four of which 
 are longer than the rest. There are two 
 orders in this class, viz. the siliquosm, those 
 that have long pods, as stocks, rockets, &c.; 
 and the siliculosae, or those that have short 
 round pods, as scurvy-grass, candy-tuft, 
 &c. 
 
 TETRAEDRON, or Tetrahedron, in 
 geometry, one of the five regular or plato- 
 nic bodies or solids, comprehended under 
 four equilateral and equal triangles. 
 
 It is demonstrated by mathematicians, 
 that the square of the side of a tetraedron 
 is to the square of the diameter of a sphere, 
 wherein it may be inscribed, in a subsequi- 
 lateral ratio: whence it follows, that the 
 side of a tetraedron is to the diameter of 
 a sphere it is inscribed in, as v/ 2, to the 3, 
 consequently they are incommensurable. 
 
 TETRAGONIA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Icosandria Pentagynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Succulentm. Ficoidete, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx three 
 to five-parted ; petals none ; drupe inferior, 
 inclosing a nut from three to eight-celled. 
 There are eight species, chiefly natives of 
 the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 TETRAGYNIA, in botany, the name of 
 an order in certain classes of the Linnsean 
 system, consisting of plants, which, to the 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 TEt 
 
 classic character, add the circumstance of 
 having four styles. 
 
 TETRANDRIA, in botany, the name 
 of the fourth class in the. Linnman system, 
 consisting of plants with hermaphrodite 
 flowers, which have four stamina of equal 
 length. In this last circumstance consists 
 the main difference between the tetrandria 
 and the didynamia, in which the four sta- 
 mina are of unequal length, two of them 
 being longer than the other two. There 
 are three orders in this class, founded upon 
 the number of styles. 
 
 TETRANTHUS, in botany, a genus of 
 the Syngenesia Polygamia Segregata class 
 and order. Natural order of Capitatas. Ci- 
 narocephalae, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 calyx common, four-flowered ; perianth 
 proper, one-leafed ; seeds crowned. There 
 is but one species, viz. T. littoralis, an an- 
 nual plant, and a native of Hispaniola. 
 
 TETRAO, in natural history, a genus of 
 birds of the order Gallium. Generic cha- 
 racter; near each eye a spot which is naked, 
 or papillous, or slightly covered with fea- 
 thers. Birds of this genus, which, accord- 
 ing to Gmelin; comprehends the grouse, the 
 partridge, and the quail, follow the dam 
 immediately on being hatched, and before 
 the shell is wholly detached from them ; 
 their bill is strong and convex, and their 
 flesh and eggs form an exquisite repast. 
 There are seventy-three species, of which 
 the following are best deserving of notice. 
 
 T. urogallus, or the cock of the wood, is 
 of the size of a turkey, and is found from 
 Russia to Italy, preferring the elevated 
 and mountainous parts of temperate coun- 
 tries, as it delights in a cold temperature. 
 Its eggs are deposited on moss, and when- 
 ever left by the female, who is unassisted in 
 the process of incubation, are covered over 
 with leaves. The males and females live 
 separate, except during the months of Fe- 
 bruary and March. Their food consists of va- 
 rious plants and grains, and of buds of trges. 
 The seeds of the pine and fir they are par- 
 ticularly fond of. The sound of the male 
 resembles not a little the whetting of a 
 scythe. These birds are in high request 
 for the table, and are sometimes sent from 
 Petersburg to London, in a very rigorous 
 winter, arriving, it is said, in good condi- 
 tion. 
 
 T. tetrix, or the black grouse, is larger 
 than a common fowl, and abounds in the 
 British islands, particularly in the northern 
 districts. In winter these birds shelter 
 themselves in low situations. On the returH 
 C c 
 
 'I 
 
 i il 
 
 1 ■ ■ 
 
 
 I ii 
 
 
TET 
 
 of spring they withdraw to the mountains, 
 and contests occur between the males, 
 wliicli are carried on w'ith extreme vio- 
 lence and fury, and during which tliey are 
 so agitated by rage, that tl.ey may be ap- 
 proached without observation, and knocked 
 down witli a club. The birds of this spe- 
 cies, and of the last, do not pair like ether 
 birds, and the male is generally seen with 
 several females in his train. They subsist 
 on seeds and herbage, and are particularly 
 fond of the seeds of the birch and Siberian 
 poplar. 
 
 T. Canadensis, or the spotted grouse, is 
 thir^en inches long, abounds in the neigh- 
 bouniood of Hudson’s Bay, and feeds upon 
 juniper berries, and the cones of spruce. 
 These birds are eaten by the natives, botli 
 in summer and winter, during the latter 
 season being hung up by the bill, and pre- 
 served by the frost. They are extremely 
 stupid, and will scarcely make an effort to 
 evade danger. 
 
 T. lagopus, or the ptarmigan grouse, is 
 fourteen inches long, and inhabits the north 
 of Europe. It is not uncommon in the 
 Orknies and the Hebrides, and is some- 
 times found in Cumberland. These birds 
 subsist on seeds, fruits, and berries, and are 
 like the last, silly and inadvertent to dan- 
 ger. 
 
 T. perdix, or the common partridge, is 
 thirteen inches long, and abounds in the 
 temperate regions of Europe. It is unable 
 to sustain rigorous cold, or intense heat. 
 It feeds on green corn and other plants, 
 and almost every species of grain ; but the 
 eggs of ants constitute its favourite food, 
 and are almost essential for the nourish- 
 ment and preservation of the young ones. 
 Experiments have been repeatedly, but in- 
 effectually, made, to induce the breeding 
 of this bird in confinement ; its eggs, how- 
 ever, are frequently introduced into the 
 nest of a common hen, and are thus ma- 
 tured, and the young are treated affection- 
 ately by that bird, and may be brought to 
 perfection if provided with their appropri- 
 ate food. The attachment of the male and 
 female partridge to their offspring is highly 
 interesting. They both sit, covering them 
 frequently at the same time, and, when 
 danger approaches, will expose themselves 
 to its direct attack, in order to decoy the 
 attention of the enemy from those whose 
 security they prefer even to their own ex- 
 istence. They pair early, build with dry 
 leaves upon the ground, and the young run 
 after their parent as soon ag they are ex- 
 
 TET 
 
 tricated from the slrell. They breed in Eng. 
 land only once a year, and live to the age 
 of twelve years. They are highly valued 
 for food. 
 
 T. coturnix, or the quail, is between 
 seven and eight inches long, aud inhabits 
 almost every country of the old world, but 
 is not found in America. It is migratory, 
 and moves in spring towards the colder cli- 
 mates, returning southerly in autumn. In 
 these progresses quails fly in immense mub 
 titudes, aud ar e taken in the islands of the 
 Archipelago in sach numbers as for a short 
 time to be the principal article of food for 
 the inhabitants, and to constitute an im- 
 portant source of income and revenue. 
 Within a few miles, along the coasts of 
 Italy, a hundred thousand are said to have 
 been taken in a single day. Latham informs 
 ns, that they used to be an article of im- 
 portation from France to England, in cages 
 formed with several divisions, and contain- 
 ing about a score of birds in each, and that 
 he had often seen these cages filled with 
 them, and attached to the stage coaches 
 between Paris and London. They breed, 
 however, in this country, and though many 
 migrate beyond the island, many only 
 change their residence within it, on the ap- 
 proach of winter, from the more exposed 
 to the more sheltered parts. These birds 
 were proverbial among the Komans for 
 captiousness and quarrelling, and are em- 
 ployed among the Chinese for the same 
 amusement as game cocks in England. They 
 were so used, indeed, likewise among the 
 ancients. It appears highly probable that 
 the extraordinary supplies of the Israelites 
 were derived from this species of birds, in 
 their vast flights to and from Africa, and 
 though represented in the Jewish history as 
 a permanent supply, this circumstance may 
 easily be accounted for from the exaggerat- 
 ing and superlative phraseology which cha- 
 racterizes all oriental description. 
 
 TETRATOMA, in natural history, a 
 genus of insects of the order Coleoptera. 
 Antennae clavate, the club perfoliate; lip 
 rounded, entire ; feelers thickish, unequal ; 
 shells as long as the abdomen. There are 
 two species, viz. T. fiingorum, found on 
 tree-fungi, in Germany ; and T. ancora. 
 
 TETRODON, in natural history-, a ge- 
 nus of fishes of the order Cartilaginei^ Ge- 
 neric character : jaws bony, divided at the 
 end; body roughened beneath; no ventral 
 fins; aperture of the gills linear. These 
 fishes are chiefly met with in the seas be- 
 tween the tropics, and imagined to subsist 
 
TEU 
 
 principally on sliell fisli. They are distin- 
 guished by the faculty of inflating or com- 
 pressing their bodies at pleasure, and con- 
 tinuing in either state for a considerable 
 time. During inflation, the spines which 
 are scattered over the lower part of the 
 body are erected with great intensity. 
 There are thirteen species. T. lagocepha- 
 lus, or the hare tetrodon, is a foot long, 
 vei-y thick in front, but becoming perpe- 
 tually more slender towards the tail. It is 
 found in the American and Indian Seas, 
 has been very rarely taken on the British ^ 
 coast, and possesses the power of swelling 
 itself to a size truly astonishing. 
 
 T. ocellatus, is seven inches long, and 
 particularly abounds about Japan and China. 
 It is taken for food, but requires to be 
 cleaned with particular accuracy, as certain 
 parts of it are reported to be highly poison- 
 ous. On this account it is prohibited to 
 the military of Japan ; but by a singular and 
 capricious distinction is still permitted to 
 every other class of subjects. 
 
 For the tortoise-shell tetrodon, see Pisces, 
 Plate VI. fig. 4. 
 
 TEUCRIUM, in botany, germander, so 
 named from Teucer, son of .Scaraander, and 
 fatlicr-in-law of Dardanns King of Troy, a 
 genus of the Didynamia Gymnospennia 
 class and order. Natural order of Verticil- 
 latae. Labiatae, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter : corolla, upper lip two-parted beyond 
 tlie base, divaricating where the stamens 
 are. There are sixty-nine species, 
 
 TEUTHIS, in natural history, a genus of 
 fishes of the order Abdominales. Generic 
 character: head truncated on the fore-part ; 
 gill membrane, with five rays ; teeth equal, 
 rigid, approximate, in a single row. There 
 are two species. T. hepatus, has a recum- 
 bent moveable spine'on each side the tail, 
 and inhabits the seas of India and America. 
 
 T. Java, has an unarmed tail, lunated, 
 and its body is marked with longitudinal 
 black spots. 
 
 TEUTONIC order, a militai 7 order of 
 knights, established towards the close of 
 the twelfth century, and thus called as con- 
 sisting chiefly of Germans or Teutons. The 
 origin, &c. of the Teutonic order is said to 
 be this. The Christians, under Gny of 
 Lusignan, laying siege to Acre, or Aeon, a 
 city of Syria, on the borders of the Holy 
 Land, some Germans of Bremen and Lu- 
 bec, touched with compassion for the sick 
 and wounded of the army, who wanted 
 common necessaries, set on foot a kind of 
 hospital under a tent, which they made of a 
 
 THA 
 
 ship’s sail, and here betook themselves to a 
 charitable attendance on them. This start- 
 ed a thought of establishing a third military 
 order, in imitation of the Templars and Hos- 
 pitallers. The design was approved of by 
 the patriarch of Jerusalem, the archbishops 
 and bishops of the neighbouring places, the 
 King of Jerusalem, the masters of the tem- 
 ple and hospital, and the German lords and 
 prelates then in the Holy Land, and Pope 
 Calixtus III. confirmed it by his bull, and 
 the new order was called the order of Teu- 
 tonic Knights of the House of St. Mary at 
 Jerusalem. The Pope granted ^hem all 
 the privileges of the Templars and Hospi- 
 tallers of St. John, excepting that they were 
 to be subject to the patriarchs and other 
 prelates, and that they should pay tythe of 
 what they possessed. 
 
 TEXT, a relative term, contradistin- 
 guished to gloss or commentary, and sig- 
 nifying an original discourse exclusive of 
 any note or interpretation. This word is 
 particularly used for a certain passage of 
 scripture, chosen by a preacher to be tha 
 subject of his sermon. 
 
 A text-book, in several universities, is a 
 classic author written very wide by the 
 students, to give room for an interpretation 
 dictated by the master or regent to be in- 
 serted in the interlines. The Spaniards give 
 the name of text to a kind of little poem, or 
 set of verses, placed at the head of a gloss, 
 and making the subject thereof, each verse 
 being explained one after another in the 
 course of the gloss. 
 
 THALES, in biography, a celebrated 
 Greek philosopher, and the first of the wise 
 men of Greece, born at Miletum about 640 
 years before the Christian aera. When he 
 had acquired the usual learning of his coun- 
 try, he travelled into Asia and Egypt, to be 
 instructed in geometry, astronomy, and na- 
 tural philosophy. On his return he became 
 a teacher of youth, and among his disciples, 
 which were numerous, were Anaximander, - 
 Anaximenes, and "Pythagoras. Thales was the 
 author of the Ionian sect of philosophers ; he 
 was reckoned, by the best historians, the fa- 
 ther of Greek philosophy, being the first that 
 made any researches into natural knowledge 
 and mathematics. He thought water was the 
 principle of which all bodies in the universe 
 are composed ; that the world was the 
 work of God, whom he regarded as om- 
 niscient, and beholding the secret thoughts 
 in the heart of man. He maintained that 
 real happiness consisted in health , and 
 knowledge : that the most ancient of beings 
 C c 2 
 
THA 
 
 is God, because he is uncreated ; that no- 
 thing is more beautiful than the world, be- 
 cause it is the work of God ; nothing more 
 extensive than space, quicker than spirit, 
 stronger than necessity, wiser than time. 
 He used to observe, that we ought never to 
 say that to any one which may be turned to 
 our prejudice : and that we should live with 
 our friends as with persons that may be- 
 come our enemies. In geometry he was a 
 considerable inventor, as well as an im- 
 prover, particularly in triangles ; and all 
 the writers agree, that he was the first, even 
 ™ Egypt, who took the height of the pyra- 
 mids by the shadoWi His knowledge and 
 improvements in astronomy were very con- 
 siderable. He divided the celestial sphere 
 into five circles or zones ; the arctic and 
 antarctic circles, the two tropical circles, 
 and the equator. He observed the appa- 
 rent diameter of the sun, which he made 
 equal to Italf a degree ; and formed^ thq 
 constellation of the Little Bear. He ob- 
 served the nature and course of eclipses, 
 and calculated them exactly ; one in parti- 
 cular, memorably recorded by Herodotus, 
 as it happened on a day of battle between 
 the Medes and Lydians, which Thales had 
 foretold ; and he divided the year into 365 
 days. He died at the age of ninety years, 
 leaving behind him an excellent character, 
 as a mathematician, a philosopher, and mo - 
 ralist. 
 
 THALIA, in botany, so named in me- 
 mory of John Thalius, a physician at Nord- 
 huys, a genus of the Monandria Monogynia 
 class and order. Natural order of Scita- 
 mine®. Cann®, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter : calyx three leaved ; corolla five- 
 petalled, two inner petals lessj nectary lan- 
 ceolate, concave ; drupe with a one-celled 
 hut. There are two species, viz. T. geni- 
 culata, and T. cannmformis ; the former is 
 a native of South America, the latter of 
 Mallicollo, one of the New Hebrides, in 
 Australasia ; it was also found in the Anda- 
 man Isles, and Rangoon, in the kingdom of 
 Regue, by Dr. Buchanan. 
 
 THALICTRUM, in hotany, meadow I'ue, 
 a genus of the Polyandria Polygynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Multisilique. 
 Ranunculace®,. Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter: calyx none; petals four or five ; seeds 
 tailless. There are twenty-two species. 
 
 THALLITE, ,in mineralogy, a stone 
 found in the fissures of mountains in Dau- 
 phiny, and on Chamouni, in the Alps. iLis 
 sometimes amorphous, and sometimes chrys- 
 tallized. It is brittle. Specific gravity 
 
 THE 
 
 about 3.4. Before the blow-pipe it froths, 
 and melts into a black flag : with borax it 
 melts into a green bead. The constituent 
 parts are. 
 
 Silica 
 
 
 Alumina 
 
 
 Oxide of Iron 
 
 
 Lime 
 
 
 Oxide of manganese....... 
 
 96.5 
 
 Loss 
 
 100.0 
 
 THAPSIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Digynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Umbellat®, or Umbellifer®. 
 Essential character : fruit oblong, surround- 
 ed by a membrane. There are six species. 
 
 THEA, in botany, tea-tree, a genus of the 
 Polyandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Coluranifer®. Aurantia, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla six 
 or nine-petalled ; calyx five or six-leaved 
 capsule tricoccous. 
 
 The tea plant is a native of Japan, China, 
 and Tonquin, and has not been found grow- 
 ing spontaneously in any other part of the 
 world. 
 
 Linn® us says that there are two species 
 of the tea plant ; the bohea, the corolla of 
 which has six petals; and the viridis, or 
 green tea, which has nine petals. Thunberg 
 makes only one species, the bohea, consist- 
 ing of two varieties: the one with broad 
 and the other with narrow leaves. This 
 botanist’s authority is decisive respecting 
 the Japanese, tea plants ; but as China has 
 not yet been explored, we cannot' deter- 
 mine what number of species there are in. 
 that country. The tea-tree, however, is 
 nowr common in the botanical gardens in 
 this country ; and it is evident that there 
 are two species, or, at least, permanent va- 
 rieties of it ; one with a much longer leaf 
 than the other, which our gardeners call the 
 green tea ; and the other with shorter 
 leaves, which they call the bohea. The green 
 is by much the hardiest plant, and with very 
 little protection will bear the rigour of our 
 winters. 
 
 This plant delights in valleys, and is fre- 
 quent on tlie sloping sides of mountains and 
 the banks of rivers, where it enjoys a 
 southern exposure. It flourishes in the 
 northern latitudes of Pekin as well as round 
 Canton ; but attains the greatest pefection 
 in the mild temperate regions of Nankin, 
 It is said only to be found between the 30th 
 
THE 
 
 and 4jth degree of north latitude. In Japan 
 it is planted round the borders of fields, 
 without regard to the soil ; but as it is an i 
 important article of commerce with the 
 Chinese, whose fields are covered with it, 
 it is by them cultivated with care.. The 
 Abb6 Rochon says, it grows equally well in 
 a poor as in a rich soil; but that there are 
 certain places where it is of a better quality. 
 The tea which grows in rocky ground is 
 supeiior to that which grows in a iight soil; 
 and the worst kind is that which is produced 
 in a clay soil. It is propagated by seeds ; 
 from six to twelve are put into a hole about 
 five inches deep, at certain eUstances from 
 each other. The reason why so many seeds 
 are sown in the same hole is said to be, 
 that only a fifth part vegetate. Being thus 
 sown, they grow without any other care. 
 Some, however, manure the land, and re- 
 move the weeds; for the Chinese are as 
 fond of good tea, and take as much pains to 
 procure it of an excellent quality, as the 
 Europeans do to procure excellent wine. 
 
 The leaves are not fit for being plucked 
 till the shrub is of three years’ growth. In 
 seven years it rises to a man’s height; but , 
 as it then bears but few leaves, it is cut 
 down to the stem, and this produces a new 
 crop of fresh shoots the following summer, 
 every one of which bears nearly as many 
 leaves as a whole shrub. Sometimes the 
 plants are not cut down till they are ten 
 years old. We are informed, by Kmmpfer, 
 that there are three seasons in which the 
 leaves are collected in the isles of Japan, 
 from which the tea derives different degrees 
 of perfection. 
 
 The first gathering commences at the end 
 of February or beginning of March. The 
 leaves are then small, tender, and unfolded, 
 and not above three or four days old : it is 
 called imperial tea, being generally reserved 
 for the court and people of rank ; and some- 
 times also it is named bloom tea. It is sold 
 in China for 20d. or 2s. per pound. The 
 labourers employed in collecting it do not 
 pull the leaves by handfuls, but pick them 
 up one by one, and take every precaution 
 that they may not break them. However 
 long and tedious this labour may appear, 
 they gather from four to ten or fifteen pounds 
 a day. ^ 
 
 The second crop is gathered about the 
 end of March or beginning of April. At 
 this season part of their leaves have attain- 
 ed their full growth, and the rest are not 
 above half their size. This difference does 
 not, however, prevent them from being all 
 
 THE 
 
 gathered indiscriminately. They are after- 
 wards picked and assorted into different 
 parcels, according to their age and size. 
 The youngest, which are carefully separated 
 from the rest, are often sold for leaves of 
 the first crops, or for imperial tea. Tea 
 gathered at this season is called Chinese 
 tea, because the people of Japan infuse it, 
 and drink it after the Chinese manner. 
 
 The third crop is gathered in the end of 
 May, or in the month of June. The leaves 
 are then very numerous and thick, and 
 have acquired their full growth. This kind 
 of tea is the coarsest of all, and is reserved 
 for the common people. Some of the Ja- 
 panese collect their tea only at tvvo seasons 
 of the year, which correspond to the second 
 and third already mentioned: others con- 
 fine themselves to one general gathering of 
 their crop, towards the month of June: 
 however, they always form, afterwards dif- 
 ferent assortments of their leaves. 
 
 In this country teas are generally divided 
 into three kinds of green, and five of bohea: 
 the former are, 1. Imperial, or bloom tea, 
 with a large loose leaf, light green colour, 
 and a faint delicate smell. % Hyson, so 
 called from the name of the merchant who 
 first imported it ; the leaves of which are 
 closely curled and small, of a green colour, 
 verging to a blue. 3. Single tea, from the 
 name of the place where it is cultivated. 
 The boheas are, 1. Souchong, which im- 
 parts a yellow-green colour by infusion. 2. 
 Camho, so called from the place where it is 
 made ; a fragrant tea, with a violet smell ; 
 its infusion pale. 3. Congo, which has a 
 larger leaf than the preceding, and its infu- 
 sion somewhat deeper, resembling common 
 bohea in the colour of the leaf. 4. Pekoe 
 tea; this is known by the appearance of 
 small white flowers .mixed with it. 5. Com- 
 mon bohea, whose leaves are of one colour. 
 Tliere are other varieties, particularly a kind 
 of green tea, done up in roundish halls, call- 
 ed gunpowder tea. 
 
 THELYGONUM, in botany, a genus of 
 the Monoecia Polyandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Scabridae. Urticae, Jus- 
 sieit. Egsential character : male, calyx bi- 
 fid ; corolla none ; stamina commonly 
 twelve : female, calyx bifid ; corolla none ; 
 pistil one ; capsule coriaceous, one-celled, 
 one-seeded. There is only one species, mz. 
 T. cynocrambe, purslain-leaved thelygo- 
 num, or dog’s cabbage: this is an annual 
 plant, decaying as soon as the seeds ripen ; 
 the stalks trail on the ground hke those of 
 chick-weed; they grow about a foot in 
 
THE 
 
 Jenstb, having acute pointed leaves, on long 
 bordered foot-stalks ; flowers axillary, in 
 clusters, sitting very close, small, and of an 
 herbaceous white colour; male and female 
 from the same joint; it is a native of the 
 South of France, near Montpelier. 
 
 THEOBROMA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Polyadelphia Decandria class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Cqlumniferw. Mal- 
 vacese, Jussieu. Essential character: ca- 
 lyx five-leaved ; petals five, arched ; nec- 
 tuary five-horned ; filaments five, within 
 the calyx of the petals, growing externally 
 to the nectary, having two anthers on each. 
 There is but one species, viz. T. cacao, cho- 
 colate nut tree, which grows in a very hand- 
 some form, to the height of twelve or six- 
 teen feet; the wood is light, and of a white 
 colour ; the bark is browmish and even ; 
 leaves lanceolate, oblong, bright green, en- 
 tire, from nine to sixteen incJies long, and 
 from three to four in the widest part, on a 
 petiole an inch in length, thickened at both 
 ends ; peduncles slender, eight or ten toge- 
 ther, chiefly from the scars of fallen leaves ; 
 flowers small, reddish, inodorous ; fruit 
 smooth, yellow and red, about three inches 
 in diameter; rind fleshy, half an inch in 
 thickness; pulp whitish, the consistence of 
 butter, separatiiig from the rind in a state 
 of ripeness, and adhering to it orily by fila- 
 ments, which penetrate it and reach to the 
 seeds ; when the seeds are ripe, it is known 
 by the rattling of fhe capsule when shaken. 
 This tree bears leaves, flowers, and fruit, 
 all the year through; the usual seasons for 
 gathering the fruit are June and Decem- 
 ber ; one tree yields two to three pounds of 
 seeds annually. It is a native of South 
 America ; it is also found in several places 
 between the Tropics, particularly at Ca- 
 racca and Carthagena, on the river Amazons, 
 the Isthmus of Darien, &c. This tree is 
 cultivated in many of the West India 
 islands, belonging to the French and Spa- 
 niards, and formerly in some qf those be- 
 longing to the English, but has been neg- 
 lected in the latter for many years past. 
 
 THEODOLITE, a mathematical instru- 
 ment much u,sed in surveying, for the 
 taking of angles, distances, <&c. It is made 
 variously, several persons having their seve- 
 ral ways of contriving it, each more simple 
 and portable, more accurate and expedi- 
 tious than others. The common one con- 
 sists of a brass circle about a foot diameter, 
 having its limb divided into 360 degrees, 
 gnd each degree subdivided, either diagoq- 
 
 THE 
 
 ally, or otherwise, into minutes. Sea 
 Levei.. 
 
 THEODOSIUS, in biography, a cele- 
 brated mathematician, who flourished in the 
 times of Cicero and Pompey ; but the time 
 and place of his death are unknown. He 
 chiefly cidtivatcd that part of geometry 
 which relates to the doctrine of the sphere, 
 concerning which he published tliree books. 
 The first of these contains twenty- two pro- 
 positions ; the second twenty-three ; and 
 the third fourteen ; all demonstrated in the 
 pure geometrical manner of the ancients, 
 Ptolemy made great use of these proposi- 
 tions, as w'ell as all succeeding writers, 
 These books were translated by the Ara- 
 bians, out of the original Greek, into their 
 own language. From the Arabic, the work 
 w'as again translated itito Latin, and printed 
 at Venice. But the Arabic version being 
 very defective, a more complete edition 
 was published in Greek and Latin, at Paris, 
 1653, And Vitello acquired reputation by 
 translating Theodosius into Latin. This 
 author’s works were also commented on 
 and illustrated by Clavius, and others ; but 
 the edition of Theodosius’s Spherics which 
 is now most in use, was translated, and 
 published, by our countryman, the learned 
 Dr. Barrow, in the year 1676, illustrated 
 and demonstrated in a new and concise me- 
 thod. By this author’s account, Theodo- 
 sius appears not only to be a great master 
 in this more difficult part of geometry, but 
 the first considerable author of antiquity 
 who has written on that subject. 
 
 THEOPHRASTA, in botany, so named 
 in honour of the celebrated Grecian philo- 
 sopher and botanist Theophrastus Eresius, 
 a genus of the Pentaudria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Apocinea*, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla bell- 
 shaped, with oblong erect spreading seg- 
 ments ; fruit one-celled, very large, round- 
 ish, many-seeded. There are two species, 
 viz. T. americana and T. longifolia, both 
 natives of America, 
 
 THEOREM, a speculative proposition, 
 demonstrating the properties of any sub- 
 ject. Theorems are either universal, which 
 extend to any quantity, without restriction 
 universally ; as this, that the rectangle of 
 the sum, and difference of any two quanti- 
 ties, is equal to the difference of their 
 squares ; Or particular, which extend only 
 to a particular quantity; as this, in an 
 equilateral right-fined triangle, each of the 
 angles is 60 degree?. Theorems are agajp 
 
THE 
 
 ^iistinguislied into negative, local, plane, 
 and solid. A negative theorem is that which 
 expresses the impossibility of any asser- 
 tion ; as that the smn of two biquadrate 
 numbers cannot mrfke a square number. A 
 local theorem is that which relates to a 
 surface ; as, that the triangles of the same 
 base and altitude are equal. A plane theo- 
 rem is that which cither relates to a rectili- 
 near surface, or to one terminated by the 
 circumference of a circle ; as that all angles 
 in the same segment of a circle are equal. 
 And a solid theorem is that which considers 
 a space terminated by a solid line ; that is, 
 by any of the three (ynic sections, ^e. gr. 
 this ; that if a right line cut two a.symptotic 
 parabolas, its two parts terminated by them 
 shall be equal. 
 
 THEORY, in general, denotes any doc- 
 trine which termhiates in speculation alone, 
 without considering the practical uses and 
 application thereof. 
 
 THERMOMETER, an instrument for 
 measuring the degree of heat or cold in any 
 body. The first form of this instrument for 
 measuring the degrees of heat and cold, was 
 the air tliermometer. It is a well known 
 fart that air expands with heat so as to oc- 
 cupy more space than it does when cold, 
 and that it is condensed by cold so as to oc- 
 cupy less space than when warmed, and 
 that this expansion and condensation is 
 greater or less according to the degree of 
 heat or cold applied. The principle then 
 on which the air-thermometer was con- 
 structed is very simple. The air was con- 
 fined in a tube by means of some coloured 
 liqnor ; the liquor rose or fell according as 
 the air became expanded or condensed. 
 What the first form of the tube was, cannot 
 now perhaps be well known ; but the fol- 
 lowing description of the air-thermometer 
 will fully explain its nature. Jt consists of a 
 glass tube, B E, (Plate Miscel. XVI. fig. 4.) 
 connected at one end with a large glass ball, 
 A and at the other end immersed in an open 
 vessel, or terminating in a ball,.D E, with a 
 narrow orifice atD ; which vessel or ball con- 
 tains any coloured liquor that wdll not easily 
 freeze. Aquafortis tinged of a fine blue co- 
 lour with a solution of vitriol or copper, or 
 spirit of wine tinged with cochineal, will 
 answ'er this purpose. But the ball. A, must 
 be first moderately warmed, so that a part 
 of the air contained in it may be expelled 
 through the orifice, D ; and then the liquor 
 pressed by the weight of the atmosphere 
 will enter the ball, DE, and rise, for 
 
 THE 
 
 example, to the middle of the tube at C, at 
 a mean temperature of the weather ; and in 
 this stale the liquor by its weight, and the 
 air included in the ball, A,&c. by its elasti- 
 city, will counterbalance the weight of tl/e 
 atmosphere. As the surrounding air be- 
 comes warmer, the air in the hall and upper 
 part of the tube, expanding by heat, will 
 drive the liquor into the lower ball, and 
 consequeMtly its surface will descend ; on 
 the contrary, as the ambient air becomes 
 colder, that in the ball is condensed, and 
 the liquor pressed by the weight of the at- 
 mosphere will ascend ; .so that the liquor in 
 the tube will ascend or descend more or less 
 according to the state of the air contiguous 
 to the instrument. To the tube is affixed 
 a scale of the same length, divided upwards 
 and downwards from the middle, C,iuto 100 
 equal parts, by means of which the ascent 
 and descent of the liquor in the tube, and con- 
 sequently the variations in the cold or licat 
 of the atmosphere, may be observed. 
 
 The air being found improper for measur- 
 ing with accuracy the variations of heat and 
 cold according to the form of the thermome- 
 ter which was first adopted, another fluid 
 was proposed about the middle of the se- 
 venteentli century by the Florentine Aca- 
 demy. This fluid was spirit of wine, or 
 alcohol, as it is now generally named. The 
 alcohol being coloured, was inclosed in .i 
 very fine cylindrical glass tube previously 
 exhausted of its air, having a hollow ball 
 at one end. A, (fig. 5.) and hermetically 
 sealed at the other end, D. Tlie ball and 
 tube are filled with rectified spirit of wine 
 to a convenient height, as to C, when the 
 weather is of a mean temperature, which 
 may be done by inverting the tube into a 
 vessel of stagnant coloured spirit, under a 
 reeeiver of the air-pump, or in any otlier 
 way. When the thermometer is properly 
 filled, the end D is heated red hot by a 
 lamp, and then hermetically sealed, leaving 
 the included air of about one-third of its na- 
 tural density, to prevent the air wliid) is in 
 the spirit from dividing it in its expansion. 
 To the tube is applied a scale, divided from 
 the middle, into 100 equal parts, upwards 
 and downwards. As spirit of wine is capa- 
 ble of a very considerable degree of rare- 
 faction and condensation by heat and cold, 
 when the heat of the atmosphere increases 
 the spirit dilates, and consequently rises in 
 the tube; and when the heat decreases, the 
 spirit descends, and the degree or quantity 
 of the motion is shown by a scale. 
 
 This was evidently an improvement on 
 
THERMOMETER. 
 
 the air-thermometer, but was itself not free 
 from objections. The liquor could not 
 easily be obtained of the same strength, 
 and hence different tubes filled witli it, wlien 
 exposed to the same degree of heat, would 
 not correspond. Another defect was the 
 want of some fixed guide as a standard to 
 commence the graduation. Philosophers 
 soon saw that some fixed and unalterable 
 point must be found, by which all thermo- 
 iheters might be accurately adjusted. Dr. 
 Halley proposed that thermometers should 
 be graduated in a deep pit, where the tem- 
 perature in all seasons was nearly the same. 
 This however could not generally be prac- 
 tised. He thought of the boiling point of 
 water, of mercury, and of spirit of wine, 
 preferring the latter, on account of the 
 freezing of water, not knowing that this was 
 fixed and uniform. At length Sir Isaac 
 Newton determined this important point, 
 on which the accuracy and value of the 
 thermometer depends. He chose, as fixed, 
 those points at which water freezes and 
 boils ; the very points which the experi- 
 ments of succeeding philosophers have de- 
 termined to be the most fixed and conveni- 
 ent. Sensible of the disadvantages of spirit 
 of wine, he tried another liquor which was 
 homogeneous enough, and capable of a con- 
 siderable rarefaction, several times greater 
 than sphit of wine. This was linseed 
 oil. It has not been observed to freeze 
 even in very great colds, and it bears a heat 
 very much greater than water before it 
 boils. Wkh these advantages it was made 
 use of by Sir Isaac Newton, who disco- 
 vered by it the comparative degree of heat 
 for boiling water, melting wax, boiling spi- 
 rit of wine, and melting tin ; beyond which, 
 it does not appear that this thermometer 
 was applied. The method he used for ad- 
 justing the scale of this oil-thermometer was 
 as follows : supposing the bulb, when im- 
 merged in thawing snow, to contain 10,000 
 parts, he found the oil expand by the heat 
 of the human body so as to take up one 
 thirty-ninth more space, or 10,256 such 
 parts ; and by the heat of water boiling 
 strongly 10,725; and by the heat of melting 
 tin 11,516. So that reckoning the freezing 
 point as a common limit between heat and 
 cold, he began his scale there, marking it 0, 
 and the heat of the human body he made 
 12“ ; and consequently, the degrees of heat 
 being proportional to the degrees of rare- 
 faction, or 256 : 725 : : 12 : 34, this number 
 34 will express the heat of boiling water ; 
 and by the same rule, 72 that of melting tin. 
 
 This thermometer was constructed in 1701, 
 To the application of oil as a measure of 
 heat and cold, there are insuperable objec- 
 tions, It is so viscid, that it adheres too 
 strongly to the sides of the tube. On this 
 account it ascends and descends too slowly 
 in case of a sudden heat or cold. In a sud- 
 den cold, so great a portion remains ad- 
 hering to the sides of the tube after the rest 
 has subsided, that the surface appears 
 lower than the corresponding temperature 
 of the air requires. An oil thermometer is 
 therefore not a proper measure of heat and 
 cold. All the thermorueters hitherto pro- 
 posed were liable to many inconveniences, 
 and could not be considered as exact 
 standards for pointing out the various de- 
 grees of temperature. This led Reaumur 
 to attempt a new one, an account of which 
 was published in the year 1730 in the Me- 
 moirs of the Academy of Sciences. This 
 thermometer was made with spirit of wine. 
 He took a large ball and tube, the dimen- 
 sions and capacities of which were known ; 
 he then graduated the tube, so that the 
 space from one division to another might 
 contain l,000tb part of the liquor; the li- 
 quor containing 1,000 parts when it stoodat 
 the freezing point. He adjusted the ther- 
 mometer to the freezing point by an artifi- 
 cial congelation of water; then putting the 
 ball of his thermometer and part of the tube 
 into boiling water, he observed whether it 
 rose 80 divisions j if it exceeded tliese, he 
 changed h's liquor, and by adding water 
 lowered it, till upon trial it should just rise 
 80 divisions ; or if the liquor, being too low, 
 fell short of 80 divisions, he raised it by 
 adding rectified spirit to it. The liquor 
 thus prepared suited his purpose, and served 
 for making a thermometer of any size, whose 
 scale would agree with his standard. At 
 length a different fluid was proposed, by 
 which thermometers could be made free 
 from most of the defects hitherto men- 
 tioned. This fluid was mercury, and seems 
 first to have occurred to Dr. Halley, but 
 was not adopted by him on account of its 
 having a smaller degree of expansibility 
 than the other fluids used at that time. 
 
 The honour of this invention is generally 
 given to Fahrenheit of Amsterdam, who pre- 
 sen ted an account of it to the Royal Society of 
 London in 1724. That we mayjudge the more 
 accurately of the propriety of employing 
 mercury, we will compare its qualities with 
 those of the fluids already mentioned, air, 
 alcohol, and oil. Air is the most expansible 
 fluid, but it does not receive nor part witli 
 
its heat so quickly as mercury. Alcohol 
 docs not expand much by heat. In its or- 
 dinary state it does not bear a much greater 
 heat than 175“ of Fahrenheit ; but when 
 highly rectified it can bear a greater de- 
 gree of cold than any other liquor hither- 
 to employed as a measure of temperature. 
 At Hudson’s Bay, Mr. Macnab, by a mix- 
 ture of vitriolic acid and snow, made it to 
 descend to 69“ below 0 of Fahrenheit. 
 There is an inconvenience, however, at- 
 tending the use of this liquor ; it is not pos- 
 sible to get it always of the same degree of 
 strength. As to oil, its expansion is about 
 15 times greater than that of alcohol ; it 
 sustains a heat of 600°, and its freezing 
 point is so low that it has not been deter- 
 mined ; but its viscosity renders it useless. 
 
 Mercury is far superior to alcohol and oil, 
 and is much more manageable than air. 
 1. As far as the experiments already made 
 can determine, it is of all the fluids hitherto 
 employed in the construction of thermome- 
 ters, that which measures most exactly 
 equal differences of heat by equal differ- 
 ences of its bulk : its dilatations are, in fact, 
 very nearly proportional to the augmenta- 
 tions of heat applied to it. 2. Of all liquids 
 it is the most easily freed from air. 3. It 
 
 THERMOMETER. 
 
 pin’s digester, it will acquire a heat of 412“. 
 Hence it appears, that water will boil at a 
 lower point, according to its height in the 
 atmosphere, or to the weight of the column 
 of air which presses upon it. In order to 
 ensure uniformity, therefore, in the con- 
 struction of tliermometers, it is now agreed, 
 that the bulb of the tube be plunged in the 
 water when it boils violently, the barome- 
 ter standing at 30 English inches, and the 
 temperature of the atmosphere 55“. A 
 thermometer made in this way, with its 
 boiling point at 212“, is called, by Dr. Hors- 
 ley, “ Bird’s Fahrenheit,” because Mr. Bird 
 was the first person who attended to the 
 state of the barometer in constructing ther- 
 mometers. 
 
 As artists may be often obliged to adjust 
 thermometers under very different pres- 
 sures of the atmosphere, philosophers have 
 been at pains to discover a general rule 
 which might be applied on all occasions. 
 M. de Luc, from a series of experiments, 
 has given an equation for the allowance on 
 account of this difference, in Paris measure, 
 which has been verified by Sir George 
 Sehuckbnrg ; also Dr. Horsley, Dr. Maske- 
 lyne, and Sir George Schuckburgh, have 
 adapted the equation and rules to English 
 
 fitted to measure high degrees of heat^ measures, and have reduced the allowances 
 
 and cold. It sustains a heat of 600“ of Fah- 
 renheit’s scale, and does not congeal till it 
 fall 39 or 40 degrees below 0. 4. It is 
 the most sensible of any fluid to heat and 
 cold, even air not excepted. Count Rum- 
 ford found, that mercury was heated from 
 the freezing to the boiling point in 58 se- 
 conds, while water took 2 minutes 13 se- 
 conds, and common air 10 minutes and 17 
 seconds. 5. Mercury is a homogeneous 
 fluid, and every portion of it is equally di- 
 lated or contracted by equal variations of 
 heat. Any one thermometer, made of pure 
 mercury, is cceteris paribus, possessed of the 
 same properties with every other thermo- 
 meter made of pure mercury. Its power 
 of expansion is indeed about six times less 
 than that of spirit of wine, but it is great 
 enough to answer most of the purposes for 
 which a thermometer is wanted. The fix- 
 ed points, which are now universally chosen 
 for adjusting thermometers to a scale, and 
 to one anotlier, are the boiling and freezing 
 water points. The boiling water point, it 
 is well known, is not an invariable point, 
 but varies some degrees according to the 
 weight and temperature of the atmosphere. 
 In an exhausted receiver, water will boil 
 with a heat of 98“ or 100“ j whereas, in Pa- 
 
 into tables, for the use of the artist. Dr. 
 Horsley’s rule, deduced from De Luc’s, is 
 this: 
 
 99 
 
 log. z — 92.804 = h. 
 
 Where h denotes the height of a thermo- 
 meter plunged in boiling water above the 
 point of melting ice, in degrees of Bird’s 
 Fahrenheit, and z the height of the barome- 
 ter in lOths of an inch. From this rule he 
 has computed the following table, for find- 
 ing tlie heights to which a good Bird’s Fah- 
 renheit will rise, when plunged irr boiling 
 water, in all states of the barometer, from 
 27 to 31 English inches ; which will serve, 
 among other uses, to direct instrument- 
 makers in making a true allowance for the 
 effect of the variation of the barometer, if 
 they should be obliged to finish a thermo- 
 meter at a time when the barometer is 
 above or below 30 inches ; though it is best 
 to fix the boiling point when the barometer 
 is at that height. 
 
THERMOMETER. 
 
 EcsrATiON OF The boiling point. 
 
 Barometer. 
 
 Equation. 
 
 Difference. 
 
 31.0 
 
 -f 1.57 
 
 0.78 
 
 30.5 
 
 - 4 - 0.79 
 
 0.79 
 
 30.0 
 
 0.00 
 
 0.80 
 
 29.5 
 
 — 0.80 
 
 0.82 
 
 29.0 
 
 — 1.62 
 
 0,83 
 
 28.5 
 
 — 2.45 
 
 0.85 
 
 28.0 
 
 — 3.31 
 
 0.86 
 
 27.5 
 
 — 4.16 
 
 0.88 
 
 27.0 
 
 — 5.04 
 
 
 The numtiers in the first column of this 
 table express heights of the quicksilver in 
 the barometer, in English inches and deci- 
 mal parts : the second column shows the 
 equation to be applied, according to the 
 sign prefixed, to 212" of Bird’s Fahrenheit, 
 to find the true boiling point for every such 
 state of the barometer. The boiling point, 
 for all intermediate states of the barometer, 
 may be had, with sufficient accuracy, by 
 taking proportional parts, by means of the 
 third column of differences of the equa- 
 tions. 
 
 The method of constructing Fahrenheit’s 
 thermometer, which is now in general use 
 in this country, is the following: a small 
 ball is blown on the end of a glass tube, of 
 an uniform width throughout. The ball and 
 part of the tube are then to be filled with 
 quicksilver, which has been previously boil- 
 ed to expel the air. The open end of the 
 tube is then to be hermetically sealed. The 
 next object is to construct the scale. It is 
 found, by experiment, that melting snow, 
 or freezing water, is always at the same 
 temperature. If, therefore, a thermometer 
 be immersed in the one or the other, the 
 quicksilver will always stand at the same 
 point. It has been observed, too, that wa- 
 ter boils under the same pressure of the at- 
 mosphere at the same temperature. A ther- 
 mometer, therefore, immersed in boiling 
 water, will uniformly stand at the same 
 point. Here, then, are two fixed points, 
 from which a scale may be constructed, by 
 dividing the, intermediate space into equal 
 parts, and carrying the same divisions as 
 far above and below the two fixed points 
 as may be wanted. Tims, thermometers 
 constructed in this way may be compared 
 together ; for if they are accurately made, 
 and placed in the same temperature, they 
 will always point to the same degree on the 
 scale. The fluid, as we have seen, em- 
 ployed is quicksilver, and it is found to an- 
 swer best, because its expansions are most 
 equable. The freezing point of Fahren- 
 heit’s thermometer is marked 32", and the 
 / 
 
 reason of this is said to have been, that this 
 artist thought that he had produced the 
 greatest degree of cold, by a mixture of 
 snow and salt ; and the point at which the 
 thermometer then stood, in this tempera- 
 ture, was marked Zero. The boiling point, 
 in this thermometer, is 212", and the inter- 
 mediate space, between the boiling and 
 freezing points,- is therefore divided into 
 180". This is the thermometer that is com- 
 monly used in Britain. 
 
 There are three other thermometers em- 
 ployed in different countries of Europe, 
 which differ from each other in the number 
 of degrees between the freezing and boiling 
 points. Reaumur’s thermometer was gene- 
 rally used in France before the revolution, 
 and is still employed in different countries 
 on the Continent. The freezing point, in 
 this thermometer, is marked Zero, and the 
 boiling point 80°. To convert the degrees 
 of Reaumur’s thermometer to those of 
 Fahrenheit, the following is the formula. 
 
 X 9 
 
 Reanm. — — [- 32 = Fahr. that is, multi- 
 4 
 
 ply the degrees of Reaumur by 9, divide by 
 4, and add 32. This gives the corre- 
 sponding degress on Fahrenheit’s scale. 
 The thermometer of Celsus has the 
 space between the freezing and boiling 
 points divided into 100°. The boiling 
 point is 100°, and the freezing point Zero. 
 This thermometer is used in Sweden. 
 The “ thermometre centigrade,” now used 
 in France, has the scale divided in the 
 same way. To convert the degrees of this 
 thermometer into those of Fahrenheit ; 
 
 Cel. -j- 32 = Fahr. In Delisle’s ther- 
 mometer, which is used in Russia, the space 
 between the boiling and freezing points is 
 divided into 150° ; but the degrees are reck- 
 oned downwards. The boiling point is 
 marked Zero, and the freezing point 150°. 
 To reduce the degrees of this thermometer 
 under the boiling point to those of Fahren- 
 heit ; Del. — 212 = Fahr. And above 
 o 
 
 X 6 
 
 the boiling point. Del. + 212 = Fahr. 
 
 b ' 
 
 Such, then, are the principles and mode 
 of construction of the thermometer ; an in- 
 strument which has been of (he utmost im- 
 portance in enabling ns to discover many of 
 the properties and effects of caloric, as by 
 it only we can ascertain, with accuracy, the 
 relative temperatures. 
 
 , In meteorological observations, it is ne- 
 cessai 7 to attend to the greatest rise and 
 
THE 
 
 fall of the thermometer, and therefore at- 
 tempts have been made to make them mark 
 the greatest degree of heat and cold, in the 
 absence of the observer. We will notice 
 one, intended to show the greatest degree 
 of heat. AB, fig. 6, is a glass tube, with 
 a cylindrical bulb, B, at the lower end, and 
 capillary at the other, over which there is a 
 fixed glass ball, C. The bulb, and pait of 
 the tube, are filled with mercury, the top 
 of which shows the degrees of heat. The 
 upper part of the tube, above the raercniy, 
 is filled with spirit of wine ; the ball, C, is 
 likewise filled with the same liquor, almost 
 to the top of the capillary tube. When the 
 mercury rises, the spirit of wine is also 
 raised into the ball, C, which is so made 
 that the liquor cannot return into the tube 
 when the mercury sinks ; ot course, the 
 height of the spirit in the ball, added to 
 that in the tube, will give the greatest de- 
 gree of heat. To make a new observation, 
 the instrument must be inclined till the li- 
 quor in the ball cover the end of the capil- 
 lary tube. 
 
 In 1782, Mr. Six proposed another self- 
 registering thermometer. It is properly a 
 spirit of wine thermometer, though mercu- 
 ry is also employed for supporting an in- 
 dex : ab (fig. 7) is a thin tube of glass six- 
 teen inches long, and five-sixteenths of an 
 inch calibre; cde, and fgb, are smaller 
 tubes, about one-twentieth of an inch cali- 
 bre. These three tubes are filled with highly 
 rectified spirit of-wine, except the space be- 
 tween d andg, which is filled with mercury. 
 As the spirit of wine contracts or expands 
 in the middle tube, the mercury falls or 
 rises in the outside tubes. An index, such 
 as that represented in fig. 8, is placed on 
 the surface, within each of these tubes, so 
 light as to float upon it: A: is a small glass 
 tube, three-fourths of an inch long, herme- 
 tically sealed at each end, and inclosing a 
 piece of steel wire nearly of its own length. 
 At each end, I m, of this small tube, a short 
 tube of black glass is fixed, of such a diar 
 meter as to pass freely up and down within 
 either of the outside tubes of the thermo- 
 meter, c e, or fh. From the upper end of 
 the index is drawn a spring of glass to the 
 fineness of a hair, and about five-sevenths 
 of an inch long ; which, being placed a lit- 
 tle oblique, presses lightly against the inner 
 surface of the tube, and prevents the index 
 from descending when the mercury de- 
 scends. These indexes being inserted one 
 into each of the outside tubes, it is easy to 
 jiuderstand how tliey point out the greatest 
 
 THE 
 
 heat or cold that has happened in the ob- 
 server’s absence. When the spirit of wine 
 in the middle tube expands, it presses down 
 the mercury in the tube, hf, and conse- 
 quently raises it in the tube, eo j conse- 
 quently, the index on the left hand tube is 
 left behind, and marks the greatest cold, 
 and the index in the right hand tube rises, 
 and marks the greatest heat. 
 
 The common contrivance for a self-regis- 
 tering thermometer, now sold in most of 
 the London shops, consists simply of two 
 thermometers, one mercurial, and the other 
 of alcohol, (fig. 9) having their stems hori- 
 zontal ; the former has for its index a small 
 bit of magnetical steel wire, and the latter 
 a minute thread of glass, having its two ends 
 formed into small knobs, by fusion in the 
 flame of a candle. 
 
 The magnetical bit of wire lies in the va- 
 cant space of the mercurial thermometer, 
 and is pushed forward by the mercury 
 whenever the temperature rises, and pushes 
 that fluid against it ; but when the tempe- 
 rature falls, and the fluid retires, this index 
 is left behind, and consequently shows the 
 maximum. The other index, or bit of glass, 
 lies in the tube of the spirit thermometer 
 immersed in the alcohol : and when the spi- 
 rit retires, by depression of temperature, 
 the index is carried along wdth it, in appa- 
 rent contact with its interior surface ; but, 
 on increase of temperature, the spirit goes 
 forward and leaves the index, which there- 
 fore shows the minimum of temperature 
 since it was set. As these indexes merely 
 lie in the tubes, their resistance to motion 
 is altogether inconsiderable. The steel in- 
 dex is brought to the mercuiy by applying 
 a magnet on the outside of the tube, and the 
 other is duly placed at the end of the co- 
 lumn of alcohol, by inclining the whole in- 
 strument. 
 
 THERMOSCOPE, an instrument show- 
 ing the changes happening in the air with 
 respect to heat and cold. The word ther- 
 moscope is generally nsed indifferently with 
 that of thermometer, though there is some 
 difference in the literal import of the two ; 
 tlie first signifying an instrument that shows, 
 or exhibits, the changes of heat, &c. to the 
 eye ; and the latter, an instrument that 
 measures those changes ; on which founda- 
 tion the thermometer should be a more ac- 
 curate thermoscope, &c. 
 
 THESIS, a general position which a per- 
 son advances, and offers to maintain. In 
 colleges it is frequent to have placards, con- 
 
THI 
 
 taining a number of them, in theology, in 
 medicine, in philosophy, in law, &c. 
 
 THESIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Peiitandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Vepreculse. Elaeagni, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx one- 
 leaved, into which the. stamens are inserted ; 
 nut inferior, one-seeded. There are nine- 
 teen species, almost all of which are found 
 at the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 THIMBLE, an instrument made of 
 brass, silver, iron, &c. put on the finger to 
 thrust a needle through any cloth, silk, &c. 
 used by all seamstresses, tailors, &c. The 
 common thimbles are generally made of 
 shruff and old hammered brass. This they 
 melt, and cast into a sort of sand, with 
 which and red ochre are made moulds and 
 cores. They are cast in double rows, and; 
 when cold, taken out, and cut oflF with 
 greasy shears. Then the cores being taken 
 out, they are put into a barrel, as they do 
 shot, and turned round with a horse till 
 they rub the sand one from another : from 
 thence they are carried to the mill to be 
 turned first on the inside, and afterwards 
 on the outside : then some saw-dust, or 
 filings of horn combs, are put half-way into 
 each thimble, and upon it an iron punch ; 
 and then with one blow against a studded 
 steed the hollow of the bottom is made; 
 after this, with an engine, the sides have 
 the hollow made ; this done, they are again 
 polished on the inside; then the rim is 
 turned at one stroke ; and lastly, they are 
 turned in a barrel with saw-dust, or bran, 
 to scour them very bright. 
 
 Thimble, in naval affairs, a sort of iron 
 ring, the outer surface of which is hollow 
 throughout its whole circumference, in order 
 to contain in the channel or cavity a rope 
 which is spliced about it, and by which it 
 may be hung in any particular situation. 
 Its use is to defend the eye of the rope 
 which surrounds it from being injured by 
 another rope which passes through it, or by 
 the hook of a tackle which is hung upon it. 
 
 THIRPS, in natural history, a genus of 
 insect of the order of Hemiptera: snout 
 obsolete, secreted within the mouth; an- 
 tennae filiform, as long as the thorax ; body 
 linear ; abdomen bent upwards ; four wings 
 straight, incumbent ; narrower than the 
 body, and slightly crossed. There are eight 
 species. T. physapus is accurately described 
 in the Linnaean Transactions: it is found 
 frequently in composite flowers, and in the 
 spikes of wheat and rye, to which it is said 
 to be exceedingly destructive, though others 
 
 THI 
 
 deny the fact. It may be often seen in the 
 flowers of the dandelion : it wanders from 
 petal to petal, descending to the bottom of 
 the florets, occasionally emerging at inter- 
 vals, and often skipping from place to place : 
 in perfonhing this action, it is observed 
 suddenly to turn back its abdomen, so as 
 nearly to touch the thorax with its tip. The 
 larva, in some respects, resembles the com- 
 plete insect : it is however yellow, and six- 
 footed: tlje antenna?, and head black and 
 white, pupa whitish, with black eyes. 
 
 THISTLE, carduus, in botany. See 
 Carduus. 
 
 Thistle, oi'der of the, or of St. Andrew, 
 a military order of knighthood in Scotland, 
 the rise and institution whereof is variously 
 related by different authors : Lesley, Bishop 
 of Ross, reports, that the night before the 
 battle between Athelstan King of Northum- 
 berland, and Hnugus King of the Piets, a 
 bright cross, in form of that whereon St. 
 Andrew (the tutelar saint of Scotland) suf- 
 fered martyrdom, appeared to Hungus, who, 
 having gained the victory, ever after bore 
 the figure of that cross on his banners. 
 Other.s assert, that Achaius King of Scot- 
 land first instituted this order, after having 
 made the famous league, offensive and de- 
 fensive, with Charlemagne King of France. 
 But although the thistle had been acknow- 
 ledged as the symbol of the kingdom of 
 Scotland, from the reign of Achaius, yet 
 some refer the beginning of this order to 
 the reign of Charles VII. of France. Others 
 place the foundation of it as low as the 
 year 1500. 
 
 The chief and principal ensign is a gold 
 collar, composed of thistles and sprigs of 
 rue interlinked with amulets of gold, having 
 pendent thereto the image of St. Andrew 
 with his cross, and the motto, nemo me 
 
 IMPUNE LACESSET. 
 
 The ordinary or common ensign worn by 
 the knights, is a star of four silver points 
 and over them a green circle, bordered 
 and lettered with gold, containing the 
 said motto, and in the centre is a thistle 
 proper ; all which is embroidered on their 
 left breast, and worn with the collar, with 
 a green ribband over the left shoulder, 
 and brought under the right arm ; pendent 
 thereto is the image of St. Andrew, with 
 his cross, in a purple robe, within an oval 
 of gold enamelled vert, with the former 
 motto : but sometimes they wear, encircled 
 in the same manner, a thistle crowned. 
 
 About the time of the reformation, this 
 order was dropped, till James II. of Eng^ 
 
THO 
 
 land resumed it, by creating eiglit knxglite : 
 however, the revolution unsettled it again, 
 and it lay neglected till queen Anne, in 
 1703, restored it to the primitive design, 
 of twelve knights of St. Andreiy. Kmg 
 George I. in the first of his reign, confirmed 
 the statutes signed by queen Anne, with 
 the addition of several more, among winch 
 was that of adding rays Of glory to surround 
 the figure of St. Andrew, which hangs at 
 the collar: and though from the reforma- 
 tion to George I. both elections and in- 
 stalments had been dispensed with, his 
 maiestv ordered that chapters of election 
 should' for the future, be held m the royal 
 presence; to which end he ordered the 
 o-reat wardrobe to provide the knights bre- 
 thren, and officers, with such mantles as the 
 statutes of the said order appointed. 
 
 THLASPI, in botany, hastard-cress, a 
 genus of the Tetradynamia Siliculosa class 
 and order. Natural order of Siliquosm or 
 Crnciformes. Cruciferse, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character: silicle emarginate, obcor- 
 date many-seeded ; valves boat-shaped, 
 marffined and keeled. There are fourteen 
 
 species. ' ^ 
 
 THOA, in botan'y, a genus of the Mo- 
 noecia Polyandria class and order. N atiiral 
 order of Urticm, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter: calyx and corolla none ; male, sta- 
 mens numerous, at the joints of the spike ; 
 female, germs two, at the base of the male 
 spike, one on each side, sessile; stigma three 
 or four cleft ; seed in a brittle shell, covered 
 with a bristly web. There is only one spe- 
 cies, viz. T. urens. 
 
 THOLES, in marine affairs, small pins 
 driven perpendicularly into the gunwale 
 of a boat, and serving to retain the oars in 
 that space which is called the row-lock ; 
 sometimes there is only one pin to each 
 oar, as in boats navigated in the Mediter- 
 ranean Sea : in that case the oar is retained 
 upon the pin, by means of a strop, or of a 
 cleat, with a hole through it, nailed on the 
 side of the oar. 
 
 THOUINIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Moiis. Andi'6 Thouin, fellow ot 
 the National Institute, and professor of Hor- 
 ticulture in the French Museum, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Convolvuli, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : corolla one-pe- 
 talled, bell-shaped, inferior, hispid on the 
 outside-; style simple ; drupe. There is but 
 one species, viz. T. spectabilis, a native of 
 Madagascar, where it was found by Goin- 
 merson. 
 
 THO 
 
 THONSCHIEFER, in mineralogy, slate, 
 is divided into three sub-species: 1. The 
 common argillaceous schistus, which is com- 
 posed of silex, alumina, oxide of iron, and 
 proportions of carbonated lime and magne- 
 sia : it is used for covering houses, and the 
 strait-foliated bluish-grey varieties are em- 
 ployed as writing slates : tlie setter and 
 more compact varieties are made into 
 slate pencils. See Schistus, also Slate. 
 
 2. Hone slate, called by Kirwan novacu- 
 lite: its colour, is a greenish-grey, or smoke- 
 grey, passing to olive and mountain-green ; 
 It occurs iu mass, and has a glimmering 
 lustre : its fracture in the great is slaty ; in 
 the small, splintery : its fragments are ta- 
 bular. It is more or less translucent on the 
 edges : it is moderately hard, and not very 
 frangible. Specific gravity 2.7. It does 
 not effervesce with acids, neither is it fusi- 
 ble by the blow pipe without addition. It 
 is cut into hones for sharpening the finer 
 kinds of steel instruments. It is found in 
 Bareith, Seifendorf in Saxony, in Bohemia, 
 and the Levant ; hence it is called Turkish 
 hone : also iu some parts of North Wales. 
 
 3. Black chalk: its colour is greyish or 
 bluish black. It occurs in mass : the frag- 
 ments are tabular or .splintery. It stains 
 the fingers, and gives a somewhat glossy- 
 grey streak. It is meagre, but smooth to 
 the touch ; is soft, and very easily frangible, 
 Before the blow-pipe, without addition, it 
 acquires a thin varnish, but does not melt. 
 It has been analysed, and found to con- 
 sist of 
 
 
 .... 64.00 
 
 Alumina 
 
 
 Carbon 
 
 .... 11.00 
 
 Oxide of iron 
 
 
 
 
 
 96.50 
 
 Loss — 
 
 
 
 , 100.00 
 
 It is employed for drawing, and writing 
 oil paper and other materials. The best 
 kinds come from Italy : it is found in Spain 
 also, and in Isla in the Hebrides. 
 
 THORACIC, or Thoracici, a term 
 applied to an order of fishes in the Linnaean 
 system : the character of this order of fishes 
 is, that they have bony gills, and ventral 
 fins directly under the thorax. There are 
 the following genera belonging to this 
 order : 
 
 Centrogaster Chaetodon 
 
 Cepola Coryphama 
 
THR 
 
 CottHS 
 
 Echineis 
 
 Gasterostens 
 
 Gobius 
 
 Labrns 
 
 Lonchiiirus 
 
 Mulbis 
 
 Perea 
 
 Plenronecte* 
 
 Scams 
 
 Sciaana 
 
 Scomber 
 
 Scorpoena 
 
 Spams 
 
 Trachychtbys 
 
 Trigla. 
 
 THRASHING, or Threshing, in agri- 
 e\i]tiire, the art of beating the corn out of 
 the ears. There are several ways of separat- 
 ing corn from the ear; the first by beating it 
 with a flail, which is properly what is called 
 thrashing. The other method, still prac- 
 tised in several countries, is to make mules, 
 or horses, trample on it, backwards and for- 
 wards ; this is properly what the ancients 
 called tritura and trituratio. The Hebrews 
 used oxen therein, and sometimes yoked four 
 together for this purpose. Another way 
 among the ancients was with a kind of 
 sledge, made of boards joined together, and 
 loaden with stones or iron, upon which a 
 man was mounted, and the whole drawn 
 over the corn by horses : this instrument 
 was called traha or tribula. It is a rule 
 among husbandmen, that the season for 
 thrashing is as soon as tlie corn has sweated 
 in the heap or mow. Thrashing machines 
 are now much in use with the farmers on a 
 large scale. 
 
 THREAD, a small line, made np of a 
 number of fine fibres of any vegetable or 
 animal substance, such as flax, cotton, or 
 silk thread. 
 
 THREATENING letter. If any per- 
 son shall send any letter threatening to ac- 
 cuse any other person of a crime punishable 
 with death, transportation, pillory, or otlier 
 infamous punishment, with a view to extort 
 money from him, he shall be punished at 
 the discretion of the court, with fine, im- 
 prisonment, pillory, whipping, or trans- 
 portation : SO. G. II. c. 24 . And if the 
 writer of a threatening letter deliver it him- 
 self, and do not send it, he is guilty of fe- 
 lony under this act. 
 
 THRINAX, in botany, a genus of the 
 Appendix Palm® class and order. Natural 
 order of Palms. Essential character : calyx 
 six-toothed; corolla none; stigma fuimel- 
 forin, oblique ; berry one-seeded. There is 
 only one species, ciz. T. parviflora, palmeto 
 royal, or palmeto-tliatch, a native of Ja- 
 maica and Hispaniola. 
 
 THRUSH. See Tordhs. 
 
 THU 
 
 THRYALLIS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Decandria Menogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Tricocc®. Acera, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx five-parted ; pe- 
 tals five ; capsule tricoccous. '1 here is but 
 one species, viz. T. brasiliensis, a little 
 shrab, with round jointed branches ; small 
 yellow flowers ; fruits tricoccous, or three- 
 grained ; it is a native of Brasil. 
 
 THUJA, in botany, arbor vita, a genus 
 of the Monoecia Monadelphia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Conifer®. Essential 
 character : male, calyx scale of an ament ; 
 corolla none ; stamina four ; female, calyx 
 of a strobile, with a two-flowered scale; 
 corolla none ; pistil one ; nut one, girt with 
 a membranaceous wing. There are four 
 species. We shall notice the T. occidentalis, 
 American, or common, arbor vit® ; this tree 
 I'.as a strong woody trunk, rising to the height 
 of forty feet ; the bark, while young, is 
 smooth, and of a dark brown colour, but as 
 the trees advance, the bark becomes cracked, 
 and !e.ss smooth, the branches are produced 
 irregularly on every side, standing almost 
 horizontal, the young slender shoots fre- 
 quently hang dbwn; the young branches 
 are flat, and the small leaves are placed 
 over each other like the scales of fish; the 
 flowers are produced from the side of the 
 young branches, very near to the foot stalk; 
 the males grow in oblong catkins, betw'een 
 these the females are collected in form of 
 cones ; w'hen the former have shed their 
 farina, they soon drop otT, the latter are suc- 
 ceeded by oblong cones, or strobiles, hay- 
 ing obtuse smooth scales, containing one or 
 tw'o oblong .seeds. 
 
 THUMERSTONE, in mineralogy, a spe- 
 cies of the flint genus: common colour is 
 brown of various degrees of intensity ; it is 
 seldom found massive, often disseminated, 
 but most frequently crystallized. Specific 
 gravity about 3 . 3 , It melts easily before 
 the blow pipe, without addition, into a 
 greenish, white, semi-transparent glass. The 
 constituent parts are. 
 
 ®''‘ca 52 7^0 
 
 Alumina S5.79 
 
 J-'rae ■ 
 
 Oxide of iron g gg 
 
 ofmangancse i.oo 
 
 Loss 2.49 
 
 100.00 
 
 It appears to be peculiar to the primi- 
 tive mountainis, is found in many parts of 
 
THUNDER. 
 
 the continent, also in onr country in Corn- 
 wall. 
 
 THUNBERGIA, in botany, so named 
 in honour of Charles Peter Thunberg, M. D. 
 professor of botany in the university of 
 Upsal, &c. &c. a genus of the Didynaraia 
 Angiospermia class and order. Natural or- 
 der of Personatae. Acanthi, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character ; calyx double ; outer two- 
 leaved j inner twelve-toothed ; corolla bell- 
 shaped ; capsule beaked, two-celled. There 
 are two species, viz. T. capeusis, and T. 
 fragians. 
 
 THUNDER, the noise occasioned by the 
 explosion of a flash of lightning passing 
 through the air : or it is that noise which is 
 excited by a sudden explosion of electrical 
 clouds, which are therefore called thunder- 
 clouds. 
 
 The rattling in the noise of thunder, which 
 makes it seem as if it passed through arches, 
 is probably owing to the sound being ex- 
 cited among clouds hanging over one ano- 
 ther, and the agitated air passing irregularly 
 between them. 
 
 The explosion, if high in the air, and re- 
 mote from us, will done mischief; but when 
 near, it may, and has in a thousand in- 
 stances, destroyed trees, animals, &c. This 
 proximity, or small distance, may be esti- 
 mated nearly by the interval of time be- 
 tween seeing the flash of lightning, and 
 hearing the report of the thunder, estimat- 
 ing the distance after the rate of 1,142 feet 
 per second of time, or 3§ seconds to the mile. 
 Dr. Wallis observes, that commonly the 
 difference between the two is about seven 
 seconds, which, at the rate above-mentioned, 
 gives the distance almost two miles. But 
 sometimes it comes in a second or two, 
 which argues the explosion very near us, 
 and even among ns. And in such cases, 
 the doctor assures us, he has sometimes 
 foretold the mischiefs that happened. 
 
 Although in this country thunder may 
 happen at any time of the year, yet the 
 months of July and Aug\ist are those in 
 which it may almost certainly be expected. 
 Its duration is of very uncertain continu- 
 ance ; sometimes only a few peals will be 
 heard at any particular place during the 
 whole season ; at other times the storm will 
 return at the interval of three or four days, 
 for a month, six weeks, or even longer; 
 not that we have violent thunder in this 
 country directly vertical in any one place 
 so frequently in any year, but in many sea- 
 sons it will be perceptible tliat thunder 
 
 clouds are formed in the neighbourhood, 
 even at these short intervals. Hence it ap- 
 pears, that during this particular period 
 there must be some natural cause operating 
 for the production of this phenomenon, 
 which does not take place at other times. 
 This cannot be the mere heat of the wea- 
 ther, for we have often a long tract of hot 
 weather without any thunder ; and besides, 
 though not common, thunder is sometimes 
 heard in the winter also. As therefore the 
 heat of the weather is common to the whole 
 summer, whether there be thunder or not, 
 we mtist look for the causes of it in tliose 
 phenomena, whatever they are, which are ^ 
 peculiar to the months of July, August, 
 and die beginning of September. Now it 
 is generally observed, that from the month 
 of April, an east or south-east wind gene- 
 nerally takes place, and continues with lit- 
 tle interruption till towards the end of June. 
 
 At that time, sometimes sooner and some- 
 times later, a westerly wind takes place ; but 
 as the causes producing the east wind ar« 
 not removed, the latter opposes the west 
 wind with its whole force. At the place of 
 meeting, there is naturally a most vehement 
 pressure of the atmosphere, and friction of 
 its parts against one another ; a calm en- 
 sues, and the vapours brought by both 
 winds begin to collect and form dark 
 clouds, wliicli.can have little motion either 
 way, because they are pressed almost equal- 
 ly on all sides. For the most part, how- 
 ever, the west wind prevails, and what lit- 
 tle motion the clouds have is towards the 
 east : whence the common remark in this 
 country, that “ thunder-clouds move 'against 
 the wind.” But this is by no means univer- 
 sally true ; for if the west wind hajtpens to 
 be excited by any temporary cause before < 
 its natural period when it should take place, 
 the east wind will very frequently get the 
 better of it ; and the clouds, even although 
 thnnder is produced, will move westward. 
 Yet in either case the motion is so slow, 
 that the most superficial observers cannot 
 help taking notice of a considerable resist- 
 ance in the atmosphere. 
 
 When lightning acts with extraordinary 
 violence, and breaks or shatters any thing, 
 it is called a thunderbolt, which the vulgar, 
 to fit it for such eifects, suppose to be a 
 hard body, and even a stone. But that we 
 need not to have recourse to a hard solid 
 body to account for the effects commonly 
 attributed to the thunderbolt, will be evi- 
 dent to any one, who considers those of 
 gunpowder, and the several chemical ful- 
 
THU 
 
 fliinating powders, but more especially the 
 astonishing powers of electricity, when only 
 collected and employed by human art, and 
 much more when directed and exercised 
 in the course of nature. 
 
 When we consider the known effects of 
 electrical explosions, and those produced 
 by lightning, we shall be at no loss to ac- 
 count for the extraordinary operations vul- 
 garly ascribed to thunderbolts. As stones 
 and bricks struck by lightning are often 
 found in a vitrified state, we may reason- 
 ably suppose, with Beccaria, that some 
 stones in the earth, having been struck in 
 this manner, gave occasion to tlie vulgar 
 opinion of the thunderbolt. 
 
 Thunder-clouds are those clouds which 
 are in a state fit for producing lightning and 
 thunder. From Beccaria’s exact and cir- 
 cumstantial account of the external appear- 
 ances of thr.nder-clouds, the following par- 
 ticulars are extracted. The first appear- 
 ance of a thunder storm, which usually hap- 
 pens when there is little or no wind,'is one 
 dense cloud, or njore, increasing very fast 
 in size, and rising into the higher regions of 
 the air. The lower surface is black and 
 nearly level ; but the upper finely ai died, 
 and well defined. Many of these clouds 
 often seem piled upon one another, all 
 arched in the same manner ; but they are 
 continually uniting, swelling, and extending 
 their arches. At the time of the rising of 
 this cloud, the atmosphere is commonly full 
 of a great iifany separate clouds, that are 
 motionless, hut} of odd whimsical shapes. 
 All these, upon the appearance of the thun- 
 der-cloud, draw towards it, and become 
 more uniform in their shapes as they ap- 
 proach ; till, coming very near the thunder- 
 cloud, their limbs mutually stretch towards 
 one another, and they immediately coalesce 
 into one uniform mass. These he calls ad- 
 scititious clouds, from their coming in to 
 enlarge the size of the thunder-cloud. But 
 sometimes the thunder-cloud will swell, and 
 increase very fast, without the conjiiction 
 of any adscititions clonds ; the vapours in 
 the atmosphere forming themselves into 
 clouds wherever it passes. Some of the ad- 
 scititioHS clouds appear like white fringes, 
 at tlie skirts of the thunder-cloud, or under 
 the body of it, but they keep continually 
 growing darker and darker, as they ap- 
 proach to unite with it. When the thun- 
 der-cloud is grown to a great size, its lower 
 surface is often ragged, particular parts be- 
 ing detached towards the earth, but still 
 connected with the rest. SoraetiniM the 
 
 THY 
 
 lower surface swells into various large pro- 
 tuberances bending uniformly downward ; 
 and sometimes one whole side of the cloud 
 will have an inclination to the earth, and 
 the extremity of it nearly touch the ground. 
 
 . When the eye is under the thunder-cloud, 
 after it is grown larger, and well formed, it 
 is seen to sink lower, and to darken prodi- 
 giously ; at the same time that a number 
 of small adscititious clouds (the origin of 
 which can never be perceived) are seen in 
 a rapid motion, driving about in very un- 
 certain directions under it. While these 
 clouds are agitated with the most rapid 
 motions, the rain commonly falls in the 
 greatest plenty, and if the agitation be ex- 
 ceedingly great, it commonly hails. While 
 the thunder-cloud is swelling, and extend- 
 ing its branches over a large tract of coun- 
 try, the lightning is seen to dart from one 
 part of it to another, and often to illumi- 
 nate its whole mass. When the cloud has 
 acquired a sufficient extent, tlie lightning 
 strikes between the cloud and the earth, in 
 two opposite places, the path of the light- 
 ning lying through the whole body of the 
 cloud and its branches. The longer this 
 lightning continues, the less dense does the 
 cloud become, and the less dark its appear- 
 ance ; till at length it breaks in different 
 places, and shows a clear sky. These thun- 
 der-clouds were sometimes in a positive as 
 well as a negative state of electricity. The 
 electricity continued longer of the same 
 kind, in proportion as the thunder-cloud 
 was simple and uniform in its direction ; 
 but when the lightning changed its place, 
 there commonly happened a change in the 
 electricity of the apparatus over which the 
 clonds passed. It would change suddenly 
 after a very violent flash of lightnmg, but 
 the change w'ould be gradual when the 
 lightning was moderate, and the progress of 
 the thunder-cloud slow. See Priestley’s 
 History of Electricity. 
 
 THYMBRA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Didynamia Gymnospermia class and order. 
 Natural order of Verticillatae or Lahiatie. 
 Essential character: calyx sub-cylindricaly 
 two-lipped, scored on each side with a vil- 
 lose line ; style semibifid. There are three 
 species. 
 
 THYMUS, in botany, thtjme, a genus of 
 the Didynamia' Gyumosirermia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Verticillatae or La- 
 biatae. Essential character: throat of the 
 two-lipped calyx closed with villose hairs. 
 There are twenty- two species. 
 
 THYNNUS, in natural history, a genus 
 
 -< 
 
TID 
 
 of insects of the order Hymenoptera ; month 
 horny, willf an incurved mandible, the jaw 
 short and straight ; lip longer than the jaw, 
 membranaceous at the tip, and trilid, the 
 middle division emarginate ; tongue very 
 short, involute ; four feelers, equal, filiform; 
 antennae cylindrical, the first joint tliicker. 
 I’here are four species : three of New Hol- 
 land, and one of Africa. Specimens of them 
 all are to be found in Sir Joseph Banks’s 
 museum. 
 
 TIARELLA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Decandria Digynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Succulentae. Saxifragae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx five-parted; 
 corolla five petalled, inserted into the calyx ; 
 petals entire ; capsule one-celled, two-valv- 
 ed, with one valve larger. There are two 
 species ; viz. T. cordifolia, heart-leaved tia- 
 rella ; and T. trifoliata, three-leaved tiarella, 
 both natives, of the northern parts of Ame- 
 rica and Asia. 
 
 TIDES, two periodical motions of the 
 waters of the sea, called the flux and reflux, 
 or the flow and ebb. The cause of the tides 
 is the attraction of the sun and moon, but 
 chiefly of the latter; the waters of the im- 
 mense ocean, forgetful, as it were, of their 
 natural quietus, move and roll in tides, obse. 
 quious to the strong attractive power of the 
 moon, and W'eaker influence of.the sun. See 
 Astronomy. 
 
 That the tides may have their full motion, 
 the ocean in which they are produced ought 
 to be extended from east to west 90°, or a 
 quarter of a great circle of the earth, at 
 least ; because the places where the moon 
 raises most, and most depresses the water, 
 are at that distance from one another. 
 Hence it appears, that it is only in the great 
 oceans that such tides can be produced ; 
 and wily, in the large Pacific ocean, they 
 exceed those in the Atlantic ocean ; hence 
 also it is obvious, why the tides ar,e not so 
 great in the torrid zone, between Africa and 
 America, whpre tlie ocean is narrower, as 
 in the temperate zones on either side ; and 
 from this also, we may understand why the 
 tides are so small in islands that ai e very far 
 distant from tlie shores. It is manifest, 
 that, in the Atlantic ocean, the water can- 
 not rise on one shore but by descending on 
 the other; so that, at the intermediate dis- 
 tant islands, it must continue at about a 
 mdan height between its elevation on the 
 one and on the other shore. As the tides pass 
 over shoals, and run through streights into 
 bays of the sea, their motion becomes more 
 various, and their height defends on a great 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 TID 
 
 many circumstances. The tide that is pro- 
 duced bn the western coast of Europe cor- 
 responds to the theory above described : 
 thus, it is high water on the coast of Spain, 
 Portugal, and the West of Ireland, about 
 the third hour alter tlie nrtoon has passed 
 the meridian : from thence it flows into the 
 adjacent channels, as it finds the easiest 
 passage. One current from it, for example, 
 runs up by the soutli of England, and ano- 
 ther comes in by the north of Scotland : 
 they take a considerable time to move all 
 tins tvay', and it is high water soonei* in the 
 places to which they first come ; and it be- 
 gins to fall at those places, while the twm 
 currents are yet going on to others that are 
 further in their course. As they return, 
 they are not able to raise a tide ; because 
 the water runs faster otf than it returns, til 
 by a new tide propagated from the ocean, 
 the return qf the current is stopped, and tlie 
 water begins to rise again. The tide takes 
 twelve hours to come from the ocean to 
 London bridge, so that, when it is high W’ater 
 there, a new tide is already come to its 
 height in the ocean ; and, in some interme- 
 diate place, it must be low water at the 
 same time. In channels, therefore, and 
 narrow seas, the progress of the tides may 
 be, in some respects, compared to the mo- 
 tion of the waves of the sea. It may 
 be observed, that when the tide runs over 
 shoals, and flows upon flat shores, the water 
 is raised to a greater height than in the open 
 and deep oceans that have steep banks; 
 because the force of its motion cannot be 
 broken, upon these levelshores, till the water 
 rises to a greater height. If a place com- 
 municates with two. oceans (or two different 
 ways witli the same ocean, one of which is 
 a readier and easier passage) two tides may 
 arrive at that place in different times, which, 
 interfering with each other, may produce a 
 greater variety of phenomena. 
 
 An extraordinary instance of this kind 
 is mentioned at Bathsha, a port in the 
 kingdom of Tonquin in the East Indies, of 
 northern latitude 20“ 50'. The day in which 
 the moon passes the equator, the w’ater 
 stagnates there without any motion : as the 
 moon removes from the equator, the water 
 begins to rise and tall once a day; and it is 
 high water at the setting of the moon, and 
 low water at her rising. This daily tide in- 
 creases for about seven or eight days, and 
 then decreases for as many days by the same 
 degrees, till this motion ceases when the 
 moon has returned to the equator. When 
 she has passed the equator, and deeiines to- 
 D d 
 
 / 
 
TIL 
 
 wards the soutli pole, the water rises and 
 falls again, as before; but it is high water 
 now at the rising, and low water at tire 
 setting, of the moon. 
 
 Tide tables, are those which set forth 
 the times of high water at sundry places, as 
 they fall on the days of the full and change 
 of moon. These are common in many al- 
 manacs, particularly in White’s Ephemeris, 
 Nautical Almanac, &c. ' 
 
 Tide waiters, or Tidesmen, are inferior 
 officers belonging to the custom-house, whose 
 employment it is to watch or attend upon 
 ships, until the customs be paid : they get 
 this name from their going on board ships, 
 on their arrival in the mouth of the Thames 
 or other port, and so come up with the tide. 
 
 TIERCE, or Teirce, a measure of liquid 
 things, as wine, oil, &c. containing the third 
 part of a pipe, or forty-two gallons. 
 
 TIERCED, tierce, in heraldry, denotes 
 the shield to be divided by any of the par- 
 tition lines, as party, conpy, tranchy, or 
 tailly, into three equal parts of different 
 colours or metals. 
 
 TIGER. See Feeis. 
 
 TILE ore, in mineralogy, a .species of 
 the copper genus, divided into two sub- 
 species ; viz. the earthy and indurated. The 
 earth is of a hyacinth-red colour, passing 
 through various shades to a reddish brown ; 
 it is intermediate between friable and solid, 
 ^and occurs massive, disseminated, and in- 
 crusting copper pyrites. It slightly soils ; 
 is almost coherent, and some varieties in- 
 cline to solid. It is found in veins, aad is 
 usually accompanied with native copper 
 and malachite, and sometimes with red 
 copper ore. The indurated tile-ore is in 
 colour between a hyacinth-red and brownish 
 red : it occurs massive aad disseminated, 
 internally glimmering. Before the blow- 
 pipe it becomes black ; but is icfcsible with- 
 out addition : it contains from ten to fifty 
 per cent, of copper: it occb.s in veins, and 
 is usually accompanied with copper pyrites, 
 fibrous malachite, End iron ochre. It is 
 found in many parts of Germany, in the 
 copper works in Norway; in Siberia and 
 in Chili. The red varieties contain the 
 greatest quantities of copper, aad the brown 
 the greatest quantity of iron. It occurs in 
 almost every place where red copper-ore is 
 found : its name is derived from its colour, 
 and the name of tiie sub-species from its 
 state of cohesion. 
 
 TILIA, in botany, lime-tree, a genns of 
 the Polyandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Ct^lamniferae. Tiliaceae, 
 
 TIM 
 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 parted; corolla five-petalled ; capsule coria- 
 ceous, globular, five-celled, five-valved, 
 opening at the base, one-seeded. There 
 are four species, among which is the T. 
 Europaea, European lime-tree, or linden, is 
 a tall upright tree, with smooth spreading 
 branches, thickly clothed with alternate, 
 heart-shaped, smooth, serrate leaves, point- 
 ed at the end, oblique at the base, glaucous 
 beneath, and the veins, where they branch off 
 from the Ecrve, being furnished with a tuft 
 of glandular wool, as in the laurustinus ; tlie 
 flowers, which are didightfully fragrant, es- 
 pecially at night, come forth in July, in um- 
 bels or cymes, on long axillary peduncles ; 
 calyx green, with a downy edge; petals 
 yellowish, concave ; stamens filiform ; stig- 
 ma five-cieft ; germ villose, depressed ; cap- 
 sule smooth, with from four to eight unequal 
 angles, commonly oae-celled and one-seeded. 
 
 TILLjEA, in botany, so named in honour 
 of Michael Angelo Tilli, professor of botany 
 at Pica, a genus of the Tetrandria Tetragy- 
 nia class and order. Natural order of Suc- 
 culentae. Senqierviv®, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx three or four-parted ; pe- 
 tals three or four, equal ; capsule three or 
 four, many-seeded. There are eight species. 
 
 Tiller of a ship, a strong piece of wood 
 fastened in the head of the rudder, and in 
 small ships and boats called the helm. In 
 ships of war, and other large vessels, the 
 tiller is fastened to the rudder in the gun 
 room : and to the other end there are ropes 
 fastened, which pass upwards to the quar- 
 ter deck, where the ship is steerfed by means 
 of a v'heel. 
 
 TiLLANDSIA, in botany, so named in 
 memory of Elias Tillandsius, professor of 
 physic at Aboa, a genus of the Hexandria 
 Monogynia class and order. Natural order 
 of Coronariae. Bromeliae, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx trifid permanent; co- 
 rolla trifid, bell-shaped; capsule one-celled; 
 seeds comose. There are sixteen species. 
 
 TILT boat, a boat covered with a tilt ; 
 that is, a cloth or tarpaulin, sustained by 
 hoops, for the sheltering of passengers. 
 
 TIMBER, includes all kinds of felled 
 and seasoned woods. Of all the different 
 kinds, known in Europe, oak is the best for 
 building, and even when it lies exposed to 
 air and water, there is none equal to it. 
 Fir-timber is the next in degree of goodness 
 for building, especially in this country, 
 where they build upon leases. It differs 
 from oak in this, that it requires not much 
 seasoning, and tterefore no great stock i» 
 
TIMBER. 
 
 required before-band. Fir is used for floor- 
 ing, wainscoting, and the ornamental parts 
 of building within doors. Elm is the next 
 in use, especially in England and France; 
 it is very\ tough and pliable, and therefore 
 easily worked ; it does not readily split ; 
 and it bears driving of bolts and nails bet- 
 ter than any otlier wood; for which reason 
 it is chiefly used by wheel wrights and 
 coach-makers, for shafts, naves, &c. Beech 
 is also used for many purposes ; it is very 
 tough and white when young, and of great 
 strength, but liable to warp very much 
 when exposed to the weather, and to be 
 worm-eaten when used within doors; its 
 greatest use is for planks, bedsteads, chairs, 
 and other household goods. Ash is likevrise 
 a very useful wood, but very scarce in most 
 parts of Europe : it serves in buildings, or 
 for any other use, when screened from the 
 weather; handspikes, and oars are chiefly 
 made of it. Wild chesnut-timber is by 
 many esteemed to be as good as oak, and 
 seems toi have been much used in old 
 buildings; but whether these trees are 
 more scarce at present than formerly, or 
 have been found not to answer so well as 
 was imagined, it is certain this timber is 
 now but little used. Walnut-tree is excel- 
 lent for the joiner’s use, it being of a more 
 curious brown colour than beech, and not 
 so subject to the worms. The poplar, abel, 
 and aspen trees, which are very little dif- 
 ferent from each other, are much used in- 
 stead of fir ; tliey look well, and are tougher 
 and harder. 
 
 The goodness of timber not only depends 
 on the soil and situation in which it stands, 
 but likewise on the season w'herein it is 
 felled. In this, people disagree very much ; 
 some are for having it felled as soon as its 
 fruit is ripe, others in the spring, and many 
 in the autumn. But as the sap and mois- 
 ture of timber is certainly the cause that it 
 perishes much sooner than it otlierwise 
 would do, it seems evident that timber 
 should be felled when there is the least sap 
 in it, aiz. from the time that the leaves be- 
 gin to fall, till the trees begin to bud. This 
 work usually commences about the end of 
 April in England, because the bark then 
 rises most freely ; for where a quantity of 
 timber is to be felled, the statute requires 
 it to be done then, for the advantage of 
 tanning. 
 
 The ancients chiefly regarded the age of 
 the moon in felling their timber; their rule 
 was to fell it in the wain, or four days after 
 the new moon, or sometimes in the last 
 
 quarter. Pliny advises it to be in the very 
 article of the change, which happening to 
 be in the last day of the winter solstice, 
 the timber, says he, will be incorruptible. 
 Timber should likewise be cut when of a 
 proper age ; for when it is either too young, 
 or too old, it will not be so durable as 
 when cut at a proper age. It is said, that 
 oak should not be cut under sixty years old, 
 nor above two hundred. Timber trees, how- 
 ever, should be cut in their prime, when al- 
 most fully grown, and before they begin to 
 decay; and this will be sooner or later, ac- 
 cording to the dryness or moistness of the 
 soil where the timber grows; as also ac- 
 cording to the size of the trees ; for there 
 is no fixecf rules in felling of timber, expe- 
 rience and judgment must direct here as in 
 most other cases. 
 
 After timber um been felled and sawed, 
 it must be seasoned: for which purpose 
 some advise it to be >id up in a very dry 
 airy place, yet out o'c .he wind and sun, or 
 at least free from the extremities of either; 
 and that it may not decay, but dry evenly, 
 they recommend it to be daubed over with 
 cow-dung. It must not stand upright, but 
 lie all along, one piece over another, only 
 kept apart by short blocks interposed to 
 prevent a certain mouldiness, which they, 
 are otherwise apt to contract in sweating 
 on one another; from which arises fre- 
 quently a kind of fungus, especially if there 
 be any sappy parts remaining. Others ad- 
 vise the planks of timber to be laid for a 
 few days in some pool or running stream, in 
 order to extract the sap, and afterwards to 
 dry them in the sun or air. By this means, 
 it is said, they will be prevented from ei- 
 ther chopping, casting, or cleaving, but 
 against shrinking there is no remedy. Some 
 again are for burying tliem in the earth, 
 others in a heat: and some for scorching 
 and seasoning them in fire, especially piles, 
 posts, &c. which are to stand in water or 
 , earth. The Venetians first found out the 
 method of seasoning or charring by fire; 
 which is done after this manner ; they put 
 the piece to be seasoned into a strong and 
 violent flame, in this they continually turn 
 it round by means of an engine, and take it 
 out when it is every where covered with a 
 black coaly crust : the internal part of the 
 wood is thereby so hardened, that neither 
 earth nor water can damage it for a long 
 time afterwards. 
 
 To measure round timber, let the mean 
 circumference be found in feet and de- 
 cimals of a foot: square it, multiply this 
 D d 3 
 
TIMBER. 
 
 square 1)3' the decimal 0.079577, and the 
 product by the lengith. Example. Let the 
 meat) cii cnmference of a tree be 10.3 feet, 
 and the length 24 feet. Then 10.3 X 10.3 
 X 0.07 9577X24= 202.615, the number of 
 cubical feet in the tree. The founda- 
 tion of this rule is, that when the cir- 
 cumference of a circle is 1 , the area is 
 0.0795774715, and that the areas of circles 
 are as the squares of their circumferences. 
 But the common way used by artificers for 
 measuring round timber, ditFers much from 
 this rule. They call one fourth part of the 
 circumference the girth, which is by them 
 reckoned the side of a squai e, whose area 
 is equal to the area of the section of the 
 tree} therefore they square the girth, and 
 then multiply by the length of the tree. 
 According to their method, the tree of the 
 last example would be computed at 159.13 
 cubical feet only, y 
 
 In speaking of the strength of timber, of 
 of several kinds of wood, Mr. Emerson 
 says, that Irom experiments which he has 
 made, a piece of good oak, an inch square 
 and a yard long, supported at both ends, 
 will bear in the middle for a short time 
 about 3301b*. avoirdupoise, but will imme- 
 diately break with a greater weight. Such 
 a piece, he adds, ought not in practice to 
 be trusted for any length of time with more 
 than one-third, or perhaps one-fourth .part 
 of the weight ; he then gives a table of the 
 different degrees of strength of several sorts 
 of wood. Other writers who have entered 
 at large on the subject, have considered the 
 strength of materials, timber, &c. as subject 
 to four different kinds of strain. 1. As 
 they may be torn asunder, as in the case of 
 ropes, stretchers, king-posts, tye-beams, 
 &c. 2. As they may be crushed, as in the 
 case of pillars, posts, and truss-beams. 3. 
 As they may be broken across, as happens 
 . to a joist or lever of any kind. 4. As they 
 may be wrenched or twisted, as in the case 
 of the axle of a wheel, the nail of a press, 
 &c. It would carry us much beyond the 
 limits ofU)is work to enter at large on these 
 several subjects, we shall therefore confine 
 ourselves to some observations on the 
 •strains upon timber, which may be practi- 
 cally useful. 
 
 With regard to the cohesion of wood we 
 may premise, 1 . that the wood immedi- 
 ately surrounding the pith, or heait, of the 
 tree is the weakest, and its infei-iority is so 
 much more remarkable as the tree is older. 
 This at least is asserted by Muschenbroek 
 as tile result of experiments^ but M. Buflon 
 
 says, that his experience has taught him that 
 the heart of a sound tree is the strongest ; 
 but he gives no instances. It is certain, 
 from many observations on very large oaks 
 and firs, that the heart is much weaker 
 than the exterior parts. 2 . The wood next 
 the bark, commonly called the white or 
 blea, is also weaker than the rest ; and the 
 wood gradually increases in strength as we 
 recede from the centre to the blea. 3. The 
 wood is stronger in the middle of the trunk 
 than at the springing of the branches oi' at 
 the root } and the wood ot the branches is 
 weaker than that of the trunk. 4. The 
 wood of the north side of all trees which 
 grow in our European climates is the weak- 
 est, and that of the south-east side is the 
 strongest } and the difference is most re- 
 markable in hedge row trees, and such as 
 grow singly. The heart of a tree is never 
 in its centre, but always nearer to the north 
 side, and the annual coats of wood are 
 thinner on that side. In conformity with 
 this, it is a general opinion of carpenters, that 
 timber is stronger whose annual plates are 
 thicker. The trachea, or air-vessels, are 
 weaker than the simple ligneous fibres. 
 These air-vessels are the same in diameter 
 and number of rows in trees of the same 
 species, and they make the visible separa- 
 tion between the annual plates. Therefore 
 when these are thicker, they contain a 
 greater proportion of the simple ligneous 
 fibres. 5. All woods are more tenacious 
 while green, and lose very considerably by 
 drying after the trees are felled. The only 
 author who has put it in our power to judge 
 of the propriety of his experiments is 
 Muschenbroek. He has described his me- 
 thod of trial minutely, and it seems unex- 
 ceptionable. The woods were all formed 
 into slips fit for his apparatus, and part of 
 the slip was cut away to a parallelopiped of 
 one-fifth of an inch square, and therefore 
 one-twenty-fifth of a square inch in section. 
 The absolute strengths of a square inch 
 were as follow; 
 
 
 lbs. 
 
 Locust tree 
 
 
 Jiijeb 
 
 
 Beech, oak 
 
 
 Orange 
 
 
 Alder 
 
 
 Elm 
 
 
 Mulberry 
 
 
 Willow 
 
 
 Ash 
 
 
 Plum 
 
 
 Elder 
 
 

 
 
 
 '=/} 
 
 Pomegranate 
 
 Ihs. 
 
 9,750 
 
 Lemon 
 
 9,250 
 
 Tamarind 
 
 8,750 
 
 Fir 
 
 
 Walnut 
 
 8,130 
 
 Pitch pine 
 
 
 Quince 
 
 6,750 
 
 Cypress 
 
 
 Poplar 
 
 5,500 
 
 Cedar 
 
 
 Ml Muscliejibroek has given a very mi- 
 nute detail of tlie experiments on the ash 
 and the walnut, stating the weights which 
 were required to tear asunder slips taken 
 from the four sides of the tree, and on each 
 side in a regular progression from the cen- 
 tre to the circumference. The numbers of 
 this table corresponding to these two tim- 
 bers may therefore be considered as the 
 average of more than fifty trials made of 
 each ; and he says that all the otliers were 
 made with the same care. We cannot 
 therefore see any reason for not confiding in 
 the results ; yet they are considerably higher 
 than those given by some other writers. M. 
 Pitot says, on the authority of his own ex- 
 periments, and of those of M. Parent, that 
 sixty pounds will just tear asunder a square 
 line of sound oak, and that it will bear fifty 
 jvith safety. This gives 8,640 for the utmost 
 strength of a square inch, which is much in- 
 ferior to Muschenbroek’s valuation. AVe 
 may add to these. 
 
 Ivory I 16,270 
 
 Bone 5,250 
 
 Horn 8,750 
 
 Whalebone 7,500 
 
 Tooth of sea-calf...., 4,075 
 
 The reader will surely observe, tljat these 
 numbers express something more than the 
 utmost cofiesion ; for the weights are such 
 as will very quickly, that is, in a minute or 
 two, tear the rods asunder. It may be said 
 in general, that two-thirds of these weights 
 will sensibly impair the strength after a con- 
 siderable while, and that one-half is the 
 utmost that can remain suspended at them 
 without risk for ever ; and it is this last 
 allotment that the engineer should reckon 
 upon in his constructions. There is, how- 
 ever, considerable difference in this respect. 
 Woods of a very straight fibre, such as fir, 
 p/jll be less inipaired by any load which is 
 
 TIMBER. 
 
 not sufficient to break them immediately. 
 According to Mr. Emerson, the load which 
 may be safely suspended to an inch square 
 is as follows : 
 
 Iron 76,400 
 
 Brass 35,600 
 
 Hempen rope 19,600 
 
 Ivory 15,700 
 
 Oak, box, yew, plum- 
 
 tree 7,8.50 
 
 Elm, ash, beech 6,070 
 
 Walnut, plum 5,360 
 
 Red fir, holly, elder, 
 
 plane, crab 5,000 
 
 Cherry, hazle 4,760 
 
 Alder, asp, birch, willow 4,290 
 
 Lead 430 
 
 Freestone : 914 
 
 He gives us a practical rule, that a cy- 
 linder whose diameter is d inches, loaded to 
 one-fourth of its absolute strength, will 
 carry gs follows ; 
 
 cial. 
 
 Iron 13.5 
 
 Good rope 22 
 
 Oak 14 
 
 Fir 9 
 
 Experiments on the transverse strength 
 of bodies are easily made, and accordingly 
 are very numerous, especially those made 
 on timber, which is the case most common 
 and most interesting. But in this great 
 number of experiments there are very few 
 from which we can draw much practical in- 
 formation. The experiments have in gene- 
 ral been made on such small scantlings, that 
 the unavoidable natural inequalities bear 
 too great a proportion to the strength of 
 the whole piece. Accordingly, when we 
 compare the experiments of different au- 
 thors, we find them differ enormously, and 
 even the experiinents by the same author 
 are very anomalous. The completest series 
 that we have yet seen is that detailed by 
 Belidor in his “ Science des Ingenieurs.” 
 They are contained in the following table. 
 The pieces were sound, even-grained oak. 
 The column b, contains the breadth of the 
 pieces in inches ; the column d, contains 
 their depth ; the column I, contains their 
 lengths ; column p, contains the weights 
 (in pounds) which broke them when hung 
 on their middles ; and m is the column, 
 of averages or mediums, 
 
 
TIMBER. 
 
 N. 
 
 b. 
 
 d. 
 
 1 
 
 V- 
 
 m. 
 
 The ends lying loose. ' 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 18 
 
 C 400) 
 < 415^ 
 ( 405) 
 
 406 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 18 
 
 f 600) 
 < 600^ 
 ( 624) 
 
 608 
 
 The ends firmly fixed. 
 
 , ^ 
 
 2 
 
 A 
 
 -L 
 
 18 
 
 f 810) 
 
 ( 812) 
 
 805 
 
 1580 
 
 Loose. 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 f 1570 ) 
 ^ 1580 ^ 
 (1590) 
 
 Loose. 
 
 5 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 36 
 
 C 185) 
 
 < 195 > 
 ( 180) 
 
 187 
 
 Loose. ' 
 
 6 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 36 
 
 f 285) 
 < 280^ 
 ( 285) 
 
 283 
 
 Fixed. 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 36 
 
 f 1550 ) 
 1620 V 
 (1585) 
 
 1585 
 
 Loose. 
 
 8 
 
 1| 
 
 
 36 
 
 f 1665 ) 
 ^ 1675 > 
 
 ( 1640) 
 
 1660 
 
 f 
 
 Loose. 
 
 By comparing Experiments 1 and 3, 
 the strength appears proportional to the 
 breadth. Experiments 3 and 4, show the 
 strength proportional to the square of the 
 depth. Experiments 1 and 5, show the 
 strength nearly in the inverse proportion of 
 the lengths, but wi'di a sensible deficiency 
 in the longer pieces. Experiments 5 and 7, 
 show the strengths proportional to the 
 breadths and the square of the depths. Ex- 
 periments 1 and 7, show the same thing, 
 conipounded with the inverse proportion of 
 the length ; the deficiency relative to the 
 length is not so remarkable here. Experi- 
 ments 1 and 2, and Expeiiments 5 and 6, 
 show the increase of strength, by fastening 
 the ends, to be in the proportion of 2 to 3. 
 The theery gives the proportion of 2 to 4. 
 But a diiference ia the manner of fixing 
 may produce this deviation from the theory, 
 which only supposed them to be held down 
 at places beyond the props, as when a joist 
 is held in the walls, and also rests on two 
 pillars between the walls. We shall here 
 give an abstract of M. Buffon’s expert- 
 ments. He relates a great number which 
 
 he had prosecuted during two years on 
 small battens. He found that the odds of 
 a single layer, or part of a layer, more or 
 less, or even a different disposition of them, 
 had such influence that he was obliged to 
 abandon this method, and to have recourse 
 to the largest beams that he was able to 
 break. The following table exhibits one 
 series of experiments on bars of sound 
 oak, clear of knots, and four inches square. 
 This is a specimen of alt the rest. Column 1, 
 is the length of the bar in feet clear between 
 the supports. Column 2, is the weight of the 
 bar (the second day after it was felled) in 
 pounds. Two bars were tried of each 
 length. Each of the first three pairs con- 
 sisted of two cuts of the same tree. The 
 one next the root was always found the 
 hfaviest, stiffest, and strongest. Indeed 
 M. Buffon says, that this was invariably 
 true, that the heaviest was always the 
 strongest ; and he recommends it as a sure 
 rule for the choice of timber. He finds 
 that this is always the case when the timber 
 has grown vigorously, forming very thick 
 annual layers. But he also observes, that 
 
TIMBER. 
 
 this is only during the advances of the tree 
 to maturity ; for the strength of the dif- 
 ferent circles approaches gradually to equa- 
 lity during the tree’s healthy growth, and 
 then it decays in these parts in a contrary 
 order. Our tool-makers assert the same 
 tiling with respect to beech ; yet a contrary 
 opinion is very prevalent ; and wood with a 
 fine, that is, a small grain, is frequently 
 preferred. Perhaps no person has ever 
 made the trial with such minuteness as 
 M. Buffon, and much deference is thought 
 to be due to his opinion. Column 3, is 
 the number of pounds necessary for break- 
 ing the tree in the course of a few minutes. 
 Column 4, is the inches which it bent down 
 before breaking. Column 5, is the time at 
 which it broke. 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 
 5 60 
 
 5350 
 
 3.5 
 
 29 
 
 7 
 
 1 36 
 
 5275 
 
 4.5 
 
 22 
 
 8 
 
 5 68 
 
 4600 
 
 3.75 
 
 15 
 
 \ 63 
 
 4500 
 
 4.7 
 
 13 
 
 
 S 77 
 
 4100 
 
 4.85 
 
 14 
 
 9 
 
 1 71 
 
 3950 
 
 5.5 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 f 84 
 
 3625 
 
 5.83 
 
 15 
 
 1 82 
 
 3600 
 
 6.5 
 
 15 
 
 12 
 
 f 100 
 
 3050 
 
 7. 
 
 
 1 98 
 
 2925 
 
 8. 
 
 
 Mr. George Smart, well known for his 
 practical knowledge of mechanics, in al- 
 most every department, says, that after 
 making many experiments on timber, and 
 comparing them with those of Belidore, 
 Buffon, &c. : the diflferences were so great 
 that it would be wasting time to enumerate 
 them. He therefore mentions some useful 
 observations necessary to be known by all 
 those mechanics who use timber ; and points 
 out some evident errors in a table of Beli- 
 dore’s, supposed to be the result of the best 
 set of experiments ever produced in 
 transverse strains. He tells us, that a bar 
 of wood, thirty-six inches long, and one 
 inch square, supported at the ends by tvyo 
 props, will break with a weight of 187 
 pounds on the middle, if it is loose at the 
 ends ; but if the ends are firmly fixed, it 
 will require 283 pounds to break it. “ This 
 appeared to me,” says Mr. Smart, “ so 
 great an error, that I was induced to put lit- 
 tle or no confidence in many of his' experi- 
 
 ments ; and, in consequence, I made two 
 laths of fir, of the same dimensions, one 
 with a strong shoulder at each end, to pre'- 
 vent its bending, which having firmly fixed 
 in a frame, it carried a weight more than 
 ten times greater than that which was 
 loose.” 
 
 The fibres of timber requiring so great a 
 force to tear them asunder in a vertical di- 
 rection, and being easily broken by a trans- 
 verse strain, when compared to that of a 
 rope carrying nearly an equal weight in all 
 directions, opens a wide field for useful ex- 
 periments. All timber trees have theii an- 
 nual circles, or growths, which vary greatly 
 according to the soil and exposure to the 
 sun. The north east side of the trees (being 
 much smaller in the grain than the other 
 parts, which are more exposed to the sun) 
 is strongest for any column that has a weight 
 to support in a vertical direction ; because 
 its hard circles, or tubes, are nearer each 
 otlier, and the area contains a greater quan- 
 tity of them ; nor are they so liable to be 
 compressed by the weight, or to slide past 
 each other, as when they are at a greater 
 distance. On the other hand, this part of 
 the tree is not fit for a transverse strain ; be- 
 cause the nearer the hard circles are to 
 each other, the easier the beam will break, 
 there being so little space between them, 
 that one forms a fulcrum to break the other 
 upon ; but that part of a tree, the tubes of 
 which are at a greater distance, or of larger 
 grain, is more elastic, P.nd requires a greater 
 force to break it; because the outside fibre 
 on the convex side cannot snap till the next 
 one is pressed upon it, which forms the ful- 
 crum to break it on. It is generally ob- 
 served in large timbers, such as masts, that 
 the fracture is seldom on the convex, but 
 usually on the concave side ; which is owing 
 to the fibres on the concave side being more 
 readily forced past each other, and those on 
 the convex being so difficult to be torii 
 asunder, that they cannot snap, in conse- 
 quence of the largeness of the segment of 
 the circle they describe when on the strain. 
 The curve described by the in;er layers of 
 the wood being so Brge, and indeed little 
 less than a straight line, cannot form a ful- 
 crum to break the outer ones upon ; and as 
 the convex side, or that on which the fibres 
 are extended, ought to be always free from 
 any mortise or incision on the outside, the 
 strength decreases as it approaches the 
 centre. Mr. Smart has, iii a paper in the 
 “ Repertory,” given directions how to cut 
 and join timber so as to have the greatest 
 
TIM 
 
 f frenglli, and to turn to the greatest advan- 
 tage, of having the best part of the tree in 
 the place where the hardness and strength 
 are most wanted, viz. in tlw corners which 
 form the abutments ; whereas, the same 
 tree squared into a parallel beam, would 
 have been much smaller, and the soft or 
 sappy parts of the wood exposed to the ac- 
 tion of the air and moisture. In flush- 
 framing it is observable, that the failure of 
 all timber in old buildings has commenced 
 much sooner than they otherwise would, 
 have dona, owing to the sappy wood being 
 at the corners ot the principal beams, which 
 soon, decays, as its spongy quality attracts 
 the moisture ; wherea,s the heart, espe- 
 cially of oak, will be as sound as the first day 
 it was used. 
 
 As all beams take their weight horizon- 
 tally, oi‘ on any transverse bearing, have 
 their principal strain on the upper and low^er 
 surface, every workman ought to guard 
 against Jiaving sap in beams, because if 
 they do not immediately decay, they shrmk, 
 so as to let loose all the framing, and soon 
 cripple the building or machine ; but on 
 Mr. Smart’s i)lan the sappy part of the wood 
 is excluded fiom what would cause its de- 
 cay, and the timber increased in quantity is 
 considerably more than the extra labour 
 and expense. 
 
 Timber frees, in law, are properly oak, 
 ash, and elm. In some particular coun- 
 tries, by local custom, other trees, being 
 commonly there made use of for building, 
 are considered timber. Of these, being’ 
 part of the freehold, larceny cannot be 
 committed ; but, if they be severed at one 
 time, and carried away at another, then the 
 stealing of them is larceny. And by several 
 late statutes, the stealing of them in the 
 first instance is made felony, or incurs a pe- 
 Cuniary forfeiture. For the better p'reser- 
 vation of roots, shrubs, and plants, it is 
 enacted, by 6 George III. c. 48, that every 
 person convicted of damaging, destroying, 
 or carrying away any timber-tree, or trees, 
 or trees likely to become timber, without 
 consent of the owner, &c. shall forfeit for 
 the first offence not exceeding 2bZ. with 
 the charges attending ; and on non-payment 
 Shall be committed for not more than 
 twelve, nor less than six months ; for the 
 second offence, a sum not exceeding sol. 
 and on non-payment shall be committed for 
 not more than eighteen, and not less than 
 twelve months ; and for the third offence, is 
 to be transported for seven years. All 
 eak, beech, chesnut, walnut, ash, dm, ce- 
 
 TIM 
 
 dar, fir, asp, lime, sycamore, add birch 
 trees, shall be deemed and taken to be' 
 tiuiber trees, within the true meaning and 
 provision of this act. Persons convicted 
 of plucking up, spoiling, or taking away any 
 k)ut, shrub,, or plant, out of private culti- 
 vated ground, shall forfeit for the first of- 
 fence, any sum not exceeding 40s. with the 
 charges ; for tiie second offence, a sum not 
 exceeding 51. with the charges; and for 
 the third offence are to be transported lor 
 seven years. A power is given to justices 
 of the peace to put this act in execution, 
 TIME, a succession of phenomena in the 
 univeme ; or a mode of duration, marked 
 by certain periods or measures, chiefly by 
 the motion and revolution of the sun. 1 he 
 idea of time, in the general, Mr. Locke ob- 
 seiwes, we acquire by considering any part 
 of infinite duration as set out by periodical 
 measures : the idea of any particular time, 
 or length of duration, as a day, an hour, &c. 
 we acquire first, by observing certain ap- 
 pearances at regular, and, seemingly, at 
 equidistant periods. Now, by being able 
 to repeat those lengtlis or measures of time, 
 as often as we wall, we can imagine dui a- 
 tion, where nothing really endures or' ex- 
 ists; and thus we imagine to morrow next 
 year, &c. Some of the latter school ’philo- 
 sophers define time to be the duration of a 
 thing, whose existence is neither witliont 
 beginning nor end: by which time is dis- 
 tinguished from eternity. Time is distin- 
 guished into absolute and relative. Abso- 
 lute time, is time con.sidered in itself, and 
 without any relation to bodies, or their mo- 
 tions. This flow sequally, i. e. never pro- 
 ceeds faster or slower, but glides on in a 
 constant, equable tenor. Relative time, is 
 the sensible measure of any duration, by 
 means of motion. For, since that equ’able 
 flux of time does not affect our senses, nor 
 is any way immediately cognizable thereby, 
 there is a necessity for calling in the help 
 of some nearly equable motion to a sens ble 
 measure, whereby we may determine its 
 quantity by the correspondency of the parts 
 of this with those of that. Hence, as we 
 judge those times to be equal which pass 
 while a moving body, proceeding with an 
 equable velocity, passes over equal spaces - 
 so we judge those times to be equal, which 
 flow while the sun, moon, and other lumina- 
 ries, perform their revolutions, which, to 
 our senses, are equal. But since the flux of 
 time cannot be accelerated, nor retarded, 
 whereas all bodies . move sometimes faster 
 and sometimes slower, and there is, per- 
 
TIN 
 
 haps, no perfectty equable motion in all na- 
 ture, it appears hence to follow, that abso- 
 lute time should be something truly and 
 really distinct from motion. But, accord- 
 ing to Lucretius; 
 
 “ Time, of itself, is nothing, but frcia 
 thought 
 
 Receives its rise ; by labouring fancy 
 wrought 
 
 From things consider’d, whilst we think 
 on some 
 
 As present, some as past, or yet to come. 
 
 No thought can think on time, thats still 
 contest. 
 
 But thinks on tilings in motion, or at 
 rest.” 
 
 Time astronomical, is that taken purely 
 from the motion of the heavenly bodies, 
 without any other regard. 
 
 Time cicil, is the former time accommo- 
 dated to civil uses, and formed and distin- 
 guished into years, months, days, &c. 
 
 Time, in music, is an affection of sound, 
 whereby we denominate it long or short, 
 with regard to its continuance in the same 
 degree of time. 
 
 TIN, in mineralogy, a genus of metals, 
 of which there are three species : 1. Tin- 
 
 pyrites; colour intermediate between steel- 
 grey and brass-yellow ; but usually more in- 
 clined to the first ; it occurs massive and 
 disseminated; internally it is glistening, 
 sometimes shining, and seldom passing into 
 splendent; its lustre is metallic ; it is brit- 
 tle, and the specific gravity is somewhere 
 between 4.3 and 4.8. Before the blow-pipe, 
 it gives out a sulphureous odour, and melts 
 easily, without being reduced, into a black 
 scoria. It communicates a yellow or green 
 <!blour to borax. It consists of 
 
 Tin 
 
 
 Copper 
 
 
 Iron 
 
 
 Sulphur 
 
 
 Earth 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 It is found at Wheal-rock and St. Agnes 
 in Cornwall, where it occurs In a vein about 
 nine feet wide, accompanied v^ith copper 
 pyrites and brown blende. 
 
 t. Tin-stone, which is hard, brittle, and 
 very heavy, the speeifie gravity being from 
 5.8 to 6.9 or 7. Before the blow pipe it 
 decrepitates, becomes paler, and, where it 
 rests on the charcoal, is reduced. AFhen 
 roasted, it is converted into a grey oxide. 
 
 . TIN 
 
 A specirsen, analysed by Klaproth, con- 
 tained 
 
 Tin 
 
 
 Iron 
 
 
 Oxygen 
 
 
 Silica 
 
 
 
 100.00 
 
 It occurs only in primitive rocks, as gra- 
 nite, gneiss, mica-slate, and clay-slate, and 
 is said to be the oldest of all the metals. It 
 occurs either disseminated in the rock, or in 
 beds, or veins. It is usually accompanied 
 with quartz, mica, &c, and is also found in 
 great quantities in alluvial land. The greater 
 part of tiie English, much of the Spanish, 
 and the greater proportion of that from In- 
 dia, occurs in that situation. 
 
 Tin is npt found in many countries ; but 
 where it exists at all, it is in very consider- 
 able quantities. In Europe there are only 
 three tin districts : the first is in Saxony 
 and Bohemia ; the second in Coniwall ; ami 
 the tiiird is that of Gallicia, on the borders 
 of Portugal. It is found in many parts of 
 Asia, and in South America. It is worked 
 as an ore of tin, and from it all the tin of 
 commerce is obtained. Its name is derived 
 from' the quantity of tin which it affords, 
 and its unmetallic aspect. 
 
 3. Cornish tin-ore, or w'oqd tin ; which, 
 like the last, is very heavy ; before the blow- 
 pipe it is infusible ; it consists of about 63 
 parts of tin, with iron and arsenic. It has 
 hitherto been found only in Cornwall, and 
 there in alluvial land. It is very like brown 
 hematite, from which it is distinguished by 
 its colour, its rolled pieces, greater hard- 
 ness, and higher specific gravity. We now 
 turn to tin, in a chemical view. 
 
 Tin ^ a inetal of a silver-white colour, 
 very ductile, and malleable, gives out, while 
 bending, a crackling noise, is fusible at a 
 heat much less than that of ignition, is solu- 
 ble in muriatic acid, and, by dilute nitric 
 acid, is rapidly converted into a white ox- 
 ide. Tin has been known from the earliest 
 ages. It was much employed by the Egyp- 
 tians in the arts, and by the Greeks as an 
 alloy with otlier metals. Pliny speaks of it 
 under the name of white lead, as a metal 
 well known in the arts, and even applied in 
 the fabrication of many ornaments of lux- 
 ury. He ascribes to the Gauls the inven- 
 tion of the art of tinning, or covering other 
 metals with a thin coat of tin. The alche- 
 mists were much employed in their re- 
 searches concerning tin, and gave it the, 
 
TIN. 
 
 name of Jupiter, from which the salts, or 
 preparations of tin, were called jovial. Since 
 their time, the nature and properties of tin 
 have been particularly investigated by 
 many chemists, and it has proved the sub- 
 ject of some important discoveries in che- 
 mical science. Tin exists in nature in thnee 
 different states. 1. It is found native; 2. In 
 the state of oxide ; afld, 3. In that of sul- 
 phurated oxide. Native tin is in brilliant 
 plates, or regularly crystalhzecl. The na- 
 tive oxide of tin, which is the most commoa 
 ore of this metal, exists under a variety of 
 forms. It is generally found ciystallized. 
 The sulphuret of tin is of a pale, or dark- 
 grey colour, and, when pure, has some resem- 
 blance to an ore of silver. To o', tain the me- 
 tal from its ores, they are first roasted, and 
 then treated with a flux, to reduce the meial. 
 After the ore is roasted, it fuses i’eadily with 
 three times its weight of black flux, and 
 a little decrepitated muriate of soda. Iri the 
 humid way, native tin may be dissolved in 
 nitric acid, which readily oxida.tes, and re- 
 duces it to the state of white powder, which 
 is an oxide of tin ; and if it contain iron and 
 copper, these two metals remain in the so- 
 lution. Tin is of a white colour, nearly as 
 brilliant as silver. The specific gravity of 
 tin is nearly 7 . 3 . It is one of the softest of 
 the metals. It is extremely flexible, and 
 so malleable, that it can be easily beaten 
 out in plates to ^ part of an inch, r/aich 
 is the thickness of tinfoil. It has liU. s elas- 
 ticity or tenacity. A wire of this matal, 
 about one- tenth of an inch in diameter, sjip- 
 ports a weight of about thirty pounds, v/itii- 
 out breaking. Tin is susceptible of vsrj 
 considerable expansion, by means of calo- 
 ric, and on this account it has been pro- 
 posed to employ it as a pyrometer. Tin is 
 one of the most fusible of the metals, and 
 melts at tjie temperature of 442“ ; but it re- 
 quires a very high temperature to raise it 
 in vapour. If it be allowed to cool slowly, 
 and vvhen the surface becomes solid by 
 pouring out part of the liquid metal, crys- 
 tals are formed, composed of a great num- 
 ber of small needles. Tin is a good con- 
 ductor of electricity. It possesses a pecu- 
 liar odour, which is communicated to the 
 hands by friction. It has also a percepti - 
 ble taste. When this metal is exposed to 
 the air, it is soon tarnished, and assumes a 
 greyish white colour ; but it undergoes no 
 further change. When it is melted in an 
 open vessel, it is soon covered with a grey- 
 ish pellicle, which is the commencement of 
 the oxidation of the metal. When this pel- 
 
 licle is removed, another forms, and so on 
 successively, till the whole is oxidated. By 
 continuing the heat, and by agitation, the 
 proce’x goes on more rapidly, and the me- 
 tal is converted into a whitish powder. 
 This oxide contains about twenty parts of 
 oxygen in 100 of the metal. With the ad- 
 dition of lead, to promote the oxidation, 
 this oxide is the putty of tin. It contains 
 about two parts of oxide of lead, and one 
 p'vt of oxide of tin. But when tin is 
 strongly heated, it ’s converted into a fine 
 white oxide, which, during the process, 
 gives out a vivid white flame. Tiiis oxide 
 is condensed ir. the cold, and crystallizes in 
 shbing, transparent needles. 
 
 Tin combines with two proportions of 
 oxygen, thus forming two oxides. The yel- 
 low oxide, which has the smaller propor- 
 tion of oxygen, may be prepared by dis- 
 solving tin in nitric acid diluted with water, 
 vdtiiout the aid of heat. By precipitating 
 tne oxide with pure potash, it is obtained 
 in the form of a yellowish powder. Its 
 component parts are 
 
 Oxygen 20 
 
 Tin 80 
 
 100 I 
 
 By dissolving tin in concentrated nitric 
 acid, with the assistance of heat, the whole 
 .c converted with effervescence into a white 
 powder, which falls to the bottom of the 
 vessel. The component parts of this oxide 
 are 23 oxygen, and 72 of tin. 
 
 Thosphonis combines very readily with 
 tin, by projecting bits of phosphorus on 
 melted tin in a crucible. A phosphnret of 
 tin is thus obtained, which crystallizes on 
 cooling. This compound is of a silvery 
 white colour, may be cut with a knife, and 
 extended under the hammer, but soon se- 
 parates into plates. Sulphur combines very 
 readily with tin, by adding the sulphur to 
 the metal while in a state of fusion. This 
 compound forms a greyish or bluish mat- 
 ter, which has a metallic lustre, a lamel- 
 lated structure, and crystallizes in cubes, or 
 in octahedrons. It is decomposed by acids 
 with effervescence. The component parts 
 are, according to Bergman, 
 
 Tin 80 
 
 Sulphur 20 
 
 WO 
 
 If equal parts of oxide of tin and sulphur 
 be fused together in a retort, sulphurous 
 
TIN 
 
 acid, and some sulphur, are disengaged, and 
 there remains in the vessel a compound of 
 a brilliant, golden colour. It crystallizes 
 in six-sided plates. It is not acted on by 
 the acids. When it is strongly heated, it 
 gives out sulphuri^us acid and sulphur, and 
 there remains behind a black mass, which 
 is sulphuret of tin. This compound, which is 
 a sulphurated oxide of tin, was formerly 
 distinguished by the. name of aurura, musi- 
 vum, musicura, or raosaicum. The compo- 
 nent parts of this sulphurated oxide of tin 
 
 are 
 
 Oxide of tin 60 
 
 Sulphur ‘^0 
 
 ioo 
 
 Tin enters into combination with many 
 of the metals, and forms alloys with them, 
 some of which are of great importance. • It 
 also combines with acids, and forms salts. 
 
 Of the alloys, the most important is that 
 of tin and copper, with some other addi- 
 tions, which forms bronze, bell-metal, spe- 
 culum, metal, &c. The alloy of tin and 
 lead, in equal parts, forms plumbers’ solder. 
 The alloy of tin, lead, and bismuth, in the 
 proportions of 3, .S, and 8, forms a com- 
 pound that melts in a heat somewhat less 
 than that of boiling water. The amalgam 
 of mercury with tin is used in silvering of 
 mirrors. Pewter is an alloy of tin and lead, 
 which was formerly very much used, more 
 so than any other metallic alloy, being the 
 common material for plates, dishes, and 
 other domestic utensils. Its use now is 
 most universally superseded by pottery, 
 which is lighter, more readily kept clean, 
 and much cheaper, though certainly less 
 durable, on account of the brttCzuess of 
 the latter. The name of pewtor has been 
 given to any malleable while alloy, into 
 which tin largely enters, and iCa composi- 
 tion is so various, that Imrdly any two ma- 
 nufacturers employ precisely the same in- 
 gredients, and Ae same proportions. The 
 finest kind of pewter contains no lead what- 
 ever, but consists of tin with a small alloy 
 of antimony, and sometimes a little copper; 
 and in all the superior kinds of pewter, the 
 tin forms by far the greater part of the 
 mixture. Pewter may be used for vessels 
 containing wine, and even vinegar, provided 
 there be from 80 to 82 parts of tin in the 
 alloy, without the smallest danger ; hence its 
 use as a measure. The specific gravity of 
 a mixture of tin and lead is less than the 
 mean specific gravity of the two metals se- 
 parately. 
 
 TIP 
 
 Tin is much used, particularly in the 
 state of very thin leaves : it is then called 
 tin-foil. This is made from the finest tin, 
 first cast into an ingot, then laminated to a 
 certain extent, and afterwards beat out 
 with a hammer. Tin is used for tinning 
 copper, iron, &c. and the salts of tin are 
 employed in dyeing. 
 
 Tin plate, tinning. Tin combines with 
 iron, md adheres strongly to its surface, 
 forming a thin covering. This is one of the 
 most useful combinations of tin, for it ren- 
 ders the iron fihfor a great many valuable 
 purposes, for which, otherwise, on account 
 of its strong tendency to oxidation, or 
 rusting, it would be totally inapplicable. 
 This is well known by the name of tin- 
 plate, or white iron. 'The process of tin- 
 ning iron is the following : the plates of iron 
 being reduced to the proper thickness, are 
 cleaned by means of a weak acid. For this 
 purpose the surface is first cleaned with 
 sand, to remove any rust that may have 
 formed. They are then immersed in wa- 
 ter, acidulated with a small quantity of sul- 
 phuric acid, in which they are kept for 
 twenty-foiu- hours, and occasionally agi- 
 tated. They are then well rubbed with 
 cloths, that the surface may be perfectly 
 clean. The tin is fused in a pot, the sur- 
 face of which is covered with an oily or re- 
 sinous matter, to prevent its oxidation. 
 
 The plates of iron are then immersed in 
 the melted tin, and are either moved about 
 in the liquid metal, or are dipped several 
 different times. They are then taken out, 
 and rubbed with saw-dust or bran, to re- 
 move the impurities from the surface. 
 
 TINCTURE, is commonly understood 
 to be a coloured infusion of any substance 
 in alcohol. It is a preparation much em- 
 ployed in Pharmacy, with many articles 
 of the Materia medica (which see), parti- 
 cularly vegetable barks, aromatics of all 
 kinds, and many of the resins and gum 
 resins, which yield to alcohol, by infusion, 
 that part of their substance in which most 
 of the medicinal virtue resides. 
 
 Tincture, in heraldry, the hue or co^ 
 lour of any thing in coat armour, under 
 which denomination may also be included 
 the two metals, or and argent, because they 
 are often represented by yellow and white. 
 
 TIPHIA, in natural history, a genus of 
 insects of the order Hyraenoptera. Mouth 
 with a membranaceous rounded jaw, the 
 mandible arched and acute ; no tongue ; 
 four feelers, filiform, unequal, and inserted 
 in the middle of the lip ; antennae filiform ; 
 
TIT 
 
 ihort, convolute ; sting concealed within 
 the abdomen. There are about twenty- 
 •even species, in two divisions : A. jaw 
 vaulted; lip membranaceous, emarginate. 
 B. jaw rounded ; lip horny, three-toothed. 
 
 TIPULA, in natural histoiy, crq,ne-fly, a 
 genus of insects of the order Diptera, Mouth 
 with a very short membranaceous probos- 
 cis, the back grooved and receiving a bris- 
 tle; two feelem, incurved, filiform, and 
 longer than the head ; the antennae are 
 mostly filiform. There are nearly one 
 hundred and fifty species, in two sections, 
 distinguished by their wings. Tlie insects 
 in the division A have their wings expand- 
 ed ; those in B have them incumbent. 
 
 Most of the insects of this genus are very 
 like tlie gnat; they feed on various sub- 
 stances : the larv® are without feet, soft, and 
 cylindrical, with a truncate toothed head ; 
 and feed on the roots of plants : the pupa 
 is cylindrical, tvvo-liorned before, and tooth- 
 ed beliind. Tlie largest of the European 
 tipute is T. rivosa, it is found frequently an 
 inch and half in body, and is distinguished 
 by the colour of its wings which are trans- 
 parent, with large dusky undulations, inter- 
 mixed with white towards the rib, or upper 
 edge. This insect proceeds from a greyish 
 larva, found beneath the roots of grass in 
 meadows, gardens, &c. and, in the months 
 of July and August it changes into a 
 lengthened chrysalis, out of which, in Sep- 
 tejiibei', proceeds the complete animal. 
 This is known by the title of long-legs, and 
 is frequently seen in houses during autum- 
 nal evenings, when, if it be possible, it will 
 destroy itself by flying into the flame of a 
 lighted candle. This propensity is common 
 to many insects. T. tritici, is a very minute 
 insect. The antennas are moniliform, lonn-er 
 than the thorax ; legs very long. The larva 
 is found in the ears of wheat, to whicli it is 
 very injurious. 
 
 TITANIUM, is a metal of a copper 
 red colour, very difficult of fusion, soluble 
 in muriatic acid, from which it may be pre- 
 cipitated by a tincture of galls. This metal 
 ■was discovered, in 1793, by Klaproth. He 
 obtained it from a mineral called red schorl. 
 In this mineral he found the oxide of ’a me- 
 tal different from any other then known. 
 To this, from Meriachan in Cornwall, 
 where it was found, he gave the name of 
 menaclianite, but he had not succeeded in 
 reducing it to the metallic state. Klaproth 
 afterwards analyzed the menachanite, arid 
 found that it was precisely the same as the 
 ftxjde of the metal which he discovered in 
 
 TIT 
 
 red schorl. To this metal he gave the name 
 of titanium. This metal has been found only 
 in the state of oxide. Red schorl consists 
 entirely of this oxide. It has been found 
 in different countries, as in Spain, Fiance, 
 and Hungary. It is disseminated in the fine 
 specimens of rock-crystal wliich are brought 
 from Madagascar, crystallized in long bril- 
 liant needles ; the form of the primitive 
 crystal being a six sided pi ism with two- 
 sided summits ; that of the molecule is a 
 triangular prism, with right-angled isosceles 
 bases. It is of a red colour, of different 
 shades. It is brittle, but the fragments are 
 so hard as to scratch glass, The specific 
 gravity is from 4.1 to 4.2. Tlie other mi- 
 iieral, to which Klaproth has given the 
 name of titanite, is composed of oxide of 
 titanium, silica, and lime, nearly in equal 
 proportions, Its specific gravity is 3.5, 
 Titanium was obtained by Vauquelin, by 
 reducing the native red oxide. He mixed 
 together 100 parts of this oxide with 50 of 
 calcined borax, and 50 of charcoal, formed 
 into a paste with oil ; and exposed the whole 
 to the heat of a forge raised to 166° Wedg- 
 wood. By tills process he obtained a dark- 
 coloured, agglutinated mass, having a bril, 
 liant appearance on the surface. Titanium 
 obtained in this way, is of a reddish yellow 
 colour, shining and brilliant on tlie surface, 
 and equally brilliant in some of its internal 
 cavities. 
 
 Titanium seems to be one of the most 
 infusible metals known. When the red 
 oxide is exposed to heat in a crucible, it 
 Ip^es its lustre. By the action of the blow- 
 pipe it is deprived of its transparence, and 
 becomes of a greyish-white colour. On 
 charcoal it becomes still more opaque, and 
 of a slate-grey. The artificial carbonate of 
 thallium, exposed to heat in a crucible, loses 
 tso its weight, becomes yellow, and as it 
 cools resumes its white colour. Titanium 
 enters into combination with phosphorus, 
 and forms with it a phosphuret. This was 
 prepared by M. Chenevix, by exposing a 
 mixture of phosphate of titanium, charcoal, 
 and a little borax, in a crucible, to a very 
 strong heat. The phosphuret which he ob- 
 tained was in the form of a metallic button, 
 of a pale white colour, brittle, and granular, ' 
 and infusible by the action of the blow-pipe. 
 This metal enters into combination with 
 the acids, and forms salts with them. 
 
 If into a phial, filled with muriate of tita- 
 nium, there is put a stick of tin, and the 
 bottle enclosed w'ith a stopper, a faint rose 
 colour will soon be visible in that part of 
 
 s 
 

 y^- 
 
 
 
 TITHES. 
 
 th« solution adjacent to tlie tin, which by 
 degrees will deepen to an amethystine red, 
 and extend through the whole liquor. If 
 einc be substituted instead of tin, tlie solu- 
 tion will be first violet, and at length indigo 
 blue. Attempts have been made to alloy 
 titanium with other metals but without suc- 
 cess. The white oxide, and also titanite, 
 in substance, are said to afford, when mixed 
 with enamel flux, a straw yellow colour ; 
 and we are informed that it has been used 
 in the porcelain manufactory at S6vres, as 
 an ingredient in rich browns; but the diffi- 
 culty of obtaining a regular and uniform tint; 
 has at length occasioned it to be abandoned. 
 
 TITHES, are the tenth part of the in- 
 crease, yearly, arising and renewing from 
 the profits of lands, the stock upon lands, 
 and the personal industry of the inhabitants. 
 And hence they are usually divided into 
 three kinds; praedial, mixed, and personal. 
 Praedial tithes, are such as arise merely and 
 immediately from the ground, as grain of 
 all sorts, hay, wood, fruits, herbs. For a 
 piece of land, or ground, being called in 
 Latin pradium, whether it be arable, mea- 
 dow, or pasture, the fruit or produce there- 
 of is called prsedial, and consequently the 
 tithe payable for such annual produce, is 
 called a praedial tithe. 
 
 Blixed tithes, are those which arise not 
 immediately from the ground, but from 
 things immediately nourished from the 
 ground; as by means of goods depastured 
 thereupon, or otherwise nourished with 
 the fruits thereof; as colts, calves, lambs, 
 chickens, milk, cheese, eggs. 
 
 Personal tithes, are sucli as arise from the 
 honest labour and industry of man, employ- 
 ing himself in some personal work, artifice, 
 or negotiation ; being the tenth part of the 
 clear gain, after charges deducted. 
 
 Tithes, witli respect to value, are divided 
 into great and small : great tithes, as corn, 
 hay, wood ; small tithes, as the praedial tithes 
 of other kinds, together with those that are 
 mixed and personal. 
 
 Tithes of common right belong to that 
 church, within the precincts of whose parish 
 they arise. But one person may prescribe 
 to have tithes within tlie parish of another ; 
 and this is what is called a portion of tithes. 
 
 No tithe is due dejure of the produce of 
 a mine, or of a quarry ; because this is not 
 a fruit of the earth, renewing annually ; 
 but is tlie substance of the earth, and has 
 perhaps been so for a great number of 
 years. But in some places tithes are due 
 by custom, of tlie produce of mines. 
 
 No tithe is due of lime: the chalk of 
 which this is made being part of the soil. 
 Tithe is not due of bricks, which are made 
 from the earth itself. Nor of turf, nor of 
 gravel ; because both these are part of the 
 soil. 
 
 It has been held, that no tithe is due of 
 salt, because this does not renew annually. 
 But every one of these, and all things of 
 the like kind, may by custom become tith- 
 able. 
 
 If barren land is converted into tillage, 
 no tithe shall be paid for the first seven 
 years : but if it be not barren ia its own 
 nature, as if it be woodland grubbed and 
 made fit for tillage; tithes shall be paid 
 presently ; for wood-land is fertile; not 
 barren. 
 
 Glebe lands, in the hands of the pdison, 
 shall not pay tithe to the vicar, nor being in 
 the hands of the vicar, shall tliey pay tithe 
 to the parson ; because the churcli shall not 
 pay tithes to the church. But if the parson 
 let his rectory, reserving the glebe lands, 
 he shall pay the tithes thereof to the lessee. 
 
 No tithes are due for houses ; for tithes 
 are only due of such tilings as renew from 
 year to year. But houses in London are, 
 by decree, wliich was confirmed by an act 
 of parliament, made liable to the payment 
 of tillies. There is likewise, in most an- 
 cient cities and boroughs, a custom to pay 
 tithes for houses ; without which tlieie 
 would be no maintenance in many parishes 
 for the clergy. 
 
 As to milis, it is now settled by a decree 
 of the House of Lords, upon an appeal from 
 a decree of the Court of Exchequer, that 
 only personal tithes are due from the occu- 
 pier of a corn mill. And the occupier of a 
 new elected mill is liable to tithes, although 
 such mill is erected upon land discharged 
 of titlies. Cro. Jac. 429. 
 
 Agistment, or tlie feeding of cattle, is 
 subject to tithe. In the strict sense of the 
 word, it means the depasttiriiig of a beast, 
 the property of a stranger : but this word 
 is constantly used in the books for depas- 
 turing the beast of an occupier of land, as 
 well as that of a stranger. An occupier of 
 land is not liable to pay tithe for the pas- 
 ture of hoises, or other beasts, which are 
 used in husbandry in the parish in whicli 
 they are depastured ; because the tithe of 
 corn is by their labour increased. But if 
 horses, or other beasts, are used in hnsliaii- 
 dry out of the parish in which they de- 
 pastured, an agistment tithe is due for them. 
 No tithe i* due for the pasture of milek 
 
TITHES. 
 
 cattle which are milked in the parish in 
 which they are depastured; because tithe 
 is paid of the milk of such cattle. Nor is 
 tithe due for the pasture of a saddle-horse, 
 which an occupier of land keeps for himself 
 or servants to ride upon. Cro. Jac.430. But 
 an occupier of land is liable to an agistment 
 tithe for all such cattle as he keeps for sale. 
 Cro. Eliz. 446. Milk cattle which are reserv- 
 ed for calving, shall pay no tithe for their 
 pasture whilst they a.’e dry ; but if they be 
 afterwards sold, or roilked in arajtl.'cr parish, 
 an agistment tithe is dae for he time they 
 were dry. No tithe i& due fro a an occupier 
 of land for the pasture of yo'ing cattle, rear- 
 ed to be used in husbandry, or for the pail. 
 Cro. Eliz. 446. .3ut if fucb young beasts be 
 sold before they come to such perfection as 
 to be fit for husbandry, or before they give 
 milk, an agistment tithe must be paid for 
 them. 
 
 If cattle, which have neither been used 
 in husbandry, nor for the pail, are, after 
 having been kept sometime, killed, to be 
 spent in the family of the occupier of the 
 land on which they are depastured, no tithe 
 is due for their pasture. No titlre is due for 
 the cattle, either of a stranger or an occu- 
 pier, which are depastured in grounds that 
 have in the same year paid tithe of hay. 
 But it is generally true, that an agistment 
 tithe is due for depasturing any sort of cattle 
 the property of a stranger. Cro. Eliz. 276. 
 
 No agistment tithe is due for such beasts, 
 either of a stranger or an occupier, as are 
 depastured on the head-lands of ploughed 
 fields : provided these are not wider than is 
 sufficient to turn the plough and horses 
 upon. Nor is tithe due for such cattle as 
 are depastured upon land that has the same 
 year paid tithe of corn. 
 
 If land, which has paid tithe of corn one 
 yeai’, is left unsown the next year, no a- 
 gistment is due for such land ; because by 
 this lying fresh, the tithe of the next crop 
 -Of corn is increased. But if land, which 
 has paid tithe of corn in one year, is left 
 unsown the next year, no agistment is due 
 for such land ; but if sutFered to lie fallow 
 longer than by the course of husbandry is 
 usual, an agistment tithe is due for the 
 beasts depastured upon such land. 
 
 Sheep, after paying tithe of wool, had 
 been fed upon turnips not severed, by which 
 they were bettered to the value of five 
 shillings each, and were tlien sold : it also 
 appeared, that before the next shearing- 
 time, as many had been brought in as were 
 sold, and that of these tithe of wool had 
 
 been paid. It was insisted, that if an agist- 
 ment were to be paid for the sheep sold, 
 it would be a double tithing; but the court 
 held that this was a new increase, and de- 
 creed the defendant to account for an agist- 
 ment-titlie. But in a later case the court 
 held, that no agistment tithe should be paid. 
 
 Corn. It is held, that no tithe is due of 
 the rakings of corn involuntarily scattered: 
 Cro. Eliz. 278. But if more of any sort of 
 corn be fraudulently scattered than there 
 would have been if proper care had been 
 taken, tithe is due of the rakings of such 
 corn : Cro. Eliz. 475. No tithes are due 
 of the stubbles left in corn fields after 
 mowing or reaping of corn. 
 
 Tithe of hay is to be paid, though beasts 
 of the plough, or pail, or sheep, are to be 
 foddered with such hay. But no tithe is 
 due of hay upon the head lands of ploughed 
 grounds, provided that such head lands are 
 not wider than is sufficient to turn the 
 plough and horses upon. 
 
 Jt is laid down in an old case, that if a 
 man cut down grass, and, while it is in the 
 swathes, carry it away, and give it to his 
 plough-cattle, not having sufficient suste- 
 nance for them otherwise, no tithe is due 
 thereof. And in a modern case, the Court 
 of Exchequer was of opinion, that no tithe 
 is due of vetches, or of clover, cut green, 
 and given to cattle in husbandry. 
 
 Tithe of wood is not due in common 
 right, because wood does not renew an- 
 nually ; but it was in ancient times paid in 
 many places by custom. Exemptions from 
 tithes are of two kinds ; either to be wholly 
 exempted from paying any tithes, or from 
 paying tithes in kind. The former is called 
 de non decimando ; the latter de modo deci- 
 niandi. 
 
 Prescription de non decimando is to be 
 free from the payment of tithes, without 
 any recompense for the same. Concerning 
 which, the general rule is, that no layman 
 can prescribe de non decimando, that is, to 
 be discharged absolutely of the payment of 
 tithes, and to pay nothing in lieu thereof : 
 unless he begin his prescription in a religi- 
 ous or ecclesiastical person. But all spiri- 
 tual persons, as bishops, deans, prebenda- 
 ries, parsons, and vicars, may prescribe ge- 
 nerally in non decimando. 
 
 A modus decimandi, usually called by the 
 name of modus only, is where there is by 
 custom a particular manner of tithiag, dif- 
 ferent from the general laws of taking tithes 
 in kind. This is sometimes a pecuniary 
 compensation, as so much an acre for the 
 
TITHES. 
 
 tithe of land : sometimes a compensation 
 in work and labour; as that the parson 
 shall have only the twelfth cock of hay, and 
 not the tenth, in consideration of the own- 
 er’s making it for him ; sometimes in lieu of 
 a large quantity, when arrived to great ma- 
 turity ; as a couple of fowls in lieu of ti -he- 
 eggs, and the like. Any means in short, 
 w'hereby the general law of tithmg is a’rJar- 
 ed, and a he w method of taking them is in- 
 troduced, is called modus decimandi, or spe- 
 cial method of tithing. 
 
 In order to make a modus or prescription 
 good, several qualifications are requisite. 
 It must be supposed to have had a reason- 
 able commencement, as that at the time of 
 the composition, the modus was the real 
 value in money, although it is now become 
 much less. It must be something for the 
 parson’s benefit; therefore, the finding 
 straw for the body of the church, the find- 
 ing a rope for a bell, the paying five shil- 
 lings to the parish-clerk, have been adjudg- 
 ed not to be good. But it is a good modus 
 to be discharged, that one hath time out 
 of mind been used to employ the profits, 
 for the repair of the chancel, for the parson 
 hath a benefit by that. 
 
 A modus must be certain ; so a prescrip- 
 tion to pay a penny, or thereabouts, for 
 every acre of land, is void for the uncer- 
 tainty. And It has been held, that if a pre- 
 cise day of payment be not alledged, the 
 modus will be ill ; but now it is holden, that 
 where an annual modus hath been paid, and 
 no certain day for the payment thereof is 
 limited, the same shall be due and payable 
 on the last day of the year. 
 
 A modus must be ancient ; and therefore, 
 if it be any thing near the value of the tithe, 
 it will be supposed to be of late commence- 
 ment, and for that reason will be set aside. 
 
 A modus must be durable, for the tithe in 
 kind, being an inheritance certain, the re- 
 compense for it should be as durable ; there- 
 fore a certain sum, to be paid by the inha- 
 bitaiits of such an house hath been set aside, 
 because the house may go down, and none 
 inhabit it. And it must be constant and 
 uninterrupted ; for if there have been fre- 
 quent interruptions, no custom or prescrip- 
 tion can be obtained. But after it hath 
 been once duly obtained, a disturbance for 
 ten or twenty years shall not destroy it. 
 
 When a common is divided afid inclosed, 
 a modus shall only extend to such tithes as 
 the common yielded before inclosure, such 
 as the tithes of wool, lambs, or agistment : 
 but not to the tithes of hay and com, which 
 
 the common, whilst it was common, did ne- 
 ver produce. 
 
 The parson cannot come himself and set 
 out his tithes without the consent of the 
 owner ; but he may attend and see them 
 set out ; yet the owner is not obliged to 
 give him notice when he intends to set it 
 out, unless it be by special custom. After 
 it is set out, the care thereof, as to wasting 
 or spoiling, rests upon the parson, and not 
 upon the owner of the land ; but tlie parson 
 3;>ay spread, dry, and prepare his coni, hay, 
 or the like, in any convenient place upon 
 the pound, till it be sufficiently weathered, 
 and fir, to be carried into the barn. And he 
 may carry his tithes from the ground either 
 by the eotc; loa way, oc such other way as 
 the owner of tl ;; land uses to carry away 
 his nice parte. If the parson suffer his 
 tithes to stay too long upon the land, the 
 other may disiraia the same as doing da- 
 mage ; or he may have an action on the 
 case : but he cannot put in his cattle and 
 destroy the corn, or other tithe; for that 
 would be to m '’.:e himself judge what shall 
 be deemed a convecieat time for taking it 
 away. 
 
 By 1 Geo. L c. 6. all customary pay- 
 ments due to dergymer, the payment of 
 tithes, &c. is enforced ; and the prosecu- 
 tion in this case aiay be, for any tithes or 
 church-rates, or any customary or other 
 rights, dues, or payments, .belonging to any 
 church or chapel, which of right, by law 
 and custom, ought to be paid for the sti- 
 pend or maintenance of any minister or cu- 
 rate, officiating in any church or chapel; 
 provided that the same do not exceed 
 twenty pounds. 
 
 But the time is not limited within which 
 the same shall, become due, and if any 
 qiiaker shall refuse to pay or compound for 
 the same, any parson, vicar, curate, fanner, 
 or proprietor of such tithes, or any church- 
 warden, chapel-warden, or other person, 
 who ought to have, receive, or collect, any 
 such tithes, rates, dues, or payments, may 
 make complaint to any two justices, other 
 than such as is patron of the church, or 
 chapel, or interested in the tithes. 
 
 'The number of days is not limited be- 
 tween the time of refusal, and the com- 
 plaint ; nor is it hereby required that such 
 complaint shall be in writing. But it will 
 he more conformable to the usual practice 
 in like cases, if it be in writing. Upon 
 which complaint, the said justices are re- 
 quired to summon in writing, under their 
 hands and seals, by reasonable warning, 
 
TOB 
 
 Bach qnaker, against 'whoni siicli complaint 
 sliall be made. And after appearance, or 
 on default of appearance, (the warning, or 
 summons, being proved before them upon 
 oatli), they may i)roceed to examine on 
 oath tlie truth of the complaint, and to as- 
 certain and slate what is due and payable. 
 
 And by order under their hands and 
 seals, they may direct and appoint the pay- 
 ment thereof^ so as the sum ordered as 
 aforesaid do not exceed ten pounds. And 
 also such costs and charges, as upon the 
 merits of tlie cause, shall appear not ex- 
 ceeding teii pounds. And on refusal to pay, 
 any one of the two next justices, by war- 
 rant under his hand and seal, may levy the 
 same by distress and sale, repdering the 
 overplus, the necessary charges of distrain- 
 ing being first deducted and allowed, by 
 the said justice ; unless it be in the case of 
 appeal, and then no wairant of distress 
 shall be granted, till the appeal shall be de- 
 termined. 
 
 As no time is limited for detaining the 
 distress, nor charges allowed for keeping it, 
 it may be sold immediately. Any person, 
 who shall think himself aggrieved by the 
 judgment of the two justices, may appeal 
 to the next sessions ; where, if the judg- 
 ment shall be affirmed, they shall decree 
 the same by order of sessions, and give 
 costs against the appellant, to be levied by 
 distress and sale, as to them shall seem rea- 
 sonable. And no proceeding herein shall be 
 removed by certiorari, or otherwise, unless 
 the title of such tithes shall be in question. 
 
 The withholding of tithes from the parson 
 or vicar, whether the former be a clergy- 
 man or lay-appropriator, is among the pe- 
 cuniary causes cognizable in the ecclesiasti- 
 cal court. But herein a distinction must be 
 taken ; for the ecclesiastical courts have no 
 jurisdiction to try the right of tithes, unless 
 between spiritual persons, between spiritual 
 men and laymen, and are only to compel 
 tlie payment of them, when the right is not 
 disputed. 
 
 Tt)AD, in zoology, belongs to the same 
 genus with the common fi og. See Rana. 
 
 TOBACCO, in botany. See Nicotiana. 
 
 After sowing tobacco seeds, the ground 
 is watered every day, and in hot weather 
 covered, to prevent its being scorched by 
 the sun ; and w'iien the plants are grown to 
 a convenient pitch, they are transplanted 
 into a soil well prepared for their recep- 
 tion ; care is also taken to keep this ground 
 clear of weeds, and to pull off tlie lowest 
 leaves of the plant, that ten or fifteen of the 
 
 TOL 
 
 finest leaves may have all the nourishment. 
 When these leaves are ripe^ which is known 
 by their breaking when bent, the stalks are 
 cut, and left to dry two or three hours in 
 the sun ; after which they are tied together 
 two and tw'o, and hung on ropes under a 
 a shade to be dried in the air. And when 
 the leaves are sufficiently dried, they are 
 pulled from off the stalks, and made up in 
 little bundles ; which being steeped in sea 
 water, or, for want thereof, in common 
 water, are twisted in manner of ropes, and 
 the twists' formed into rolls, by winding them 
 with a kind of mill around a stick : in which 
 condition it is imported into Europe, where 
 it is cut by the tobacconists tor smoking, 
 formed into snuff, and tlie like. Besides 
 the tobacco of the West Indies, there are 
 considerable quantities cultivated in the 
 Levant, the coasts of Greece and tiie Archi- 
 pelago, the island of Malta and Italy. 
 
 TODUS, the tody, in natural history, a 
 genus of birds of the order Pic*. Generic 
 chai’acter: bill thin, depressed, broad, and 
 at tlie base covered with bristles ; nostrils 
 small and oval; toes three before and one 
 beliiud, the middle much connected with 
 the outer. Tiiere are sixteen species, of 
 which the following is the principal. 
 
 T. viridis, or the green tody, is of, the 
 size of a WTen, and is found in the warm 
 climates of America, and in the West Indies. 
 Its colouring is a beautiful combination of 
 green, white, and red. It is solitary, stu- 
 pid, feeds upon soft insects, frequents moist 
 situations, sitting long together with its 
 head under its shoulder, and may some- 
 times be taken by the hand. Birds of this 
 genus are principally found in the warmer 
 territories of America, are somewhat allied 
 to the genus of Flycatchers, but are dis- 
 tinguished by a considerable connection be- 
 tween the toes, whereas those of the fly- 
 catcher are completely divided. Several 
 species are much larger than the above. 
 
 TOISE is a French measure, containing 
 six feet, or a fathom ; a square toise is thir- 
 ty-six square feet. Tlie toise and the fa- 
 thom correspond in the division of the feet ; 
 but these divisions being unequal, it is ne- 
 cessary to observe that the projrortion of 
 the yard, as flxed by the Royal Society at 
 London, to the half toise as fixed by the 
 Royal Academy at Paris, is as 36 : 33.355. 
 
 TGLTTIFERA, in botany, balsam of 
 Tola tree, a genus of the Decandria Mono- 
 gynia class and order. Natural order of 
 Terebintacese, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter : calyx five-toothed, bell-shaped ; pe- 
 
TOM 
 
 tab five, the lowest twice as big, obcor- 
 date : style none. There is but one spe- 
 cies, piz. T. balsamuin, balsam of tolu tree. 
 
 It is a native of Spanish America, in the 
 province of Tolu, near Carthagena ; it is a 
 tree of a* considerable size, the bark is 
 thick, rough, and of a brown colour, the 
 branches spread wide on every side; leaves 
 alternate, oblong, four inches long, and two 
 broad in the middle, rounded at the base, 
 acuminate at the end, smooth, of a light 
 green colour, on very short foot stalks ; the 
 flowers are produced in small axillary race- 
 mes, or bunches, each on a slender pedicel ; 
 the corolla has four narrow petals of a yellow 
 colour, a little longer than the calyx, and a 
 fifth, the claw of which is of the same 
 length as the, other petals, and the top 
 ovate cordate; stamens within the tube, 
 and terminated by oblong erect sulphur- 
 coloured anthers ; fruit roundish, the size of 
 a large pea, divided into four cells, each 
 containing one oblong ovate seed. The 
 balsam of Tolu, which is brought to Europe 
 ' in little gourd shells, is obtained by mak- 
 ing incisions in the bark of the tree ; it is 
 collected in spoons, which are made of 
 black wax, and from them it is poured into 
 proper vessels ; it is of a reddish yellow 
 colour, transparent, in consistence thick, 
 and tenacious ; by age it grows hard and 
 brittle, so that it may be rubbed into a 
 powder between the finger and thumb ; its 
 smell is extremely fragrant; its taste is 
 warm and sweetish ; thrown into the fire it 
 immediately liquifies, takes flame, and dis- 
 perses its azreeable odour. 
 
 TOMENTUM, in botany, short-wool, a 
 species of hoary or downy pubescence, 
 which covers the surface of many plants, 
 particularly those in the neighbourhood of 
 the sea, and such as in their native soil 
 are exposed to the ravages of bleak and 
 violent winds. The substance in question 
 consists of a number of small hairs, that are 
 so closely interwoven as scarcely to be dis- 
 tinguished by the naked eye, the white 
 appearance arising from their aggregation 
 and compact texture. 
 
 TOMEX, in botany, a genus of the 
 Dodecandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : involucre four or five- 
 leaved ; calyx none ; corolla five-petalled ; 
 nectary scales five, between the lower sta- 
 mens; berry one-seeded. There arc three 
 species, ’among which we shall notice the 
 T. sebifera, glutinous tomex, or tallow- 
 tree ; it grows to a considerable size, with 
 spreading branches; leaves ovate, oblong, 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 TON, 
 
 quite intire, smooth, alternate, petioled ; 
 peduncles lateral, and subterminating, two 
 or three-flowered; berries small, smooth, 
 and blackish. Native of China and Cochin- 
 China. The wood, which is light, and of a 
 pale colour, is used for rafters, studs, &c. 
 in btiilding ; the leaves and twigs abound in 
 a viscid juice, and being bruised and mace- 
 rated in water, render it glutinous, for this 
 reason the natives work tip their plaster 
 with it, to render it more tenacious, and 
 also that it may last the longer ; a great 
 quantity of a thick w’hite oil is extracted 
 from the berries, of which common candles 
 are made, resembling spermaceti or wax 
 candles, but having an unpleasant smell. 
 
 TOMPION, in naval aflairs, a circular 
 piece of wood used to stop the mouth of a 
 cannon. At sea the tompions are carefully 
 encircled with tallow or putty, to prevent 
 the penetration of the water into the bore, 
 whereby tire powder contained in the 
 chamber might be rendered unfit for ser- 
 vice. 
 
 TONNAGE, in military and naval af- 
 fairs, a custom or impost dogjiur merchan- 
 dize, brought or carried in tons, from or to 
 other nations, after a certain rate, in every 
 ton. The method of finding the tonnage 
 of aoy ship is by the following rule : Multi- 
 ply the length of the keel by the breadth of 
 the beam, and that product by half the 
 breadth of the beam, and divide the last 
 product by 94, and the quotient will be 
 the tonnage. Ex. Suppose the ship’s keel 
 72 feet, breadth of the beam 24 feet, then 
 
 72 X 24 ^ — 220.6. The tonnage of 
 
 94 
 
 goods is sometimes taken by weight, and 
 sometimes by measurement. The method 
 which yields the most is allowed to' a ves- 
 sel. In weight twenty hundred make one 
 ton, but by measurement forty cubic feet 
 are equal to one ton. 
 
 TONSELLA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Triandria Monogynia class and order. Es- 
 sential character: calyx five-parted ; pe- 
 tals five; nectary pitcher-shaped; berry 
 one-celled, four-seeded. There are two 
 species, mz. T. scandens, climbing tonsella ; 
 and T. afrieana, African tonsella,- both na 
 lives of Guinea. 
 
 TONSILS, in anatomy, two remarkable 
 glands, situated one on each side of the 
 mouth, near the uvula, and commonly called 
 almonds of the ears, from their resetnbling 
 almonds in figure. Their nse. is to secrete a 
 mucous humour for lubricating the pas- 
 sages : this they discharge by several irrae 
 E e. 
 
TON 
 
 gular but conspicuous foraminas into the 
 mouth. See Anatomy. 
 
 TONTINE, a variable kind of life an- 
 nuity, but generally so contrived as to be 
 progressively increasing in amount. It is 
 formed by nominating a certain number of 
 lives. within limited ages, who for each one 
 hundred pounds, or any other gross sura 
 paid down, are to receive at first a specific 
 annuity, but as any of the lives fail, their 
 annuity is to be equally divided among 
 those that remain, by which mfeans those 
 who happen to survive a considerable num- 
 ber of years, obtain a large augmentation 
 of their annual receipt, and the life, which 
 is the longest liver of the whole (if there is 
 no restriction to the contrary) gets for the 
 remainder of its continuance, the total 
 sum paid at first to all the nominees. Ton- 
 tines of this kind, if properly conducted, 
 are considered by some persons as afford- 
 ing an eligible opportunity of making some 
 provision for children, as the nomination of 
 young healthy lives gives a good chance of 
 survivorship. It has several times been 
 attempted to raise money on this species of 
 annuity for the service of government, but 
 it has never been found practicable to ob- 
 tain any considerable sum in this way ; on 
 a smaller scale it has been adopted success- 
 fully both in Great Britain and Ireland, for 
 procuring the sums necessary for building 
 bridges, large inns or hotels, and other ex- 
 pensive edifices. 
 
 Of late years many delusive schemes 
 Lave been set on foot under the name of 
 tontines, but differing very materially from 
 the plan above mentioned, as they do not 
 require a gross sum to be paid down, but 
 quarterly or half yearly payments during 
 their continuance, which is limited to the 
 short period of five, seven, or ten years ; 
 the intention being, that the subscribers 
 should receive back all they had contri- 
 buted, with the additions made to it from 
 improvement at compound interest, and 
 the division of the contributions of such as 
 might happen to die within the term. But 
 the difference between compound and sim- 
 ple interest in the improvement of such 
 payments, for a short time, is so trifling, 
 and the probability of any .considerable re- 
 duction, during such term, in the number 
 of a set of young lives, who it may be pre- 
 sumed were thought healthy subjects at the 
 time of their nomination, is so small, that 
 the advantages derived from these sources 
 have been sometimes overbalanced by the 
 expenses of management, and, in fact, in 
 
 TOP 
 
 several instances of these schemes, which 
 have expired within these few years past 
 the subscribers have actually received con- 
 siderably less than the payments they had 
 made would have amounted to without any 
 improvement at interest. 
 
 TOP, in naval affairs, a sort of platform 
 surrounding the lower mast head, from 
 which it projects on all sides like a scaffold. 
 The intention of the top is to extend the 
 top-mast shrouds so as to form a greater 
 angle with the mast, and thereby give addi- 
 tional support to the latter. The top is 
 likewise convenient to contain the mate- 
 rials necessary for extending the small sails, 
 and for fixing and repairing the rigging and 
 machinery with greater expedition. In 
 ships of war, the tops are furnished with 
 swivels, musketry, and other fire-arms, and 
 are guarded with a fence of hammocks in 
 time ot action. In this case the top is used 
 as a kind of redoubt ; and is accordingly 
 fortified for attack or defence, being fur- 
 nished w'ith arms, and guarded by a thick 
 fence of corded hammocks. The top is 
 employed likewise as a place for looking- 
 out, either in the ,day or night. 
 
 TOPAZ, in mineralogy, fs a species of 
 the flint genus, of a wine-yellow colour, of 
 all degrees of intensity, and passing to va- 
 rious other colours. It occurs massive, dis- 
 seminated, sometimes in rolled pieces, but 
 commonly crystallized. There are many 
 varieties. Specific gravity, according to 
 Werner, is about 3.5. The Saxon variety-, 
 in a gentle heat, turns white ; but a strong 
 heat deprives it of lustre and transparency : 
 the Brazilian, by exposure to a high tem- 
 perature, burns rose-red; and in a still 
 higher, violet-blue. Before the blow-pipe 
 it is scarcely fusible; but exposed to a 
 stream of oxygen gas, it melts into a por- 
 cellanous bead. It is fusible with borax, 
 but alkali has little effect on it. The Bra- 
 zilian, Siberian, and other topazes, when 
 heated, exhibit at one extremity positive, 
 and at the other negative electricity. The 
 Saxon topaz, by friction only, gives signs 
 of electricity. The constituent parts are, 
 according to Vauquelin, 
 
 Silica 
 
 Alumina gg 
 
 Loss T 
 
 100 
 
 It is found in veins that traverse primi- 
 tive rocks, accompanied by fluor-spar, tin 
 ore, and arsenical pyrites. It is found in 
 Brazil ; in Siberia, among the Uralian moun- 
 
TOP 
 
 tains. The topaz of the ancients is sup- 
 posed to be our chrysalite. The Saxon 
 topaz is most valued by jewellers, thbugh 
 even this is in no very high estimation. 
 
 TOPIC, in rhetoric, denotes a probable 
 argument, drawn from the several circum- 
 stances of a fact, &c. Hence the art of 
 finding and managing such arguments is 
 called by the ancients topica. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHY. This term is applied 
 to all those writings which have for their 
 subject the description of tracts of country, 
 and the buildings on their surfaces. We 
 often meet with passages in the works of 
 ancient authors which are topographical, or 
 in otlier words, descriptive of particular 
 places; hut rarely or never with volumes 
 dedicated wholly to this purpose. The 
 scriptures haye many of the former, parti- 
 cularly the account of Solomon’s temple ; 
 Homer abounds with such in his Iliad and 
 Odyssey, and Virgil in his jEneid ; to which 
 might be added subsequent writers, though 
 not of equal celebrity. The two Pliuy’s 
 have favoured us with sketches of this na- 
 ture, one of which, by the younger, we 
 shall introduce as a specimen. Speaking of 
 his Tuscan villa, he says, “ The face of the 
 country is extremely beautiful. Imagine 
 to yourself an amphitheatre of immense cir- 
 cumference, such as could be formed only 
 by the hand of nature : a wide-extended 
 plain is surrounded by mountains, whose 
 summits are covered with tall, ancient 
 woods, stocked with game for all kind of 
 hunting; the descent is planted with under- 
 woods, among which are frequently little 
 risings, of a rich and deep soil, where a 
 stone,- if sought for, is scarce to be found : 
 in fertility they yield not to the finest vales, 
 and produce as good crops of corn, altliough 
 not so early in the year. Below these, on 
 the side of the mountain, is a continued 
 range of vineyards, that extend themselves 
 I without interruption far and near, at the 
 foot of which is a sort, of border of shrubs. 
 From thence you have meadows and open 
 fields : the arable grounds require large 
 oxen and the strongest ploughs ; the earth 
 is so tough, and rises in such large clods 
 when it is first broken up, that it cannot 
 be reduced till it has been ploughed nine 
 times; the meadows glitter with flowers, 
 and produce the trefoil and other kinds of 
 grass, always soft and tender, and appear- 
 ing always new; for they are excellently 
 well watered with never-failing springs ; 
 yet where these springs are in greatest con- 
 fluence, they make no marshes, the decU- 
 
 TOP 
 
 vity of the land discharging into the Tiber 
 all the water that it does not drink in.” 
 
 Had it been the custom at those very 
 distant periods of time to write thus, fre- 
 quently, and had the art of printing been 
 then invented, how much valuable informa- 
 tion w’ould have reached us that is now 
 irretrievably lost ; and with what pleasure 
 should we have read descriptions of many 
 important places, the scites of which are 
 now only known by conjecture from some 
 casual circumstance ! Numbers of beautiful 
 cities, far surpassing any existing at pre- 
 sent in the magnificence of their public 
 structures, have been deserted, through dif- 
 ferent causes, by their inhabitants, and are 
 yet splendid in their ruins: those offered 
 every incitement for description, but have 
 perished without obtaining this act of jus- 
 tice. Egypt, in particular, furnished the 
 writer with the means of immortalizing his 
 name as a topographer ; and it is a subject 
 of severe regret, that we have not been 
 gratified by an account of that country, 
 when all the wonderful fragments scattered 
 over its surface were connected bjf the 
 chain of society, and perfect in themselves ; 
 then; we have every reason to suppose, rich 
 woods fringed the borders of their cities, 
 and extensive gardens afforded equal plea- 
 sure and advantage to the inhabitants : like 
 a sublime picture, we should have been en- 
 abled to contrast its ancient softest tints 
 with its present dreary wastes and gloomy 
 ruins. 
 
 The French have ever been an enter- 
 prizing people, and very early turned their 
 attention to travelling, and topographical 
 description ; an interesting account of which 
 may be found in Mr. Johnes’s rec ent trans- 
 lation of “ Bertrand de la Broquiere’s Tra- 
 vels in Palestine,” about the year 1432. 
 The English nation did not entirely neglect 
 this species of literature, in the earliest pe- 
 riods of their annals; as several monks 
 might be mentioned, who gave their bre- 
 thren, in different parts of the country, 
 manuscript accounts of the foundations of 
 their monasteries, and some slight descrip- 
 tion of them and their scites. We' shall in- 
 troduce the title of one of those, quoted by 
 Mr. Malcolm, in his “ History of St. Bar- 
 tholomew’s Priory, London,” in order to 
 convey to the reader an idea of their 
 abilities in our language, about the time 
 of Henry III. or perhaps rather earlier: \ 
 “ For as mooche that the meritory and no- 
 table operacyons of famose goode and de- 
 youte faders yn God sholde be remembred, 
 E e 2 
 
TOPOGRAPHY. 
 
 Jor instruction ot'afterciimers to theyr con- 
 solacion and encres of devotion ; tl»ys ab- 
 brevyat tietesse shal compendiously ex- 
 presse and declare the wondrefiil, and, of 
 celestial concel, gracious foundacion of our 
 hoely placeys, called the priory of Seynt 
 Bartholomew yn Smythfyld, and of the hos- 
 pital of olde tyme longyng to the same ; 
 with other notabilities expediently to be 
 knovvyn; and most specially the gloriouse 
 and excellent myiacles wroghte withyii 
 them by the intercessions, suffrages, and 
 nierytys of the forsayd benynge, feythful, 
 and blessid of God, apostyl Sanet Bartho- 
 lomy, ynto the laude of Almighty God, and 
 agiucion of his infinite power. Ffyrst shal 
 be shewyd who vvas ffiinder of owere hoely 
 places, and howgh, by grace, he was ffyrst 
 pryor of owr priory ; and by howgh longe 
 tyme that he contynued yn the same. Thys 
 churchc, yn the honoure of most blessed 
 Bartholomew apostle, ffunded Kayer, of 
 good remembrauucc. And theryn to serve 
 God (after the rewle of the most holy fader 
 Auslyn) aggregat togidir religiouse men. 
 And to them was prelate xxii yere ; usynge 
 the office and dignite of a priore.’’ This 
 ancient topographer mentions that Rahere, 
 the prior and founder of the priory, died in 
 the leign of king Stephen, and was suc- 
 ceeded by Thomas, in the. year 1144. The 
 following passage will prove that the manu- 
 script was written immediately after the 
 above period ; “ And yn what ordur be 
 sette the fundament of tliis temple yn fewe 
 wordes lette us shewe, as they testified to 
 us that sey him, herd him, and were pre- 
 sente yn his workys and dedis ; of thcwhiche 
 sumc have take ther slepe yn Cryiste, and 
 sume of them be zitte alyve, and wytnesseth 
 of that that we shall after say.” 
 
 It may be perceived from this specimen 
 of early topography, that we had by no 
 means arrived to the degree of excellence 
 which Pliny and his contemporaries at- 
 tained in similar productions ; neither did 
 we accomplish this very desirable point till 
 within the last century. Those who have 
 perused our best works, historical and de- 
 scriptive, before the reign of George II. 
 will find great accuracy and deep research ; 
 but unfortunately we leain nothing of the 
 nature and beauties of the smface of the 
 earth, or of the proportions and sculptures 
 of our buildings, from the valuable works 
 of Lcland, Stowe, Speed, Camden, Dug- 
 dale, &c. ; indeed, had not Hollar been em- 
 ployed by the latter, his splendid accounts 
 of monasteries, and St. Paul’s, would have 
 
 given us no idea whatever of the richness 
 of their forms and decorations. 
 
 It is, however, to the authors, whose 
 names we have recapitulated, that we are 
 indebted for admirable models in topo- 
 graphy ; and it would be injustice to the 
 moderns to deny them the merit of having 
 greatly improved upon them, by their de- 
 scending to the minutiae which seems to 
 have escaped the attention of their great 
 predecessors. The public has for a very 
 considerable length of time been extremely 
 partial to topographical works, which is 
 evinced by the shoals of publications issued 
 from the London and proviucial presses on 
 this subject. The metropolis has had every 
 thing said of it which the art of man could 
 rake together ; almost every county has its 
 historian, and some have had several ; the 
 cities have each been described, and every 
 town, worth or not worth a description, 
 has its guide ; and, exclusive of those, num- 
 bers of tours are continually making their 
 appearance. It appears almost invidious 
 to mention any particular exertions, with- 
 out enumerating every well-founded pre- 
 tension to public approbation ; and yet we 
 cannot conclude this article accurately 
 without observing, that Gtmgh’s edition of 
 Camden’s Britannia,” and his “ Sepul- 
 chral Monuments” of this kingdom, are wor- 
 thy of ranking with the works of our best 
 ancient topographers ; and that amongst the 
 many excellent county histories we possess, 
 none has a greater claim for extent and ac- 
 curacy than the “ History of Leicestershire,” 
 by Mr. John Nichols. ’I'he environs of 
 London liave received every possible atten- 
 tion from the indefatigable brotliers, Daniel 
 and Samuel Lysons, who are now pursuing 
 a most laborious undertaking on nearly the 
 same plan, to be extended to all England ; 
 and of London, the great centre, every 
 thing has been said by Stowe, SUype, and 
 Malcolm ; besides the slighter performance 
 of Pennant, to whom we are more indebted 
 for his other topographical works; and, to 
 conclude, we now possess a Topographical 
 Dictionary, the patient and useful produc- 
 tion of Mr. Carlisle. 
 
 The encouragement all these and similar 
 publications have hitherto uniformly met 
 with, has been eminently advantageous 
 to draftsmen and engravers, whose works, 
 for the embellishment of topographical writ- 
 ings, are no. surpassed by any which have 
 made their appearance on the Continent; 
 an assertion that may be proved decidedly 
 by referring to the recent publications— 
 
TOR 
 
 “ The Beauties of England and Wales,” and 
 “ The Architectural Antiquities of Great 
 Britain two of the best, without exception, 
 that have ever issued from the British press ; 
 the joint performance, in the first instance, 
 of Messrs. Britton and Brayley, and in the 
 second, of the former only. 
 
 TORDYLIUM, in botany, heart-wort, 
 a genus of the Pentandria Digynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Umbellatae, 
 or Umbelliferae. Essential character : co- 
 rolla radiate ; all hermaphrodite; fruit sub- 
 orbicular, notchejl at the edge ; involucres 
 long, undivided. There are seven species. 
 
 TOKEN lA, in botany, so named from 
 Olof Toreen, a Swedish clergyman, a genus 
 of the Didynamia Angiospermia class and 
 order. Natural order of Personatae. Scro- 
 pliulariap, Jussieu. Essential character . ca- 
 lyx two-lipped, upper lip three cusped ; 
 filaments, the lower with a sterile branch- 
 let ; capsule two-celled. There are three 
 species. 
 
 TOKMENTILLA, in botany, a genus 
 of the Icosandria Polygynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Senticosae. Kosacese, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: calyx eight cleft, 
 inferior; petals four; seeds roundish, naked, 
 wrinkled, fastened to a small, juiceless re- 
 ceptacle. There are two species; viz. T. 
 erecta, common tormentil ; and T. reptans, 
 trailing tormentil. Natives ot Europe. 
 
 TORNADO, a sudden and vehement 
 gust of wind from all points of the compass, 
 frequent on the coast of Guinea. 
 
 A tornado seems to partake much of the 
 nature of a whirlwind, or perhaps of a 
 water-spout, but is more violent in its 
 effects. It commences very suddenly, seve- 
 ral clouds being previously drawn together, 
 when a spout of wind, proceeding from 
 them, strikes the ground, in a round spot 
 of a few rods or perches diameter, and pro- 
 ceeds thus half a mile or a mile. The prone- 
 ness of its descent makes it rebound from 
 the earth, throwing such things as are move- 
 able before it, but some sideways or in a 
 lateral direction from it. A vapour, mist, 
 or rain, descends with it, by which the 
 path of it is marked with wet. The follow- 
 ing is a description of one which happened 
 a few years since at Leicester, about fifty 
 miles from Boston, in New England : it 
 happened in July, on a hot day, about four 
 o’clock in the afternoon. A few clouds 
 having gathered westward, and coming 
 overhead, a sudden motion of their running 
 together in a point being observed, imme- 
 diately a spout of wind struck the ground 
 
 TOR 
 
 at the west end of a house, and instantly 
 carried it away, with a negro man in it, 
 who was afterwards found dead in the path 
 of it. Two men and a woman, by the breach 
 of the floor, fell into the cellar ; and one 
 man was driven forcibly up into the chim- 
 ney-corner. These were preserved, though 
 much bruised ; they were wet with a va- 
 pour or mist, as were the remains of the 
 floor, and the whole path of the spout. This 
 wind raised boards, timbers, &c. A joist 
 was found on one end, driven nearly three 
 feet into the ground. The spout probably 
 took it in its elevated state, and drove it 
 forcibly down. The tornado mqved with 
 the celerity of a middling wind, and con- 
 stantly declined in strength till it entirely 
 
 TORPEDO. See Raia. 
 
 TORRENT, in geography, denotes a 
 temporary stream of water, falling suddenly 
 from mountains, whereon there have been 
 great rains, or an extraordinary thaw of 
 snow. 
 
 TORRICELLI (Evangei.iste), in bio- 
 graphy, an illustrious mathematician and 
 philosopher of Italy, was born in 1 608, and 
 trained up in the knowledge of classical 
 literature. The bent of his mind, however, 
 led him to the pursuits of natural philoso- 
 phy, which he studied under-father Bene- 
 dict Castelli, who had been the scholar of 
 the great Galileo, and was professor of ma- 
 thematics at Rome. Torricelli iiiade such 
 progress under this master, that having 
 read Galileo’s “ Dialogues,” he composed a 
 “ Treatise concerning Motion” upon his 
 principles. Castelli, surprised at the per- 
 formance, carried it and read it to Galileo, 
 who heard it with great pleasure, and con- 
 ceived a high esteem and friendsiiip for the 
 author. Upon this, Castelli proposed to 
 Galileo, that Torricelli should come, and 
 live with him; recommending him as the 
 most proper person he could have, since he 
 was the most capable of comprehending 
 tliose sublime speculations, which his own 
 great age, infirmities, and want of sight, 
 prevented him from giving to the world. 
 Galileo accepted the proposal, and Torri- 
 celli the employment, as things of all others 
 the most advantageous to both. Galileo 
 was at Florence, at which place Torricelli 
 arrived in 1641, and began to take down 
 what Galileo dictated, to regulate his pa- 
 pers, and to act in every respect according 
 to his directions, But he did not long en- 
 joy the advantages of this situation, as Ga- 
 lileo died at the end of only tluee months. 
 
TOU 
 
 Torricelli was then about returning to 
 Rome; but the Grand Duke engaged him 
 to continue at Florence, making him his 
 own mathematician for the present, and 
 promising him the professor's chair as soon 
 as it should be vacant. Here he applied 
 himself intensely to the study of mathema- 
 tics, physics, and astronomy, making many 
 improvements, and some discoveries. 
 Among others, he greatly improved the art 
 of making microscopes and telescopes ; and 
 it is generally acknowledged that he first 
 found out the method of ascertaining the 
 "'eight of the atmosphere by a proportionate 
 column of quicksilver, the barometer being 
 called from him the Torricellian tube, and 
 Torricellian experiment. Great things were 
 now expected from liim, and great things 
 would probably have been further per- 
 formed by him, if he had lived; but he 
 died, after a few days illness, in 11647, when 
 he was but just entered the 40th year of 
 his age. His principal work was entitled, 
 “ Opera Geometrica,” in 4to. 
 
 1 0RRICELLIAN experiment, a famous 
 experiment made by Torricelli, a disciple 
 of the great Galileo, which has been alrea- 
 dy explained under the article Barome- 
 ter. See also Pkeumatics. 
 
 TORRID zone, among geographers, de- 
 notes that tract of the earth lying upon the 
 equator, and on each side as far as the two 
 tropics, or rS° SO’ of north and south lati- 
 tude. The torrid zone was believed by the 
 ancients to be uninhabitable ; but is now 
 well knovyn to be not only inhabited by the 
 natives of those hot climates, but even to- 
 lerable to the people of the colder climates, 
 towards the north and south ; the excessive 
 heat of the day being there tempered by 
 the coldness of the night. See the article 
 Heat. 
 
 TOUCH, or Feeling, sense of. When 
 the mind has connected the complex ideas 
 derived from the touch with the visible ap- 
 pearance of olyects, then the sight is inde- 
 finitely the most useful medium of know- 
 ledge ; but in the earliest stages of the intel- 
 lectual progress, the touch is the most useful ; 
 in fact, as man is formed, it then is abso- 
 lutely necessary to render the sight pro- 
 ductive of most of its present utility. The 
 sense of feeling differs from the other senses 
 ill belonging to every part of the body, ex- 
 ternal or internal, to which nerves are dis- 
 tributed. The term touch is most correctly 
 applied to the sensibility which is diffused 
 over the surface of the body. Touch ex- 
 ists with tlie most exquisite degree of sensi- 
 
 T O U 
 
 bility at the extremities of the fingers and 
 thumbs, and in the lips. The sense of touch 
 is thus very commodiously disposed for the 
 purpose of eiicorapassihg smaller bodies, 
 and for adapting itself to the inequalities of 
 larger ones. 
 
 The sensations acquired by the sense of 
 feeling are those of heat, hardness, solidi- 
 ty, roughness, dryness, motion, distance, 
 figures, &c. and all those corporeal feelings 
 which arise from a healthy or diseased state 
 of the nerves, and the part of the body to 
 which they belong. 
 
 The pains of this sense are more nume- 
 rous and vivid than those derived from any 
 other sense; and therefore the relicts of 
 them coalescing with one another, constitute 
 the greatest share of our mental pains, that . 
 is, pains not immediately derived from sen- 
 sation. On the other hand, its pleasures 
 being faint and rare, in comparison with 
 others, and particularly those of the taste, 
 have but a small share in the formation of 
 the mental pleasures. 
 
 The touch is tlie original medium of our 
 knowledge respecting the real qualities of . 
 substances, and is indeed the sole medium 
 by which we gain a knowledge of external 
 objects. It is by the touch, and by the touch 
 alone, originally, that we distinguish our 
 own bodies from other objects that surround 
 us, and form the impression which every 
 one has, that the objects which affect the 
 sight, the hearing, &c. are external. When 
 we touch a sensible part of our bodies, 
 we have sensations conveyed to the mind 
 through two different nervous branches; 
 when we touch any other body, we have 
 only one sensationj 
 
 The impression that they are external ob- 
 jects, that is, objects out of ourselves, which 
 give -us the sensations of sound, taste, 
 sight, and smell, is so continually forced upon 
 us by the sensations of touch, that there pro- 
 bably never was found a person who doubt- 
 ed the existence of the external world as 
 the cause of his sensations, except those 
 who have been led to it by reasoning on 
 false principles. Some very acute specu- 
 lators have indeed given up the belief in 
 an external world as the cause of their sen- 
 sations; but their opinion never did, nor 
 never can, gain much ground ; for it is in- 
 consistent with the perceptions, which, by 
 the constitution of our frame, are necessa- 
 rily formed from continually recurring sen- 
 sations. The philosophic Berkeley, and a 
 late writer, Drummond, are the principal 
 supporters of this curious system. But if 
 
TOU 
 
 we had not the sense of touch, the other 
 senses would have produced no such im- 
 pression; sensations wonld have appeared 
 to arise in the mind without any connection 
 with external causes ot them. 
 
 Some philosophers have supposed, that it 
 is the exquisite delicacy of feeling which 
 exists in the hand : and the admirable me- 
 chanism by which it is applied, which is the 
 cause of the superiority of knowledge which 
 man possesses over the lower classes of ani- 
 mals. It cannot be just to attribute to this 
 cause alone this superiority, but indisputa- 
 bly, as man is constituted, it is essential to 
 the degree of superiority now possessed ; 
 and we observe, tliat that tribe of animals 
 possesses the greatest degree of what may 
 be called human wisdom, which has this 
 sense most perfect ; the beaded muscle at 
 the end of the elephant’s trunk answer- 
 ing some of the purposes of the human 
 fingers. 
 
 Touch needle, among assayers, refiners, 
 &c. little bars of gold, silver, and copper, 
 combined together in ail the diiferent pro- 
 portions and degrees of mixture ; the use of 
 which is to discover the degree of purity of 
 any piece of gold or silver, by comparing 
 the mark it leaves on the touch-stone with 
 those of the bars. 
 
 The metals usually tried by the touch- 
 stone are gold, silver, and copper, either 
 pure, or mixed with one another in different 
 degrees and proportions, by fusion. In or- 
 der to find out the purity or quantity of 
 baser metal in these various admixtures, 
 when they are to be examined, they are 
 compared with these needles, which are 
 mixed in a known proportion, and prepared 
 for this use. The metals of these needles, 
 both pure and mixed, are all made into 
 • laminae or plates, one twelfth of an inch 
 broad, and of a fourth part of their breadth 
 in thickness, and an inch and a half long ; 
 these being thus prepared, you are to en- 
 - grave on each a mark indicating its purity, 
 or tlie nature and quantity of the admix- 
 ture in it. 
 
 TOURMALINE. See Schorl. 
 
 TOURN, the sheriff’s tourn, is the king’s 
 court of record, holden before the sheriff, 
 for redressing of common grievances within 
 the county. This is not now held. 
 
 TOURNEFORTIA, in botany, so named 
 in memory of Joseph Pitton Tournefort, a 
 genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Asperifoli®. 
 Borragine®, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 beriT two-celled, tw’O-seeded, superior, 
 
 TRA 
 
 perforated at top by tyvo pores. There 
 are eleven species ; these shrubs are mostly 
 natives of South America ; several of them 
 were first discovered by Father Plumier, 
 who gave them the name of Pittonia, which 
 Linnmus changed to Tourpefortia. 
 
 TOURNEQUET, in surgery, an instru- 
 ment made of rollers, compresses, screws, 
 &c. for compressing any wounded part, so 
 as to stop h®morrhages. 
 
 TOURRE'fTIA, an botany, so named 
 from Mons. de la Tourrette, a genus of the 
 Didynamia Angiospermia class and order. 
 Natural order of Personat®. Bignoni®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: calyx two-lip- 
 ped ; corolla, "lower lip none, hut two 
 toothlets instead of it ; capsule echinate, 
 four-celled, two-valved. There is only one 
 species, viz. T. lappacea, a native of Peru. 
 
 TOW to, in naval affairs, is to draw a 
 ship, or boat, forward in the water, by 
 means of a rope attached to another ves- 
 sel or boat, which advances by the effort 
 of rowing or sailing. Towing is either prac- 
 tised when a ship is disabled, aiid rendered 
 incapable of carrying sail at sea; or when 
 her sails are not fixed upon the masts, as in 
 a harbour, or when they are deprived of 
 their force of action by a cessation of the 
 wind. 
 
 TOWER, a tall building, consisting of 
 several stories, usually of a round form, 
 though sometimes square or polygonal. 
 Towers are built for fortresses, prisons, 8fC. 
 as the Tower of London, the Tower of the 
 Bastile, &c. The Tower of London is not 
 only a citadel to defend and command the 
 city, river, &c. but also a royal palace, 
 where our kings, with their courts, have 
 sometimes lodged ; a royal arsenal, wherein 
 are arms and ammunition for sixty thousand 
 soldiers ; a treasury for the jewels and or- 
 naments of the crown ; a mint for coining 
 of money ; the great archive, wherein are 
 preserved all the ancient records of the 
 courts of Westminster, &c. and the chief 
 prison for state criminals. 
 
 TOZZIA, in botany, so named in honour 
 of Bruno Tozzia, abbot of Vallumfrosa, 
 F. R. S. a genus of the Didynamia Angios- 
 permia class and order. Natural order of 
 Personal®. Lysimachi®, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : calyx five- toothed ; capsule 
 one-celled, globular, one-seeded. There is 
 only one species, viz. T. alpina, a native of 
 the mountains of Switzerland, Austria, South 
 of France, Italy, and the Pyrenees. 
 
 TRACHELIUM, in botany, throat-wort, 
 a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
 
tra 
 
 and order. Natural order of Campanaceae. 
 Campauulaceae, Jussieu, Essential cliarac- 
 ter : corolla funnel-forra ; stigma gtobular ; 
 capsule three-celled, inferior. There are 
 three species, all found at the Cape of 
 Good Hope. 
 
 TRACHICHTHYS, in natural history, a 
 genus of fishes of the order Thoracici. Gene- 
 ric character : head rounded in front, eye 
 large, inoiitli wide, toothless, descending ; 
 gill-membrane eight-raj’ed ; the four lowest 
 rays rough on the edges ; scales rough ; ab- 
 domen mailed with large carinated scales. 
 The only species under tliis genus is T. 
 australis, or the southern trachichthys, about 
 five inches long, and two deep, and a na- 
 tive of New Holland. Its body is so strong- 
 ly coated with scale?, that they cannot be 
 detached without part of the skin. Its eyes 
 are extremely large, its tail is strongly fork- 
 ed, and its abdomen is carinated, and cata- 
 phracted, by a row of eight strong scales, 
 each of which projects into a short spine 
 pointing backward, and forming a s)iarp 
 keel beneath. See Plate VI. Pisces, 
 fig- 7 . 
 
 TRACHINUS, in natural history, a ge- 
 nus of fishes ot the order Jiigulares. Ge- 
 neric character ; head compressed, spinous 
 at the top ; gill-membrane six-rayed, the 
 covers aculeated; lower lamina serrated. 
 There are two species. T, draco, or the 
 dragon-weaver, is usually about eleven 
 inches long, and inhabits the North Seas 
 and the Mediterranean, often imbedding 
 itself in the sand on the coasts. It feeds 
 on worms, insects, and small fishes, and 
 is in great estimation in various coun- 
 tries of Europe for the table. It is remark- 
 able principally for inflicting very painful 
 wounds with its first dorsal fin, which is 
 armed with five strong and sharp spines. 
 The wounds thus given are attended with 
 great heat and violent redness, and are not 
 a little dreaded by the fishermen of France 
 and Holland. 
 
 TRADE, the practice of exchanging 
 goods, wires, money, bills, and other ar- 
 tides of value, with the view of advantage 
 or profit. It is generally distinguished into 
 foreign trade, or the export and import of 
 commodities to and fiom other countries 
 and the internal or home trade, or that 
 which is carried on within the country; 
 which two branches, however, are rather 
 distinct in appearance than reality; one 
 supports the other, and by their mutual 
 connection and dejiendenee the foreign and 
 the domestic trade of ^reat Britain have 
 
 TRA 
 
 risen together to their present unparalleled 
 height. See Commerce and Manufac- 
 tures. 
 
 By the law of England, trade is con- 
 sidered so much for the general bene- 
 fit, that, by several statutes, particularly 
 Mapa Charta, 9 Henry III. c. SO, and 
 SRichaid II. c. 1 , even all merchants, aliens, 
 aud not enemies, may safely come and go, 
 and abide here, and deal, in gross or by re- 
 tail, in any commodities; but, by statute 
 16 Richard II. c. 1, tins was restrained, to 
 prevent merchants, aliens, from selling any 
 tiling by retail except victuals. And by 
 several statutes, remedies are given for 
 alien merchants against those by whom they 
 may be disturbed in their dealings. But 
 an alien cannot take a lease of a house, 
 though he is a merchant; but may be a 
 tenant at will. And no alien shall be a 
 merchant or factor, unless naturalized, or 
 made denizen, in the English plantations in 
 Asia, Africa, or America. Some restraints 
 are also put upon the importation of certain 
 articles by statute 11 Edward III. c. 3; 
 
 3 Edward IV. c. 4 ; 19 Henry VII. c. 21 ; 
 25 Henry VHI. c. 9 ; and 6 Elizabeth c. 7. 
 
 Tile seas shall be open to all merchants ; 
 and all subjects may trade to Spain, France’ 
 and Portugal, paying the customs. In Eng- 
 land all persons are free to use any trade, 
 unless restrained by act of parliament, or 
 the bye-laws of some corporations, or by 
 the Ring’s cliarter ; for he may erect a cor- 
 poration for the management of certain 
 trades, and may even make a monopoly of 
 some things, such as the sole prin ting of books 
 of the common law, statute books, English 
 bibles, prayer books, civil law books, and 
 even school books, as it is said. But this 
 prerogative is somewhat odious, and has not 
 recently been enforced, excepting in re- 
 spect to bible?, the statutes, and prayer 
 books. 
 
 But the King cannot by his charter make 
 a total restraint of trade. Even with re- 
 spect to excluding the exercise of a trade 
 in a town, or city, without Iieing free of it 
 there is great doubt whether a charter with 
 such an exclusive privilege is valid, except 
 as to London, w-here the bye laws are con- 
 firmed by act of Parliament, although many 
 such privileges are assumed elsewhere, and 
 rest for their validity entirely upon ancient 
 cu.stom. The exclusive trade of the East 
 India company is founded upon a charter, 
 confirmed by act of parliament, 9 and 10 
 William III. c. 44, and subsequent statutes 
 by 37 George HI. c. 97, trade is allow- 
 
TRADE. 
 
 rd under the previous treaty with America 
 between that country and our settlements 
 in the East Indies, either direct or by way 
 of Europe. 
 
 If a man contract, oven for a good consi- 
 deration, not to exercise a certain trade 
 generally, such an agreement is void, as be- 
 ing ill restraint of trade ; but an agreement 
 not to exercise a certain trade within a cer- 
 tain town, to the prejudice of another, is 
 valid. 
 
 By the statute 5 Elizabetli, c. 4, none 
 shall use any manual occupation then used 
 in the realm, unless he has been brought up 
 in it as an apprentice for seven years, under 
 a penalty of 40s. per month. This statute 
 has by some been considered as impolitic, 
 and in general may be considered as a very 
 slight restraint upon one who is successful 
 in the trade. It has received a very liberal 
 construction, so that, if a man has worked 
 as a journeyman or master for seven years, 
 he is considered to have served as an ap- 
 prentice; and a person who is qualified, 
 and directs the business, may have another 
 in partnership who is not qualified. A trade 
 is not transmissible, so as to go to executors; 
 for if they carry it on, they must be per- 
 sonally liable. 
 
 The principal restraint upon trade which 
 now exists is by the statutes respecting lite- 
 raiy property(see that article), and the exclu- 
 sive rights of inventors, under a patent for 
 a limited time. These letters patent must 
 be for the invention of new manufactures or 
 machines, and are to be granted only for 
 fourteen years from the date of the patent. 
 Statute 21 James I. c. 3. In order to 
 render such a patent valid, it must be under 
 the great seal, and must be inrolled, and a 
 specification of the particular process, or 
 invention, must he inrolled in Chancery 
 within six monflis. It is upon the novelty 
 of the manufacture, as it respects England, 
 and the fidelity of the specification, that the 
 validity of the patent depends ; for if a pro- 
 cess is not fully and fairly described, or is 
 described with any degree of b aud or con- 
 cealment, the patentee cannot enforce the 
 Irenefit of his invention, and the patent may 
 be repealed upon application to the Ciian- 
 cellor by scire facias. Although an inven- 
 tion is not new abroad, yet if it has not been 
 used here, a patent may be taken for it. 
 See Patent. 
 
 The aggregate gain which individuals 
 engaged in foreign trade derive from it, 
 can by no means be considered as shew- 
 ing the accession of wealth which the na» 
 
 tion receives from this source. Many cir- 
 cumstances may concur to diminish, or even 
 wholly to destroy, the profit of foreign trade 
 in this point of view, by which the gains of* 
 the merchant, and others, by whom it is 
 carried on, are not in the least affected; 
 thus, the payments made to other countries 
 for the dividends on the share foreigne,rs 
 hold of our public debts; remittances of 
 subsidies, or for the maintenance of troops ; 
 and the money spenf abroad by British sub- 
 jects occasionally resident there, all operate 
 to the reduction of the actual wealth which 
 this country would otherwise derive from 
 its intercourse with other nations, which may 
 therefore be very different from the general 
 profit derived from trade, as a sum equal to 
 the greater [lart, or even the whole, of the 
 commercial gain may . animally, or occa- 
 sionally, be sent out of the country in the 
 various ways just mentioned. 
 
 The balance of trade in favour of this 
 country has usually been estimated from the 
 excess of the exports beyond the imports, 
 and a comparatively small amount of the 
 latter has Iieen always considered highly 
 desirable. This is a concise mode of deter- 
 mining a very important point; but it is 
 certainly very erroneous ; for, in this vifew, 
 the wliole of the imports are considered as 
 if they were paid for ; whereas, in fact, a 
 very large part of the imports never require 
 to be paid for at all, and instead of tending 
 to draw money out of the country, ought to 
 be considered as an annual accession of 
 wealth. This particularly refers to the im- 
 ports from India, as far as they are pur- 
 chased by the territorial revenues of tliat 
 country, or by the private capitals of indivi- 
 duals acquired there ; to sucE proportion of 
 the imports from the West Indies as are re- 
 mittances from the income of individuals 
 residing here; and to the profits arising from 
 fisheries carried on in different parts of the 
 world by subjects of this country ordinarily 
 residing here. Besides the evident impos- 
 sibility of making this distinction in the 
 account of imports, the custom house state- 
 ments, both of the imporis and exports, are 
 totally inadequate to show even their com- 
 parative amounts, as almost every article 
 of merchandize is tliere rated at a value en- 
 tirely different from its present actual value ; 
 but even if these accounts of the exports 
 and imports were far better adapted to 
 •show on which side the balance really 
 lies than they are, it will be easily proved 
 that all the statements founded on tliem, in 
 which the annual gain of the country from 
 
TRA 
 
 trade is exhibi.ted by the excess of exporU, 
 must be inaccurate. Suppose the mer- 
 chants of this country to purchase, for ex- 
 portation, on their own account, Britisli 
 maiiutactures to the amount of 20,000, OOOi.j 
 the net proceeds tliereof in the countries to 
 which they are exported, after paying all 
 charges, cannot be considered as less than 
 22,000,0001. ; and this sum being invested 
 in foreign produce, and imported into this 
 Country, will amount, after repaying the 
 duties and all expences, to at least 
 24,200,0001. returning the merchants the 
 capital they had originally advanced, with a 
 profit of 21 per cent. Here is an evident 
 gain to the country of 4,200,0001., because 
 the goods brought into it, exceed in value 
 those which were sent out by this sum. Will 
 . those who discover the commercial profits 
 of the country in a small amount of im- 
 ports, pretend that the advantage of the 
 merchants, or of the state, would have been 
 greater, if the imports received in return 
 for the twenty millions sent out had been 
 only of sixteen millions value ? 
 
 If the merchandize imported in return 
 for any quantity exported is of greater 
 actual value in this country, that is, if it 
 yields a greater price after allowing for all 
 charges, and the interest of the capital em- 
 ployed, the surplus must be an addition to 
 the wealth of the nation; and if the whole 
 of our foreign trade was of this description, 
 the excess of the imports w'ouid show the 
 total profit, or the acquisition of wealth, by 
 the exchange of commodities with other 
 nations. It may, however, frequently hap- 
 pen, that a country carrying on a profitable 
 commerce may not have occasion for an 
 amount of equal or greater value than its 
 exports in the produce or manufactures of 
 other countries, in which case the imports 
 from other countries will diminish, and the 
 difference must be made up by coin or bul- 
 lion, which, in a commercial view, ought to 
 be considered nearly in the same light as 
 any other articles of merchandize. In con- 
 sequence of an act of Charles II. coin and 
 bullion are exempt from entry at the cus- 
 tom-house on importation into this king, 
 dom, therefore this article cannot appear 
 in the account of imports, though it is W'ell 
 known, that, besides the bullion used in 
 keeping up or increasing the coin, and in 
 importation and exportation as a merchan- 
 dize, great quantities are imported as a raw 
 material for the use of our manufactures. 
 The quantity sent out of the country legally 
 is known; the quantity imported must be 
 
 TRA 
 
 much greater ; but while no account of it is 
 taken the real amount of the imports must 
 be very incomplete, and consequently any 
 conclusions respecting the balance of trade, 
 drawn from such a defective account, may 
 be very erroneous. It cannot be denied, 
 that, if the country derive a profit from 
 its foreign trade, the value of the merchan- 
 dize and of the coin and bullion imported, 
 must together exceed that of its exports ; 
 particularly as it has been shown, that a 
 partot the former is to be considered rather 
 as a remittance of property from abroad to 
 its ow’ners in this country than as a return 
 for exports ; it might indeed be otherwise 
 for a short period, from qur merchants al- 
 lowing a longer, or larger, credit to their 
 foreign correspondents; but this would be 
 only a temporary suspension of the re- 
 turns. 
 
 Therefore, as it appears by the Custom- 
 house accounts, that the value of foreign 
 produce and manufactures imported is usu- 
 ally considerably less than that of the ex- 
 ports, it would follow, supposing these valua- 
 tions were correct, that the difference, 
 together with a sum equal to the whole 
 profits of foreign trade, is annually imported 
 in cash and bullion, which are not included 
 in those accounts. But if this were really 
 the case, our stock of the precious metals, 
 either in the form of bullion, specie, or 
 goods manufactured of gold and silver, must 
 have increased, not only to an amount 
 greater tlian there is any evidence to prove, 
 but far beyond all probability. In fact’ 
 this rapid flow of wealth into the country 
 from foreign trade, which, although certainly 
 giegt, is probably less than it would appear 
 in the usual way of estimating it, has been 
 almost constantly counteracted in various 
 degrees, by political engagements with 
 other countries, by losses at sea, and many 
 other circumstances, by which wealth is 
 carried out of the country without any ad- 
 vantageous return. 
 
 Tradb winds denote certain regular 
 winds at sea, blowing either constantly the 
 same way, or alternately this way and that ; 
 thus called from their use in navigation, and 
 the Indian commerce. 
 
 The trade-winds are of different kinds, 
 some blowing three or six months of the 
 year one way, and then the like space of 
 time the opposite way ; these are very com- 
 mon in the Indian seas, and are called mon- 
 soons. 
 
 Others blow constantly the same way ; 
 such is that general wind between the tro’ 
 
TRA 
 
 pics, wliicli, off at sea, is found to blow all 
 day long from east to west. 
 
 TRADESCANTIA, in botany, spider- 
 wort, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia 
 class and older. Natural order of Ensatas. 
 Juuci, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 three leaved ; petals three ; filaments equal 
 with jointed hairs ; capsule three-celled. 
 There are nineteen species. 
 
 TRAGACANTH. See Gum. 
 
 TRAGEDY, a drama which represents 
 some grand and serious action, and which 
 has frequently a fatal issue or end. Its ge- 
 nuine object is to purify and moderate the 
 passions, by exhibiting them in their excess, 
 and to hold forth such a picture of the 
 crimes and miseries of mankind as may 
 teach us, by fear, to be prudent, for our 
 own sake ; and, by compassion, to be cha- 
 ritable, for the sake of others. To pro- 
 duce this effect, three principles are essen- 
 tial to tragedy : first, it should represent 
 our fellow- creatures in peril and misfortune ; 
 secondly, the peril should inspire us with 
 alarm and dread, and the misfortune should 
 interest and affect us ; and, thirdly, the imi- 
 tation should be conformable to nature and 
 truth ; that, while it engages our attention, 
 it may render even the emotions of sorrow 
 pleasing to ns. On these principles are 
 founded all the rules which relate to the 
 choice of a subject, to the delineation of 
 characters, and to the composition of the 
 fable, dialogue, and action. 1 
 
 All events and circumstances which se- 
 riously influence mankind, and excite the 
 stronger passions, are fit subjects for tra- 
 gedy. Such, in tlie language of our great 
 poet, are ^ 
 
 “ The whips and scorns o’th’ time ; 
 
 Th’ oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s 
 contumely. 
 
 The pangs of despis’d love, the law’s de- 
 lay, 
 
 The insolence of office, and the spurns 
 
 That patientmerit of fh’ unworthy takes.” 
 
 To these ills men in all conditions are lia- 
 ble, but it is seldom that the poet confines 
 himself to a representation of them in com- 
 mon life, because the vieissitudes incident 
 to greatness afford him wider scope to dis- 
 play them. Hence tragedy, as was before 
 observed, is frequently the imitation of a 
 grand action, involving some important 
 state concern, the fall of a chief, or the ac- 
 quisition of a crown. Such events naturally 
 rouse the passions of ambition, love, hatred, 
 
 T R A 
 
 and revenge ; and are calculated more 
 deeply to affect the heart with sentiments 
 of terror and pity. Bnt whatever be the 
 subject, the actual representation of tragic 
 scenes ought never to be carried to excess. 
 Murder and suicide should be banished from 
 the stage, or admitted only in extreme 
 cases, because the terror and the pity which 
 such sights inspire are mingled with a feel- 
 ing of horror, at which human nature re- 
 volts. 
 
 Of the rules for the composition of tra- 
 gedy, the most important are those of the 
 unities. (See Drama.) By the unities of 
 time and place, it is meant, that the story 
 should comprehend no longer a period of 
 time than the representation, or, at most, 
 that it should not exceed four and twenty 
 hours ; and that the place of action should 
 never be supposed to change. These rules 
 are insisted on, as necessary to preserve the 
 illusion of the scene ; but in many cases 
 they must obviously tend to destroy it. In 
 order to contrive the incidents of a fable to 
 pass within the time prescribed, many im- 
 portant scenes must be related, instead of 
 being represented ; and to bring all the per- 
 sons concerned in the drama to one spot, 
 during that time, many violations of proba- 
 bility must be made. Hence it is, that the 
 regular tragedies of the French school are 
 so barren of incident, and so replete with 
 tedious declamation. The choice of a sub- 
 ject is there controlled by the laws of time 
 and place ; whereas the observance of those 
 laws should be regulated by the nature of 
 the subject. Perhaps there is not a more 
 genuine tragedy than Shakspeare’s “Lear;” 
 yet how vain would be the attempt to new- 
 model it by the rules, and render it equally 
 sublime and affecting. The powers of the 
 immortal author himself would be inade- 
 quate to such a task. 
 
 The unity of action alone is in all cases 
 indispensable. A tragedy is something more 
 than a history ; it is a tissue of events not 
 merely succeeding each other, but arising 
 out of each other. It is one whole and en- 
 tire action developed by a series of inci- 
 dents which sustain it to the end, and which 
 concur all to the same point. If an episode 
 or under plot is introduced, it must be 
 rendered auxiliary to the main story, so as 
 not to be suppressed witliout injury to it ; 
 otherwise it must necessarily constitute an 
 independent action of itself, and the unity 
 of the subject would be broken. 
 
 The exposition, or opening of the fable 
 
TR A 
 
 was assigned by the ancients to the pro. 
 logue ; with tlie moderns it is compreliended 
 in the first act. Tliis act should form the 
 basis of tlie rest, both with regard to the 
 main action, and to the episodes, so that no 
 actor sliould enter in the subsequent acts, 
 who has not been introduced or mentioned 
 in the first. 
 
 By the intrigue is meant that concatena- 
 tion of facts or incidents, whose perplexity 
 arrests for a time the progress of the action. 
 Thus, the difficulties attending a principal 
 personage in the tragedy, constitute what 
 is properly called the intrigue; and it is 
 this which keeps the spectator in suspense, 
 and gradually raises his curiosity to the 
 highest pitch by the variety of emotions, in- 
 terests, and passions which it involves. For 
 instance, in the tragedy of “ Othello,” the 
 circumstances attending the Moor's jealousy 
 strengthen his suspicions by degrees, and 
 render him “ perplexed in the extreme.’" 
 Here lies the intrigue of the piece. 
 
 The denouement is the unravelling of the 
 intrigue. It ought to arise naturally from 
 what precedes, and should be quite unfore- 
 seen, because all interest is sustained by the 
 uncertainty of the mind, between fear and 
 hope. There are instances, however, where 
 the denouementy although foreseen, is ne- 
 vertheless interesting. With regard to what 
 is called poetical justice, we may observe, 
 that although it may be most grateful to be- 
 hold virtue triumphant and vice disgraced, 
 yet the drama, to be a picture of human 
 life, must sometimes exhibit the reverse ; 
 in these cases it will not be without its use, 
 if it direct our view to “ souietbiug after 
 death.” 
 
 The division into acts is purely arbitrary, 
 and seems to have been unknown on the 
 Grecian stage. Aristotle makes no such 
 distinction; he speaks only of the duration 
 of the piece, which has naturally only three 
 parts, a beginning, a middle, and an end. 
 Horace insists, that there sliall be neither 
 more nor less than five acts ; and to this 
 rule most of the moderns have adhered. 
 
 Of the style best adapted to tragedy, it 
 were tiite to say, that it should be appro- 
 priate to the characters. It may be lofty, 
 it may be elegant, but it must always ap- 
 peal directly to the heart. The most pa- 
 thetic scenes of our tragic poets are written 
 in language very little elevated above the 
 dialogue of real life, and to this language 
 Shakspeare has, by a combination and a 
 phraseology peculiar to himself, imparted 
 
 TRA 
 
 I 
 
 new powers, for he has expressed in it some 
 of the sublimest conceptions of human ge. 
 nius. 
 
 TRAGIA, in botany, so named in me- 
 mory of Hieronymus Tragus, a genus of 
 tlie Monoecia Triandria class and ordej- 
 Natural order of Tricoccaj. F-upliorbise, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : male, calyx 
 three-parted ; corolla none ; female, calyx 
 five-parted ; corolla none ; style trifid ; cap- 
 sule tricoccous, three-celled ; seeds solitary. 
 There are eight species, natives of the East 
 and West Indies. 
 
 TRAGOPOGON, in botany, goafs-fteard, 
 a genus ot the Syngenesia Polygamia 
 AHqualis class and order. Natural order of 
 Composit'* Semiflosculosae. Ciclioraceae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx sim- 
 pie; down feathered; receptacle naked. 
 There are fourteen species. 
 
 TRAJECTORY of a comet, is its path or 
 orbit, or the line it describes in its motion. 
 This path is supposed, by Hevelius, to be 
 nearly a right line. Dr. Halley assumes it 
 to be a very eccentric ellipse ; but says, it 
 may often be computed on the suppositioit 
 of its being a parabola. Sir Isaac Newton 
 shows how to determine the trajecfoi'y of a 
 comet from three observations. See “ Prin- 
 cipia,” book 3, Prop. 41. 
 
 TRAIN, tiie attendance of a great per- 
 son, or the trail of a gown, or robe of state. 
 In falconry, it denotes the tail of a hawk. 
 
 Train is likewise used for the number 
 of beats which a watch makes in an hour, 
 or any other certain time. 
 
 Train is also used for a line of gunpow- 
 der, laid to give fire to a quantity thereof, 
 in order to do execution by blowing up 
 earth, works, buildings, &c. 
 
 Train, or Trails of artillery, includes 
 the great guns, and other pieces of ord- 
 nance, belonging to an army in the field. 
 See Cannon- 
 
 Train oil, the oil procured from the 
 blubber of a whale by boiling. See the ar- 
 tides Oil. 
 
 Train bands, or Trained bands, a name 
 given to the militia of England. 
 
 TRAINING, or Tracing, in mineralo- 
 gy, a term used by the miners, to express 
 the tracing up the mineral appearances on 
 the surface of the earth to their head, or 
 original place, and there finding a mine of 
 the metal they contain. 
 
 TRAMEL, an instrument, or device, 
 sometimes of leather, more usually of rope, 
 fitted to a horse’s legs, to regulate bis mo- 
 
TIIA 
 
 tions, and form him to an amble. Tt is a:so 
 taken in many places for an iron moveable 
 instrument in cliimnies, to hang pots ovet 
 the tire. ' 
 
 Tramei. net, is a long net wherewith to 
 take fowl by night, in champaign cmmtries, 
 much like the net used for the low bell, 
 both in shape, bigness, and mashes. To use 
 it, they spread it on the ground, so as the 
 nether, or further end, fitted with small 
 plummets, may lie loose thereon ; then the 
 other part, being borne up by men placed 
 at the fore ends, it is thus trailed along the 
 ground. At each side are carried great 
 blazing lights, iy which the birds are rais- 
 ed, and as they rise under the net they are 
 taken. 
 
 TRAMMELS, in mechanics, an instru- 
 ment used by artificers for drawing ovals 
 upon boards. It consists, on one pat t, of 
 a cross with two grooves at right angles ; 
 the other is a beam carrying two pins which 
 slide in those grooVes, and also the describ- 
 ing pencil. Engines in general, intended 
 for turning ovals, are constructed on the 
 same principles with trammels : the only 
 ditference is, that in the trammels the board 
 is at rest, and the pencil moves upon it : in 
 the turning engine, the tool which supplies 
 the place of the pencil is at rest, and the 
 board 'moves against it. See Lathe, and 
 Turning., 
 
 TRANSACTIONS, philosophical, a kind 
 of journal of the principal things that come 
 before the Royal Society of London. See 
 Society. It appears, that the printing of 
 these transactions was always, from time to 
 time, the single act of the respective secre- 
 taries of the Society, till the publication of 
 the 47th volume, in 1753, notwithstanding 
 it has been the common opinion, that they 
 were. published by the authority, and under 
 the direction, of the Society itself. The 
 truth is, that the Society, as a body, never 
 did interest themselves further in their pub- 
 lication, than by occasionally recommend- 
 ing the revival of them to some of their se- 
 cretaries, when, from the particular circum- 
 stances of their affairs, the transactions had 
 happened for any length of time to be in- 
 termitted, and this seems principally to 
 have been done with a view to satisfy the 
 public, that their usual meetings were then 
 continued for the improvement of know- 
 ledge, and benefit of mankind, the great 
 ' ends of their first institution ; but the So- 
 ciety being of late years greatly enlarged, 
 and their communications more numerous, 
 tliey thought it advisable, that a commit- 
 
 TRA 
 
 tee of their members should be appointed 
 to reconsider the papers read before them, 
 and select out of them such as they should 
 judge proper for publicalion in the future 
 transactions, which was accordingly done 
 upon the g6th of March, 1752. 
 
 The tiansactions are now usually publish- 
 ed in half volumes twice a year, and each 
 member is entitled to receive one copy gra- 
 tis, of every part published after his admis- 
 sion into the Society. The volumes have 
 lately been abridged by Ur. Hutton and 
 others. Those published before the year 
 1750, were abridged in eleven volumes, 
 quarto, by Mr. Jones, Mr. Eames, and 
 Mr. Martyn. 
 
 TRANSCENDENTAL, or Transcen- 
 DANT, something elevated or raised above 
 other things ; which passes and transcends 
 the nature of other inferior things. Trans- 
 cendental quantities, among geometricians, 
 are indeterminate ones, or such as cannot 
 be fixed or expressed by any constant equa- 
 tion : such are all transcendental curves, 
 which cannot be defined by any algebraic 
 equation ; or which, when expressed by an 
 equation, one of the terms thereof is a va- 
 riable quantity. Now whereas algebraists 
 use to assume some general letters or num- 
 bers, for the quantity sought in these trans- 
 cendental problems, Mr. Leibnitz assumes 
 general or indefinite equations for the lines 
 sought ; e. gr. putting x and y for the ab- 
 sciss and ordinate, the equation he uses for 
 a line sought, is a-j-6a!-j-c2/-|-exy-f- 
 fxx-\-gyy, &c. = 0 , by the help of which 
 indefinite equation, he seeks the tangent; 
 and by comparing the result with the given 
 property of tangents, he finds the value of 
 the assumed letters, a, h, c, d, he. and thus 
 defines the equation of the line sought. 
 
 If the comparison above-mentioned do 
 not proceed, he pronounces the line sought 
 not to be an algebraical, but a transcendeuc 
 tal one. This supposed, he goes on to find 
 the species of transcendency: for some 
 transcendentals depend on the general di- 
 vision or section of a ratio, or upon the lo- 
 garithms ; others, upon the arcs of a circle ; 
 and others, on more indefinite and com- 
 pound enquiries. He therefore, besides the 
 symbols, x and y, assumes a third, as v, 
 which denotes the transcendental quantity ; 
 and of these three, forms a general equation 
 for the line sought, from which he finds the 
 tangent, according to the differential me- 
 thod, which succeeds even in transcenden- 
 tal quantities. The result he compares with 
 the given properties of the tangent, and s» 
 
TRA 
 
 discovers, not only the values of a, b, c, d, 
 &c. but also the particular nature of the 
 transcendental quantity. And though it 
 may sometimes happen, that the several 
 transcendentals are so to be made use of, 
 and those of different natures too, one from 
 another ; also, though there be transcen- 
 dents of transcendentals, and a progression 
 of these in wfinitum ; yet vre may be satis- 
 fied with the most easy and useful one ; and 
 for tlie most part, may have recourse to 
 some peculiar artifices for shortening the 
 calculus, and reducing the problem to as 
 simple terms as may be. 
 
 This method being applied to the busi- 
 ness of quadratures, or to the invention of 
 quadratices, in which the property of the 
 tangent is always given, it is manifest, not 
 only how it may be discovered, whether 
 the indefinite quadrature may be algebrai- 
 cally impossible ; but also^ how, when tliis 
 impossibility is discovered, a transcenden- 
 tal quadralrix may be found, which is a thing 
 not before shown. So that it seems, that 
 geometry, by this method, is carried infi- 
 nitely beyond the bounds to which Vieta 
 and Des Cartes brought it ; since, by this 
 means, a certain and general analysis is es- 
 tablished, which extends to all problems of 
 no certain degree, and consequently not 
 comprehended within algebraical equa- 
 tions. 
 
 Again, in order to manage transcenden- 
 tal problems, wherever the business of tan- 
 gents or quadratures occurs, by a calculus, 
 there is hardly any that can be imagined 
 shorter, more advantageous, or more uni- 
 versal, than the differential calculus, or ana- 
 lysis' of indivisibles and infinites. By this 
 method we may explain the nature of trans- 
 cendental lines, by an equation ; e. gr. let a 
 be the arch of a circle, and x the versed 
 Sdx 
 
 sine; thenwdla=^|== ; and if 
 the ordinate of the cycloid be y, then will 
 y = ^ 2x - XX -f ; which 
 
 equation perfectly expresses the relation 
 between the ordinate, y, and the absciss, x, 
 and from it all the properties of the cycloid 
 may be demonstrated. 
 
 Thus is the analytical calculus extended 
 to those lines which have hitherto been ex- 
 cluded ; for no other reason, but that they 
 were thought incapable of it. 
 
 TRANSCRIPT, a copy of any original 
 writing, particularly that of an act or in- 
 strument, inserted in the body of another. 
 
 TRA 
 
 TRANSFER, in commerce, &c. an act 
 whereby a person surrenders his right, iii- 
 terest, or property, in any thing moveable 
 or immoveable, to another. The term, 
 transfer, is chiefly used for the assigning 
 and making over shares in the stocks, or 
 public funds, to such as purchase them of 
 the proprietors. 
 
 TRANSFORMATION, in general, de- 
 notes a change of form, or the assuming a 
 new form different from a former one. Tlie 
 chemists were a long time seeking the trans- 
 formation of metals ; that is, their transmu- 
 tation, or the manner of changing them into 
 gold. See Transmutation. 
 
 Transformation of equations. The 
 doctrine of the transformation of equations, 
 and of exterminating their intermediate 
 terms, is thus taught by Mr. Mac Laurin. 
 The aflirmative roots of an equation are 
 changed into negative roots of tlie same va- 
 lue, and the negative roots into affirmative, 
 by only changing the signs of the terms al- 
 ternately, beginning with the second. Thus, 
 tlie roots of the equation, x'' — x’ — 19 x^ 
 + 49x — 30=0, are-j-l,-j- 2 , ^ 
 
 whereas the roots of the same equation, 
 having only the signs of the second and 
 fourth terms changed, viz. x'' + X* — I9x^ 
 — 49 X — 30 = 0, are — 1, — 2, _ 3, _j_ 5 . 
 
 To understand the reason of this rule, let 
 us assume an equation, as x~a X x b 
 
 Xa: c X ^ d X oc — e, &c. = 0, whose 
 
 roots are + a, -f 6, + c, + d, -j- e, &c. ; 
 and another, having its roots of the same 
 value, but affected with contrary signs, as 
 X -I- a Xx + C X x-H-f X x-J-d X x^^ 
 &c. = 0. It is plain, that the terms taken 
 alternately, beginning from the fiist, are 
 the same in both equations, and have the 
 same sign, being products of an even num- 
 ber of the roots ; the product of any two 
 roots having the same sign as their product 
 when both their signs are changed ; as -4-a 
 X — bz=. — a x -1-6. 
 
 But the second terms, and all taken al- 
 ternately from them, because their coeffi- 
 cients involve always the products of an 
 odd number of the roots, will have contrary 
 signs in the two equations. For example : 
 the product of four, m. aft cd, having the 
 same sign in both, and one equation in the 
 fifth term having abedx+e, and the 
 other abedx — c, it follows, that their 
 product, aft ede, must have contrary signs 
 in tlie two equations ; these two equations, 
 therefore, that have , the same roots, but 
 with contrary signs, have nothing different 
 
TRA 
 
 TRA 
 
 but the signs of the alternate terms, begin- 
 ning with the second. From which it fol- 
 lows, that if any equation is given, and you 
 change the signs of the alternate terms, be- 
 ginning with the second, the new equation 
 will have roots of the same value, but with 
 contrary signs. 
 
 TRANSIT, in astronomy, signifies the 
 passage of any planet, just by, or over a 
 fixed star, or the sun, and of the moon in 
 particular, covering or moving over any 
 planet. See Venus. 
 
 TRANSITION, in rhetoric, is of two 
 sorts. The first is when a speech is intro- 
 duced abruptly without express notice 
 given of it; as when Milton gives an ac- 
 count of our first ancestors evening devo- 
 tions. 
 
 “ Both turn’d, and under open sky ador’d 
 
 The God that made both air, sky, earth 
 and heaven. — 
 
 Thou also mad’st the night. 
 
 Maker omnipotent, and thou the day !” 
 
 The second sort of transition is, when a 
 writer suddenly leaves the subject he is 
 upon, and passes unto another, from which 
 it seems ditferent at first view, but has a 
 relation and connection with it, and serves 
 to illustrate and enlarge it. 
 
 TRANSITIVE, in grammar, an epithet 
 applied to such verbs as signify an action 
 which passes from the subject that does it, 
 to or upon another subject which receives 
 it. Under the head of verbs transitive, 
 ome what we usually call verbs active and 
 assive; other verbs, whose action does 
 not pass out of themselves, are called neu- 
 ters, and by some grammarians, intransi- 
 tives. 
 
 TRANSMISSION, in optics, &c. the 
 act of a transparent body passing the rays 
 of light through its substance, or sutFering 
 them to pass ; in which sense the word 
 stands opposed to reflection. Transmission 
 is also frequently used in the same sense 
 with refraction, by which most bodies, in 
 transmitting the rays, do also refract them. 
 For the cause of transmission, or the reason 
 why some bodies transmit, and others re- 
 flect the rays. See Opacity. 
 
 TRANSMUTATION, the act of trans- 
 forming, or changing one nature into an- 
 other. Nature, Sir Isaac Newton ob- 
 serves, seems delighted with transmuta- 
 tions: he goes on to enumerate several 
 kinds of natural transmutations ; gross 
 bodies, and light, he suspects, may be mu- 
 
 tually transmuted into each others and 
 adds, that all bodies receive their active 
 force from the particles of light, which 
 enter their composition. For all fixed 
 bodies, when well heated, emit light as 
 long as they continue so; and again, light 
 intermingles itself, and inheres in bodies, as 
 often as its rays fall on the solid particles of 
 tbo.se bodies. Again, water, which is a 
 fluid, volatile, tasteless salt, is by heat trans- 
 muted into a vapour, which is a kind of air, 
 and by cold, into ice, which is a cold trans- 
 parent brittle stone, easily dissolvable, and 
 this stone is convertible again into water by 
 heat, as vapour is by cold. 
 
 Transmutation, in alchemy, denotes 
 the art of changing or exalting imperfect 
 metals into gold or silver. This is also call- 
 ed the grand operation, and, they say, is to 
 be effected with the philosopher’s stone. 
 See Alchemy. 
 
 Transmutation, in geometry, denotes 
 the reduction or change of one figure or 
 body into another of the same area or soli- 
 dity, but of a different form : as a triangle 
 into a square, a pyramid into a parallelepip- 
 ed, &c. In the higher geometry, transmu- 
 tation is used for the converting a figure 
 into another of the same kind and order, 
 whose respective parts rise to the same di- 
 mensions in an equation, admit of the same 
 tangents, &c. If a rectilinear figure be 
 transmitted into another, it is sufficient that 
 the intersections of the lines which compose 
 it be transferred, and the lines drawn 
 through the same in the new figure. If the 
 figure to be transmuted be curvilinear, the 
 points, tangents, and other right lines by 
 means whereof the curve line is to be de- 
 fined, must be transferred. 
 
 TRANSOM, among builders, denotes 
 the piece that is framed across a double 
 light window. 
 
 Transom; among mathematicians, signi- 
 fies the vane of a cross-staff, or a wooden 
 number fixed across, with a square whereon 
 it slides, &c. 
 
 Transom, in a ship, a piece of timber 
 which lies athwart the stern, between the 
 two fashion-pieces, directly under the gun- 
 room-port. 
 
 TRAN SPAREN C Y, in physics, a quality 
 in certain bodies whereby they give passage 
 to the rays of light, in contradistinction to 
 opacity, or that quality of bodies which 
 renders them iihpervious to the rays of 
 light. See Opacity. 
 
 TRANSPOSITION, in algebra, the 
 bringing any term of an equation over 
 
TxRA 
 
 to the other side. See Algebra and 
 Equation. 
 
 TRAPA, in botany, water caltrops, a 
 genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Hydrochari- 
 des, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 four-parted ; corolla four-petalled ; nut girt 
 with four opposite spines, which were the 
 leaves of the caly-x. There are two spe- 
 cies, viz, T. nataus, four-horned water cal- 
 trops; and T. biconis, two-horned Vvater 
 caltrops. 
 
 TRANSVERSE, something that goes 
 across another, from corner to corner : thus 
 bends and bars, in heraldry, are transverse 
 pieces or bearings : the diagonals of a pa- 
 rallelogram or a square, are transverse 
 lines : lines which make intersections with 
 perpendiculars, are also called oblique or 
 transverse lines. 
 
 TRAP, in mineralogy, is a Swedish term 
 signifying stair. It was first applied to de- 
 signate a certain class of mountains, com- 
 posed of nearly horizontal strata, with per- 
 pendicular breaks, which were supposed to 
 give a rude resemblance to a flight of stairs. 
 Hence many species of rock, differing very 
 much from each other, were called by the 
 same name, which caused much confusion. 
 According to Werner, there are three dis- 
 tinct classes or formations of rocks to which 
 the term trap may be applied : of these the 
 first class belongs to the primitive moun- 
 tains, the second to the transition moun- 
 tains, and the third to the secondary moun- 
 tains. Primitive traps are composed essen- 
 tially of hornblende, mingled with felspar, 
 and sometimes with pyrites and mica. Of 
 rocks belonging to this formation there are 
 four distinct species, viz. the common horn- 
 blende, the schistose hornblende, primitive 
 griiustein, and schistose griinstein. Tran- 
 sition traps are composed principally of 
 granular griinstein, but the mixture of the 
 ingredients is more intimate, the grain is 
 finer, and the mass appears more homoge- 
 neous. There are two principal varieties, 
 viz. 1. The amygdaloid, which is a rock of 
 schistose hornblende in a state of semi-de- 
 composition resembling fine ferruginous clay. 
 It contains a number of globular cavities, 
 from the size of a pea to that of a small ap- 
 ple : of these cavities some contain nothing 
 but air, and are coated on the inside with a 
 kind of varnish ; others contain balls of 
 calcareous spar, quartz, chalcedony, &c. 
 The toadstone of Derbyshire is considered 
 by Werner as belonging to this variety. 
 S. Globular trap, composed of schistose 
 
 TRA 
 
 griinstein, in a state of semi-decomposition, 
 arranged in spheroids of various magni- 
 tudes, and composed of thick concentric 
 lamellar distinct concretions. Secondary 
 or floetz traps are divided into those which 
 are peculiar and characteristic of it, and 
 those which are accidental. The former 
 are basalt, porphyry, &c. Among the lat- 
 ter may be classed rubble and sandstone, 
 clay, coal, and bituminous wood. The pro- 
 per base to the secondary trap formation, 
 or in other words the .substance, which ap- 
 pears to have immediately preceded it in 
 the order of formation, is secondary lime- 
 stone ; it is not, however, not unfrequently 
 found resting on sandstone, on argillite, on 
 gn' iss, and even on granite. The general 
 order in which the strata of this formation, 
 is the following, uiz. coarse sand, fine sapd, 
 sandy clay, unctuous clay, wakke, basalt, 
 amygdaloid, porphyry, and grunstein. It 
 hardly ever happens that all these strata 
 are met with in the same mass of mountain. 
 No metallic veins are found in this class 
 ot mountains, but the remains of vegetable 
 and marine organized bodies are of frequent 
 occurrence. See Rock. 
 
 TRAPEZIUM, in geometry, a plane 
 figure contained under four unequal right 
 lines. 1. Any three sides of a trapezium 
 taken together, are greater than the fourth. 
 
 2. The two diagonals of any trapezium, 
 divide it into four proportional triangles. 
 
 3. If two sides of a trapezium be parallel, 
 the rectangle under the aggregate of the 
 parallel sides and one half their distance is 
 equal to that trapezium. 4. If a parallelo- 
 gram circumscribes a trapezium, so that 
 one of the sides of the parellelogram be pa- 
 rallel to a diagonal of the trapezium, that 
 parallelogram will be the double of the tra- 
 pezium. 5. If any trapezium has two of 
 its opposite angles, each a right angle, 
 and a diagonal be drawn joining these an- 
 gles; and if from the other two angles be 
 drawn two perpendiculars to that diagonal, 
 the distances from the feet of these perpen- 
 diculars to those right angles, respectively 
 taken, will be equal. 6. If the sides of a 
 trapezium be each bisected, and the points 
 ot bisection be Joined by four right lines, 
 these lines will form a parallelogram, which 
 will be one half of the trapezium. 7. If 
 the diagonals of a trapezium be bisected, 
 and a right line joins these points, the aagre- 
 gate of the squares of the sides is equal to 
 the aggregate of the squaies of the diago- 
 nals, together with four times of the square 
 of the right line joining the point of bisec- 
 
TRA 
 
 tion. 8. In any trapezium, the aggregate 
 of the diagonals is less than the aggregate 
 of four right lines drawn from any point 
 (except the intersection of the diagonals) 
 within the figure. 
 
 TRAVELLER, in naval affairs, one or 
 more iron thimbles, with a rope spliced 
 round them, sometimes forming a kind of 
 tail, but more generally a species of grom- 
 met, and used on various occasions. 
 
 TRAVERSE, or Transverse, in gene- 
 ral, denotes something that goes athwart 
 another; that is, crosses and cuts it ob- 
 liquely. 
 
 Hence, to traverse a piece of ordnance, 
 among gunners, signifies to turn or point 
 it which way one pleases, upon the plat- 
 form. 
 
 In fortification, traverse denotes a trench 
 with a little parapet, or bank of earth, 
 thrown perpendicularly across the moat, or 
 other work, to prevent the enemy’s cannon 
 from raking it. These traverses may be 
 from twelve to eighteen feet, in order to be 
 cannon proof, and their height about six or 
 seven feet, or more, if the place be exposed 
 to any eminence. 
 
 Traverse, in navigation, is a compound 
 course, wherein several different successive 
 courses and distances are known. To work 
 a traverse, or to reduce a compound course 
 to a single one, 1. Make a table of six co- 
 lumns, marked, course ; distance; N.S.E.W. 
 beginning at the left hand, and write the 
 given courses and distances in their proper 
 columns. 2. Seek the given courses and 
 distances in tlie traverse table, and let the 
 corresponding differences of latitude and 
 departure be written in their proper columns 
 in the table made for the question. 3. Add 
 up the columns of northing, southing, east- 
 ing, and westing ; tlien the difference be- 
 tween the sums of northing and southing 
 gives the whole difference of latitude, which 
 is of the same name with the greater; and 
 the difference between the sums of easting 
 and westing will be the whole departure, 
 w'hich is likewise of the same name with the 
 greater. 4. The whole difference, latitude, 
 and departure to the compound course be- 
 ing found, the direct course and distance 
 will be found by Case IV. of plain-sailing. 
 See Navigation, &c. 
 
 Traverse, in law, signifies sometimes 
 to deny, sometimes to overthrow or undo a 
 thing, or to put one to prove some matter ; 
 much used in answers to bills in chancery ; 
 or it is 'that which the defendant pleads, or 
 VOL. VL 
 
 TRE 
 
 says, in bar, to avoid the plaintiff’s bill, 
 either by confessing and avoiding, or by de- 
 nying and traversing the material parts 
 thereof. Traverse is also to take issue upon 
 the chief matter, and to contradict or deny 
 some point of it. To traverse an office, is 
 to prove that an inquisition made of lands 
 or goods, by escheator, is defective and mi- 
 trnly made. 
 
 TREASON, in law, is divided into high 
 treason and petty treason. High treason is 
 defined to be an offence committed against 
 the security of the King or kingdom, whe- 
 ther it be by imagination, word, or deed ; 
 as to compass or imagine the death of the 
 King, Queen, or Prince, or to deflower 
 the King’s wife, or his eldest daughter un- 
 married ; or his eldest son’s wife ; or levy 
 war against the King in his realm, adhere 
 to his enemies, counterfeit his great seal, 
 privy seal, or money, or wittingly to bring 
 false money into this realm, counterfeited 
 like the money of England, and utter the 
 same ; to kill the King’s Chancellor, Trea- 
 surer, Justices of either bench. Justices in 
 Eyre, of Assize, or of Oyer and Terminer,. , 
 being in their place doing this office ; forging 
 the King’s sign mauuel or privy signet, privy 
 seal, or foreign coin current here, or dimi- 
 nishing or impairing current money. In 
 case of treason, a man shall be drawn, 
 hanged, and quartered, and forfeit his lands 
 and goods to the King. 25 Edward III. 
 
 Treason, petit. Whenever a wife mur- 
 ders her husband, a servant his master or 
 mistress, or an ecclesiastic a prelate, or 
 to whom he owes obedience, every one of 
 these offences is petit treason. 
 
 As every petit treason implies a murder, 
 it follows, that the mere killing of an hus- 
 band, master, or prelate, is not always pe- 
 tit treason ; for if there are not such cir- 
 cumstances in the case of killing one of 
 these persons, as would have made it mur- 
 der in the case of 'killing any other person, 
 it does not amount to this offence. 
 
 There can be no accessary in high trea- 
 son. And it seems to be always agreed, 
 that what would have made a man an ac- 
 cessary before the fact in any other felony, 
 makes him a principal in high treason. 
 
 As the person of his Majesty was ima- 
 gined in imminent danger, it was thougjit 
 necessary to enact two late statutes, i-i*. 
 36 George III. c. 7, and 36 George III. 
 c. 8 ; the former to enlarge the clauses in 
 the statute 25 Edward III. for the greater 
 safety of his Majesty’s person ; the latter 
 for the preventing seditious meetings. But 
 F f 
 
TRE 
 
 on account of the too great length of the 
 acts we are obliged to refer the reader to 
 them. There is nothing so dangerous, in a 
 constitutional point of view, as what are 
 called constructive treasons, by which per- 
 sons are held guilty of treason, upon some- 
 thing constructively deemed dangerous to 
 the safety of the King. 
 
 TREASURE trove, is where any money 
 or coin, gold, silver, plate. Or bullion, is 
 hidden in the earth, or other private place, 
 the owner thereof being unknovvn j in 
 which case, the treasure belongs to the 
 King, or some other who claims by the 
 King’s grant, or by prescription. But if he 
 that hid it be known, or afterwards found 
 out, the owner and not the King is entitled 
 to it. If it be found in the sea, or upon 
 the earth, it doth not belong to the King 
 but to the finder, if no owner appear. 
 
 TREASURER, an officer to whom the 
 treasure of a prince, or corporation, is 
 committed to be kept, and duly disposed 
 of. The Lord High Treasurer of Great 
 Britain or first Commissioner of the Trea- 
 sury, when in commission, has under his 
 charge and government all the King’s re- 
 venue, which is kept iii the Exchequer. 
 He holds his place during the King’s plea- 
 sure, being instituted by the delivery of a 
 white staff to him: he has the check of all 
 the officers employed in collecting the cus- 
 toms and other foyal revenues ; and in his 
 gift and disposition are all the offices of the 
 customs in the several ports of the king- 
 dom ; escheators in every county are nomi- 
 nated by him ; he also makes leases of the 
 lands belonging to the crown. There is, 
 besides the Lord Treasurer, a Treasurer of 
 the King’s Hbushold, who is of the Privy 
 Council, and, with the Comptroller and 
 Steward of the Marshalsea, has great power. 
 To these, may be added the Treasurer of 
 the navy j as also the Treasurer of the 
 King’s Chamber, and of the wardrobe ; and 
 most corporations throughout the kingdom 
 have treasurers, whose office is to receive 
 their rents, and disburse their common ex- 
 pences. The Treasurer of the County, is 
 an officer that keeps the county-stock, in 
 which office there are two in every county; 
 who are chosen by the major part of the 
 justices of the peace at Easter-sessions. 
 They ought to’ have certain estates in lands, 
 or to be worth 1 501. in personal estate, and 
 are to continue in their office only for a 
 year, at the end whereof, or within ten 
 days after the expiration of the year, they 
 must account to their successors, under 
 
 TRE 
 
 certain penalties. The county-stock which 
 this officer has the keeping of, is raised by 
 rating every parish annually ; and the same 
 is from time to time disposed of to charita- 
 ble uses, towards the relief of maimed sol- 
 diers and mariners, prisoners in the county 
 gaols, paying the salaries of governors of 
 houses of correction, and relieving poor 
 alms-houses, (See. 
 
 TREES. See Timber. 
 
 TREMOLITE, in mineralogy, is a spe- 
 cies of the Talc genus, of which there are 
 three sub-species, viz. the asbestos ; the 
 common, and the glassy ; the colours of the 
 last are yellowish, reddish, grey, and green; 
 it occurs massive and ciystallized ; it is ea- 
 sily frangible and not very heavy ; its con- 
 
 stituent parts are 
 
 Silica 65.00 
 
 Magnesia 10.33 
 
 Lime 18.00 
 
 Oxide of iron.. 0.16 
 
 Water and carbonic acid... 6.50 
 99.99 
 
 It is said to emit a phosphoric light when 
 rubbed in the dark. Before the blow-pipe 
 it melts without addition into a cellular 
 white coloured scoria. It is found princi- 
 pally in primitive mountains, and is there 
 usually imbedded in limestone ; it is found 
 in many parts of Germany, in the Shetland 
 islands, and in the basaltic rock on which 
 the castle of Edinburgh is built. 
 
 TRENCHES, in fortification, are ditches 
 cut by the besiegers, that they may ap- 
 proath more securely to the place attacked ; 
 vvhence they are also called lines of ap- 
 proach. The tail of the trench is the place 
 where it was begun, and its head is the 
 place where it ends. The trenches are 
 Usually opened, or begun, in the night- 
 time ; sometimes within musket shot, and 
 sometimes within half or whole cannon shot 
 of the place. They are carried on in 
 windinj'-lines, nearly parallel to the works 
 of the fortress, so as not to be in the view 
 of the enemy, nor exposed to the enemy’s 
 shot. The workmen exploy ed in the trenches 
 are always supported by a number of troops, 
 to defend them against the sallies of the be- 
 sieged; the pioneers sometimes work on 
 their knees, and are usually covered with 
 mantlets or faucissons; and the men who 
 support them lie flat on their faces, in order 
 to avoid the enemy’s shot. 
 
 TRESPASS, is any transgression of the 
 law, under treason, felony, or misprision of 
 
TRE 
 
 either. Trespass signifies going beyond 
 what is lawful ; hence it follows, that every 
 injurious act is, in the large sense of this 
 W'ord, a trespass. But as many injurious 
 acts are distinguished by particular names, 
 as treason, murder, rape, and other names, 
 the legal sense of the word trespass is con- 
 fined to such injurious acts as have not ac- 
 quired a particular name. Some trespasses 
 are not accompanied with any force ; a 
 trespass of this sort iS called a trespass upon 
 this case ; and the proper remedy for the 
 party injured, is by an action upnn the case. 
 Other trespasses aie accompanied with 
 force, either actual or implied. If a tres- 
 pass, which was accompanied with either 
 actual or implied force, have been injurious 
 to the public, the proper remedy in every 
 such case is by an indictment, or by infor- 
 mation. And if a trespass that was accom- 
 panied with an actual force, have been inju- 
 rious only to one or more private persons, 
 the offender is in every such case liable to 
 ail indictment, or to an information ; for al- 
 though the injury has in such case been 
 only done to one or more private persons, 
 as every trespass accompanied with actual 
 force is a breach of the peace, it is to be 
 considered and punished as an offence 
 against the public. 
 
 A man is answerable for not only his own 
 trespass, but that of his cattle also. And 
 the law gives the party injured a double re- 
 medy in this case, by permitting him to 
 distrain the cattle, thus doing damage, till 
 the owner shall make him satisfaction. And 
 in either of these cases of trespass com- 
 mitted on another’s land, either by a man 
 himself or his cattle, the action tliat lies is 
 the actioti of trespass, with force and arms ; 
 for the law always couples the idea of 
 force with that Of intrusion upon the pro- 
 perty of another. In some cases trespass 
 is justifiable; Or rather entry ou another’s 
 land or house shall not in these cases be ac- 
 counted trespass ; as if a man came there to 
 demand or pay money there payable, or to 
 execute in a legal manner the process of the 
 law. To prevent trifling and vexations 
 actions of trespass, it is enacted, by 43 Eliz; 
 c. 6, 22 and 23 C harles II. c. 9, and 8 and 
 9 William c. 2, that vfhere a jury who try 
 an action of trespass give less damages than 
 40s. the plaintiff shall be allowed no more 
 costs than damages, unless the judge shall 
 certify on the back of tlie record, that the 
 freehold or title of the land came chiefly in 
 question. But if it shall appear, that the 
 trespass was wilful and malicious, the pl^- 
 
 TRI 
 
 tiff shall have his full costs. And every 
 trespass is wilful, where the defendant has 
 been forewarned ; and malicious, wltere the 
 intent of the defendant appears to be to 
 harass, or injure the plaintiff. 
 
 TRET, in commerce, an allowance made 
 for the waste, or the dirt, that may be 
 mixed with any commodity, which is always 
 four pounds in every one hundred and four 
 pounds weight. See Tare. 
 
 TREWIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monoecia Polyandria class and order. Es- 
 sential character : calyx three-leaved; su- 
 perior ; corolla none ; capsule tricoccous. 
 There is only one species, viz. T. midiflora ; 
 this is a lofty tree, with a thick trunk, co- 
 vered with an ash-coloured bark ; leaves on 
 long round petioles, oblong, ovate, cordate, 
 attenuated at the point ; dusky green oa 
 tlie upper surface, but brighter on the 
 lower ; flowers on round pale green pedun; 
 cles, axillary, of an herbaceous colour, void 
 of scent. Native of the East Indies. 
 
 TRIAL, the proceeding of a court, of 
 law, when the parties are at issue, such as 
 the examination of witnesses, &c. to enable 
 the court, deliberately weighiiig the evi- 
 dence given on both sides, to draw a true 
 conclusion, and admmister justice acnord- 
 
 ihgly. 
 
 TRIANDRIA, in botany, the name of 
 'the third class in the Linnsean system, con- 
 sisting of plants with hermaphrodite flowers, 
 which have three stamina or male organs. 
 There are three orders in this class derived 
 from the number of styles. 
 
 TRIANGLE, in geometry j a figure of 
 three sides and three angles. Triangles are 
 eithef plane or spherical. A plane triangle 
 is contained under three right lineS ; and a 
 spherical one is a triangle contained under 
 three arches of great circles of the sphere. 
 Triangles are denominated, from their 
 angles, right, obtuse, and aente. A right- 
 angled triangle is that which lias one right 
 angle. An obtuse-angled-triangle is such as 
 has one obtuse angle. And an acute- 
 angled triangle is that Which has all its 
 angles acute. 
 
 In every triangle the sines of the sides are 
 proportional to the sines of the opposite 
 angles ; also the sine of all the three 
 angles is equal to two right ones ; and the 
 external angle, made by any side produced, 
 is equal to the .sura of the two internal and 
 opposite angles. Triangles on the same base; 
 and having the same heiglit or place, be- 
 tween the same parallels, are equal ; also 
 triangles on equal bases, and betvveeq the 
 Ff 2 
 
Till 
 
 same parallels, are equal. If a jtefpondi- 
 ciilar be let fall upon the base of an ob- 
 lique-angled triangle, the difference of the 
 squares of the sides is equal to the double- 
 rectangle under the base, and the distance 
 of the perpendicular froin the middle of 
 the base. The side of an equilateral tri- 
 angle, inscribed in a circle, is in power 
 triple of the radius. The sides of a tri- 
 angle are cut proportioiiably, by a line 
 ■drawn parallel to its base. A whole tri- 
 angle is to a triangle cut off by a right line 
 drawn parallel to the base, as the rectangle 
 tinder the cut sides is to the rectangle of the 
 two other sides. In a right angled triangle, 
 a line drawn from the right-angle at the 
 top, perpendicular to the hypothenuse, di- 
 vidfes the triangle into two other rigiit- 
 angled triangles, which are similar to the 
 first triangle, and to one another, In every 
 right-angled triangle, the square of the liy- 
 potheuuse is equal to the sum of tlie squares 
 of the other two sides ; and, in general, any 
 figure described on the liypothenuse, is 
 equal to tlie sum of two similar figures 
 described upon the two sides. In an isos- 
 celes triangle, that is a triangle having two 
 of its sides equal, if a line be drawn from 
 the vertex to any point in the base ; the 
 square of that line together with the rect- 
 angle of the segments of the base, is equal 
 to the square of the side. If one angle of a 
 triangle be equal to 120" ; the square of the 
 base will be equal to tiie squares of both 
 sides, together with the rectangle of those 
 sides ; and if those sides be equal to each 
 other, then the square of the base will be 
 equal to three times the square of one side, 
 e'r equal to twelve times the square of the 
 perpendicular from the angle upon the 
 base. 
 
 If any angle of a triangle be bisected, 
 the bisecting line will divide the opposite 
 side in the same proportion as the legs of 
 tlie angle are to one another. Eveiy tri- 
 angle is one half of a parallelogram of the 
 same base and height. The area of any tri- 
 angle may be had by adding all the three 
 sides together, and taking half the sum, 
 and from that half subtracting each side 
 severally, and multiplying tliat halt sura 
 and the remainder continually into one 
 another, and extracting the square root of 
 the product. See Trigonometiiy. 
 
 Triangle, in astijouomy, one of the 
 forty-eight ancient constellations, situated 
 in the northern hemisphere. There is also 
 a soutbern triangle, in the other hemis- 
 pherPi According to the British cfitalogue. 
 
 Till 
 
 there arc sixteen stars in the northern; and 
 in Sharp’s catalogue there are five in the 
 southern triangle. 
 
 TRIANGULAR compasses, are such as 
 have three legs, or feet, whereby to take off 
 any triangle at once ; much used in the 
 construction of maps, globes, &c. 
 
 Triangular numbers, are a kind of po- 
 lygonal numbers, being the sums of aiitli- 
 metical progressions, the difference of whose 
 terms is 1. 
 
 Thus from the arithmetical numbers 1, 2, 
 3, 4, 5, 6, are formed the triangular num- 
 bers 1, 3, 6, 10, 15, 21. The sum of any 
 number n of the terms of the said triangular 
 
 , . n n-Ll n -4- 2 . „ . 
 
 numbers is = - x — I — X — s — ; it » be 
 
 12 o 
 
 5, the sum will be 35, which is also equal to 
 the sum of the number of shot in a triangu- 
 lar pile of balls, the number of row's, or the 
 number in each side of the base being n. 
 The sum of the reciprocals of tlie tdaii- 
 gular series infinitely continued is equal to 
 2 = 1+3-1-H-il. &c. 
 
 TrianguliVH canon, the tables of artifi- 
 cial sines, tangents, secants, &c. 
 
 Triangular quadrant, is a sector fur- 
 nished with a loose piece, whereby to make 
 it an equilateral triangle. 
 
 The calendar is graduated thereon, with 
 the sun’s place, declination, and other use- 
 ful lines ; and' by the help of a string and a 
 plummet, and the divisions graduated on 
 the loose piece, it may be made to serve 
 for a quadrant. 
 
 TRIANTHEMA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Decandria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Succuleutae. Portiilace®, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx mu- 
 donate below the tip ; corolla none ; sta- 
 mina five or ten ; germ retuse ; capsule 
 cut round. Tliere are seven species. 
 
 TRIBOME'rER,a terra applied by Mns- 
 chenbroek and others to an instrument in- 
 vented for measuring the friction of me- 
 tals. It con.sists of an axis formed of 
 hard steel, passing through a cylindrical 
 piece of w'ood ; the ends of the axis, which 
 aie highly polished, are made to rest on the 
 polished semicircular cheeks of various me- 
 tals, and the degree of friction is estimated 
 by means of a weight suspended by a fine 
 silken string or ribband over the wooden cy- 
 linder. 
 
 TRlBUr.US, in botany, caltrops, a genus 
 of tlie Decandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Gruinales. Rutaceie, 
 JiLssieu. Essential character; calyx five- 
 parted ; petals five, spreading ; style none , 
 
Till 
 
 capsule five, gibbous, spiny, many-seeded. 
 There are four species. 
 
 TRICERA, in botany, a genus of the 
 MonoeciaTetrandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Tricoccae. Euphorbi®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: male, calyx 
 four-leaved ; corolla none ; filaments ovate : 
 female, calyx five-leaved ; corolla none ; 
 styles conical ; capsule three-horned, three- 
 celled. There is only one species, liz. T. 
 lasvigata, a native of Jamaica, in mountain 
 coppices in the western parts of the island, 
 flowering in the spring months. 
 
 TRICHECUS, the walrus, in natural 
 history, a genus of Mammalia of the order 
 Bruta. Generic character : no fore-teeth 
 in the full grown animal, above or belpw ; 
 tusks in the upper jaw solitary ; grinders 
 with wrinkled surfaces ; bodyjiblong; lips 
 doubled ; hind feet stretched, uniting into a 
 fin. These animals are all natives of the 
 sea, and feed on sea-weeds and shell-fish, 
 but are never known to eat flesh. There 
 are three species, of which the principal is 
 T. rosmarus, the arctic walrus, or the morse. 
 This is an animal of a very inelegant struc- 
 tiire. It has a small head to a vast body. 
 Its under lip is covered with bristles nearly 
 of the thickness of a crow-quill. In its 
 upper jaw it has two large tusks from one 
 to two feet in length, and weighing from 
 three to twenty pounds. The walrus some- 
 times grows to the length of eighteen feet, 
 and the circumference, about the thickest 
 part, of twelve. It is principally found in 
 the high latitudes of the Northern Ocean. 
 These animals are gregarious, and are often 
 seen upon floating masses of ice, in im^ 
 mense numbers, the greater part sleeping, 
 but some always on the watch to give notice 
 of approaching danger. They are harm- 
 less when not provoked, but some ac- 
 counts represent them as highly formidable 
 in a state of irritation, the efforts of many 
 being combined against the enemy, and 
 firstening with tlieir teeth against boats to 
 make holes in. them, or draw them to the 
 bottom. Others represent them as less 
 agitated by the fury of passion, and as in- 
 clined more to flight than revenge, adding, 
 that they are terrified by the slightest flash, 
 and even the pointing of a musket will 
 drive them in a moment out of sight. Their 
 tusks serve the purposes of aiding their 
 movements upon the ice, into which they 
 are stuck, and on which, they thus secure 
 their hold and sometimes drag on their un- 
 wielfly bodies. The tusks are convertible to 
 the purposes of ivory, and these animals are 
 
 Till 
 
 destroyed for the profit derivable partly 
 from these tusks, but principally for the 
 sake of their oil, ofwhicii a full grown wal- 
 rus will yield a butt. The skin may be 
 manufactured into a very strong leather. 
 The alfectioii between the female and its 
 young one, for it has seldom more than one 
 at a birth, is such that they are said never 
 to separate, and that when one is killed the 
 survivor refuses to quit the dead body, and 
 is considered by the hunter aJ his secure 
 prey. Tlie walrus has been called, with 
 little resemblance to justify the name, the 
 sea-horse ; it is more similar to a cow, bat 
 most of all to a seal. See Mammalia, 
 Plate XXI. fig. 3. 
 
 T. borealis, or tlie whale-tailed raanali, 
 inhabits the seas betw'een K-amtscliatka and 
 America. These animals live in families, 
 generally consisting of a male and female, 
 and two young ones of different age.s, and 
 tlie attachment of the male to the female is 
 so great, that he will defend her when at- 
 tacked to the last extremity ; and if she 
 happens to be destroyed and dragged to the 
 shore, he will swim for some d-ays oft the 
 fatal and detested spot. The manati ap- 
 proaches very nearly to the cete li ibe, and 
 its feet are little more than pectoral fins. It 
 attains tlie immense length of twenty-seven 
 feet, and tlie weight of four tons. In winter 
 it is extremely lean, and its ribs may be dis- 
 tinctly numbered. It will, when pierced 
 with tlie harpoon, .sometime adhere 
 rocks with its feet with uncommon tena- 
 city, and when forced from them by a cord 
 drawn by thirty men or more, is found to 
 have left part of the skin of the feet be- 
 hind. When any individual is haipooned, 
 others are stated to swim to its aid, endea- 
 vouring, some to overturn the boat, others 
 to break the cord, and otliers again by 
 blows with their tails, striving to dislodge 
 the harpoon. Their sounds somewhat re- 
 semble the snorting of a horse. They are 
 never seen on land. 
 
 TRICHILIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Decandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Trihitat-m. Melice, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx mostly five- 
 toothed; petals five; nectary toothed, cy- 
 lindrical, bearing the anthers at the top of 
 the teeth ; capsule tliree-celled, three- 
 valved ; seeds buried. Tiiere are twelve 
 species. 
 
 TRICHIURUS, the tricliiure, in natural 
 history, a genus of fislies of tlie order Apo- 
 des. Generic character : liead lengthened ; 
 the gill-covers lateral; teeth ensifermed, 
 
TRI 
 
 and hooked on one side ; gill membrane, 
 seven-! ayed; body compressed and eiisi- 
 forni ; tail subulate, and without fins. There 
 are two species. T. argenteus, or the silver 
 trichinre, is about two feet and a half lonv, 
 and inhabits the lakes and riveis of South 
 America, and of some parts of Asia. Its 
 colour of a bright silver ; its body tapers 
 gradually, and teiininates in an absolute 
 point; its (jorsal fin extends nearly through 
 the animal’^ whole length. It is a fish re- 
 markable for its voracity, and has been 
 known to leap into boats in quest of prey. 
 It is used for the table. The T. eleetriens 
 is of the same size with the former; but 
 differs in several circumstances relating to 
 the teeth, jaws, and tail. It is supposed to 
 possess an electrical power. 
 
 TRICHOCARPTJS, in botany, a genus 
 of the Polyandria Digynia class and ordei'. 
 Essential character ; calyx four or five- 
 parted ; corolla none ; styles two, bifid ; 
 capsule bristly, four-valyed, many-seeded. 
 There is only one species, riz. T. laurifolia, 
 a native of the woods of Guiana. 
 
 TRICHOCEPHALUS, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of the Vermes Intestina class 
 and order. Body round, elastic, and vari- 
 ously twisted ; head or fore part much 
 thicker, and furnished with a slender ex- 
 sertilc proboscis ; tail or lower part long, 
 capillary, and tapering to a point. Tliere 
 are six species enumerated, and named 
 ^ om the animals in which they are found : 
 T. hominis inhabits the intestines of sickly 
 children, generally the cneciim, and in con- 
 siderable numbers ; it is usually about two 
 inches long, and in colour it resembles the 
 ascaridesi The head is obtuse and fur- 
 nished with a very slender proboscis, 
 which it can eject or retract at pleasure ; 
 tail, or thinner part, twice as long as the 
 thicker end, and terminating in a fine hair- 
 like point. T. equi found in the intestines 
 of the horse ; there are others found in the 
 intestines of the boar, fox, mouse, &c. 
 
 TRICHODA, in natural history, a genus 
 of the Vermes Infusoria. Worm invisible, 
 pellucid, hairy, or horned. There are se- 
 venty or eighty species in sections. A. 
 hairy. B. furnished with pirri. C. horned. 
 
 TRICHOMANES, in botany, a genus 
 of the Cryptogamia Filices class and order. 
 Ndtural order of Filices or Ferns. Generic 
 character : fructifications inserted into the 
 margin of the frond, separate; involucres 
 urn shaped, undivided, opening outwards ; 
 columns extending beyond the involucres, 
 like styles. There are twenty-seven spe- 
 cies, chiefly natives of the West Indies, 
 
 TRI 
 
 TRICHOSANTHES, in botany, a genu* 
 of the Monoecia Syngenesia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Cucurbitaceae. Es- 
 sential character : calyx five-toothed ; co- 
 rolla five parted, ciliate : male, filament* 
 three : female, style trifid ; pome oblong. 
 There are seven species. 
 
 TRICOSTEMA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Didynamia Gymnospermia class and 
 order. Natural order of Verticillatae or 
 Labiatse. Essential character : corolla, 
 upper lip sickle shaped ; stamina very long. 
 There are three species. 
 
 TRIDAX, in botany, a genus of the Syn- 
 genesia Polygamia Superflua class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Coinpo.sit® Oppo- 
 sitifoli®. CorymbifersB, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx imbricate, cylindrical ; 
 coiqllets of the ray three-parted ; down 
 many rayed, simple ; receptacle chaffy. 
 There is poly one species, viz. T. prp- 
 cumbens. 
 
 TRIENS, in antiquity, a copper money 
 of the value of one-third of an as, which on 
 .one side bore a Janus’s bead, and on the 
 other a water-rat. 
 
 TRIENTALIS, in botany, a genus of the 
 Heptandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Rotaceae. Lysimachice, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx seven 
 leaved ; corolla seven parted, equal, flat ; 
 berry juiceless. There is but one species, 
 viz. T. Europoea, chick weed winter green. 
 
 TRIFOLIUM, in hotwy, trefoil, age-, 
 nus of the Diadelphia Decandria class and 
 order. Natural order of Papilionaceae or 
 Leguminosse. Essential character; flowers 
 in a head ; legume scarcely longer than the 
 calyx ; nectary opening, deciduous. There 
 are fifty-one species. T. officinale or meli- 
 lot, has naked racemous pods, dispermous, 
 vyrinkly, and acute, with an erect stalk. It 
 grows in corn-fields, and by the way-sides, 
 but is nut, common. The stalk is erect, firm, 
 striated, branched, and two or three feet 
 high ; the leaves ternate, smooth, obtusely 
 oval, and serrated ; the flowers are small, 
 yellow, pendulous, and grow in long close 
 spikes at the tops of the branches ; the pod 
 is very short, turgid, transversely wrinkled, 
 pendulous, and contains either one pr two 
 seeds. The plant has a very peculiar strong 
 scent, and disagreeable, bitter, acrid taste, 
 but such, however, as is not disagreeable to 
 cattle. The flowers are sweet-scented. It 
 communicates a loathsome flavour to wheat 
 and other grain, so as to render it unfit 
 for making bread. T. repens, white creep- 
 ing' trefoil, or Piltch clover, has a creeping 
 stalk, its flower gathered into an umbella| 
 
TIU 
 
 head, and its pods tetraspermous. It is 
 very common in fields and pastures. It is 
 well known to be excellent fodder for cat- 
 tle : and the leaves are a good rustic hy^ 
 grometer, as they are always relaxed and 
 flaccid in dry weather, but erect in moist or 
 rainy. T. pratense, purple or red cloyer, 
 is distinguished by densg spikes, unequal cO: 
 rollas, by bearded stipulas, ascending stalks, 
 and by the calyx having four equal teeth. 
 The red clover is common in meadows and 
 pastures, and is the species which is gene- 
 rally cultivated as food for cattle. It 
 abounds in every part of Europe, in North 
 America, and even in Siberia. It delights 
 most in rich, moist, and sunny places, yet 
 flourishes in those that are dry, barren, and 
 shady. See Husbandry. 
 
 TRIGLA, the gurnard, in natural history, 
 a genus of fishes of the order Thoracici. 
 Generic character : head large, mailed, and 
 marked yvith rough lines; eyes large; nos- 
 trils double; gill covers spiny; gill mem- 
 brane seven-rayed ; before the pectoral fins 
 of most species there are articulate proces- 
 ses, somewhat like fingers. There are four- 
 teen species. T. gurnardus, or the grey 
 gurnard, varies in length from one to two 
 feet ; feeds on worms and insects ; inhabits 
 the seas of Europe, and the coasts of this 
 island, and is considered by many as excel- 
 lent for the table, though generally not in 
 high estimation. T. volitans, or the flying 
 gurnard, is found in the Indian, Atlantic, 
 and Mediterranean seas. It is about a foot 
 in length, and its pectoral fins are of an ex- 
 traordinary size, and great transparency. 
 By these it is enabled to sustain short flights . 
 out of the water, when hardly pressed by its 
 various enemies. 
 
 TRIGLOCHIN, in botany, arrow-grass, 
 a genus of the HexandriaTrigynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Tripetaloideae. 
 Junci, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 three-leaved; petals three, calyx form ; 
 style none ; capsule opening at the base. 
 There are three species. 
 
 TRIGONELLA, in botany, fenu-^reek, 
 a genus of the Diadelphia Decandria class 
 and order. Natural order of Papilionacem 
 or Leguminosse. Essential character : ban- 
 ner and wings nearly equal, spreading in 
 form of a three-petalled corolla. There are 
 twelve species. 
 
 TRIGONIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Diadelphia Decandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Malpighi®, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character: calyx five-parted; petals 
 five, unequal, uppermost foveolate at the 
 
 TRI 
 
 base withhi ; nectary, two scales at the base 
 of ‘the germ; filaments, some barren; cap- 
 sule leguminose, three-cornered, three-cel- 
 led, ihree-valved. There are two species : 
 viz. T, vfflosa, and T, l®vis; both natives of 
 South America, 
 
 TRIGONOMETRY. The business of 
 this important science is to find the angles 
 where the sides are given ; and the sides, 
 of their respective ratios, vfhen the angles 
 are given; and to find sides and angles, 
 when sides and angles are partly given. To 
 effect this, it is necessary not only that the 
 peripheries of circles, but also certain right 
 lines in and about circles, be supposed 
 divided into certain numbers of parts. The 
 ancients, feeling tlie necessity of such a 
 pre-division, portioned the circle into o6Q 
 equal parts, which they called degrees ; 
 each degree was again divided into 60 equal 
 parts, called minutes; and each minute 
 comprised 60 equal parts, called seconds. 
 The moderns have improved upon thte divi- 
 sion by the addition of anonius, or vernier, 
 which may be carried to any extent, but is 
 usually limited to decimating the seconds; 
 noting each tenth part thereof. It vyould 
 have been found a considerable convenience 
 in mathematics, if the circle had been di- 
 vided into centisimal parts, particularly in 
 trigonometrical operations; thus making 
 every quadrant to consist of 100 degrees, 
 each degree of 100 minutes, and each mi- 
 nute of 100 seconds : there can, indeed, be 
 no doubt but all the arithmetical calcula- 
 tions relating to the periphery, as well as 
 to the secants, sinqs, tangents, radii, chords, 
 and complements, would by this reforma- 
 tion have been simplified. 
 
 We shall be brief on tliis head, because it 
 would require more space than could be 
 allotted to any one branch of science, were 
 we to follow the whole extent of trigono- 
 metry in this place. The following defini- 
 tions will be found useful: 1. The comple- 
 ment of an arc is the difference thereof 
 from a quadrant ; thus, if an arc measures 
 60“, the complement is 30". 2. A chord, 
 or subtense, is a right line drawn from one 
 to the other end of an arc. 3. The sine, or 
 right sine, of an arc, is a perpendicular fall- 
 ing from one end of an arc to the radius 
 drawn, at right angles thereto, towards the 
 ether end of the arc. Hence it is clear that 
 an arc of fiO” must have its secant, its radius, 
 and its chord, all of the same length, form- 
 ing an equilateral triangle. The secant and 
 radius both proceed from the centre, but 
 all sines are parallel to a vertical line pass- 
 
 
TRIGONOMETRY 
 
 ing through the centre, and invariably fall 
 upon a diameter, drawn perpendicular to 
 that right line. See Dialling, Geometry, 
 and Mathematical instrmnents ; under 
 which various explanations will be found, 
 wheieby (he student may perceive the ne- 
 cessity for such reference. 
 
 The solution of the several cases in plane 
 trigonometry depend upon four proposi- 
 tions, called axioms, which cailnot be too 
 perfectly understood, and ought ever to be 
 adverted to. 
 
 Axiom /. In any right-lined plane trian- 
 gle, if the hypothenuse (or longest side) be 
 made the radius of a circle, the other two 
 sides, or legs, will be the sines of their oppo- 
 site angles: but if either of the legs, includ- 
 ing the right angle, be made radius, the 
 other leg becomes the tangent of its oppo- 
 site angle, and the hypothenuse the secant 
 of the same angle. For in the triangle 
 ABC, (fig. 21. Plate XV. Trigonometry) 
 let A B he made the radius of a circle ; and 
 with one foot of the compasses on A or B 
 describe a circle: it is plain that the leg 
 BC will be the sine of the angle A, and 
 AC the sine of the angle B: but if AC be- 
 comes radius, B C will be the tangent to 
 the angle A, and B A the second thereto. 
 
 Again, by making BC radius, AC will be 
 tangent, and A B the secant of the angle B. 
 
 Hence it is plain that the different sides 
 take their names according to that side 
 which is made radius. 
 
 Remark, that to find a side, any side 
 may be made radius : then say, as the name 
 of the side given is to the name of the side 
 required; so is the side given to the side 
 required. But to find an angle, one of the 
 given sides must be made radius: then as 
 the side made radius is to the other side • 
 so is the name of the first side (which is’ 
 always radius) to the name of the second 
 side; wliich fourth proportional must be 
 found among the sines, or tangents, &c. to 
 be determined by the side made radius : 
 against it is the required angle. In a right- 
 angled triangle you must always have two 
 sides, or the angles and one side given to 
 find tlie rest. 
 
 To find D C. 
 
 As the .sine angle D 101® 25'..., 
 
 
 Is to the side B C 76 
 
 
 So is sine angle B 44“ 42' 
 
 
 
 11.72801 
 
 
 9.99132 
 
 To the side D C 54.53 
 
 
 The foregoing is worked by logarithms, 
 thus : add the logarithm of the second and 
 third terms together, then deduct the loga- 
 rithm of the first term, and the remainder is 
 the logarithm of tue fourth term, or number 
 sought. When an angle is greater than 90® 
 the sine, tangent, and secant of the supple- 
 ment, (i.e. of the number of degrees want- 
 ing of 180») are to be used. 
 
 Two sides, and an angle opposite to one 
 of them, being given to find the other oppo- 
 site angle, and the third side. fitr. o'? ” The 
 
 B C D St® 49 given to find the angle B DC 
 obtuse, and the side CD. 
 
 To find D. 
 
 As the sine BD 65 1.81291 
 
 Is to the angle C 31® 49' ~9.7Z1K 
 
 So is the side BC 106 2.02531 
 
 11.74729 
 
 _ 1.81291 
 
 To sine angle D 120® 43' 
 
 To find D C. 
 
 As sine angle C 31“ 49' 9.72198 
 
 Is to the sine B D 65 7.81291 
 
 So is sine ai/gle B 217.28 9.66392 
 
 i7!47683 
 9.72198 
 1.75485 
 
 Axiom II. In all plane triangles, the 
 sides are in direct proportion to the sines of 
 their opposite angles. Tims, « if two angles 
 and one side be given to find either of the 
 other legs.’* In fig. 22. the angle B C D is 
 101® 25 , the angle CBD is 44® 42', and the 
 given teg B C is equal to 76 of the scale 
 assumed ; to find the sides C D and B D. 
 
 To the sine DC .56.88... 
 
 Axwm III. In every plane triangle it 
 will be as the sum of any two sides is to 
 their difference; so is the tangent of half 
 the sum of the angles opposite there, to the 
 tangent of half their difference. Which half 
 diflerence, being added to half the sum of 
 theangle.s, gives, (he greater; but if sub- 
 tracted, the remainder will be the lesser 
 angle. ^ 
 
 ‘ Two sides, and their contained an®le 
 
 fhTth- a a'* “"«>es, and 
 
 the third side, fig. 24 .” The side B C 109, 
 
 B p 76 leagues, and the angle C B D lOl® 30 ' 
 
 being given, to find the angle BDC, or 
 
 B CD, and the side CD, 
 


TRIGONOMETRY. 
 
 The side B C 109 
 
 BD _7^ 
 
 Sum... 1*55 DilF.. 
 
 To find the angles D and C. 
 
 As the sum of the sides B C and B D — 135 2.56717 
 
 Is to the difference 33 1.51851 
 
 So is tire tangent of half the sum of angles C and D 39° 15' 9.91224 
 
 11.43075 
 
 2.26717 
 
 To the tangent of half the difference of the angles C and D 8° 17' 9.16358 
 
 To half the sum of the angles D and C 39° 15' 
 
 Add half the difference of the angles C and D 8" I?' 
 
 Gives the greater angle D .....' 47“ 32' 
 
 But if subtracted (from 39“ 15' ) gives the lesser angle 30" 58' 
 
 109 180" 0' 
 
 76 101° 30' 
 
 33 78“ 30' sum of the two angles 
 
 Half.... 39“ 1 . 5 ' atDandC. 
 
 •Having the two angles, the side is found according to Axiom II: for it will be. 
 
 To find D C. 
 
 As the sine angle D 47° 32' 9.86736 
 
 Is to the sine B C 109 2.03743 
 
 So is sine angle B 101 . 30u 9.99116 
 
 12.02862 
 
 To the side D C required 144.8 
 
 Axiom IV, In any plane triangle, as the 
 base, or greater side, is to the sum of the 
 other two sides ; so is the difference of the 
 sides to the difference of the segments of 
 the base, made by a perpendicular let fall 
 from the angle opposite to the base : and if 
 half the difference of the segments be add- 
 
 9.86786 
 
 2.16076 
 
 ed to half their sum, it will give the greater 
 segment ; but if subtracted, the remainder 
 will be the lesser segment. The triangle 
 being thus cut, becomes two right angled 
 triangles ; the hypothenuses and bases of 
 which are given to find the angles by 
 Axiom 1. 
 
 Three sides given to find the angles. 
 
 'The side B C 105, B D 85, and C D 50 miles, being given to find the angles B D C, 
 BCD, andCBD, fig. 5. 
 
 B D = 85 
 I CD = 50 
 
 The sum of the two shortest sides j35 
 
 The difference of them 35 
 
 The proportions will be 
 
 As the side B C; 105 — 2.02119 — 52i the half of greatside. 
 
 Is to the sum of the sides BD and DC 135 — 2.13033 — 22| half d:ff. of segment. 
 So is the diff. of the' sides BD and DC 35 — 1.54417 greatest segment, 
 
 3.67440 
 
 , 2.02119 30 the lesser segment. 
 
 Difference of the segment of the base, 
 or great side 
 
 
 451.65321 
 
 I 
 
TRIGONOMERY, SPHERICAL. 
 
 Having divided the riglit-angled triangle 
 into two right-angled triangles, the hypo- 
 thenuses and bases of which are given, to 
 find the angles by Gunter. 1. The extent 
 from 105 to 135 will reach from 35 to 45 
 on the line of sines. 2. The extent from 
 85 to 75, on the line of numbers, will reach 
 from radius to 61° 56', the angle B D A on 
 the line of sines. 3. The extent from 50 
 to 30, on the line of numbers, will reach 
 from radius to angle ADC 36° 53', on the 
 line of sines. 
 
 Trigonometry, spherical, relates to tri- 
 angles, or figures which are reducible to 
 triangles, whose sides are segments of cir- 
 cles. Thus, if we describe a triangle on 
 any spherical body, say a globe, it is evi- 
 dent that all the sides must be composed 
 of curved lines ; and it is the same in the 
 case of a series of circles, or of orbits, in- 
 tersecting each other. When two equal 
 circles intersect, they will giye a parabolic 
 spindle; more or less acute, according, as 
 the centres of the two circles may be more 
 or less distant. When three circles mu- 
 tually intersect, there will be formed a great 
 variety of spherical triangles, of which the 
 areas, and the properties, could not be 
 ascertained by plane-trigonometry ; but 
 come under consideration as parts of sphe- 
 rical surfaces. The following definitions 
 should be clearly understood ; they are sim- 
 ple in tile extreme, but highly important : 
 1st. The poles of a sphere are two points 
 in the superficies of the sphere, that are the 
 extreme of the axis. 2d. 'fhe pole of a 
 circle in a sphere is a point in the super- 
 ficies of the sphere, from which all right 
 lines that are drawn to the circumference 
 of the circle are equal to one another. 3d. A 
 great circle ip a sphere, is that whose plane 
 passes through the centre of the sphere; 
 and whose centre is the same as that of the 
 sphere. 4th. A spherical triangle is a figure 
 comprehended under the arcs of three great 
 circles in a sphere. 5th. A spherical angle 
 is that which, in the superficies of the 
 sphere, is contained under two arcs of great 
 circles ; and this angle is equal to the in- 
 clinations of the planes of the said circles. 
 It is particularly to be held in mind, that 
 although we can, upon any actual sphere, 
 describe triangles at pleasure, which may 
 nearly embrace the whole circumference, 
 yet that such cannot be laid down, so as to 
 be represented on paper ; for every side of 
 a spherical triangle is less than a semi-circle. 
 
 With respect to spherical triangles, the 
 leaincv may generally entertain a correct 
 
 opinion of their value, if he considers that 
 every arc or segment of a circle may have 
 a chord drawn from one to the other extre- 
 mity; and that the triangle which can be 
 contained within such arc or segment, taking 
 the chord for a hypothenuse, will determine 
 how much of that circle has been cut oflT, and is 
 included between the extremes of the seg- 
 ment. It is utterly impossible to produce 
 any two measurable segments taken from 
 two different circles, which, having chords 
 of equal length, will contain the same angle. 
 A semicircle, having the diameter for its 
 chord, will give a right angle ; for if to any 
 point within that semicircle two lines be 
 drawn, from the ends of the chord respec- 
 tively, their union at such assumed point 
 will form a right angle. In proportion as 
 the chord is less than a diameter, so must 
 the segment be a less part of the whole 
 circle, and the angle contained therein will 
 be more acute. Spherical triangles may 
 be acute, right-angled, or obtuse, the same 
 as on plane-trigonometry. In all right- 
 angled spherical triangles, the sign of the 
 hypothenuse : radius sine of a leg : sine 
 of its opposite angle. And the sine of the 
 leg ; radius :: tangent of the other leg : 
 tangent of its opposite angle. In any right- 
 angled spherical triangle, AB C (fig. 25), it 
 will be as radius is to the co sine of one 
 leg, so is the co sine of the other leg to 
 the co-sine of the hypothenuse. Hence, if 
 two right-angled spherical triangles ABC, 
 C B D (fig. 26), have the same perpendi- 
 cular B C, the co-sines of their hypothenuses 
 will be to each other directly as the co- 
 sines of their bases. In any spherical tri- 
 angle it will be, as radius is to the sine of 
 cither angle, so is the co-sine of the adja- 
 cent leg to the co-sine of the opposite angle. 
 Hence, in right-angled spherical triangles, 
 having the same perpendicular, the co-sines 
 of the angles at the base will be to each 
 other, directly, as the sines of the vertical 
 angles. In any right-angled spherical tri- 
 angle it will be, as radius is to the co-sine 
 of the hypothenuse, so is the tangent of 
 either angle to the co-tangent of the other 
 angle. As the sum of the sines of two un- 
 equal arches is to their dilference, so is the 
 tangent of half the sum of those arches to 
 the tangent of half their difference : and as 
 the sum of their co-sines is to their difference, 
 so is the co-tangent of half the sum of the 
 arches to the tangent of half the difference 
 of the same arches. In any spherical tri- 
 angle ABC (fig. 27), it will be, as the co- 
 tangent of half the sum of the angles, at the 
 
TRI 
 
 base, is to the tangent of half their diffe- 
 rence, so is the tangent of half the vertical 
 angle to the tangent of the angle which the 
 perpendicular CD makes with the line CF, 
 bisecting the vertical angle. 
 
 The following propositions and remarks 
 concerning spherical triangles, will render 
 their calculation perspicuous and free from 
 ambiguity. 1st. A spherical triangle is equi- 
 lateral, isocelar, or scalene, according as it 
 has its three angles all equal, or two ot 
 them equal, or all three unequal. 2d. The 
 greatest side is always opposite the greatest 
 angle, and the smallest side opposite the 
 smallest angle. Sd. Any two sides, taken 
 together, are greater than the third. 4th. If 
 the three angles are all acute, or all right, 
 or all obtuse, the three sides will be, ac- 
 cordingly, all less than 90”, or 90“, or greater 
 than 900. 5th. If from the three angles 
 A, B, C, of a triangle ABC (fig. 28); as 
 polgs, there be described on the surface of 
 the sphere, three arches of a great circle 
 DE, DF, FE, forming by their intersec- 
 tions a new spherical triangle DEF; each 
 side of the new triangle will be the supple- 
 ment of the angle at its pole; and each 
 angle of the same triangle will be the sup- 
 plement of the side opposite to it in the 
 triangle ABC. 6th. In any triangle ABC 
 (fig. 29), or A 6 C, right-angled in A : 1st, 
 The angles at the hypothenuse are always 
 of the same kind as their opposite sides, 
 gdly. The hypothenuse is greater or lesser 
 than a quadrant, according as the sides, in- 
 cluding the right angle, are of the same, or 
 different kinds ; that is to say, aecording 
 as the same sides, are either both acute, or 
 both obtuse; or, as one is acute, and the 
 other obtuse. And vice versa: 1st. The 
 sides, including the right angles, are always 
 of the same kind as their opposite angles, 
 gdly. The sides, including the right angles, 
 will be of the same, or different kinds, ac- 
 cording as the hypothenuse is less, or more, 
 than 90° ; but one, at least, of them will be 
 of 90°, if the hypothenuse is so. 
 
 Considering it impossible to give a po- 
 pular idea of this highly-important branch 
 of mathematics, in any brief form, we must 
 refer those readers, who wish to become 
 proficients therein, to the various excellent 
 treatises published on that subject; par- 
 ticularly those by Simpson, Bonycastle, 
 Payne, &c. 
 
 TRIGUERA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Lurid®. Solane®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: corolla bell- 
 
 TRl 
 
 shaped, with an unequal border; nectary 
 short, five-toothed, surrounding the germ; 
 filaments inserted into llie nectary ; bf-rry 
 four-celled, with two seeds in each cell. 
 There are two species ; viz. T. ambrosiaca, 
 and T. inodora: these arc borh annual 
 plants, and natives of Andalusia, in Spain. 
 
 TRILIX, in botany, a genus of the Po- 
 lyandria Monogynia class and order. ES“ 
 sential character: calyx three-leaved; co-. 
 rolla three petalled ; berry fi ve-celled, many- 
 seeded. There is only one species ; viz. T. 
 lutea, a native of Carthagena, in America, 
 TRILLION, in arithmetic, a bill’ on of 
 billions. See Arithmetic, Numeration. 
 
 TRILLIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Hexandria Trigynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Sarmentace®. Asparagi, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx three- 
 leaved ; corolla three petalled ; berry three- 
 celled. There are three species. 
 
 TRIM of a ship, her best posture, pro- 
 portion of ballast, and hanging of her masts, 
 &e. for sailing. To find the trim of a ship, 
 is to find the best way of making her sail 
 swiftly, or how she will sail best. This is 
 done by easing of her masts ,^and shrouds ; 
 some ships sailing much better when they 
 are slack, than when they are taught, or 
 fast; but this depends much upon experience 
 and judgment, and the several trials and 
 observations which the commander and 
 other officers may make aboard. 
 
 TRIMMERS, in architecture, pieces of 
 timber framed at right angles to the joints, 
 against the ways for chimneys, and w’elb 
 holes for stairs. 
 
 TRJNGA, the sand-piper, in natural his- , 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Grail®. 
 Generic character : bill round, straight, 
 slender, and about the length of the head ; 
 nostrils small and linear; tongue slender; 
 toes very slightly, if at all, connected at 
 the base by a membrane ; hind-toe weak. 
 There are thirty-seven species, of which thb 
 following are the principal. 
 
 T. pugnax, or the ruff, is twelve inche.s 
 long. The male is distinguished by a ruff, 
 differing in colour on almost every bird, 
 composed of long feathers, standing out in a 
 peculiar manner, and constituting an ap- 
 pearance somewhat resembling the fashion- 
 able neck-ruff of the age of Queen Eliza- 
 beth. These feathers are not acquired till 
 the second year, and continue only during 
 the season of spring ; after which, also, the 
 caruncles whicli previously rise on the face 
 of the male shrink back and disappear. The 
 males of these birds are thought far more 
 
TRI 
 
 numerous than the females. Frequent con- 
 flicts between the former are occasioned 
 from this circumstance, and in the com- 
 mencement of spring a male sand piper is 
 said to take his station near some water, 
 and run round a particular spot such a num- 
 ber of times, that at, length he bares a cir- 
 cular path upon the herbage. On the ap- 
 pearance of a female near this spot, the 
 males engage in the most animated and 
 ferocious contests, and, occupied solely by 
 the idea of triumphing over their rivals, 
 they suffer themselves to be taken by the 
 net of the fowler, who avails himself of these 
 opportunities for their destruction. In Eng- 
 land they are migratory, and are found frc- 
 qneutly in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Ely, 
 where, after being taken, they are fed for 
 sale, till they at length become nearly a 
 mass of marrowy substance, and are sent to 
 the markets of the metropolis. 
 
 T. vanellns, or the lapwing, is thirteen 
 inches long, and of the weight of eight 
 ounces. It remains in England the whole 
 year; lays its eggs on the ground; and the 
 female bird exercises various arts to attract 
 the attention of mischievous and depredat- 
 ing schoolboys from the discovery of her 
 nest, and is said, with this view, even to 
 pretend lameness to direct their pursuit to 
 herself. In winter these birds appear in 
 flocks of several hundreds, and are caught 
 in great numbers, being highly esteemed for 
 food. They live chiefly upon worms, which 
 appear to constitute their delicious ban- 
 quet, and are sometimes familiarized, and 
 kept in gardens to clear them of slugs and 
 worms, in search for which, both in the 
 morning and evening, they are extremely 
 assiduous. ^ 
 
 T. hypoleucos, or the common sand-piper 
 breeds in this country, but soon withdraws 
 after the summer. It is about eight inches 
 Jong, and is distinguished by its piping note 
 It is found in France, Siberia, and America! 
 
 The T. canutus is about ten inches in 
 length, and weighs four ounces, and fre- 
 quents the coasts of Lincolnshire, where it 
 is taken in considerable numbers, and fat- 
 tened for the London market. By some 
 these birds are preferred to the ruff. 
 
 TRINITY house, a kind of college be- 
 longing to a company or corporation of 
 seamen, who, by the King’-s charter, have 
 power to take cognizance of those persons 
 who destroy sea-marks, and to get repara- 
 tion of such damages ; and to take care of 
 other things belonging to navigation. At 
 present, many in the first rank of society are 
 
 TRI 
 
 members of tliat community. The maafer, 
 wardens, and assistants of the Trinity House, 
 may set up beacons, and marks for the sea^ 
 in such places, near the coasts or forelands, 
 as to them shall seem meet. By a statute 
 of Queen Elizabeth, no steeple, trees, or 
 other tilings standing as sea marks, shall be 
 taken away or cut down, upon pain that 
 every person guilty of such offence, sliall 
 forfeit too/, and if the person offending be 
 not possessed of the value, he shall be deem- 
 ed convict of outlawry. 
 
 trinomial, or Trinomial rooi, in 
 mathematics, is a root consisting of tliree 
 parts, connected together by the signs -|- or 
 — , as a; -f- y 2 , or a + 6 — e, .See Bi- 
 nomial and Root. 
 
 TRIO, in music, a part of a concert 
 wherein three persons sing ; or more pro- 
 perly a musical composition consisting of 
 three parts. Trios are the finest kinds of 
 composition, and these are wliat please most 
 m concerts. 
 
 TRIOPTERIS, in botany, a genus of 
 the Decandria Trigyriia class and order. 
 Natural order of Trihilatm. Malpighi®, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 parted, with two honey pores at tlie base 
 on the outside; petals roundish, clawed ■ 
 filaments cohering at the base; capsules 
 three, one-seeded, three or four-winged. 
 
 J here are eight species. 
 
 TRIOSTEUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandna Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Aggregatw. Caprifolia, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx length 
 of the corolla; corolla one-petalled, almost 
 equal; berry three-celled, inferior; seeds 
 solitary. There are three species. 
 
 tripartite, something divided into 
 three parts, or made by three parties, as in- 
 denture tripartite. 
 
 triple time, in music, a time consist- 
 ing of three measures in a bar; the two 
 first of which are beht with the hand or foot 
 down, and the third marked by its eleva- 
 tion. 
 
 TRIPLARIS, in botany, a genus of the 
 1 riandna Trigynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Polygonem, Jussieu. Essential 
 character: calyx very large, three, or six- 
 parted; corolla three-petalled, or none; 
 nut three-sided, within the ovate base of the 
 calyx. There are two species; nz. T. Ame- 
 ricana, and T. ramiflora. 
 
 triplicate ratio, the ratio which 
 cubes bear to one another. This ratio is to 
 be distinguished from triple ratio, and may 
 be thus conceived: in the geometrical 
 
TRI 
 
 TRI 
 
 
 the ratio of on a footing -with tlie. quadrature of the cir- 
 rd (8) diipli- cle, and the duplicature of the cube angle, 
 iecond or of TRISPAST, in mechanics, a machine 
 
 - UllL lilC llUCc iillici yiicis a»v« lit/u* uiooa* j 
 
 ed for polishing metals, maibles, am o er rather longer and thinner than the 
 
 minerals, and likewise for polishing glass, jg supposed to be a na- 
 
 Formerly it was supposed to be a yolcainc of Tartary. The farmers 
 
 production, which has been long since is- spring-wheat, because it will come 
 
 proved, and it appears to be an extremely sickle with the common wheat, 
 
 line mixture of clay and sand. though it should be sown in February or 
 
 TRIPPANE, in mineralogy, is of an ap* March. T. hybernmn, winter or common 
 pie-green, or greenish white. It occurs in ^-heat, has also four flowers in a calyx, 
 mass, is moderately hard, and easily frangi- j|,ree of which are mostly productive. The 
 ble. Specific gravity is 3.21. Before, the calyces stand on each side a smooth flat re* 
 blow-pipe, it becomes yellow, and splits in- ceptacle, as in the former species, but they 
 to thin plates, and then melts into a thin g,.g uot quite so far asunder. The leaves 
 transparent glass. It has hitherto been jjjg calyx are bellying, and so smooth 
 found in Sweden, in veins of quartz and ^ 1 , 3 ^ t[,gy appear as if polished, but they 
 mica. have no arista. The glumes of the flowers 
 
 TRIPPING, in heraldry, denotes the too are smooth, and tile outer ones, near 
 quick motion of all sorts of deer, and of the top of the spike, are often tipped with 
 some other creatures, represented with one short aristae. The grain is rather plumper 
 foot as it were on a trot. than the former, and is the sort most gene- 
 
 TRIPSACUM, in botany, a genus of the rally sown in England ; whence the name 
 Monoecia Triandria class and order. Na- of common wheat. T. turgidnm, thick- 
 tural order of Gramina, Gramine®, or spiked or cone-wheat, is easily distinguish- 
 Grasses. Essential character : male, calyx ed from either of the former ; for though 
 glume four-flowered ; corolla glume mem- it has four flowers in a calyx, after the 
 branaceous; female, calyx glume with per- manner of them, yet the whole calyx, and 
 forated sinuses ; corolla glume two-valved ; the edges of the glumes, are covered 
 styles two ; seed one. There are two spe- with soft hairs. The calyces, too, stand 
 cies, viz. T. dactyloides, and T. herma- thicker on the receptacle, and make the 
 phrodituni. spike appear more turgid. Some of the 
 
 TRISECTION, or Trissection, the outer glumes, near the top of the spike, are 
 dividing a thing into three. The term is terminated by short arist®, like those of 
 chiefly used in geometry, for the division of the common wheat. The grain is shot tei , 
 an angle into three equal parts. The trisec- plumper, and more convex on the back 
 tion of an angle geometrically, is one of those than either of the former species. Its va- 
 great problems whose solution has been so rieties are numerous, and have various ap- 
 much sought by mathematicians for these pellations in difterent counties, owing to 
 two thousand years, being, in this resperf, the great affinity of several of them. 
 
TRO 
 
 TRITOMA, in natural history, a genu* 
 of insects of the order Coleoptera. Anten- 
 nae clavate, the club perfoliate ; lip eniar- 
 ginate ; anterior feelers hatchet-shaped ; 
 shells as long as the body. Tiiere are ten 
 species, found in different parts of the 
 world. T. bipustalata, is black ; shells with 
 a lateral scarlet spot. It inhabits Englanil, 
 and is found on tree fungi. The glabra is 
 found in Sweden, under the bark of trees. 
 
 TRITON, in natural history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Mollusca class and order. Body 
 oblong ; mouth with an involute spiral pro- 
 boscis ; tentacula twelve, six on each side, 
 divided nearly to the base, the hind ones 
 cheliferous. T. littoreous, inhabits Italy, 
 in cavities of sub-marine rocks, and may be 
 seen in various species of Lepas, particu- 
 larly the anatefera. It is fully described 
 in the “ Philosophical Transactions, ” vol. 
 50. 
 
 TRITURATION, in pharmacy, tlie act 
 of reducing a solid body into a subtle pow- 
 der ; called also levigation, and pulveriza- 
 tion. 
 
 TRIUMFETTA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Dodecandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Columnifera;. Ti- 
 liaceffi, Jussieu. Essential character: ealyx 
 five-leaved; corolla five-petalled ; capsule 
 hispid, opening in four parts. There are 
 eleven species. 
 
 TRIXIS, in botany, a genus of the Synge- 
 nesia Polygamia Necessaria class and order. 
 Natural order of Composit® Oppositifoli®. 
 Corymbifera;, Jussieu. Essentia! charac- 
 ter : corollets of the ray trifid ; seeds hairy 
 at the tip, without any down ; receptacle 
 chaffy. There are three species, all natives 
 of the West Indies, 
 
 TROCHAIC verse, in the Latin poetry, 
 a kind ot verse, so called, because the tro- 
 chees chiefly prevail, as the iambus does in 
 the iambic. It generally consists of seven 
 feet and a syllable the odd feet, for the 
 most part, consist of trochees, though a ti-y- 
 braches is sometimes admitted, except in 
 the seventh foot ; these two feet are like- 
 wise used in the other places, as is also the 
 .spondsus, dactylus, and anapasstus. The 
 following is an example. 
 
 1 2 3 4 5 6 
 
 Solus I out rex | aut po | eta j non quot I annis I 
 
 7 i 
 2 
 
 nasci | tur, 
 
 TROCHE, in pharmacy, a sort of medi- 
 cine, made of glutinous substances, into lit- 
 tle cakes, and afterwards exsiccated. 
 
 TRO 
 
 TROCHILUS, the humming bird, in na- 
 tural history, a genus of birds of the order 
 Pic®. Generic character : bill slender and 
 weak ; nostrils minute ; tongue long, con- 
 stituted of two united cylindric tubes, and 
 missile; tail of ten feathers; legs weak. 
 The bills of some al e curved, and of others 
 strait, which forms the grand division of the 
 genus. There are sixty species enumerated 
 by Latham, and Gmelin has sixty-five. The 
 birds of this genus are the smallest of all 
 birds. They subsist many of them on the 
 juices ot flowers, which they extract like 
 bees, whf'.e on the wing, fluttering over 
 their delicate repast, and making a consi- 
 derable humming sound, from which they 
 dei'ive their designation. They are gregari- 
 ous, and build their nests with great neat- 
 ness and elegance, lining them with the 
 softest materials they can possibly procure. 
 
 T. cohibris, or the red throated humming- 
 bird, is rather more than three inches long, 
 and is frequent in various parts of Norfli 
 America. Its plumage is highly splendid 
 and varying; it subsists on the nectar of 
 flowers, particularly those of a long tube, 
 like the conrolvus or tulip. They will suf- 
 fer themselves to be approached very near- 
 ly ; blrt on observing an effort to seize 
 them, dart off with the rapidity of an arrow. 
 A flower is frequently the subject of bitter 
 conflict between two of these birds ; and 
 they will often enter an open window, and 
 after a short contest retire. They some- 
 times soar perpendicularly to a considerable 
 height, with a violent scream. If a flower 
 which they enter furnishes them with no 
 supply, they pluck it, as it were in punish- 
 ment and revenge, from its stalk. They 
 have been kept alive in cages for several 
 weeks, but soon perish for want of their 
 Usual food, for which nO adequate substi- 
 tute has yet been found. Latham, how- 
 ever; mentions the curious circumstance of 
 their being preserved alive by Captain 
 Davies for four months, by the expedient 
 of imitating tubular flowers with paper, ap- 
 propriately painted, and filling the bottom 
 of the tubes with sugar and water as often as 
 they were eniptied. They then took their 
 nourishment in the same manner as when 
 unconfined, and soon appeared familiarized 
 and happy. They lived, however, only four 
 months. These birds generally build on 
 the middle of the branch of a tree, and lay 
 two eggs in an extremely small and ad- 
 mirably constructed nest. 
 
 1 . minimus. This is the smallest of all 
 the species, and is said, when just killed; to 
 
TRO 
 
 weigh no more than twenty grains. Its total 
 length is an inch and a quarter. It is found 
 in the West Indies and South America, pnd 
 is exceeded both in weiglit and magnitude 
 by several species of bees. 
 
 For the amethystine humming-bird see 
 Aves, Plate XIV. fig. 3. 
 
 TROCHLEA, one of the mechanical pow- 
 ers, usually called a pulley. See Mechanics. 
 
 TROCHOID, in geometry, a curve more 
 generally known by the name of cycloid. 
 See Cycloid. 
 
 TROCHUS, in natural history, a genus 
 of the Vermes Testacea. Animal a Iknax ; 
 shell univalve, spiralj more or less conic ; 
 aperture somewhat angular or rounded, the 
 upper side transverse and contracted, pil- 
 Im placed obliquely. There are about 150 
 species, divided into sections. A. Erect, 
 with the pillar perforated. B. Imperfo- 
 rate, erect, the umbilicus, or navel, closed, 
 C. Tapering, with an exserted pillar, and 
 falling on the side when placed on the base. 
 Of these we may notice T. telescopium : 
 shell imperforate, striate, with a spiral pil- 
 lar. It inhabits the Indian ocean, and is 
 about four inches long ; the shell is taper- 
 ing, like a telescope when drawn out; brown 
 liver colour, or blackish, the first whorl ge- 
 nerally barred with white; pillar a little 
 prominent, with a tooth or plait in the mid- 
 dle ; whorls flatfish. 
 
 TROGON, the curucui, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Picae. 
 Generic character ; bill short, thick, and 
 convex, serrated at the edges ; nostrils co- 
 vered with stitf bristles ; toes, two before 
 and two behind; tail of twelve feathers. 
 Birds of this genus chiefly inhabit South 
 America, live solitary in moist places, and 
 in pathless overgrown woods ; make short 
 flights, and subsist principally on insects. 
 There are seven species. 
 
 Ti curucui, the red-bellied curucui, is an 
 inhabitant of Cayenne, and is about as large 
 as a magpie. These birds are not grega- 
 rious, and are never seen but atone, or in 
 pairs. They lay their eggs in the holes of 
 trees upon the rotten dust, preparing no 
 nest. The male is mute, unless in spring, 
 and then has a plaintive and monotonous 
 note. The young, when first hatched^ are 
 bare of featliers, and have a head very dis- 
 proportionately large to the body; they 
 are fed with insects and caterpillars till able 
 to provide for themselves, and then left by 
 their parents, who return to their seques- 
 tered haunts, and in September are en- 
 gaged with a second brood. When con- 
 
 tro 
 
 fined, tliey refuse all food, and, conse- 
 quently, soon perish. 
 
 TROLLIUS, in botany, globe flower, a 
 genus of the Polyandria Polygynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Multisilique. 
 Ranunculaceae, Jussieu. Essential charac- 
 ter : calyx none ; petals about fourteen ; 
 capsules numerous, ovate, many-seeded. 
 There are two species, viz. T. Europasus, 
 European globe flower, and T. Asiaticus, 
 Asiatic globe flower. 
 
 TRONAGE, the mayor and common- 
 alty of the city of London, are ordained 
 keepers of the beams and weights for weigh- 
 ing merchants’ commodities, with power 
 to assign clerks, porters, &c. of the great 
 beam and balance; which weighing of goods 
 and wares is called tronage. 
 
 TROPjEOLUM, in botany, Indian a'ess, 
 a genus of the Octandria Monogyuia class 
 and order. Natural order of Trihilatm. 
 Gerania, Jussieu. Essential character : ca- 
 lyx one-leafed, with a .spur; petals four, 
 unequal ; nuts three, coriaceous. There 
 are five species. 
 
 TROPE, in rhetoric, a kind of figure of 
 speech, whereby a word is removed from 
 its first and natural signification, and appli- 
 ed with advantage to another thing, which 
 it does not originally mean ; but Only stands 
 for it, as it has a relation to, or connection 
 with it : as in this sentence, God is my rock. 
 Here the trope lies in the word rock, which 
 being firm and immoveable, excites in our 
 minds the notion of God’s unfailing power, 
 and the steady support which good men re- 
 ceive from their dependence upon him. 
 
 TROPHIS in botany, a genus of the 
 Dioecia Tetrandria class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Calyciflor®. Essential charac- 
 ter : male, calyx none ; corolla four-petalled : 
 female, calyx none ; corolla none ; style 
 two-parted ; berry-one seeded. There is 
 but one species, viz. T. Americana, the 
 ramoon tree, which is a native of Jamaica 
 and other islands in the West Indies in dry 
 exposed situations. 
 
 TROPHY, among the ancients, a pile 
 or heap of arms of a vanquished enemy, 
 raised by the conqueror in the most emi- 
 nent part of the field of battle. The tro- 
 phies were usually dedicated to some of the 
 gods, especially Jupiter. The name of the 
 deity to whom they were inscribed, was 
 generally mentioned, as was that also of the 
 conqueror. The spoils were at first hung 
 upon the trunk of a tree ; but instead of 
 trees, succeeding ages erected pillars of 
 stone, or brass, to continue the memory of 
 
TRU 
 
 their victories. To demolish a trophy was 
 looked upon as a kind of sacrilege, because 
 they were all consecrated to some deity. 
 
 TROPICS, in astronomy and geography, 
 are two circles supposed to be drawn on 
 each side of the equinoctial, and parallel 
 thereto. That on the north-side of the line 
 is called the tropic of cancer, and tlie 
 southern tropic has the name of capricorn, 
 as passing through the beginning of those 
 signs. There are distant from the equinoc- 
 tial 23° 29'. Two circles drawn at the 
 same distance from the equator on the ter- 
 restrial globe, have the same names iti geo- 
 graphy, and they include that space or part 
 of the sphere, which is called the torrid 
 zone, because the sun is, at one time or 
 other, perpendicular over every part of 
 that zone, and extremely terrifies or heats 
 it. 
 
 TROVER is the remedy prescribed by 
 the law, where any person is in possession of 
 the property of another, which he unlaw- 
 fidly detains. Previously to commencing 
 this action, a demand of the property sp de- 
 tained, must be made in writing, by some 
 jrerson properly authorised by the owner of 
 the prcperty ; and upon refusal to restore 
 it, tlie law presumes an unlawful conver- 
 sion, and the party is entitled to this action, 
 and will recover damages to the value of 
 the proiierty detained. In trover, the 
 smallest damages will carry costs. A simi- 
 lar action may be brought for the unlawful 
 detention of any property,, on which the 
 specific articles, so detained, may be reco- 
 vered, whicli is called detinue j but as the 
 articles detained must be precisely stated 
 in the declaration, and it is attended with 
 some difficulty, this action is very seldom 
 'brought. 
 
 TROY weight, in commerce. See 
 AVeight. 
 
 Troy weight, formerly called Trone 
 weight, is supposed to be taken fiom a 
 weight of the same name in Prance, which 
 was taken from the name of the town of 
 Troyes. The original of all weights used 
 in England, wa.s a grain of wheat, taken 
 out of the middle of the ear, aiid, when 
 well dried, thirty-two of them were to 
 make one penny-weight: twenty penny- 
 weights, one ounce; and twelve ounces 
 one pound. Afterwards it was thought suf- 
 ficient to divide the penny-weight into 
 twenty-four equal parts, called grains, which 
 is the least weight now in common use. 
 
 TRUCE, in the art of war, denotes a 
 suspension of arms, or a cessation of hosti- 
 
 TRU 
 
 lities between two armies, in order to settle 
 articles of peace, bury the dead, or the like. 
 
 TRUCKS, among gunners, round pieces 
 of wood, in form of wheels, fixed on the 
 axle-trees of carriages; to move the ord- 
 nance at sea, and sometimes also at land. 
 
 TRUFFLES, in natural history, a kind 
 of subterraneous vegetable production, net 
 unlike mushrooms, being a genus of fungi, 
 which grows under the surface of the earth. 
 
 TRUMPET, in music. See Musical 
 instruments. 
 
 Trumpet, speaking, is a tube of consi- 
 derable length, viz. from 6 feet to 12, and 
 even more, used for speaking with to make 
 the voice heard to a greater distance. In 
 a trumpet of this kind the sound in one di- 
 rection is supposed to be increased, not so 
 much by its being prevented from spread- 
 ing all round, as by the reflection from the 
 sides of the trumpet. The figure best 
 suited for the speaking trumpet is that 
 which is generated by the rotation of a pa- 
 rabola, about a line parallel to the axis. 
 The trumpet used at sea is represented by 
 fig. 10, Plate XVI. Miscel. It is an hollow 
 instrument ot copper, or of tinned iron 
 plates. It is open at both ends, and the 
 narrow end A is shaped so as to go round 
 the speaker’s mouth, and to leave the lips 
 at liberty within it. The edge of this nar- 
 row end A is generally covered with lea- 
 ther or cloth, in order that it may more 
 effectually prevent the passage of anv air 
 between the trumpet and the face of the 
 speaker. The words which are spoken 
 through a speaking trumpet may be heard 
 much further and louder, but not so dis- 
 tinctly, as without the trumpet. A speak- 
 ing trumpet has been applied to the mouth 
 of a gun or pistol, by which means the explo- 
 sion has been rendered audible at'a vast dis- 
 tance. Such contrivances it has been thought 
 might be used as signals in certain eases. 
 
 Trumpet, hearing, is an instrument to 
 assist the hearing/of persons who are deaf. 
 Instruments of this kind are formed of 
 tubes, with a wide mouth, and terminating 
 in a small canal, which is applied to the 
 ear. The form of these instruments evi-- 
 dently shows how they conduce to 'as.sist 
 the hearing, for the greater quantity of the 
 weak and languid pulses of the air being 
 received and collected by the large end of 
 the tube, are reflected to the small end, 
 where they are collected and condensed ; , 
 thence entering the ear in this condensed 
 state, they strike the tympanum with a 
 greater force tlian they could naturally have 
 
TRU 
 
 done ffom the ear alone. Hence it ap- 
 pears, that a speaking trumpet may be ap- 
 plied to the puipose of a hearing trumpet, 
 l)y turning the wide end towards the sound, 
 and the narrow end to the ear. 
 
 TRUNCATED, in general, is an appel- 
 lation given to such things as have, or seem 
 to have, their points cut off: thus we say, a 
 truncated cone, pyramid, leaf, &c. 
 
 TRUNCHEON, a short staflF, or bat- 
 toon, used by kings, generals, and great of- 
 ficers, as a mark of their command. 
 
 TRUNDLE, a sort of carriage with low 
 wheels, whereon heavy and cumbersome 
 burdens are drawn. 
 
 TRUNNIONS, orTiiUNioNS^ apiece 
 of ordnance, are those knobs or bunches of 
 the gun’s metal, which bear her up on the 
 cheeks of the carriage: and hence the 
 trunnion-ring is the ring about a cannon, 
 next before the trunnions. 
 
 TRUSS, a bundle, or certain quantity of 
 hay, straw, &c. A truss of hay is to contain 
 fifty six pounds, or half an hundred weight ; 
 thirty-six trusses make a load. In June 
 and August the truss is to weigh sixty 
 pounds, on forfeiture of eighteen shillings 
 per truss. 
 
 Truss, in naval affairs, a machine em- 
 ployed to pull a lower yard close to its 
 mast, and retain it firmly in that position : 
 it is rarely employed except in flying top 
 gallant sails. It is a ring or traveller which 
 encircles the mast, and has a rope fastened 
 to its after part, leading downward to the 
 top or decks ; by means of which the truss 
 may be straitened or slackened at pleasure. 
 
 Truss is also used for a sort of bandage 
 or ligature, made of steel, or the like mat- 
 ter, wherewith to keep up the parts, in 
 those who have hernias or ruptures. 
 
 TRUST, is a right to receive profits of 
 land, and to dispose of the land in equity ; 
 and one holding the possession and dispos- 
 ing thereof at his will and pleasure, are • 
 signs of trust. . A trust is but a new name 
 given to an use, and invented to evade the 
 statute of uses. By statute 29 Charles II. 
 c. 3, all declaration or creation of trusts 
 shall be manifested by some writing signed 
 by the party, or by his last will in writing, 
 or else shall be void. And by section 9 of 
 the same act, assignments of trusts shall be 
 in writing, signed by the party assigning the 
 same, or by his last will, or else shall be of 
 no eflect. 
 
 By 29 Charles II. all declarations of trusts 
 were to be made in writing : but in the said 
 act there is a saving with regard to trusts re- 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 TUC 
 
 suiting by implication of law, which are 
 left on the footing whereon they stood be- 
 fore the act ; now, a bare declaration by 
 parol before the act would prevent any re- 
 sulting trust. 
 
 If a man purchase lands in another’s 
 name, and pay the money, it will be a trust 
 for him that paid the money, though there 
 be no deed made declaring the trust ther e- 
 of ; for the statute of frauds and perjuries 
 extends not to trusts raised by operations 
 of law. 
 
 TUB, match, in naval affairs ; the half of 
 a cask, having notches sawn in its edges, in 
 which the lighted matches are placed dur- 
 ing action, the bottom being covered with 
 water to extinguish any sparks w'hich rrtay 
 fall from the match. 
 
 TUBE, in general, pipe, conduit, or 
 canal ; a cylinder hollow withiriside, either 
 of lead, iron, wood, glass, or other rrratter, 
 for the air, or. some other fluid, to have a 
 free passage, or conveyance, through. Small 
 silver or leaden tubes are frequently used, 
 by surgeons, to draw oft' blood, matter, or 
 water, from the different parts of the body ; 
 they are made of various sizes and shapes. 
 
 Tube, in astronomy, is sometimes used 
 for a telescope, or more properly, for that 
 part thereof into which the lenses are fitted, 
 and by which they are directed and used. 
 
 We have now certain articles in domestic 
 use, as toasting-forks, &c, made on the 
 principle of telescope tubes. 
 
 TUBULARIA, in natural history, a ge- 
 nus of the Vermes Zoophyta class and 
 order. Stem tubular, simple or branched, 
 fixed by the base ; animal proceeding from 
 the end of the tube, and having its head 
 crested with tentacula. Twenty-six spe- 
 cies have been enumerated. T. magnified ; 
 tube simple, whitish; tentacula very nu- 
 merous, variegated with red and white. It 
 is found in the West Indies, adhering to 
 rocks ; and is by far the largest and most 
 splendid of its genus : like the rest of its 
 tribe, it has the power of withdrawing its 
 tentacula within the tube, and the tube 
 within the rock on which it resides. It 
 connects, as it were, the genera tubularia 
 and amphitrite, having the annulated 
 wrinkled tube of the one, and the retrac- 
 tile tentaculated body of the other. T. tis- 
 tulosa inhabits the European, Mediterra- 
 nean, and Atlantic Seas ; about three inches 
 long, and as thick as common packthread. 
 
 TUCK of a ship, the trussing or gather- 
 ing up the quarter under water ; which if 
 ■she lie deep, makes her have a broad, or, 
 
TUN 
 
 as they call it, fat quarter, and hinders her 
 steering, by keeping the water from passing 
 swiftly to her rudder ; and if this trussing 
 lie too high above the water, she wilt want 
 bearing for her works behind, unless her 
 quarter be very well laid out 
 
 TUFA, in mineralogy, is calcareous, and 
 of a yellowish-grey colour. It occurs sojid, 
 blit generally porous, and marked with im- 
 pressions of reeds, moss, and other vegeta- 
 bles; it is soft, easily frangible, and not 
 much heavier tlian water : it elfervesces 
 with acids, and is little else than carbonate 
 of lime. The more compact kinds are em- 
 ployed in building. 
 
 TULBAGIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Hexandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Spathaceae. Narcissi, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: corolla funnel- 
 form, with a six-cleft border ; nectary 
 crowning the aperture, three-leaved ; leaf- 
 lets bifid, the size of the border ; capsule 
 superior. There are two species; viz. T. 
 alliacea, narcissus-leaved tulbagia; and T. 
 cepacea : both natives of the Cape of Good 
 Hope. 
 
 TULIPA, in botany, tulip, a genus of 
 the Hexandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Coronarias. Lilia, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : corolla six-petalled, bell- 
 shaped ; style none. There are five species. 
 
 TUN, or Ton, originally signifies a large 
 vessel or cask of an oblong form, biggest in 
 the middle, and diminishing towards its two 
 ends, girt about with hoops, and used for 
 stowing several kinds of merchandize, for 
 convenience of carriage ; as brandy, oil, 
 sugar, skins, hats, &c. This word is also 
 used for certain vessels of extraordinary 
 bigness, serving to keep wine in for several 
 years. 
 
 Tun is also a certain measure for liquids ; 
 as wine, oil, &c. See Measure. , 
 
 Tun is also a certain weight whereby the 
 burden of ships, &c. are estimated. 
 
 TUNE, or Tone, in music, is that pro- 
 perty of sounds by which they come under 
 the relation of acute and grave. If two or 
 more sounds be compared together in this 
 relation, they are either equal or unequal 
 in the degree of tune ; such as are equal, 
 are called unisons ; the unequal constitute 
 what are called intervals, which are the 
 ditferenees of tone between sounds. Sono- 
 rous bodies are found to differ in tone : 1st. 
 According to the different kinds of matter ; 
 thus the sound of a piece of gold, is much 
 graver than that of a piece of silver of the 
 same shape and dimensions. 2d. Accord- 
 
 TUN 
 
 ing to the different quantities of the same 
 matter in bodies of the same figure ; as a 
 solid sphere of brass, of one foot diameter, 
 sounds acuter than a sphere of brass of two 
 feet diameter. But the measures of tone 
 are only to be sought in the relations of the 
 motions that are the cause of sound, which 
 are most discernible in the vibration of 
 chords. Now, in general, we find that in 
 two chords, all things being equal except- 
 ing the tension', the thickness, or the length, 
 the tones are different; which difference 
 can only be in the velocity of their vibra- 
 tory motions, by which they perform a dif- 
 ferent number of vibrations in the same 
 time ; as it is known that all the small vi- 
 brations of the same chord are performed 
 in equal times. Now the frequenter or 
 quicker those vibrations are, the more acute 
 is the tone ; and the slower and fewer they 
 are in the same space of time, by so much 
 the more grave is the tone. So that any 
 given note of a tune is made by one certain 
 measure of velocity of vibrations, that is, 
 such a certain number of vibrations of a 
 chord or string, in such a certain space of 
 time, constitutes a determinate tone. 
 
 TUNGSTATE. See Tungstic acid. 
 
 TUNGSTEN, in mineralogy, is usually 
 of a yellowish and greyish white ; it occurs 
 massive, disseminated, and very frequently 
 crystallized ; it sometimes occurs in large, 
 coarse, and small granular distinct concre- 
 tions, with streaked and shining surfaces. Its 
 specific gravity is from 4.3 to 6. It is in- 
 fusible, without addition, before the blow- 
 pipe. It melts with borax, but scarcely 
 changes its colour. When pulverized and 
 digested with nitrous or muriatic acid, it 
 leaves a yellow residue which is the oxide 
 of tungsten. The mineral contains, ac- 
 cording to Scheele, 
 
 Yellow oxide of tungsten... 65 
 
 Lime Si. 
 
 Silica 4 
 
 100 
 
 This specimen was obtained in Sweden : a 
 specimen from Cornwall analyzed by Klap- 
 roth yielded 
 
 Yellow oxide of tungsten .. 75.25 
 
 Lime '. is.ro 
 
 Oxide of iron 1.25 
 
 manganese 0.75 
 
 Silica 1.50 
 
 97.45 
 
 Loss 2.55 
 
 100 
 
TUN 
 
 It occurs in primitive mountains, and be- 
 longs to the oldest metalliferous formations. 
 It is usually accompanied with tinstone, 
 wolfram, quartz, mica, steatite, fluor-spar, 
 &c. The Cornish tungsten is accompanied 
 with iron-stone and hematite. It is found 
 in Cornwall, Sweden, Saxony, and Ger- 
 many. It is distinguished from tinstone by 
 its octahedral crystals, the intensity of its 
 lustre, its hardness, and its greater specific 
 gravity. When Bergman analyzed this mi- 
 neral he conjectured that the basis of the 
 acid might be a metallic substance. This 
 metallic substance has been ordy found in 
 the state of acid in combination with lime, 
 iron, manganese and lead. When it is com- 
 bined with lime, it is the tungsten of the 
 Swedes, and in combination with iron, it is 
 called wolfram. To obtain this metal from 
 the acid, it is mixed vrith charcoal in a cru- 
 cible, and exposed to a very strong heat. 
 By this process the metal was obtained in 
 the form of a small button at the bottom 
 of the crucible in the first experiments 
 which were n)ade upon it by the German 
 chemists. This crumbled to pieces be- 
 tween the fingers ; and when it was exa- 
 mined with a magnifying glass, it was found 
 to consist of a number of metallic glo- 
 bules, none of which were larger than a pin 
 head. The colour of this metal is a steel 
 grey. The specific gravity is 17.6, or, ac- 
 cording to others, 17.22. It is one of the 
 hardest of the metals. It is also one of 
 the most infusible, requiring a temperature 
 of 170" Wedgwood. 
 
 It crystallizes on cooling. When it is 
 heated in the open air, it is readily convert- 
 ed into a yellow oxide, which afterwards, 
 by a stronger heat, becomes of a black co- 
 lour, and then by combining with a greater 
 proportion of oxygen, it assumes the cha- 
 racter of an acid, namely the tungstic acid, 
 whose properties and combinations with 
 alkalies and earths, vrill be presently de- 
 scribed. 
 
 Tungsten combines with phosphorous, 
 forming a phosphuret, the properties of 
 which are unknown. It also combines with 
 sulphur, forming a sulphuret of a bluish 
 black colour, and which may be crystal- 
 lized. There is no action between this me- 
 tal and sulphuric, nitric, or muriatic acids. 
 It is only acted on by nitro-muriatic acid 
 at a boiling temperature, and nitrons gas is 
 disengaged. Nothing therefore is known 
 of the combinations of tungsten with the 
 other acids. This metal combines with 
 
 TUN ■ 
 
 the other metals, and forms alloys with 
 them. 
 
 TUNGSTIC acid. In the year 1781, 
 Scheele and Bergman, in investigating the 
 nature of tungsten by the Swedes, dis- 
 covered that it is composed of lime com- 
 bined with a peculiar acid. Their dis- 
 covery was afterwards confirmed by several 
 chemists, who detected the same acid in 
 the mineral called wolfram. This acid al- 
 ways exists in combination with lime and 
 iron. It may be obtained by reducing the 
 former to a fine powder, and treating it 
 with nitric or muriatic acids, which unite 
 with the lime, and then by alkalies ; which 
 dissolve the acid. The alkaline solution is 
 to be precipitated by the nitric or muriatic 
 acid; the precipitate is to be carefidly 
 washed and dried, which is the tungstic 
 acid in the solid state. The tungstic acid 
 thus prepared, is in the form of a white 
 powder, which has an acid and metallic 
 taste, changes the colour of vegetable blues 
 into red ; and has a specific gravity, accord- 
 ing to Bergman, equal to 3.6. Heated 
 before the blow-pipe, the tungstic acid be- 
 comes first yellow, then brown, and at last 
 black; it aflbrds no smoke, and gives no 
 sign of fusion. When it is calcined for 
 some time in a crucible, it is deprived of 
 the property of dissolving in w'ater. Ex- 
 posed to the air it suffers no change. It 
 is soluble in twenty parts of boiling wa- 
 ter, but it is partially separated on cool- 
 ing. 
 
 This solution has an acid taste, and red- 
 dens the tincture of turnsole. Heated with 
 charcoal, it is reduced, but with difficulty, 
 to the metallic state. With sulphur and 
 phosphorus it becomes of a grey colour, but 
 without reduction. The acids do not dis- 
 solve the tungstic acid in the form of white 
 powder, but they change completely its 
 properties. The sulphuric acid changes it 
 to a blue, and the nitric and muriatic acids 
 convert it into a fine yellow colour. In 
 this state it has lost its taste and solubility, 
 has become specifically heavier, and has ac- 
 quired the property of forming salts with 
 the same bases distinctly different from 
 those formed with what was called the 
 white acid. The compounds which it forms 
 with the alkalies, earths, and metallic 
 oxides, are a species of neutral salts; but 
 the chemical combination is not fully com- 
 pleted to hide the alkaline properties of the 
 former. In forming these compounds, it is 
 the only property in which it agrees with 
 Gg 2 
 
TUR 
 
 the aciiJs. The compounds are denominat- 
 ed tungstates. 
 
 TUNNAGE is used for a custom or im- 
 post, payable to the crown, for goods and 
 merchandize imported or exported, and is 
 to be paid after a certain rate for every 
 tun thereof. This duty, as well as that of 
 poundage, was first granted for life to King 
 Charles II. and has been continued in the 
 same manner to his royal successors, down 
 to his present majesty King George III. 
 
 TUNNEL net, a net for taking par- 
 tridges, which should not exceed fifteen feet 
 in length, nor be less than eighteen inches 
 in breadth, or opening, for the entrance. 
 
 TUPIPORA, in natural history, a genus 
 of the Vermes Zoophyta; animal a nereis ; 
 coral consisting of erect, hollow, cylindri- 
 cal, parallel, aggregate tubes. There are 
 ten species, of which we notice T. nnisica, 
 with fasciculate connected tubes, and trans- 
 verse, distinct, membranaceous dissepi- 
 ments. It inhabits the Indian and Ame- 
 rican Seas, fixed to rocks and other corals : 
 it is of a bright scarlet colour, consisting of 
 an assortment of upriglit parallel tubes, 
 rising over each other by stages like cells 
 of an honey comb, divided by transverse 
 partitions. The Indians use it in cases of 
 strangnary, and wounds inflicted by ve- 
 nomous animals. 
 
 TURBITH minerid. If sulphuric acid 
 and mercury, namely, three parts of acid 
 and two of mercury, be exposed fora longer 
 time to the action of heat, a greater pro- 
 portion of sulphuric acid is decomposed, 
 and the mercury combines with a greater 
 proportion of oxygen. 'J’he salt thus ob- 
 tained possesses different properties from 
 the former. It crystallizes in small prisms, 
 and when it is neutralized it is of a dirty 
 white colotir ; but if it be obtained in the 
 dry state, it is pure white, and in this state 
 it is colnbined with an excess of acid. It 
 is then deliquescent in tlie air ; but in the 
 neutral state it undergoes no change. When 
 hot water is added to this salt, it is con- 
 verted into a yellow powder, which has 
 been long distinguished by the name of 
 turpeth mineral. 
 
 TURBO, in natural history, wreath; a 
 genus of the Vermes Testacea class and 
 order: animal a limax ; shell univalve, spi- 
 ral, solid ; aperture contracted, orbicular, 
 entire. This is a very numerous genus, 
 divided into sections. A. pillar-margin of 
 the aperture dilated imperforate. B. solid 
 imperforate. C. solid perforated. D. can- 
 cellate. E. Tapering, 
 
 TUR 
 
 TURDUS, the thrush, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Pas- 
 seres. Generic character : bill straitish, 
 upper mandible somewhat bending, and 
 notched near the point ; nostrils oval, and 
 half-covered with a small membrane, or 
 naked ; mouth ciliated with a few bristles 
 at the corners ; tongue jagged. There are 
 one hundred and twenty-two species enu- 
 merated by Latham, and one hundred and 
 thirty-five by Gmelin, of which we shall 
 notice the following. 
 
 T. viscivorus, or the missel-thrush. , This 
 bird is well known throughout Europe, and 
 some think confined to it. In England it 
 is stationary, in some other countries mi- 
 gratory. It builds its nest of moss and 
 leaves in low trees, or rather shrubs, and 
 lays four eggs. It feeds on the berries of 
 holly, hawthorn, and other trees, and on 
 caterpillars and insects. It is valued for 
 food, but far more for that melody, which 
 ought ever to be its security from the gun 
 of the sportsman, and which it frequently 
 commences so early as the very beginning 
 of the year, animating the dullness, and 
 softening the rigour of the seasdn by its de- 
 lightful song. 
 
 T. raiisicus, or the throstle, is nine inches 
 long, and weighs three ounces, being con- 
 siderably less than the former. It breeds 
 so early as the beginning of April, and 
 sometimes again in each of the two follow- 
 ing months. Its nest is made of earth, 
 straw, and moss, and plastered inside with 
 clay. It is never seen in companies in 
 England, where it remains through the 
 whole year : in France it is migratory. Its 
 song commences early in the season, and 
 continues for nine months ; and its notes 
 are so rich and various, that, in the lan- 
 guage of Milton, they can “ charm all sad- 
 ness but despair.” 
 
 T. pilaris, or the field-fare, is ten inches 
 long, passes the winter in England, when 
 the season is extremely rigorous, in immense 
 flocks, but in small parties when the winter 
 is mild. These birds are said to have been 
 much esteemed for the table by the Ro- 
 mans. In Sweden they build in high trees. 
 They subsist principally on various sorts of 
 berries. 
 
 T. merula, orthe black-bird, is ten inches 
 long, and found generally throughout Eu- 
 rope. It is fond of solitude, and never’, or 
 ver y rarely, seen in flocks. In summer it 
 haunts orchards and gardens. In winter it 
 secludes far from human society in the re- 
 cesses of the woods. It builds in the same 
 
TUR 
 
 situation, and with the same materials, as 
 the throstle, and may be easily reared, 
 tamed, and taught to imitate a variety of 
 tunes, and to articulate words and phrases. 
 But its natural song is far superior to all its 
 efforts of imitation, and when listened to 
 from a moderate distance, for its sound is 
 very strong, has a most cheering and trans- 
 porting effect. 
 
 T. cinclus, or the water ouzel, is rather 
 less than the former, is solitary, and met 
 with in various parts of this island, subsist- 
 ing not only upon insects biit fish, which it 
 procures by diving, and walking or running 
 after them at the bottom of the water. It 
 is said to have been taken by a line and 
 hook, having snatched at the bait intended 
 for fish. It is able to sustain extreme cold, 
 and does not quit its watery haunts till the 
 streams are frozen. It builds in tlie banks 
 of rivers. 
 
 The musician thrush is four inches long, 
 and a native of Cayenne, where it subsists 
 principally on ants. It never quits trees 
 but to procure its sustenance. It is called 
 in Cayenne the musician, by way of emi- 
 nence. It is said to deliver first seven notes 
 of the octave, and then to whistle various 
 airs in different tones, sometimes resem- 
 bling the flute, at others the human whis- 
 tle ; and when it displays its most skilful 
 efforts, it is preferred by some even to the 
 nightingale. Its habits are solitary. 
 
 TURKEY. .See Meleagris. 
 
 TURMERIC, a root, which is cultivated 
 largely in the East Indies ; consists of a 
 large oval bulb, from which spring two or 
 tliree tortuous processes, three or four inches 
 long. It has a fragrant smell, and an aro- 
 matic taste. The yellow colour which it 
 exhibits is easily extracted, both by water 
 and alcohol, and is sometimes used as a 
 dye, which is very fugitive ; therefore when 
 employed in dyeing, it is chiefly to give a 
 finishing gloss to the more solid colours, 
 which soon fades away. The yellow of 
 turmeric is rendered paler by the acids, 
 but is changed to a brick-red by the alka- 
 lies ; hence its great sensibility to alkaline 
 tests. To apply it to this purpose, either a 
 spirituous tincture or a watery infusion may 
 be used ; or, still more simply, a fresh cut 
 surface of the entire root may be wetted 
 with distilled water, and by being rubbed 
 on white paper a visible yellow mark will 
 be made, on which a drop of the liquor to 
 be examined may be dropped. If the quan- 
 tity of alkali be very small, it requires a few 
 minutes to produce the full change. 
 
 TURNERA, in botany, so named in me- 
 
 TUR 
 
 mory of William Turner, M. D. a genus of 
 the Pentandria Trigynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Columnifer®. Portulace®, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 cleft, funnel-form, exterior, two-leaved ; 
 petals five, inserted into the calyx ; stigmas 
 multifid; capsule one-celled, three-valved. 
 There are nine species. 
 
 TURNING, in mechanics, a very inge- 
 nious and useful art, by which a great vari- 
 ety of articles are manufactured, by cutting 
 or fashioning them while they revolve upon 
 an axis or line, which in most cases remains 
 immoveable. Every solid substance in na- 
 ture may be submitted to this process, and 
 accordingly we have articles turned in the 
 metals, in wood, in pottery, in stone, in 
 ivory, &c. so numerous, and so universally 
 in use, that it would be superfluous to enu- 
 merate or point them out. In the present 
 article we shall describe the art in a gene- 
 ral way, sufficient to show its principles, 
 and may he of utility in practice. 
 
 The simplest process of turning is that of 
 the potter, who, in the first stage of forming 
 his ware, sticks a piece of humid clay upon 
 a wheel, or flat table, while it revolves hori- 
 zontally, and in this state of rotation of the 
 clay, he'fashions it with the greatest faci- 
 lity into vessels of every description. But 
 in most operations of the art the revolving 
 body is cut or shaved by applying a chissel, 
 or other suitable tool, to its surface, while 
 in motion ; a condition that requires firm- 
 ness in the axis of rotation, and also, that 
 the tool itself should be steadily supported. 
 The instrument, or apparatus for these pur- 
 poses, is called a Lathe. See the article. 
 Among the great varieties of lathes, it is 
 indispensably required, for circular turning, 
 that the work should be supported by two 
 steady centres, or by parts equivalent to 
 two centres, at a distance from each other 
 in the axis of rotation, and that the tool 
 should be supported by a steady bar, or 
 piece called the rest. The mechanism for 
 causing the rotation has been described in 
 the article just referred to. 
 
 A great number of turned articles either 
 have, or will admit of a peiforation through 
 their axis. All wheel-work, and most of 
 the articles turned in wood, are of this 
 description. Clock and watchmakers ac- 
 cordingly use a very cheap, simple, and 
 portable lathe, called a turn-bench, con- 
 sisting of a straight bar of iron, about five 
 inches long, with two cross bars or heads, 
 about two inches long, one fixed at the 
 end of the long bar, and the other capable 
 of being shifted by means of a socket and 
 
TURNING. 
 
 screw. Ill each of these heads is a centre- 
 pin terminating in a point at one end, and 
 in a central hole at the other, like the cen- 
 tre-pin, in the poppet-head of any other 
 lathe.; the use of which is to atFord point- 
 centres when the points are turned towards 
 each other, or hole centres when the con- 
 trary is the case'; and- lastly, there is a 
 small rest with its support, slidable and 
 adjustable along the bar, as in another 
 lathe. These instruments, which cost five 
 or six shillings at the watch tool shops, will 
 therefore support any piece of four or five 
 inches long, and three inches diameter be- 
 tween the centres, and the method of pro- 
 ducing the rotation is by passing the cat- 
 gut strftig of a bow once or twice round the 
 work, and drawing the bow backwards and 
 forwards with one hand, while the other is 
 employed in applying the tool. The turn- 
 bench itself is held steady in a vice fixed to 
 a bench or stand. 
 
 Such pieces as have a hole through the 
 centre, are drawn tightly upon an arbor or 
 mandrel, having a pulley or ferril fixed upon 
 it, to carry the gut or bow-string, and the 
 mandrel itself is turned between the centres 
 upon its own pointed extremities. There 
 are mandrels fitted up in different ways for 
 holding the work firmly, and jf flat, at right 
 angles to the motion ; but we cannot con- 
 sistently with brevity enter upon a descrip- 
 tion of them, which will immediately be 
 understood by inspection in a wor kshop. 
 
 The common lathe of the turners in 
 wood, called the pole-lathe, is the same 
 thing as the watchmakers turn-bench, but 
 upon a large scale, and a little varied. In- 
 stead of the horizontal bar it has two long 
 stout bars of wood, called sheers, forming 
 what is called the bed of the lathe, and its 
 two poppet-heads are upright blocks of 
 wood, mortised in between the sheers, 
 above which they rise and carry the centre 
 screws, and betvveen which they are move- 
 able, and may be wedged firmly at any 
 required distance from each other. The 
 work itself is either put between the cen- 
 tres, or upon a wooden mandril, and it is 
 made to revolve by a string or band, pro- 
 ceeding from a long springing pole at the 
 ceiling or roof of the shop, round the work, 
 and thence to a treadle or foot board, 
 which acts by alternate pressure from the 
 foot, while the workman applies the cutting 
 tool with his hands. 
 
 In these, and all similar lathes, the rota- 
 tion is made backwards and forwards; and 
 there are some kinds of work in which such 
 
 a motion is advantageous; but in general 
 it is much preferable that the work should 
 constantly revolve the same way, as shown 
 in the lathe described under that article, 
 usually known by the name of the foot- 
 lathe. In the regular foot-lathe, work is 
 very seldom turned between tlie opposite 
 centres, though this method certainly affords 
 great truth and precision. The mandrel 
 is here an essential part of the apparatus, 
 which is always used. It has been .shown 
 that it is supported by a centre on the 
 left hand, called the back centre, and by a 
 steel collar in the middle poppet-head ; and 
 that the right hand extremity, or nose of 
 the mandrel, terminates in a screw, either 
 convex or concave, the latter of which is 
 preferred in the best latlies. The various 
 description of pieces screwed upon the 
 nose of the mandrel, for holding or carrying 
 work, are called chucks, probably because 
 the work is mostly fastened by being dri- 
 ven, jammed, or choked into them. 
 
 When work is to be turned between cen- 
 tres by the foot-lathe, a centre-chuck, or 
 steel-piece, carrying a projecting point, is 
 screwed on the nose of the mandrel ; and as 
 this piece is not harder than blue, and may 
 not always screw home to exactly the same 
 bearing, accurate workmen are in the habit 
 of turning or shaving the point in its place, 
 so that it shall be truly centered. The op- 
 posite centre is afforded by the moveable 
 poppet-head, and ought to be truly in the 
 axis; and the mandrel is made to carry the 
 work round by an arm and pin, or by any 
 other ready method of connection. 
 
 Work, which is not to be turned between 
 centres, is usually fastened to, or fixed in, a 
 block or wooden chuck screwed on the 
 mandrel. As it would be almost impossible 
 to screw a wooden chuck upon the convex 
 nose of a mandrel, and take it off as occa- 
 sion required during the process, without 
 altering the position, it is found much best 
 that the screw of the mandrel should be 
 hollow, and a brass chuck screwed therein, 
 having its projecting screw to receive the 
 wooden chuck ; because, by this means, the 
 work may be taken off repeatedly, if need- 
 ful, without ever separating the brass and 
 the wood ; and the brass and the steel will 
 take the same position when screwed toge- 
 ther again. 
 
 Metallic or other work may be fastened 
 to a wooden chuck by cement, or by glue, 
 or by turning a cell in the wood, and driv- 
 ing the work gently and carefully into it 
 till fixed. 
 
TURNING. 
 
 The stronger, the firmer, and the better 
 tlie workmanship of a lathe, the easier it 
 will be to perform work willi expedition 
 and truth ; but a good workman will make 
 true and excellent work with a very indif- 
 ferent lathe, by taking care to cut so lit^e 
 at a time that the parts of the engine may 
 never be shaken out of their contact. Me- 
 tallic lathes, if ever so strong, have an elas- 
 tic tremor, which makes it difiicult to cut 
 brass and bell-metal as firmly and smoothly 
 as in wooden lathes, but the structure of 
 the former admits of greater precision and 
 truth. In a well constructed lathe, the back 
 centre, the centre of the collar, and the 
 fore centre, or centre of the moveable pop- 
 pet-head, ought to be in one line, parallel 
 to the bed or sheers. To prove this by 
 trial, set the moveable poppet-head as far 
 to ^lie right hand as possible, and screw a 
 stick of wood into the nose of the mandrel : 
 into the middle of the right hand end of the 
 stick, or nearly so, drive a pin or other 
 projecting point, and by gen tie blows against 
 the stick, cause the point to remain steady 
 in the axis, while tlie mandrel is turned 
 round. If the centre point of the moveable 
 poppet be truly opposite to this revolving 
 point, the three centres are in a line ; and if 
 the same continues to be the case when the 
 face of the moveable poppet is reversed, 
 it is a proof that the hole in the poppet 
 is bored parallel to the bed ; and if the 
 same adjustment continues when the stick 
 . is shortened, it shows that the bed is 
 strait and parallel to the axis of work. If 
 the collar and back centre, and the chamfer 
 and point of the mandrel, in a lathe, be 
 truly formed, and set square, the rotation 
 slowly made by hand, when the back centre 
 is rather firmly set up, will be equally stiflf 
 in every part, and the wearing parts, when 
 examined, will have the same aspect, slope, 
 and grain, in every part of their surfaces. 
 
 The velocity of rotation may be extreme- 
 ly swift in wood, slower in brass and bell 
 metal, still slower in cast iron, and slowest 
 of all in forged iron or steel. The reason 
 for these limits appears to be, that a certain 
 time is requisite for the act of cutting to 
 take place, and that the tool itself, if heated 
 by rotation, will instantly become soft, and 
 cease to cut. Steel and iron require to be 
 kept wetted. For rough work in wood the 
 guage is a good tool, and after that the chisel, 
 with its edge a little convex rather than 
 strait lined. The graver is commonly used 
 for metal ; and for strong rough work, the 
 hook tool, which is of excellent advantage, 
 
 even in small work, on account of its ex- 
 treme steadiness. AFhen steel is to be cut 
 extremely clean, a sharp hard tool may be 
 useful, but for the most part in metallic 
 work, even of steel, (if annealed), the hook 
 tool, or graver, need not be harder than 
 purple, or even blue. But to cut steel work 
 or chill cast iron cylinders at a high tem- 
 per, the tool must be very hard, the angle 
 of edge obtuse, (say seventy degrees), and 
 the motion slow. 
 
 Hitherto we have spoken of plain turn- 
 ing, which is indeed the most useful and 
 most universally practised. But many other 
 nice and very curious operations are per- 
 formed by this art. If the poppet-heads, 
 supporting the mandrel, be made regularly 
 to move from side to side, during the rota- 
 tion, or the rest be made to approach to, 
 and recede from, the work, any number of 
 times in a turn, the cuts will not be circu- 
 lar but undulating, indented or waved in 
 any curve that^may be required. Work of 
 this kind, whi^i is chiefly done in watch 
 eases, snuff boxes, and trinkets, is called 
 rose-work. Tlie motion is commonly re- 
 gulated by certain round plates of brass 
 fixed on the mandrel, called roves, which 
 have their edges waved, and are called 
 roses. 
 
 Another deviation from regular turning 
 is effected by causing the chuck, which 
 carries the work, to recede crosswise from 
 the centre of the mandrel, back and for- 
 ward during the rotation. The effect of 
 this is, that the diameters of the work are 
 not all equal to each other. It is practica- 
 ble to produce a variety of curves in this 
 way, but in our art the process is confined 
 to turning ovals ; and the chuck, by which 
 the work is made thus to slide back and 
 forward, is called an oval chuck. 
 
 Numerous geometrical figures are pro- 
 duced by turning, by an apparatus upon the 
 principle of the geometrical pen of Snardi, 
 in engines which have been made for curio- 
 sity, and at great expense. 
 
 Medallions, and other similar pieces, are 
 produced by regulating the action of the 
 tool in its advance to, or recess from, the 
 face of a piece exposed to its action. 
 
 If the mandrel of a lathe be made to ad- 
 vance and recede in the line of the axis, 
 once in each turn the cut will not be in a 
 plane at right angles to the axis of the 
 work, and the line traced upon the work 
 will be an ellipsis, produced by the oblique 
 section of a cylinder. This kind of work is 
 called swash-work, and may be seen in some 
 
TUR 
 
 old balustrades, where its effect is far from 
 being pleasing. The nature of the curve 
 thus described, which we have called an el- 
 lipsis vvill manifestly vary according to the 
 law of the alternate motion in the mandrel. 
 When the mandrel moves uniformly for- 
 ward, the cut will be the common helix or 
 screw ; and the motion is used to make 
 screws, though not very frequently, because 
 good turners can easily make them by a 
 a notched cutting tool, called the screw. 
 
 The act of turning is so extensively ap- 
 plicable, that it would require a volume to 
 describe its uses, and the methods of prac- 
 tising it. Every round thing which is made 
 by human hands may be referred to this art, 
 as one of its products. The largest columns, 
 the most ponderous artillery, and the mi- 
 nutest pivots of watch-work, with all wheel- 
 work, rotatory machines, vessels, &c. are 
 worked in this method. 
 
 TURNSOLE. See Litmus. 
 
 TURPENTINE. See Resins. 
 
 Turpentine, of which there are various 
 kinds, are all products of some of the 
 species of the pinns. From this genus are 
 obtained not only turpentine, but resin, 
 pitch, tar, &c. which are employed so ex- 
 tensively in ship-building, and in the rigging 
 also : likewise in varnishes. 
 
 There are diree varieties of pine turpen- 
 tine, commonly known pnder that name in 
 Europe: namely, 1. The common turpen- 
 tine, obtained chiefly from the pinus sylves- 
 tris (Scotch fir). 2 . The Strasburgh tur- 
 pentine, yielded by the pinus pieca (silver 
 fir). And, 3. The Venice turpentine, pro- 
 cured from the pinus larix (larch). Of the 
 three first mentioned turpentines, the Ve- 
 nice is the thinnest and most aromatic; the 
 Strasburgh the next in these qualities, and 
 the common is the firmest and coarsest. 
 The two former are often adulterated by a 
 mixture of the common turpentine and oil of 
 turpentine, and it is to be observed, that the 
 terms Venice and Strasburgh turpentine are 
 not now appropriate, as they arg procured 
 from various countries. 
 
 Common turpentine is obtained largely 
 in the pine forests in the south of France, in 
 Switierland, in the countries on the north 
 of the Pyrenees, in Germany, and in many 
 of the southern States of North America. 
 The greater part of what is consumed in 
 this country is imported from North Ame- 
 rica. The method of obtaining it is by 
 making a series of incisions through the 
 bark of the tree, from which the turpentine 
 exudes, and falls down into htfles, or other 
 receptacles at the foot. 
 
 TUR 
 
 Tlie process is described very accurately 
 by Duhamel and others, as practised in 
 the south of France. The fir is generally 
 allowed to remain untouched till it is thirty 
 or forty years old. When it is to be work- 
 ed, which is early in the spring, a small hole 
 is first made in the ground at the foot of the 
 tree, the earth of which is well rammed, 
 and serves as a receptacle for the juice. 
 The coarse bark is then stripped off from 
 the tree, a little above the hole, down to 
 the smooth inner bark, after which a por- 
 tion of the inner bark, together with a little 
 of the wood, is cut out with a very sharp 
 tool, so that there may be a wound in the 
 tree about three inches square, and an inch 
 deep. Immediately afterwards the turpen- 
 tine begins to exude in very transparent 
 drops, which escape chiefly from the wood 
 immediately under the inner bark. Tlie 
 hotter the weather is the greater is the 
 supply of resin, and to facilitate the sup- 
 ply the incisions are enlarged every three 
 or four days, by cutting off thin slices, 
 till at the end of the year it is about a foot 
 and a half wide, and two or three inches 
 deep. The whole time during which the 
 turpentine flows is from the end of February 
 to October. In the winter it entirely ceases, 
 but in the ensuing spring a fiesh incision is 
 begun a little above the former, and manag- 
 ed in the same manner. This practice is 
 continued annually for about twelve or fif- 
 teen years in some parts, and in others a 
 shorter time, on the same side of the tree, 
 till the later incisions are so high as to be 
 out of reach without the assistance of steps ; 
 after which the contrary side of the tree is 
 begun upon, and worked in a similar man- 
 ner for as many years, during which time 
 the first incisions are grown up, and are fit 
 to be cut afresh. In this way, a healthy 
 tree, in a favourable soil, may be made to 
 yield from six to twelve, or more, pounds 
 of turpentine anntially, sometimes for a cen- 
 tury ; and even the timber is not soon in- 
 jured by this constant drain. The flow of 
 turpentine discontinues altogether about 
 October, and the liquid resin collected 
 during the year, from each tree, is put to- 
 gether for further purification. But a con- 
 siderable quantity of the resin has concreted 
 during that time around the incision, par- 
 ticularly as the heat declines; and in the 
 winter, when it has hardened considerably, 
 it is scraped off, and forms what is techni- 
 cally called barras, or in some provinces 
 galipot, which differs from the more liquid 
 turpentine in consistence, and probably 
 contains a less proportion of essential oil, 
 
TUR 
 
 The galipot is mnch used in making flam- 
 beaux when mixed with suet, but the 
 greater part of it, as well as the liquid tur- 
 pentine, is subjected to further processes. 
 
 The Strasburgh turpentine, the produce of 
 t!ie silver lir, is the most fragrant of all the 
 pine turpentines, and only inferior to the 
 true Ohio, but it is not often seen in the 
 shops. It is obtained by rude incision of 
 the bark by the peasants in the vast pine 
 forests on the western Alps. The first cut 
 is made as high as the hatchet will reach, and 
 these are renewed annually from above 
 downwards to within a foot of the ground. 
 But the finest kind of turpentine yielded 
 by this tfee, is that which exudes from soft 
 turbercles, or swellings of the inner bark. 
 The peasants carry with them a large cow’s 
 born, with the point of which they pierce 
 these tubercles, and collect the juice in its 
 hollow. 
 
 The true Venice turpentine, or resin of 
 the larch, is obtained from the Tyrol and 
 Savoy, and also from Dauphiny, by boring 
 holes about an inch in diameter, with a 
 gentle descent, in the most knotty parts of 
 the tree. To these are adapted long per- 
 forated pegs, which serve as gutters to con- 
 vey the juice into troughs placed beneath. 
 It is yielded during the whole of the sum- 
 mer, and is simply purified by straining 
 through hair sieves. A full grown larch will 
 sometimes yield seven or eight pounds of 
 turpentine annually for forty or fifty years. 
 
 TURQUOISE. The colour of this sub- 
 stance is pale sky-blue, passing into indigo- 
 blue, and pale apple-green. It occurs in 
 mass, or disseminated. Its fracture is even. 
 Its hardness is nearly equal to that of glass ; 
 it is difficultly frangible. Specific gravity 
 S.lg. Before the blow-pipe its colour 
 changes to greyish-white, and it becomes 
 friable, but it does not melt. It is soluble 
 in nitro-muriatic acid, and the European 
 varieties are so in nitric acid ; this men- 
 struum, however, has no action on the Per- 
 sian turquoises. It is composed, according 
 to Bullion la Grange, of 
 
 Phosphate of lipie 80 
 
 Carbonate of lime 8 
 
 Phosphate of iron, with a? g 
 
 trace of manganese > 
 
 Phosphate of magnesia 2 
 
 Alumina... 1 
 
 Water 6 
 
 JjOSS 1 
 
 too 
 
 TWI 
 
 Turquoise is generally considered as fossil- 
 bone, or ivory penetrated by oxide of cop- 
 per ; it appears, however, from the above 
 analysis, that the colouring matter is phos- 
 phate of iron. The oriental turquoises are 
 found near Meched in Persia, also in Mount 
 Caucasus, in Egypt and Arabia. The occi- 
 dental ones are found in Languedoc in 
 France, and in Hungary. Turquoise was 
 formerly in some estimation for rings and 
 other articles of personal ornament, but 
 its value has greatly declined in modern 
 times. The colour of turquoise changes 
 gradually by exposure to the air, from blue 
 to green : when it arrives at this state its 
 commercial value is wholly extinct. 
 
 TURRITIS, in botany, tower-mustard, a 
 genus of theTetradynamia Siliquosa class and 
 order. Natural order of Siliquosas, Cruci- 
 formes, or Crucifer®. Essential character : 
 silique very long, angular 5 calyx converg- 
 ing, erect; corolla erect. There are eight 
 species. 
 
 TURRiEA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Decandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Trihilat®. Meli®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character: calyx five- toothed ; 
 petals five ; nectary toothed, cylindrical, 
 bearing the anthers at the mouth between 
 the teeth; capsule pentacoccous; seeds 
 two. There are five species. 
 
 TUSCAN order, in architecture, the first, 
 simplest, and most massive of the five 
 orders. 
 
 TUSSILAGO, in botany, colt’sfoot, a 
 genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Super- 
 flua class and order. Natural order of Com- 
 posit® Discoide®. Corym biter®, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx scales equal, as 
 long as the disk, somewhat membranaceous ; 
 down simple ; receptacle naked. There are 
 fourteen species. 
 
 TWILIGHT, that light, whether in the 
 morning before sun-rise, or in the evening 
 after sun-set, supposed to begin and end 
 when the least stars that can be seen by 
 the naked eye cease, or begin, to appear. 
 By means of the atmosphere it happens, 
 that though none of the sun’s direct rays 
 can come to us after it is set, yet we .still 
 enjoy its reflected light for some time, and 
 night approaches by degrees; for after the 
 sun is hidden from our eyes, the upper part of 
 our atmosphere remains for some time ex- 
 posed to its rays, and from thence the whole 
 is illuminated by reflection. But as the sun 
 grows' lower and lower, that portion of the 
 atmosphere which is above our horizon, 
 becomes enlightened till the sim has got 
 
TYC 
 
 TYC 
 
 eighteen degrees below it; after which it 
 ceases to be ilhiminated thereby, till it has 
 got within as many degrees of the eastern 
 side of the horizon ; at which time it begins 
 to illuminate the atmosphere again, and in 
 appearance to diffuse its light throughout 
 the heavens, which continues to increase 
 till the sun be up. Hence it is, that during 
 that part of the year in which the sun is 
 never eighteen degrees below our horizon, 
 there is a continued twilight from sun- 
 setting to sun-rising. Now that part of the 
 year in the latitude of London is, w'hile the 
 sun is passing from about the fifth degree 
 of Gemini to the twelfth of Cancer; that is, 
 from the middfe of May to the middle of 
 July. 
 
 As the twilight depends on the quantity 
 of matter hi the atmosphere fit to reflect 
 the sun’s rays, and also on the height of it 
 (for the higher the atmosphere is, the longer 
 will it be before the upper parts of it will 
 cease to be illuminated), the duration of it 
 will be various. For instance, in winter, 
 when the air is condensed with cold, and 
 the atmosphere upon that account lower, 
 the twilight will be shorter; and in summer, 
 when the limits of the atmosphere are ex- 
 tended by the rarefaction and dilatation of 
 
 the air of which it consists, the duration of 
 the twilight will be greater. And for the 
 like reason, the morning twilight, the air 
 being at that time condensed and con- 
 tracted by the cold of the preceding night, 
 will be shorter than the evening one, when 
 the air is more dilated and expanded. 
 
 The beginning and end of twilight has 
 been variously stated, by different ob- 
 servers ; but, in our latitude, it may be said 
 to begin and end when the sun is about 
 eighteen degrees below the horizon : henc'e, 
 when refraction is allowed for, the atmos- 
 phere must be capable of reflecting sensible 
 light at the height of about forty miles. 
 The duration of twilight is greater or less, 
 as the sun moves more or less obliquely 
 with respect to the horizon : hence it is 
 shortest near the time of the equinoxes, 
 because the equinoxial intersects the hori- 
 zon less obliquely than any lesser circle 
 parallel to it. Dr. Long has calculated the 
 duration of twilight, in different latitudes, 
 and for the several different declinations of 
 the sun : the result he laid before the public 
 in the following table, where the letters c d 
 signify that it is then continual day ; c n 
 continual night ; and w n, that the twilight 
 lasts the whole night : 
 
 TABLE. 
 
 Latitude 
 
 0 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 45 
 
 50 
 
 52§ 
 
 55 
 
 GO 
 
 65 
 
 70 
 
 75 
 
 80 
 
 85 
 
 '90 
 
 o 
 
 En 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 h 
 
 m 
 
 b. 
 
 m 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 h. 
 
 IT) 
 
 h. 
 
 m 
 
 h. 
 
 m. 
 
 b. 
 
 m. 
 
 h. 
 
 no 
 
 li. 
 
 m 
 
 h. 
 
 m 
 
 b. 
 
 in. 
 
 b. 
 
 in 
 
 lers 
 
 35 
 
 1 
 
 18 
 
 1 
 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 1 
 
 41 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 3s; 
 
 w 
 
 u 
 
 w 
 
 1] 
 
 w 
 
 )] 
 
 w 
 
 H 
 
 w 
 
 Q 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 C 
 
 d 
 
 C 
 
 d 
 
 
 (i 
 
 n 
 
 A 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 1 
 
 19 
 
 1 
 
 25 
 
 1 
 
 36 
 
 1 
 
 58 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 w 
 
 11 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 w 
 
 I) 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 c 
 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 
 d 
 
 b 
 
 D! 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 
 1 
 
 20 
 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 
 43 
 
 1 
 
 55 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 41 
 
 3 
 
 55 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 w 
 
 u 
 
 w 
 
 1) 
 
 c 
 
 ci 
 
 c 
 
 d 
 
 
 d 
 
 T 
 
 -rt. 
 
 1 
 
 12 
 
 1 
 
 13 
 
 1 
 
 17 
 
 1 
 
 24 
 
 i 
 
 35 
 
 1 
 
 4^ 
 
 1 
 
 55 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 33 
 
 3 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 18 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 w 
 
 )j 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 K 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 ]3 
 
 
 14 
 
 1 
 
 18 
 
 
 24 
 
 1 
 
 35 
 
 1 
 
 43 
 
 
 51 
 
 o 
 
 0 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 27 
 
 2 
 
 56 
 
 8 
 
 41 
 
 5 
 
 
 17 
 
 32 
 
 w 
 
 n 
 
 vv 
 
 11 
 
 Jvw 
 
 t 
 
 1 
 
 16 
 
 
 n 
 
 1 
 
 2] 
 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 
 40 
 
 1 
 
 40 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 2 
 
 43 
 
 3 
 
 26 
 
 11 
 
 38 
 
 11 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 •32 
 
 8 
 
 38 
 
 
 n 
 
 W 
 
 
 1 
 
 18 
 
 
 10 
 
 I 
 
 23 
 
 
 30 
 
 1 
 
 43 
 
 1 
 
 53 
 
 2 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 2 
 
 26 
 
 2 
 
 5-, 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 9 
 
 sej 
 
 7 
 
 4f 
 
 c 
 
 I) 
 
 c 
 
 11 
 
 TYCHONIC system, or hypothesis, an 
 order or arrangement of tlie heavenly ho- 
 llies, of an intermediate nature between 
 the Copernican and Ptolemaic, or partici- 
 pating alike of them both. This system 
 had its name and original from Tycho Brahe, 
 a nobleman of Denmark, who lived in the 
 latter part of the last century. The philo- 
 sopher, though he approved of the Coper- 
 nican system, yet could not reconcile him- 
 self to the motion of the earth ; and being, 
 on the other hand, convinced the Ptolemaic 
 scheme could not be true, he contrived one 
 different from either. In this the earth has 
 no motion allowed it, but the annual and 
 
 diurnal phenomena are solved by the mo- 
 tion of the sun about the earth, as in the 
 Ptolemaic scheme ; and those of Mercury 
 and Venus are solved by this contrivance, 
 though not in the same manner, nor so 
 simply and naturally as in the Copernican 
 system. The Tychonic system then sup- 
 posed the earth in the centre of the world, 
 that is, of the firmament of star.*, and also 
 of the orbits of the sun and moon ; but at 
 the same time it made the sun the centie 
 of the planetary motions, viz. of the orbits 
 of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Sa- 
 turn. Thus the sun, with all its planets, 
 was made to revolve about the earth once 
 
u 
 
 a year, to solve the phenomena arising from 
 the annua] motion, and every twenty-four 
 hours, to account for Arose of the diurnal 
 motion. 
 
 TYGER. See Felis. 
 
 TYLE, or Tile, in building, a sort of 
 thin, fictitious, laminated brick, used on the 
 roofs of houses ; or more properly a kind of 
 fat clayey earth, kneaded and moulded, of 
 a just thickness, dried and burnt in a kiln 
 like a brick, and used in the covering and 
 paving of houses. See Brick. 
 
 There are various kinds of tyles, for the 
 various occasions of building ; as plain, 
 thack, ridge, roof, crease, gutter, pan, 
 crooked, Flemish, corner, hip, dormar, scal- 
 lop, astragal, traverse, paving, and Dutch 
 tyles. 
 
 Flemish or Dutch tyles are of two kinds ; 
 ancient and modern. The ancient were 
 used for chimney foot-paces : they were 
 painted with antique figures, and frequently 
 with postures of soldiers ; some with com- 
 partments, and sometimes with moresque 
 devices ; but they come much short of the 
 design and colours of the modern ones. 
 The modern Flemish tyles are commonly 
 used plastered up in the Jaumbs of chimnies, 
 instead of chimney-corner stones. These 
 are better glazed, and such as are painted 
 (for some are only white) are done with 
 more curious figures, and more lively co- 
 lours, than the ancient ones. But both 
 kinds seem to be made, of the same whitish 
 clay as our white glazed earthen ware ; the 
 modern ones are commonly painted with 
 birds, flowers, &c. The ancient ones are 
 only five inches and a quarter square, and 
 about three-quarters of an inch thick ; the 
 modern ones six inches and a half square, 
 and three-quarters of an inch thick. 
 
 TYMPAN, or Tympanum, in architec- 
 ture, the area of a pediment, being that 
 part which is on a level witli the naked of 
 the frieze. Or it is the space included be- 
 
 ll 
 
 tween the three coinishes of a triangular 
 pediment, or the two Cornishes of a circular 
 one. Sometimes the tyrapan is cut out, 
 and the part filled with an iron lattice to 
 give light, and sometimes it is enriched with 
 sculpture in basso relievo. 
 
 Tympan, among printers, a double frame 
 belonging to the press, covered with parch- 
 ment, on which the blank sheets are laid 
 in order to be printed off. See Printing. 
 
 tympanum, or Tympan, in mecha- 
 nics, a kind of wheel placed round an axis, 
 or cylindrical beam, on the top of which 
 are two levers or fixed staves, for the more 
 easy turning the axis, in order to raise a 
 weight required. The tympanum is much 
 the same with the peritrochium, but that 
 the cylinder of the axis of the peritrochium 
 is much shorter, and less than the cylinder 
 of the tympanum. 
 
 Tympanum o/* cl lyKtchine, is also used 
 for a hollow wheel, wherein one or more 
 people, or other animals, walk to turn 
 it; such as that of some cranes, calen- 
 ders, &c. 
 
 TYPE, a copy, image, or resemblance of 
 some model. This word is much used 
 among divines, to signify a symbol, sign, or 
 figure of something to come ; in which sense 
 it is commonly used with relation to anti- 
 type, which is the thing itself, whereof the 
 other is a type or figure. 
 
 TYPHA, in botany, a genus of the Mo- 
 noecia Triandria class and order. Natural 
 order of Calamariae. Typh®, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : male, ament cylindrical ; 
 calyx indistinct, three-leaved ; corolla none : 
 female, ament cylindrical, below the males ; 
 calyx a villose hair; corolla none; seed 
 one, placed on a capillary down. There 
 are two species, viz, T. latifolia, great cat’s- 
 tail, or reed mace ; and T. angustifolia, nar- 
 row-leaved cat’s-tail. 
 
 TYPOGRAPHY, the art of printing. 
 See Printing and Stereotype. 
 
 u. 
 
 U Or u, the twentieth letter, and fifth 
 } vowel of our alphabet, is formed in 
 the voice by a round configuration of the 
 lips, and a greater extrusion of the under 
 one than in forming the tetter o, and the 
 tongue is also more cannulated. The sound 
 is short in crttst, must, tun, tub-, but is 
 
 lengthened by a final e, as in tune, tube, &c. 
 In some words it is rather acute than long ; 
 as in brute, flute, lute. Sec. It is mostly long 
 in polysyllables ; as in union, curious, &c. 
 but in some words it is obscure, as in na- 
 ture, venture, &c. This letter, in the form 
 V, or V, is properly a consonaiit, and as 
 
VAC 
 
 such is placed before all the vow els ; as in 
 vuennf, venal, vibrate, &c. Though the let- 
 ters V and u had always two sounds, they 
 had only the form v till the beginning of the 
 fourth century, when the other form was 
 introduced, the inconvenience of express- 
 ing two different sounds by the same letter- 
 having been observed long before. In nu- 
 merals V stands for five, and with a dash 
 added at tpp, thus V, it signifies 5,000. 
 
 VACCINATION. See Surgery. 
 
 VACCINIUM, in botany, bilberry, or 
 whortleberry, a genus of the Octandria Mo- 
 nogynia class and order. Natural order of 
 Bicorr.es. Ericae, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter : calyx superior ; corolla one-pe- 
 talled ; filaments inserted into the recep- 
 tacle ; berry four-celled, many seeded. 
 Theie are twenty-seven species. 
 
 VACUUM, in philosophy, denotes a space 
 empty, or devoid, of all matter or body. 
 It has been the opinion of some philoso- 
 phers, particularly the Cartesians, that na- 
 ture admits not a vacuum, but that the 
 universe is intirely full of matter : in conse- 
 quence of which opinion they were obliged 
 to assert, that if every thing contained in a 
 vessel could be taken out or annihilated, 
 the sides of that vessel, however strong, 
 would come together ; but this is contrary 
 to experience, for the greatest part of the 
 air may be drawn out of a vessel by means 
 of the air-pump, notwithstanding which it 
 will remain whole if its sides are strong 
 enough to support the weight of the incum- 
 bent atmosphere. Sliould it be objected 
 here, that it is impossible to extract all the 
 air out of a vessel, and that there will not 
 be a vacuum on that account ; the answer 
 is, that since a very great part of the air 
 that was in the vessel may be drawn out, as 
 appears by the more quick descent of light 
 bodies in a receiver when exhausted of its 
 air, there must be some vacuities between 
 the parts of the remaining air; which is 
 sufficient to constitute a vacuum. Indeed, 
 to this it may be objected by a Cartesian, 
 that those vacuities are filled with materia 
 subtilis, that passes freely through the sides 
 of the vessel, and gives no resistance to the 
 falling bodies : but as the existence of this 
 materia subtilis can never be proved, we 
 are not obliged to allow the objection, 
 especially since Sir Isaac Newton has 
 found that all matter affords a resistance 
 nearly in proportion to its density. There 
 are many other arguments to prove this 
 particularly the motions of the comets 
 through the heavenly regions, without any 
 
 VAG 
 
 sensible resistance ; the different weight of 
 bodies of the same bulk, &c. All the parts 
 of spaces, says Sir Isaac Newton, are not 
 equally full; for if they were, the specific 
 gravity of the fluid which would fill the 
 region of the air, could not, by reason of 
 the exceeding great den.sity of its matter, 
 give way to the specific gravity of quick- 
 silver, gold, or any body, how dense so- 
 ever : whence neither gold, nor any other 
 body, could descend in the air ; for no body 
 can descend in a fluid, unless it be specifi- 
 cally heavier than it. But, if a quantity of 
 matter may, by rjrefaction, be diminished 
 in a given space, why may it not diminish 
 in infinitum ? And if all the solid particles 
 of bodies are of the same density, and can- 
 not be rarified, without leaving pores, there 
 must be a vacuum. 
 
 VADE meewn, or Veni mecum, a Latin 
 phrase, used in English to express 'a thing 
 that is very handy and familiar, and which 
 one usually carries about with them ; chiefly 
 applied to some favourite book. 
 
 VAGINA, properly signifies a sheath, or 
 scabbard : and the term vagina is used in 
 ai chilecture, for the part of a terminus, 
 because resembling a sheath, out of which 
 the statue seems to issue. 
 
 VAGINALIS, the sheath-bill, in natural 
 history, a genus of birds of the order 
 Grail*. Generic character; bill strong, 
 thick, compressed ; upper mandible covered 
 above with a moveable horny sheath ; nos- 
 trils placed before the sheath ; face naked 
 and papillous ; wings with an obtuse excre- 
 scence under the flexure ; claws grooved, 
 V. alba, or the white sheath-bill, the only 
 species known, is a native of New Zealand 
 and the South Sea Islands. It is in length 
 about sixteen inches. Its food consists of 
 shell fish and putrid carcasses. Its legs are 
 long, red, and naked a little above the 
 knees. 
 
 VAGRANTS are all persons threaten- 
 ing to run away and leave their wives and 
 children to the parish. All persons unlaw- 
 fully returning to the parish or place whence 
 they have been legally removed by order 
 of two justices, without bringing a certifi- 
 cate from the parish or place whereto they 
 belong. All persons who have not where- 
 with to maintain themselves, live idle, and 
 lefuse to work for the usual wages given to 
 other labourers in the like work, in the pa- 
 rishes or places where they are. All per- 
 sons going from door to door, or placin- 
 themselves in the streets, highways, or pas- 
 sages, to beg or gather alms in the parishes 
 
VAI 
 
 or places where they dwell. All these 
 sliall be deemed idle and disorderly persons, 
 and one justice may coramit'such oltenders 
 (being thereof convicted before him, by 
 his own view, confession, or oath o"® 
 witness,) to the house of correction, to hard 
 labour, not exceeding one month. And 
 any person may apprehend and carry before 
 a Justice, any such persons going from door 
 to door, or placing themselves m the streets, 
 highways, or passages, to beg alms in the pa- 
 rishes or places where they dwell; and it 
 they shall resist, or escape from the person 
 apprehending them, they shall be punished 
 as rogues and vagabonds. And the said 
 justice, by warrant under his hand and ^al, 
 may order any overseer, where siieh offen- 
 der shall be apprehended, to pay five shil- 
 lings to any person in such parish or place 
 so apprehending them, for every offender 
 so apprehended ; to be allowed in his ac- 
 counts, or producing the justice’s order and 
 the person’s receipt to whom it was paid. 
 17 George II. c, 5. The same statute also 
 enacts, that such justice shall order the 
 person so apprehended to be publicly whip- 
 ped by the constable, petit-constable, or 
 some other person to be appointed by such 
 constable or petit-constable of the place 
 where such offender was apprehended, or 
 shall order him to be sent to the house ot 
 correction ; and by 27 George III. c. 11, 
 the common gaol, until the next sessions, or 
 for any less time, as such justice shall think 
 proper. To defray the expenses of appre- 
 hending, conveying, and maintaining rogues, 
 vagabonds, and incorrigible rogues, and all 
 other expenses necessary, thejustices in ses- 
 sions, may cause such sums as shall be neces- 
 sary to be raised, in the same manner as the 
 general county rate. 17 George III. c. 
 
 VAHLTA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of Martin Vahl, regiiis professor of 
 botany, at Copenhagen, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Digynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Succulent®. Onagr®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character': calyx five leav- 
 ed; corolla five-petalled ; capsule inferior, 
 cne-celled, many-seeded. There is only 
 one species, viz. V. capensis, a native of 
 the Cape of Good Hope, in sandy places. 
 
 VAIR, in heraldry, a kind of fur, con- 
 sisting of divers little pieces, argent, and 
 azure, resembling a Dutch U, or a bell- 
 glass. Vairs have their point azure opposite 
 their point argent, and the base argent to 
 I the base azure. 
 
 VAIRY, Vaire, Verry, or Varry, in 
 heraldry, expresses a coat, or the bearings 
 
 VAL 
 
 of a coat, when charged or chequered with 
 vairs: and hence, vary cuppy, or vairy- 
 tassy, is a bearing composed of pieces re- 
 presenting the tops of crutches. 
 
 VALANTIA, in botany, crossicort, a 
 genus of the Polygamia Monoecia class and 
 order. Natural order of Stellat®. Rubia- 
 ce®, Jussieu. Essential character: her- 
 maphrodite, calyx none ; corolla four-part- 
 ed ; stamens four ; style bifid ; seed one : 
 male, calyx none ; corolla three or four- 
 parted ; stamens three or four ; pistil obso- 
 lete. There are nine species. 
 
 VALENTINIA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Octandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : calyx five-parted, co- 
 loured, spreading; corolla none, capsule 
 berried, four-seeded, pulpy. There is but 
 one species, viz, V. ilicitolia, a native ot 
 Hispaniola, on the most barren rocks to- 
 wards the ocean ; also in Cuba, about the 
 Havannah. 
 
 VALERIANA, in botany, valerian, a 
 genus of the Triandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Aggregate. Dip- 
 sace®, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 none ; corolla one-petalled, gibbous on one 
 side of the base, superior; seed one. Therer , 
 are thirty-one species. 
 
 VALLISNERIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Dioecia Diandria class and order. Natiu-al 
 order of Palm®. Hydrocharides, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : male, spathe two-part- 
 ed ; spadix covered with floscules ; corolla 
 three parted ; female, spathe bifid, one- 
 flowered ; calyx three-parted, superior ; 
 stigma three-parted : capsule one- celled, 
 many-seeded. There are two species, viz. 
 V. spiralis, two stamened vallisneria ; and 
 V. octandria, eight-stamened vallisneria. 
 
 VALUE, in commerce, denotes the price 
 or worth of any thing : hence the intrinsic 
 value denotes the real and effective worth 
 of a thing, and is used chiefly with regard 
 to money, the popular value whereof may 
 be raised and lowered at the pleasure of 
 the prince ; but its real, or intrinsic value, 
 depending wholly on its weight and fine- 
 ness, is not at all affected by the stamp or 
 impression thereon. 
 
 VALVE, in hydraulics, pneumatics, &c. 
 is a kind of lid, or cover, of a tube or ves- 
 sel, so contrived as to open one way ; but 
 which, the more forcibly it is pressed the 
 other way, the closer it shuts the aperture ; 
 so that it either admits the entrance of a 
 fluid into the tube or vessel, and prevents 
 its return ; or admits its escape, and pie* 
 vents re-entrance. 
 
VAP 
 
 Valve, in anatomy, a lliin membrane, 
 applied on several cavities and vessels of 
 the body,' to afford a passage to certain luv- 
 moiirs going one way, and prevent their re- 
 flux towards the place from wlience they 
 came. The veins and lymphatics are fur- 
 nished with valves, which open towards the 
 heart, but keep close towards the extremi- 
 ties of those vessels ; that is, they let the 
 blood and lymph pass towards the heart, 
 but prevent their returning towards the ex- 
 treme parts from whence they came. 
 
 VAN, in naval affairs, the foremost divi- 
 sion of a naval armament, or that part which 
 leads the way to battle, or advances first in 
 the order of sailing. 
 
 VANDELLIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Didynamia Angiospennia class and order. 
 Natural order of Peisonatae. Scrophnla- 
 riae, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx 
 four-parted ; corolla ringent ; filaments the 
 two outer from the disk of the lip of the co- 
 rolla ; anthers connected by pairs ; capsule 
 one-celled, many-seeded. There are two 
 species, viz. V. diffusa, and V. pratensis. 
 
 VANGUERIA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Aggregat®. Rubiace®, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 toothed ; corolla lube globular, with a 
 hairy throat ; stigma bilamellate ; berry in- 
 ferior; four or five seeded. There is but 
 one species, viz. V. edulis, supposed to be a 
 native of China. 
 
 VAPOUR, in meteorology, a thin humid 
 matter, which, being rarefied to a certain 
 degree by the action of heat, ascends to a 
 particular height in the atmosphere, where 
 it is suspended, until it returns in the form of 
 dew, rain, snow, &c. On this subject we 
 refer our readers to the articles Evapora- 
 tion and Meteorology, and shall make 
 ■"a few additional observations on dew, which 
 is a phenomenon proper to clear weather. 
 
 It begins to be deposited about sun-set, is 
 most constant in vallies, and on plains, near 
 rivers, and other collections of waters, and 
 abounds on those parts of the surface which 
 are clothed with vegetation. It is often 
 suspended when rain is approaching, as like- 
 wise in windy weather^ and before thunder 
 storms; an unusually copious deposition 
 however sometimes precedes rain. The 
 following is said to be the usual appearance 
 in the valley through which the Thames 
 passes. After a clear warm day tliere is 
 gradually formed on the horizon a conti- 
 nuous haze, rising sometimes to a conside- 
 rable height, and often tinged by the set- 
 
 VAP 
 
 ting sun with a fine gradation of red and 
 violet shades. This is the precipitated wa- 
 ter become faintly visible in its descent. 
 Dew is always to be found on the grass by 
 the time that this haze has become conspi- 
 cuous, and its abundance is propcvtioned to 
 the density and permanence of She latter. 
 The following facts are deserving of no- 
 tice. 
 
 In this country the dew is observed more 
 copiously in the mornings of spring and 
 summer than at other times in the year. 
 Sometimes, however, in autumn and winter, 
 an abundant dew is deposited in the night. 
 In countries nearer the equator, the dews are 
 generally observed in the morning through- 
 out the whole year ; and in some places 
 they are so very copious as in a great mea- 
 sure to supply the deficiency of rain, which 
 seldom falls in tliose places. The conden- 
 sation of the vapour which forms the dew 
 mostly takes place while the sun is below 
 the horizon ; the greatest deposition taking 
 place soon after the setting of the sun. In 
 cloudy weather there is little or no dew 
 deposited: the most considerable quantity 
 is observed in a morning, subsequent to a 
 clear, still, and cool night, which has fol- 
 lowed a pretty warm day. The lower parts 
 of bodies that are exposed to the ambient 
 air are first covered with dew. The most 
 singular circumstance is, that dew is not 
 deposited upon all kinds of substances in- 
 discriminately : it falls upon certain bodies 
 much more abundantly than on others, and 
 upon some even not at all. The drops of 
 dew attach themselves to glass, crystals, 
 and porcelain, much more readily than to 
 other bodies; next to these come tlie leaves 
 of vegetables, wood, especially when var- 
 nished, and common earthen ware, but the 
 dew adheres least of all to all sorts of me- 
 tallic bodies. We may now notice Mr. 
 Dalton’s observations, which are the result 
 of a variety of well conducted and very ac- 
 curate experiments on this subject. 1. That 
 aqueous vapour is an elastic vapour sui ge- 
 neris, difffiisible in the atmosphere, but form- 
 ing no chemical combination with it. 2. 
 That temperature alone limits the maxi- 
 mum of vapour in the atmosphere. 3. That 
 there exists at all times, and in all places, 
 a quantity of aqueous vapour in the atmos- 
 phere, variable according to circumstances. 
 
 4. That whatever quantity of aqueous va- 
 pour may eixst in the atmosphere at any 
 time, a certain temperature may be found, 
 below which a portion of that vapour would 
 unavoidably fall, or be deposited, in the 
 
VAR 
 
 form of rain or dew, but above which no 
 such diminution could take place with che- 
 mical agency. This point may be called 
 the extreme temperature of vapour of that 
 density ; and That whenever any body 
 colder than the extreme temperature of the 
 existing vapour is situated in tlie atmos- 
 phere, dew is deposited upon it, the quan- 
 tity of which varies as the surface of the 
 body, and the degree of cold below the ex- 
 treme temperature. I'he reader may be 
 referred to an excellent and elaborate arti- 
 cle on this subject in Dr. Rees’ New Cy- 
 clopedia, a work, of which it may be fairly 
 and honourably said, that, as it advances in 
 its progress, it increases in merit and repu- 
 tation, 
 
 VARIABLE quantities, in geometry and 
 analytics, denote such as are either continu- 
 ally increasing or diminishing ; in opposition 
 to those which are constant, remaining al- 
 ways the same. Thus, tlie abscisses and or- 
 dinates of an ellipsis, or other curve line, 
 are variable quantities, because they vary 
 or change their magnitudes together. Some 
 quantities may be variable by themselves 
 alone, while fliose connected with them 
 are constant : as the abscisses of a parallelo- 
 gram, whose ordinates may be considered 
 as all equal, and therefore constant. The 
 diameter of a circle, and the parameter of 
 a conic section are constant, while their ab- 
 scisses are variable. Variable quantities, 
 (see Fluxions), are usually denoted by the 
 last letters of the alphabet z, y, x, while the 
 constant ones are denoted by the first let- 
 ters a, b, c. 
 
 VARIANCE, in law, signifies any alter- 
 ation of a thing formerly Ibid in a plea, or 
 where the declaration in a cause differs 
 from the writ, or from the deed upon 
 which it is grounded. If there be a vari- 
 ance between the declaration and the writ, 
 it is error, and the writ shall abate ; and if 
 there appear to be a material variance be- 
 tween the matter pleaded and the manner 
 of pleading it, this is not a good plea, for 
 the manner and matter of pleading ought 
 to agree in substance, or there will be no 
 certainty in it. Cro. Jac. 479. 
 
 VARIATION of curvature, in geome- 
 try, is used for that inequality or change, 
 which happens in the curvature of all curves 
 except the circle ; and this variation, or in- 
 equality, constitutes the quality of the cur- 
 vature of any line. Sir Isaac Newton makes 
 the index of the inequality or variation of 
 curvature to be the ratio of the fluxion of 
 the radius of curvature to the fluxion of the 
 
 VAR 
 
 curve; and Mr. Maclaurin, to avoid the 
 perplexity that different notions, connected 
 with the same terras, occasion to learners, 
 has adapted the same definition ; but he 
 suggests, that this ratio gives rather the va- 
 riation of the ray of curvature, and that it 
 might have been proper to have measured 
 the variation of curvature, rather by the 
 ratio of the fluxion of curvature itself to the 
 fluxion of the curve ; so that the curvature 
 being inversely as the radius of the curva- 
 ture, and consequently its fluxion as the 
 fluxion of the radius itself directly, and the 
 square of the radius inversely, its variation 
 would have been directly as the measure of 
 it, according to Sir Isaac’s definition, and 
 ipversely, as the square of the radius of cur- 
 vature. 
 
 Variation of the needle, in magnetism. 
 Although the north pole of the magnet in 
 every part of the world, when suspended, 
 pioints towards the northern parts, and the 
 south pole to the southern parts, yet it sel- 
 dom points exactly north and south. Th^ 
 angle, in which it deviates from due north 
 and south, is called “ The vaiiation of the 
 needle,” or, “ The variation of tlie com- 
 pass,” and this variation is said to be east 
 or west, according as the north pole of the 
 needle is eastward or westward of the meri- 
 dian of the place. This deviation from the 
 meridian is not the same in all parts of the 
 world, but is difierent in different places, 
 and it is almost perpetually varying in the 
 same place. When the variation was first 
 observed, the north pole of the magnetic 
 needle declined eastward of the meridian 
 of London, but it has since that time been 
 changing towards the west ; so that in the 
 year 1657, the needle pointed due north 
 and south : at present, it declines towards 
 the west between 24° and 2.5°, and it seems 
 to be still advancing westward. 
 
 VARIEGATION, among botanists and 
 florists, the act of streaking or diversifying 
 the leaves, Sec. of plants and flowers with 
 several colours. Variegation is either natural 
 or artificial. Of natural variegation there 
 are four kinds ; the first showing itself in 
 yellow spots here and there, in the leaves 
 of plants, called by gardeners the yellow 
 bloach. The second kind, called the white 
 bloach, marks the leaves with a great num- 
 ber of white spots, or stripes ; the whitest 
 lying next the surface of the leaves, usually 
 accompanied with other marks of a green- 
 ish white, that lie deeper in the body of 
 the leaves. The third, and most beautiful, 
 is where the leaves are edged with white, 
 
VARIGNON. 
 
 being owing to some disorder or infection 
 in tlie juices, which stains the natural com- 
 plexion or verdure of the plant. The fourth 
 kind is that called the yellow edge. 
 
 VARIGNON (Peter), in biography, 
 was born at Caen'in 1654. He was the son 
 of an architect, and intended at an early 
 age for the church. Accident threw into 
 his way a copy of Euclid’s Elements, which 
 gave him a strong bias towards mathemati- 
 cal learning. So intent was he in the pur- 
 suit of science, that he abridged himself of 
 the necessaries of life, to purchase books to 
 aid him in the pursuit. From his relations 
 he met with much opposition, because they 
 imagined that geometry and algebra would 
 ill accord with the course of theological 
 studies. While he was at college, he be- 
 came acquainted with the Abbd St. Pierre ; 
 and in their application to learning they 
 were mutually serviceable to one another. 
 The abbd, to enjoy more of Varignon’s 
 company, determined to lodge with him, 
 and sensible of his merit, he resolved to 
 give him a fortune, that he might fully pur- 
 sue the bent of his genius, and improve his 
 talents; and out of only 1800 livresa year, 
 which he had himselt) he conferred 300 of 
 them upon Varignon. 
 
 The abb6, persuaded that he could not 
 do better than go to Paris to study philoso- 
 phy, settled there in 1686, with M. Varignon, 
 in the suburbs of St. Jacques. There each 
 studied in his own way ; the abbd applying 
 himself to the study of men, manners, and 
 the principles of government; whilst Varig- 
 non was wholly occupied with the mathe- 
 matics. 
 
 “ I,” says Fontenelle, “ who was their 
 countryman, often went to see them, some- 
 times spending two or three days with 
 them. They had also room for a couple of 
 visitors, who came from the same province. 
 We joined together with the greatest plea- 
 sure. We were young, full of the first ar- 
 dour for knowledge, strongly united, and, 
 what we were not then perhaps disposed to 
 think so great a happiness, little known. 
 Varignon, who had a strong constitution, at 
 least in his youth, spent whole days in study, 
 without any amusement or recreation, ex- 
 cept walking sometimes in fine weather. 
 
 I have heard him say, that in studying after 
 supper, as he usually did, he was often sur- 
 prised to hear the clock strike two in the 
 morning ; and was much pleased that four 
 hours rest were sufficient to refresh him. 
 He did not leave his studies with that hea- 
 viness which they usually create; nor with 
 
 that weariness which a long application 
 might occasion. He left off gay and lively, 
 filled with pleasure, and impatient to renew 
 it In speaking of mathematics, he would 
 laugh so freely, that it seemed as if he 
 had studied for diversion. No condition 
 was so much to be envied as his ; his life 
 was a continual enjoyment, delighting in 
 quietness.” 
 
 In the solitary suburb of St. Jacques he 
 formed, however, a connection with many 
 other learned men ; as Du Hamel, Du Ver- 
 ney, De la Hire, &c. Du Verney often 
 asked his assistance in those parts of ana- 
 tomy connected with mechanics : they exa- 
 mined together the positions of the muscles, 
 and their directions; hence Varignon learned 
 a good deal of anatomy from Du Verney, 
 which he repaid by the application of ma- 
 thematical reasoning to that subject. 
 
 At length, in 1687, Varignon made him- 
 self known to the public by a treatise on 
 new mechanics, dedicated to the Academy 
 of Sciences. His thoughts on the subject 
 were, in effect, quite new. He discovered 
 truths, and laid open their sources. In this 
 work he demonstrated tile necessity of an 
 equilibrium, in such cases as it happens in, 
 though the cause of it is not exactly known. 
 This discovery Varignon made by the theoiy 
 of compound motions, and is what this essay 
 turns upon. This new treatise on mecha- 
 nics was greatly admired by the mathema- 
 ticians, and procured the author two con- 
 siderable places, the one of geometrician 
 in the Academy of Sciences, the other of 
 professor of mathematics in the college of 
 Mazarine, to ibis honour he was the first 
 person raised. 
 
 Varignon catched eagerly at the science 
 of infinitesimals as soon as it appeared in the 
 world, and became one of its most early cul- 
 tivators. Severe and unreniitted study in- 
 jured his health very much, and in 1705 he 
 had a dangerous illness, which confined him 
 to his bed many months, and the effects of 
 which he did not recover for three years. 
 Indeed it can scarcely be said that he ever 
 perfectly regained the vigour which he had 
 formerly enjoyed. He could not lay aside 
 his studies, and these were deemed incom- 
 patible with his health. He died in 1722 ; 
 by Fontenelle he is described as an excel- 
 lent man, not apt to be jealous of the tame 
 of others : he was as simple ia his manners 
 as his understanding was siipeiior. He was 
 at the head of the French matliematicians, 
 and one of the best in Europe. He was apt 
 to be over hasty when a new object pre- 
 
varnish. 
 
 sented itself; and too impetuous towards 
 those who opposed him. His works, which 
 were published separately, were “ Projet 
 d’une iiouvelle Mecbaniqne,” 4to. “ Des 
 nouvellcs Conjecture sur la Pesanteur.” 
 “ Nouvclle MeciiKuiqae ou statique.” Be- 
 sides a vast number of separate memoirs. 
 
 VARNISH. Lac varnishes or lacquers 
 consist of different resins in a state of solu- 
 tion, of which the most common are raas- 
 tich, sandaracii, lac, benzoin, copal, amber, 
 and asphaltum. The menstrua are either- 
 expressed or essential oils, as also alcohol. 
 For a lac varnish of the first kind, the com- 
 mon painter’s- varnish is to be united by. 
 gently boiling it with some more mastich or 
 colophony, and then diluted again with a 
 little more oil of turpentine. The latter- 
 addition promotes both the glossy appear- 
 ance and drying of the vai nish. 
 
 Of this sort is the amber varnish. To 
 make this varnish, half a pound of amber 
 is kept over a gentle fire in a covered iron 
 pot, in the lid of which there is a small 
 hole, till it is observed to become soft, and 
 to be melted together into one mass. As 
 soon as this is perceived, the vessel is taken 
 from off the tire, and sufi'ered to cool a lit- 
 tle; when a pound of good pamter’s varnish 
 is added to it, and the whole suffered to 
 boil up again over the fire, keeping it con- 
 tinirally stirring. After this, it is again re- 
 moved from the fire; and when it is be- 
 come somewhat cool, a pound of oil of tur- 
 pentine is to be gradually mixed with it. 
 Should the varnish, when it is cool, happen 
 to be yet too thick, it may be attenuated 
 with more oil of turpentine. This varnish 
 has always a dark-brown colour, because 
 the amber is previously half-burned in this 
 operation; but if it be required of a bright 
 colour, amber-powder must be dissolved in 
 transparent painter’s varnish, in Papin’s ma- 
 chine, by a gentle fire. 
 
 As an instance of the second sort of lac- 
 varnishes with ethereal oils alone, may be 
 adduced the varnish made with oil of tur- 
 pentine. For making this, mastich alone is 
 dissolved in oil of turpentine by a very 
 gentle digesting heat, in close glass vessels. 
 This is the varnish used for the modern 
 transparencies employed as window blinds, 
 fire-screens, and for other purposes. These 
 are commonly prints, coloured on both 
 sides, and afterward coated with this var- 
 nish on those parts that are intended to be 
 transparent. Sometimes fine thin calico, 
 or Irish linen, is used for this purpose ; but 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 it requires to be primed with a solution of 
 isinglass, before the colour is laid on. 
 
 Copal may be dissolved in genuine Ohio 
 turpentine, according to Mr. Sheldrake, by 
 adding it in powder to the turpentine pre- 
 viously melted, and stirring till the whole is 
 fused. Oil of turpentine may tlien be ad- 
 ded, to dilute it sufficiently. Or the copal 
 in powder may be I'lit into a long necked 
 matrass with twelve parts of oil of turpen- 
 tine, and digested several days on a sahd- 
 heat, frequently shaking it. This may be 
 diluted with one fourth or one fifth of alco- 
 hol. Metallic vessels, or instruments, co- 
 vered with two or three coats of this, and 
 dried in an oven each time, may he washed 
 with boiling water, or even exposed to a 
 still greater heat, without injury to the var- 
 nish. 
 
 A varnish of the consistence of thin tur- 
 pentine is obtained for aerostatic machines, 
 by the digestion of one part of elastic gum, 
 or caoutchouc, cut into small pieces, in 
 thirty-two parts of rectified oil of turpen- 
 tine. Previously to its being used, how- 
 ever, it mlist be passed through a linen 
 cloth, in order that the undissolved parts 
 may be left behind. 
 
 The third sort of lac-varnishes consists in 
 the spirit-varnish. The most solid resins 
 yield the most durable varnishes ; hut a 
 varnish must never he expected to be hard- 
 er than the resin naturally is of which it is 
 made. Hence, it is the height of absurdity 
 to suppo.se, that there are any incombusti- 
 ble varnishes, since there is no .such thing 
 as an incombustible resin. But the most 
 solid resins by themselves produce brittle 
 varnishes : therefore something of a setter 
 substance must always be mixed with them, 
 whereby this brittleness is diminished. For 
 this purpose gum elenii, turpentine, or bal- 
 sam of capaiva are employed in proper 
 proportions. For the solution of these bo- 
 dies the strongest alcohol ought to be used, 
 which may very properly indeed he distill- 
 ed over alkali, but must not have stood 
 upon alkali. The utmost simplicity in com- 
 position with respect to the number of the 
 ingredients in a formula is the result of the 
 greatest skill in the art; hence, it is no 
 wonder, that the greatest part of the for- 
 mulas and recipes that we meet with are 
 composed without any principle at all. 
 
 In conformity to these rules, a fine co- 
 lourless varnish may be obtained, by dis- 
 solving eight ounces of gum sandarach and 
 two ounces of Venice turpentine in thirty- 
 Hb 
 
VARNISH. 
 
 two ounces of alcohol by a gentle beat. 
 Five ounces of shell-lac and one of turpen- 
 tine, dissolved in thirty-two ounces of alco- 
 hol by a very gentle heat, give a harder 
 varnish, but of a rgddish cast. To lliese 
 the solution of copal is undoubtedly prefer- 
 able iu many respects. This is eft'ected by 
 triturating an ounce of powder of gum co- 
 pal, wdii'ch has been well dried by a gentle 
 beat, with a drachm of camphor, and, while 
 these are mixing together, adding by de- 
 grees four ounces of the strongest alcohol, 
 without any digestion. 
 
 Between this and the gold varnish there 
 is only this difference, that some substances 
 that communicate a yellow tinge are to be 
 added to the latter. The most ancient de- 
 scription of two sorts of it, one of which 
 was prepared with oil, and the other with 
 alcohol, is to be found in “ Alexius Pedehion- 
 tanus Dei Secret!, ” Lucca, of which the first 
 edition was published in the year 15.‘ 7. But 
 it is better prepared, and more durable, 
 when made after the following prescrip- 
 tion : Take two ounces of shell lac, of ar- 
 natto and turmeric of each one ounce, and 
 thirty grains of fine dragon’s blood, and 
 make an extract with twenty ounces of al- 
 cohol in a gentle heat. 
 
 Oil varnishes are commonly mixed imme- 
 diately with the colours, but lac or lacquer 
 varnishes are laid on by themselves upon a 
 burnished coloured ground : when tl^ey are 
 intended to be laid upon naked wood, a 
 ground should be first given them of strong 
 size, either alone or with some earthy co- 
 lour, mixed up with it by levigation. The 
 gold lacquer is simply rubbed over brass, 
 tin, or silver, to give them a gold colour. 
 
 Pere d’lncarville has informed us, that 
 the tree which affords the varnish of China 
 is called tsi-chou by the Chinese. Tliis 
 tree is propagated by offsets. AV’hen the 
 cultivator is desirous of planting it, he 
 takes a branch, w'hich he wraps up in a 
 mass of earth, by means of flax. Care is 
 taken to moisten this earth ; the branch 
 pushes out roots, and is then pruned and 
 transplanted. This tree grows to the size 
 of a man’s leg. 
 
 The varnish is drawn in spring. If it be 
 a cultivated tree, it affords three gather- 
 ings. It is extracted by incisions made in 
 the spring ; and when the varnish, w’hich is 
 received in shells, does not flow, several 
 hog’s bristles, moistened with water or saliva, 
 are introduced into the wound, and cause' 
 it to run. When the tree is exhausted, the 
 upper part of it i* wrapped in straw, which 
 
 is set on fire, and causes the varnidi to pre- 
 cipitate to the bottom of the tree, where 
 it flows out of perforations made for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Those who collect the varnish set out be- 
 fore day-break, and place tlieir shells be- 
 neath the apertures. The shells are not left 
 longer than three hours in their place, be- 
 cause the heat of the sun w’ouhl evaporate 
 the varnish. 
 
 The varnish emits a smell, which the 
 w'orkmen are very careful to avoid respir- 
 ing. It produces an effect which they call 
 the bud of the varnish. 
 
 When the varnish issues from the tree it 
 resembles pitph. By exposure to the air, 
 it gradually becomes coloured, and is, at 
 last, of a beautiful black. 
 
 The juice which flows from incisions 
 made in the trunk and branches of the 
 rhus toxicodendron possesses the same pro- 
 perties. It is a white milky fluid, which 
 becomes black and thick by the contact of 
 the air. 
 
 To make the varnish bright, it is evapo- 
 rated by the sun ; and a body is given to it 
 with hog’s gall and sulphate of iron. 
 
 The Chinese use the oil of tea, which 
 they render drier by boiling it with orpi- 
 raent, realgar, and arsenic. 
 
 To varnish any substance, consists in ap- 
 plying upon its surface a covering of such 
 a nature, as shall defend it from the influ- 
 ence of the air, and give it a shining ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 A coat of varnish ought, therefore, to 
 possess the following properties : 1. It must 
 exclude the action of the air ; because 
 wood and metals are varnished to defend 
 them from decay and rust. 2. It must re- 
 sist water ; for otherwise the effect of the 
 varnish could not be permanent. 3. It ought 
 not to alter such colours as are intended to 
 be'preserved by this means. 
 
 It is necessary, therefore, that a varnish 
 should be easily extended or spread over 
 the surface, without leaving pores or cavi- 
 ties ; that it should not crack nor scale ; and 
 that it should resist water. Now resins are 
 the only bodies that possess these proper- 
 ties. 
 
 Resins, consequently, must be used as the 
 bases of varnish. The question which of 
 course presents itself, must be then, how to 
 dispose, them for this use ; and for this pur- 
 pose they must be dissolved, as minutely 
 divided as possible, and combined in such 
 a manner, that the imperfections of those 
 

 V-v' 
 
 
 ;4 ’* ■ 
 
 
 
 VAR 
 
 •which might be disposed to scale, may be 
 corrected by others. 
 
 Resins may be dissolved by three agents: 
 1. By fixed oil. 2. By volatile oil. 3. By 
 alcohol. And accordingly we have three 
 kinds of varnish ■/ the fat or oily varnish, 
 essential varnish, and spirit varnish. 
 
 Before a resin is dissolved in a fixed oil, 
 it is necessary to render the oil drying. For 
 this purpose the oil is boiled with metallic 
 oxides, in which operation the mucilage of 
 the oil combines with the metal, while the 
 oil itself unites with the oxygen of the ox- 
 ide. To accelerate the drying of this var- 
 nish, it is necessary to add oil of turpen- 
 tine. 
 
 The essential varnishes consist of a solu- 
 tion of resin in oil of turpentine. The var- 
 nish being applied, the essential oil flies off, 
 and leaves the resin. This is used only for 
 paintings. 
 
 When resins are dissolved in alcohol, the 
 varnish dries very speedily, and is subject 
 to crack ; but this fault is corrected by add- 
 ing a small , quantity of turpentine to the 
 mixture, which renders it brighter, and less 
 brittle when dry. 
 
 The coloured resins, or gums, such as 
 gamboge, dragon’s blood, &c. are used to 
 colour varnishes. 
 
 To give lustre to the varnish after it is 
 laid on, it is rubbed with pounded pumice 
 stone and water ; which being dried with a 
 cloth, the work is afterward rubbed with 
 an oiled rag and tripoli. The surface is, ' 
 last of all, cleaned with soft linen cloths, 
 cleared of all greasiness with powder of 
 starch, and rubbed bright with the palm 
 of the hand. 
 
 Varnish also signifies a sort of shining 
 coat, wherewith potter’s wave, delft-ware, 
 china-ware, &c. are covered, which gives 
 ihem a smoothness and lustre. Melted lead 
 is generally used for the first, and smalt for 
 the second. See Enamelling. 
 
 Varnish, among medalists, signifies the 
 colours antique medals have acquired in the 
 earth. The beauty which nature alone is 
 able to give to medals, and art has never 
 yet attained to counterfeit, enhances the 
 value of them; that is, the colour which 
 certain soils in which they have a long time 
 lain tinges the metals withal ; some of which 
 are blue ; others with an inimitable vermi- 
 lion colour ; others witli a certain shining 
 polished brown, vastly finer than Brasil 
 figures. 
 
 VARRONIA, in botany, so named from 
 Marcus Terentius Varro, a genus of the 
 
 vau 
 
 Rentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Asperifoliae. Borraginea;, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla five- 
 cleft ; drupe with a four-celled nut. There 
 are nine species. 
 
 VAS, a vessel either for mechanical, che- 
 mical, culinary, or any other uses. In ana- 
 tomy, all the parts which convey a fluid are 
 called vessels, as the veins, arteries, and 
 lymphatics. 
 
 VASA concordice, among hydraulic au- 
 thors, are two vessels, so constructed as that 
 one of them, though full of wine, will not 
 run a drop, unless the other, being rail of 
 water, do run also, 
 
 VASE, a term frequently used for ancient 
 vessels dug from under ground, or otherwise 
 found, and preserved in the cabinets of the 
 curious. In architecture, the appellation 
 vase is also given to those ornaments placed 
 on corniches, sochles, or pedestals, repre- 
 senting the vessels of the ancients, particu- 
 larly those used in sacrifice; as incense- 
 pot*, flower-pots, &c. They serve to crown 
 or finish faqades, or frontispieces ; and hence 
 called acroteria. The term vase, however, 
 is more particularly used in architecture to 
 signify the body of the Corinthian and Com- 
 posite capital ; otherwise called the tambour 
 or drum, and sometimes the campana or 
 bell. 
 
 VATERIA, in botany, so named from 
 Abraham Vater, professor of medicine and 
 botany at Witteberg, a genus of the Poly- 
 andria Monogynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Guttiferae, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter: calyx five-cleft; corolla five-petal- 
 ed ; capsule three-valved, one-celled, three- 
 seeded. There is only one species; viz. 
 V. indica. 
 
 VATICA, in botany, a genus of the Do- 
 decandi-ia Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Guttiferae, Jussieu. Essential 
 character: calyx five-cleft; petals five; an- 
 thers fifteen, sessile, four celled. Tliere is 
 but one species, viz. V. chinensis, a very 
 rare plant, and as yet scarcely known. 
 
 VATICAN, a magnificent palace of the 
 Pope, in Rome, which is said to consist of 
 several thousand rooms ; but the parts of it 
 most admired are the grand stair-case, the 
 Pope’s apartment, and especially the library, 
 which is one of the richest in the world, both 
 in printed books and manuscripts. 
 
 VAULT, in architecture, an arched roofj . 
 so contrived that the stones which form it 
 sustain each other. Vaults are, on many 
 occasions, to be preferred to soifits, or flat 
 ceilings, as they give a greater height and 
 Hb 2 
 
 
 III 
 
 ir'S;! 
 
 I 
 
 
 ■ v» .j nrx 
 
VEG 
 
 elevation, and are besides more firm and 
 durable. 
 
 VECTOR, or Radius Vector, in astro- 
 nomy, is a line supposed to be drawn from 
 any planet moving round a centre, or the 
 focus of an ellipse, to that centre, or focus. 
 It is so called, because it is that line by 
 which the planet seems to be carried round 
 its centre; and with which it describes 
 areas proportional to the times. 
 
 VEER, a sea term variously used. Thus 
 veering out a rope, denotes the letting it go 
 by hand, or letting it run out of it|elf. It 
 is not used for letting out any running rope 
 except the sheet. 
 
 VEGETABLE. See Botany, Plant, 
 &c. A vegetable is composed of a root, 
 stem, leaves, flowers, fruits, and seeds; and 
 when all these different parts are fully deve- 
 loped, the vegetable is said to be perfect. 
 When any are deficient, or at least less ob- 
 vious, the vegetable is said to be imperfect. 
 The root is that part of the plant which is 
 concealed in the earth, and which serves to 
 convey nourishment to the whole plant. 
 The stem, which commences at the termi- 
 nation of the root, supports all the other 
 parts of the plant. AVhen the stem is large 
 and solid, as in trees, it is denominated the 
 trunk, which is divided into the wood and 
 the bark. The bark constitutes the outer- 
 most part of the tree, and covers the whole 
 of the plant from the extremity of the 
 roots to the termination of the branches. 
 The bark is composed of three parts, 
 namely the epidermis, the parenchyma, and 
 cortical layers. The epidermis, which is a 
 thin transparent membrane, forming the ex- 
 ternal covering of the bark, is composed of 
 fibres crossing each other. When the epi- 
 dermis is removed, it is reproduced. The 
 parenchyma, which is immediately below 
 the epidermis, is of a dark-green colour, 
 composed of fibres crossing each other in 
 all directions, and is succulent and tender. 
 
 The cortical layers which constitute the 
 interior part of the bark, are composed of 
 thin membranes, and increase in number 
 with the age of the plant. The wood 
 immediately under the bark, is composed 
 of concentric layers,- which Increase witli 
 the age of the plant, and may be separated 
 into thinner layers which are composed of 
 longitudinal fibres. The wood next the 
 bark, which is softer and whiter, is called 
 the alburnum. The interior part of the 
 trunk is browner and harder, and is deno- 
 minated the perfect wood. 
 
 In the middle of the stem is the pith, 
 
 VEG 
 
 which is a soft, spongy substance, com- 
 posed of cells. In old wood this part en- 
 tirely disappears, and its place is occupied 
 by the perfect wood. 
 
 The leaves are composed of fibres ar- 
 ranged in the form of net-wOrk, which pro- 
 ceed from the stem, and footstalk, by which 
 they are attached to the branches. Tliese 
 fibres form two layers in each leaf, which 
 are destined to perform different functions. 
 The leaves are covered with the epidermis, 
 which is common to the whole of the plant. 
 Each surface of a leaf has a great number 
 of pores and glands, which absorb or emit 
 elastic fluids. 
 
 Flowers are composed of different parts. 
 The calyx or cup is formed by the exten- 
 sion of the epidermis ; the corolla is a con- 
 tinuation of the bark, and the stamina and 
 pistilla, the internal parts of fructification, 
 are composed of the woody fibres and pith 
 of the plant. Fruits are usually composed 
 of a pulpy, parenchymatous substance, 
 containing a great number of vesicles, and 
 traversed by numerous vessels. Seeds are 
 constituted of the same utricular texture, 
 in the vesicles of which is deposited a pul- 
 verulent or mucous substance. These cells 
 have a communication with the plants by 
 means of vessels, and by these is conveyed 
 the necessary nourishment during germina. 
 tion. 
 
 Plants contain difterent orders of vessels, 
 which are distinguished from each other by 
 their course, situation, and uses. Lympha- 
 tic vessels serve for the circulation of the 
 sap. They are chiefly situated in the 
 woody part of the plant. The peculiar 
 vessels, which generally contain thick or 
 coloured fluids, are placed immediately un- 
 der the bark ; they are smaller in number 
 than the sap vessels, and have thin inter- 
 stices filled up with utriculi or cells, with 
 which they form a communication. Some 
 of these proper vessels are situated be- 
 tween the epidermis and the bark, which 
 are readily detected in the spring. Some 
 are situated in the interior part of the bark, 
 forming oval rings, and filled with the pecu- 
 liar juices of the plant. Another set of 
 proper vessels is placed in the alburnum, 
 nearer the centre of the stock or trunk, 
 and sometimes in the perfect wood. The 
 utriculi or cells constitute another set of 
 vessels, which seem to resemble a flexible 
 tube, slightly interrupted with ligatures at 
 pearly equal distances, but still preserving 
 a free communication through its whole 
 length. They vary in form, colour, and 
 
VEG 
 
 magnitude in diflferent vegetables, and exist 
 in the roots, the bark, leaves, and flowers. 
 The trachea, or spiral vessels, which are 
 readily detected in succulent plants, appear 
 in the form - of fine threads, and may be 
 drawn out to a considerable length without 
 breaking. These vessels are very nume- 
 rous in all plants, especially under the bark, 
 where they form a kind of ring, and are 
 disposed in distinct bundles, in trees, 
 shrubs, and stalks of herbaceous plants. 
 
 Vegetable acids, in chemistry. The 
 acids which exist in many vegetables are at 
 once recognized by their tastfe. These 
 acids were formerly denominated essential 
 salts of vegetables, and it was supposed, 
 that all essential salts w'ere the same, and 
 were composed of tartar, or vinegar. But 
 Scheele’s discovery of the citric, malic, and 
 gallic acids, which possessing distinct pro- 
 perties from those of tartaric and acetic 
 acids, proved the contrary. Some vege- 
 tables contain only one acid, as oranges 
 and lemons, which contain citric acid only. 
 In other vegetables two acids are found, 
 as in gooseberries and currants, the malic, 
 and citric acids; and sometimes three, as 
 the tartaric, citric, and malic acids, which 
 exist together in the pulp of the tamarind. 
 As the acids which exist in vegetables hav? 
 been already descotbed, under their res- 
 pective heads, it is now only necessary 
 to enumerate the vegetable acids, speci- 
 fying at the same time some of the plants 
 from which they are obtained. 
 
 Acetic acid has been discovered in the 
 sap of some trees, and in the acid juice of 
 cicer arictinum. Oxalic acid exists in 
 combination with potash, in the leaves of 
 the oxalis acetosella, or wood-sorrel. In 
 other species belonging to the same genus, 
 and in some species of rumex, it is in the 
 state of acidulous oxalate of potash. Oxa- 
 late of lime has been found in the root of 
 rhubarb. Citric acid is found in the juice 
 of oranges and lemons, in the berries of 
 two species of vaccinium, &c. Malic acid 
 exists unmixed with other acids, in the ap- 
 ple, the barberry, plumb, sloe, elder, &c. 
 In the gooseberry, in the cherry, straw- 
 berry, currants, and some other fruits, malic 
 and citric acids are found nearly in equal 
 proportions. Malic acid has been found 
 mixed with tartaric acid in the agave Ame- 
 ricana, and in the pulp of tamarinds, along 
 with citric acid. Vauquelin found it com- 
 bined with lime, forming a malate of lime, 
 in the sempervivum, tectorum or house-leek . 
 Gallic acid is found in a great number of 
 
 VEL 
 
 plants, and in them it exists chiefly in the 
 bark. Benzoic acid is found in benzoin, 
 balsam of Tolu and Peru, liquid styrax, 
 cinnamon, and vanilla. Fourcroy and Vau- 
 qnelin suspect that it exists in the anthox- 
 anthum odoratum, or sweet-scented grass, 
 which communicates the aromatic flavour 
 to hay. Prussic acid has been found in the 
 leaves of the lauro-cerasus and peach, in 
 bitter almonds,, in the kernels of apricots ; 
 and it is supposed that it exists also in the 
 kernels of peaches, of plums, and cherries. 
 It is obtained from the kernels of apricots 
 by distilling water off them with a mode- 
 rate heat; and if lime be added to the con- 
 centrated infusion of bitter almonds, a prus- 
 siate of lime is formed. ' Phosphoric acid 
 has been found in different parts of plants ; 
 but it is generally combined with lime, 
 forming a phosphate of lime. 
 
 VEIN, in anatomy, is a vessel which car- 
 ries the blood from the several parts of the 
 body to the heart. The veins are composed 
 principally of a membranaceous, a vasculous, 
 and a musculous tunic : but these are vastly 
 thinner than in the arteries. See Artery. 
 
 VELEZIA, in botany, so named 'from 
 Christoval Velezius, examiner, first physi- 
 cian, and demonstrator of botany, in the 
 College of Apothecaries at Madrid, a genus 
 of the Pentrandria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Caryophyllei. Caryo- 
 phylleae, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 filiform, five-toothed ; corolla five-petal led, 
 small; capsule oae-celled; seeds numerous, 
 in a single row. There is but one species 
 viz. V. rigida, a native of the South of Eu- 
 rope. 
 
 VELLA, in botany, a genus of the Tetra- 
 dynamia Siliculosa class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Siliquosa or Cruciformes. Cru- 
 ciferss, Jussieu. Essential character : silicle 
 with a partition twice as large as the valves, 
 ovate on the outside. There are two spe- 
 cies viz. V. annua, annual vella, or cress 
 rocket ; and V. pseudo cytisus, shrubby 
 vella. 
 
 VELOCITY, swiftness, or that affection 
 of motion whereby a moving body is dis- 
 posed to run over a certain space in a cer- 
 tain time. 
 
 In the doctrine of fluxions it is usual to" 
 consider the velocity with which magni- 
 tudes flow, or are generated. Thus, the 
 velocity with which a line flows, is the same 
 as that of the point, which is supposed to 
 describe or generate the line. The velo- 
 city with which a surface flows, is the same 
 as the velocity of a given light line, that. 
 
VEL 
 
 by moving parallel to itself, is supposed to 
 generate a rectangle, always equal to the 
 surface. The velocity with which a solid 
 flows, may be measnred by the velpcity of 
 a given plain surface tliat, by moving paral- 
 lel to itself, is supposed to generate an 
 erect prism, or cylinder, always equal to 
 the solid. The velocity with which an an- 
 gle flows, ts measured by the velocity of a 
 point, supposed to describe the arc of a 
 given circle, which subtends the angle, and 
 measures it. All these velocities are mea- 
 sured at any term of the time of the mo- 
 tion, by the spaces which would be describ- 
 ed in a given time, by these points, lines, 
 or surfaces, with their motions continued 
 uniformly from that term. The velocity 
 with which a quantity flows, at any term of 
 the time, while it is supposed to be gene- 
 rated, is called its fluxion. See Fluxions. 
 
 Velocity of bodies snorting in curtes. 
 According to Galileo’s system of the fall 
 ef heavy bodies, which is novv universally 
 admitted among philosophers, the velocities 
 of a body falling vertically are, at eadi mo- 
 ment of its fall, as the square roots of tlie 
 heights from whence it has fallen ; reckoning 
 from the beginning of the descent. And 
 hence he inferred, that if a body descend 
 along an inclined plane, the velocities it 
 has, at the different times, will be in the 
 same ratio: for since its velocity is all 
 owing to its fall, and it only falls as much 
 as there is perpendicular height in the in- 
 clined plane, the velocity should be still 
 measured by that height, the same as if the 
 fall were vertical. The same principle led 
 him also to conclude, that if a body fall 
 tlirough several cont%uous inclined planes, 
 making any angles with each other, much 
 like a stick when broken, the velocity 
 would still be regulated after the same 
 manner, by the vertical heights of the dif- 
 ferent planes taken together, considering 
 the last velocity as the same that the body 
 would acquire by a fall through the same 
 perpendicular height. 
 
 This conclusion continued to be ac- 
 quiesced in, till the year 1672, when it was 
 demonstrated to be false, by James Gre- 
 gory, who shows what the real velocity is, 
 which a body acquires by descending down 
 two contiguous inclined planes, forming an 
 obtuse angle, and that it is different from the 
 velocity which a body acquires by descend- 
 ing perpendicularly through the same height; 
 also that the velocity in quitting the first 
 plane, is to that with which it enters the 
 (econd, and in this latter direction, as ra- 
 
 VEN 
 
 dins to the co-sine of the angle of inclination 
 between the two planes. / 
 
 This conclusion, however, it is observed 
 does not apply to the motions of descent 
 down any curve lines, because the con- 
 tiguous parts of curve lines do not form 
 any angle between them, and consequently 
 nh part of the, velocity is lost by passing 
 from one part of the curve to the other ; 
 and hence he inters, that the velocities ac- 
 quired in descending down .a continued 
 curve line, are the same as by falling per- 
 pendicularly through the same height. 'This 
 principle is then applied, by the author, to 
 the motion of pendulums and projectiles. 
 
 Varignon too, in the year 1693, followed 
 in the same track, showing that the velocity 
 lost in passing from one right lined direc- 
 tion to another, becomes indefinitely small 
 in the course of a curve line; and that 
 therefore the doctrine of Galileo holds good 
 for the descent of bodies down a curve 
 line, viz, that the velocity acquired at any 
 point of the curve, is equal to that which 
 would be acquired by a fall through the 
 same perpendicular altitude. 
 
 VELVET, a rich kind of stuff, all silk, 
 covered on the outside with a close, short, 
 fine, soft shag, the other side being a very 
 strong close tissue. The nap, or shag, call- 
 ed also the velveting, of this stuff, is form- 
 ed of part of the threads of the warp, 
 which the workman puts on a long narrow- 
 channeled ruler or needle, which he after- 
 wards cuts, by drawing a sharp steel tool 
 along the channel of the needle to the ends 
 of the warp. 
 
 VENEERING, or Vaneering, a kind 
 of inlaying, whereby several thin slices or 
 leaves of fine woods, of different kinds, 
 are applied and fastened on a ground of 
 some common wood. There are two kinds 
 of inlaying: the one, which is the most 
 common and more ordinary, goes no fur- 
 ther than the making of compartments of 
 different woods; the other requires much 
 more art, in representing flowers, birds, 
 and the like figures. The first kind is pro- 
 perly called veneering ; the latter is more 
 properly called marquetry. The wood used 
 in veneering is first sawed out into slices or 
 leaves about a line in thickness; i. e. the 
 twelfth part of an inch. In order to saw 
 them, the blocks, or planks, are placed up- 
 right, in a kind of sawing press. These 
 slices are afterwards cut into narrow slips, 
 and fashioned divers ways, according to the 
 design proposed; then the joints having 
 been exactly and nicely adjusted, and the 
 
VEN 
 
 pieces brought down to their proper thick- 
 ness, with several planes for the purpose, 
 they are glued down on a ground or block, 
 with good strong glue. The pieces being 
 thus jointed and glued, the work, if small, 
 is put in a press ; if large, it is laid on a 
 bench covered with a board, and pressed 
 down with poles or pieces of wood, one 
 end of which reaches to the ceiling ot the 
 room, and the other bears on the board. 
 Wlicn the glue is thoroughly dry, it is taken 
 out of the press and finished ; first with lit- 
 tle planes, then with divers scrapers, some 
 \ of which resemble rasps, which take off the 
 dents, &c. left by the planes. After it has 
 been sufficiently scraped, they polish it 
 with the skin of a sea-dog, wax, and a brush, 
 or polisher of shave-grass ; which is the last 
 operation. 
 
 VENTER, is used in the law for the 
 children by a woman of one marriage. 
 There is a first and second venter, &c. 
 where a man hath children by several 
 wives. 
 
 VENTILAGO, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : calyx tubular; corolla 
 scales protecting the stamens, which are in- 
 serted into the calyx; samara winged at 
 the top and one seeded, There is only one 
 species, viz. V. maderaspatana. 
 
 VENTILATOR, a machine by which 
 the noxious air of any close place, as an hos- 
 pital, gaol, ship, chamber, &c. may be 
 changed for fresh air. 
 
 VENTRE inspiciendo, a writ to search a 
 woman tliat saith she is with child, and 
 thereby withholds lands from the next heir. 
 As if a man, having lands in fee-simple, die, 
 and his widow soon after marry again, and 
 eay she is with child by her former husband ; 
 in this case, this writ de ventre inspiciendo 
 lies for the heir against her ; by which writ 
 the sheriff is commanded, that in presence 
 of twelve men, and as many women, he 
 cause examination to be made', whether tlie 
 woman is with child or not ; and if with 
 child, then about what time it will be born ; 
 and that he certify the same to the justices 
 of the assize, or at Westminster, under his 
 seal, and under the seals of two of the men 
 present. Cro. Elizabeth, 605, Tills writ 
 is now granted, not only to an heir at law, 
 but to a devisee, whetlier for life, in tail, 
 or in fee. 
 
 VENTRILOQUISM, an art of speak- 
 ing, by means of which the human voice 
 and other sounds are rendered audible, as 
 if they proceeded from various different 
 
 VEN 
 
 places ; though the ntterer does not change 
 his place, and in many instances does not 
 appear to speak. It has been supposed to 
 be a natural peculiarity, because few, if any, 
 persons have learned it by being taught ; 
 and we have had no rules laid down for ac- 
 quiring it. It seems to have been in con- 
 sequence of this notion that the name ven- 
 tiiloquism has been applied to it, from a 
 supposition that the voice proceeds from the 
 thorax or chest. It has seldom been practised 
 but by persons of the lower classes of so- 
 ciety ; and as it does not seem to present 
 any advantages beyond that of causing sur- 
 prize and entertainment, and cannot be ex- 
 hibited on an extended theatre, the proba- 
 bility is that it will continue amongst tliem. 
 
 Mr. Gough, in the Manchester Memoirs, 
 and in various parts of Nicholson’s Journal, 
 has entertained the opinion that the voice 
 of ventriloquists is made to proceed, in 
 appearance, from different parts of a room 
 by the management of an echo. But the 
 facts themselves do not support this hypo- 
 tliesis, as a great and sudden variety and 
 change of echoes would be required ; and 
 his own judicious remarks, in the same 
 work, on tiie facility with which we are de- 
 ceived as to the direction of sound, are ad- 
 verse to his theory. From numerous atten- 
 tive observations, it appears manifest, that 
 the art is not peculiar to pertain individuals, 
 but may with facility be acquired by any 
 person of accurate observation. It consists 
 merely in an imitation of sounds, as they 
 occur in nature, accompanied wdth appro- 
 priate action of such a description as may 
 best concur in leading the minds of the ob- 
 servers to favour the deception. 
 
 Any one who shall try, will be a little 
 surprised to find how easy it is to imitate 
 the noise made by a saw, or by a snuff- 
 box when opened or shut, or by a large 
 hand-bell, or a cork cutter’s knife, a watch 
 while going, and numberless other inani- 
 mate objects; or the voices of animals 
 in their various situations and necessities, 
 such as a cat, a dog, or an hen enraged, inti- 
 midated, confined, &c. ; or to vary the cha- 
 racter of the human voice by shrillness or 
 depth of tone, rapidity or drawling of ex- 
 ecution, and distinctness or imperfection of 
 articulating, which may be instantly chang- 
 ed by holding the mouth a little more open 
 or more closed than usual, altering the posi- 
 tion of the jaw, keeping the tongue in any 
 determinate situation, &c. And every one 
 of the imitations of the ventriloquists will 
 be rendered more perfect by practising 
 
VENTRILOQUISM. 
 
 tlieni at the veiy time the sounds! are lieard, 
 instead of deptaiding on the memory. The 
 leading condition of performance is that the 
 voices and sounds of the dramatic dialogue 
 to be exhibited, should succeed each other 
 so rapidly that the audience should lose 
 sitfht ot the probability that one actor gives 
 effect to the wliole, and that where the busi- 
 ness is simple the aid of scenery or local 
 circumstance should be called in. 
 
 We have seen an eminent philosopher of 
 our own time, wlso liad no previous prac- 
 ticc of this art, but wlien speaking on the 
 subject in a mixed company, took np an 
 hat and folding the flaps together said, by 
 way of example, “ Suppose I had a small 
 monkey in this hat and then cautiously 
 putting his hand in, as if to catch it, he im- 
 itated the chatter of the supposed strug- 
 gling animal, at the same time that his own 
 , efforts to secure it had a momentary im- 
 pression on the spectators, which left no time 
 for them to question whether there was a 
 monkey in it or not: this impression was 
 completed when, the instant afterwards, 
 he pulled out his hand as if hurt, and ex- 
 claimed “lie has bit me.” It was not till 
 then that the impression of reality gave way 
 to the diversion arising from the mimic art ; 
 and one of the company, even then, cried 
 out “Is there really a monkey in Ihehat?” 
 
 In this maimer it was that, at tlie begin- 
 ning of the last century, the famous Tom 
 King, who is said to have been the first 
 man who gave public lectures on experi- 
 mental philosophy in this country, was at- 
 tended by the whole fashionable world, for 
 a succession of many nights, to hear him 
 “ kill a calf.” Tins performance was done in a 
 separated part of the place ot exhibition, 
 into which the exhibitor retired alone ; and 
 the imagination of his polite hearers was 
 taxed to supply the calf and three butchers, 
 besides a dog who sometimes raised his 
 voice and was checked for his unnecessary 
 exertions. It appears, from traditional nar- 
 rative, that the calf was heard to be drag- 
 ged in, not without some efforts and con- 
 versation on the part of the butchers, and 
 noisy resistance from the calf;; that they 
 conversed on the qualities of the animal, 
 and the profits to be expected from the 
 veal; and that, as they proceeded, all the 
 noises of knife and steel, of suspending the 
 creature, and of the last fatal catastrophe, 
 were lieard in rapid succession, to the 
 never-failing satisfaction of the attendants ; 
 who, upon the rise of the curtain, saw that 
 all these imaginary personages had vanish- 
 
 ed, and Tom King alone remained to claim 
 tlie applause. 
 
 A similar fact may be quoted in the per- 
 son of that facetious geiith man who has as- 
 sumed and given celebrity to the name of 
 Peter Piada-. Tliis great poet, laughing at the 
 proverbial poverty of his profession, is some- 
 times pleased to entertain his friends with 
 unexpected effusions of the art we speak of. 
 One of these is managed by a messenger an- 
 nounciiiff to fiie Doctor ' (in the midst of 
 company) that a person wants to speak 
 with liim: he accordingly goes out, leaving 
 the door a-jar, and immediately a female 
 voice is heard, which, from the nature of the 
 subject, appears to be that of the Poet’s laun- 
 dress, who complains of hei- pressing wants, 
 disappointed claims, and of broken pro- 
 mises no longer to be borne with patience. 
 It is more easy to imagine than describe the 
 mixed emotions of the audience. The 
 scene, however, goes on by the Doctor’s 
 reply ; who remonstrates, promises, and is 
 rather angry at the time and place of this 
 unwelcome visit. His antagonist unfortu- 
 nately is neither mollified nor disposed to 
 quit her ground. Passion increases on both 
 sides, and the Doctor forgets himself so far 
 as to threaten the irritated female ; she de- 
 fies him, and this last promise, very unlike 
 the former ones, is followed by payment; 
 a severe slap on the face is hoard ; the poor 
 woman falls down stairs, with horrid out- 
 cries ; the company, of course, rises in 
 alarm; and the Doctor is found in a state 
 of perfect tranquillity, apparently a stranger 
 to the whole transaction. 
 
 A very able ventriloquist, Fitz James, 
 performed in public, in ,Sobo Square, about 
 four years ago. He personated various 
 characters by appropriate dresses ; and by 
 a command of the nm.scles of his lace he 
 could very much alter his appearance. He 
 imitated many inanimate noises, and among 
 otheis, the repetition of noises of the water- 
 machine at Marli. He conversed with some 
 statues, which replied to him; and also 
 with some persons supposed to be in the 
 room above, and on the landing place ; 
 gave the watchman’s cry, gradually ap- 
 proaching, and when he seemed opposite 
 the window, Fitz-James opened it and ask- 
 ed what the time was, received the answer, 
 and during his proceeding with his cry, Fitz- 
 James shut the window, immediately upon 
 which the sound became weaker, and at 
 last insensible. In the whole of his per- 
 foi inance it was clear that the notions of the 
 audience were governed by the auxiliary 
 
YEN 
 
 circnmstancep, as to direction, &c. This 
 mimic liad, at least, six different habitual 
 modes of speaking, which he could instantly 
 adopt one after the other, and witli so much 
 rapidity, that wlien in a small closet, parted 
 off in the room, he gave a long, confused, 
 and impassioned debate of Democrats (in 
 French, as almost the whole of his per- 
 formance was) ; it seemed to proceed trom 
 a multitude of speakers : and an inaccurate 
 observer might have thought that several 
 were speaking at once. A ludicrous scene 
 of drawing a tooth was performed in the 
 same manner. 
 
 These examples, and many more which 
 might be added, are sufficient, in proof, 
 tliat ventriloquism is the art of mimicry, an 
 imitation applied to sounds of every de- 
 scription, and attended with circumstances 
 which produce an entertaining deception, 
 and lead the hearers to imagine that the voice 
 proceeds from different situations. When 
 distant, and consequently low voices are to 
 be imitated, the articulation may be given 
 with sufficient distinctness, without moving 
 the lips, or altering the countenance. It 
 was by a supposed supernatural voice of 
 this kind, from a ventriloquist, that the 
 famous musical small-coal man, Tiiomas 
 Britton, received a warning of his death, 
 whicii so greatly affected him that he did 
 not survive tlie affright. 
 
 VENUE, tile neighbourhood from whence 
 juries are to be summoned for trial of causes. 
 In local actions, as of trespass and eject- 
 ment, the venue is to be from the neigh- 
 bourhood of the place, where the lands in 
 question lie ; and in all real actions the ve- 
 nue must be laid in the county where the 
 thing is for whidi fhe action is brought ; 
 but in transitory actions, for injuries that 
 may have happened any where, as debt, 
 detinue, slander, or the like, the plaintiff 
 may declare in what county he pleases, and 
 then the trial must be in that county in 
 which tlie declaration is laid. Though if 
 the defendant will make affidavit that the 
 cause of action, if any, arose not in that, 
 hut in another county, the court will direct 
 a change of the venue, and oblige the plain- 
 tiff to declare in the proper county. And 
 the court will sometimes move the venue 
 from the proper jurisdiction (especially of 
 the narrow and limited kind), npon a sug- 
 gestion duly supported, that a fair and im- 
 partial trial cannot be had therein. With 
 respect to criminal cases, it is ordained by 
 statute 21 James I. c. 4, that all informa- 
 iSions on penal statutes shall be laid in t!ie 
 
 YEN 
 
 counties where the offences were commit- 
 ted. 
 
 VENUS, the most beautiful star in the 
 heavens, known by the names of the morn- 
 ing and evening star, likewise keeps' near 
 the SHii, though she recedes from liim al- 
 most double tlie distance of Mercury. She 
 is never seen in the eastern quarter of tiie 
 heavens when the sun is in the wi stern; 
 but always seems to altend him in tlie even- 
 ing, or to give notice of his approach in 
 the morning. The planet Venus presents 
 the same phenomena with Mercury • hut 
 her different phases are much more sensi- 
 ble, her oscillations wider, and of longer 
 duration. Her greatest distance from the 
 sun varies from 45® to nearly 48°, and the 
 mean duration of a complete oscillation is 
 584 days. Venus has been sometimes seen 
 moving across the sun’s disc in the form of 
 .around black spot, with an apparent dia- 
 meter of about 59 ". A few days after this 
 has been observed, Venus is seen in the 
 morning, west of the sun, in tlie form of a 
 fine crescent, with the convexity turned to- 
 ward the sun. She moves gradually west- 
 ward with a retarded motion, and the cres- 
 cent becomes more full. In about ten 
 weeks she has moved 46" west of the sun, 
 and is now a semicircle, and her diameter is 
 26". She is now stationary. She then 
 moves eastward with a motion gradually 
 accelerated, and overtakes the sun about 
 9i months after having been seen on his 
 disc. Sometime after, she is seen in the 
 eveniflg, east of the siin, round, but very 
 small. She moves eastward, and increases 
 in diameter, but loses of her roundiiess, till 
 she gets about 46° east of the sun, when she 
 is again a semicircle. She now moves west- 
 ward, increasing in diameter, but becoming 
 a crescent like the waning moon ; and, at 
 laM, .after a period of nearly 584 days, 
 comes again into conjunction with tlie sun 
 with an apparent diameter of 59 '. She 
 does nof move exactly in the plane of the 
 ec'iptic, but deviates from it several de- 
 gree,®. Like Mercury, she sometimes 
 crosses the sun’s disc. The duration of 
 these transits, a.s observed from different 
 parts of the earth’s surface, are very dif- 
 ferent; tliis is owing to the parallax of Ve- 
 nus, in consequence of wiiich different ob- 
 servers refer to different patts of the sun's 
 disc, and see her describe different chords 
 on that disc. In the transit which happen- 
 ed in 1769, the difference of its duration, 
 as observed at Otaheite and at Wardhiijs 
 in Lapland, amounted to 23 minutes, 10 se- 
 
VEN 
 
 conds. This difference gives us the paral- 
 lax of Venus, and of course her distance 
 from the earth during a conjunction. The 
 knowledge of this parallax enables us, by 
 a me.-,1od to be afterwards described, to as- 
 certain that of the sun, and consequently 
 to discover its distance from the earth. 
 The great variations of the apparent dia- 
 meter of Venus demonstrate that her dis- 
 tance from the earth is exceedingly varia- 
 ble. It is largest when the planet passes 
 over the surface of the sun. Her mean 
 apparent diameter is 58 ". , 
 
 Vennsj as we have already observed, is 
 occasionally seen in the disc of the sun, in 
 form of a dark round spot. This happens 
 when the earth is about her nodes at the 
 time of her inferior conjunction. These ap- 
 pearances, called transits, happen but very 
 seldom. During the last century there were 
 two transits, one in June, 1761, and the other 
 in 1769 : no other will occur till the w'riters 
 and most of the present readers of this Dic- 
 tionary shall be no more, viz, in 1874. Ex- 
 cepting such transits as these, Venus exhibits 
 the same appearances to us regularly every 
 eight years ; her conjunctions, elongations, 
 and times of rising and setting being very 
 nearly the same, on the same days, as before. 
 From the transit of Venus in 1761 was de- 
 duced the sun’s parallax, and of course his 
 distance from the earth with very great ac- 
 curacy. See Philosophical Transactions, vol. 
 li. and lii. On the day of the transit, when 
 the sun was nearly at his greatest distance 
 from the earth, the parallax was found to 
 be 8" 52'" ; therefore, at his mean distance, 
 it will be 8 " 65'". Whence, by logarithms, 
 we have 10,000, &c.— 5.622 (sine of 8" 65") 
 = 4.376 = 23882.84, the number of semi- 
 diameters of the earth contained in its dis- 
 tance from the sun. This last number, miil- 
 tiplied by 3985, the number of miles in the 
 earth’s semi-diameter, gives 95,173,122 
 miles for the mean distance of the earth 
 from the sun. This being obtained, we 
 easily, by calculation, find the distances of 
 all the other planets. Other observers 
 made the parallax somewhat different, but 
 it was generally admitted that this distance 
 is somewhere between 95 and 96 millions of 
 miles. 
 
 Venus, in natural history, a genus of the 
 Vermes Testacea class and order. Animal 
 a tethys ; shell bivalve, the frontal margin 
 flattened with incumbent lips ; hinge with 
 three teeth, all of them approximate, the 
 lateral ones divergent at the jip. There 
 are nearly two hundred species, hi sections. 
 
 VEll 
 
 A. Shell somewhat heart-shaped. B. Or- 
 bicular. These are found in different parts 
 of the world. V. verrucosa inhabits the 
 Mediterranean, English, and Antilly coasts : 
 thick, tv/o inches long, and as much broad ; 
 sometimes marked witli a few brown spots 
 and rays, 
 
 VERATRUM, in botany, a genus of 
 the Polygamia Monoecia class and order. 
 Natural order of Coronarire. Junci, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx none ; co- 
 rolla six-petalled ; stamina six : hermaphro- 
 dite, pistils three; capsule many-seeded: 
 male, rudiment of a pistil. There are four- 
 species. 
 
 VERB. See GnAMMAR. 
 VERBASCUM, in botany, mullein, a 
 genus of tire Penfandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Luridae. So- 
 lane®, Jussieu. Essential character: co- 
 rolla wheel-shaped, a little unequal; cap- 
 sule two-celled, two-valved. There are 
 nineteen species. 
 
 VERBENA, in botany, vervain, a genus 
 of the Diandria Monogynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Personal*. Vitices, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla fun- 
 nel-shaped, almost equal, curved ; calyx 
 one of the teeth truncate ; seeds two or 
 four, naked, or very thinly arilled ; stami- 
 na tw’o or four. There are twenty-three 
 species. 
 
 VERBESINA, in botany, a genus of 
 the Syngenesia Polygamia Superflua class 
 and order. Natural order of Coinposit* 
 Oppositifoli*. Corymbifer-*, Jmssieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx a double row ; flo- 
 rets of tile ray about five ; pappus awned ; 
 receptacle chaffy. There are twelve spe- 
 cies. 
 
 VERDICT, the answer of a jury made 
 upon any cause, civil or criminal, commit- 
 ted by the court jo their examination ; and 
 this is two fold, general or special. A ge- 
 neral verdict is that which is given or 
 brought into the court in like general terms 
 to the general issue ; as, guilty or not guilty 
 generally. A special verdict is, when they 
 say at large that such a thing they find to be 
 done by the defendant, or tenant, so de- 
 claring the course of the fact, as in their 
 opinion it is proved; and as to the law up- 
 on the fact, they pray the judgment of tha 
 court ; and this special verdict, if it con- 
 tain any ample declaration of the cause from 
 the beginning to the end, is also called a 
 verdict at large. A special verdict is usually 
 found vvhere there is any difficirlty or doubt 
 respecting the laws, when the jury state the 
 

 rjr*. 
 
 /'■ 
 
 
 
 
 VER 
 
 facts as proved, and pray the advice of the 
 court thereon. A less expensive and more 
 speedy mode, however, is, to find a ver- 
 dict generally for the plaintiff, subject, ne- 
 vertheless, to the opinion of the judge, or 
 the court above, or a special case drawn up 
 and settled by counsel on both sides. 
 
 VERDITER, a kind of mineral sub- 
 stance, sometimes used by the painters, &c. 
 for a blue ; but more usually mixed with 
 a yellow for a green colour. 
 
 VERDOY, in heraldry, denotes a bor- 
 dnre of a coat of arms, charged with any 
 kinds or parts of flowers, fruits, seeds, 
 plants, &c. 
 
 VERGE, signifies the compass of the 
 King’s court, which bounds the jurisdiction 
 of the Lord Steward of the Household; 
 and which is thought to have been twelve 
 miles round. 
 
 The term verge is also used for a stick or 
 rod, whereby one is admitted tenant to a 
 copyhold estate, by holding it in his hand, 
 and swearing fealty to the lord of the ma- 
 nor. 
 
 VERGERS, certain officers of the courts 
 of King’s Bench and Common Pleas, whose 
 business it is to carry white wands before 
 the judges. 
 
 There are also vergers of cathedrals and 
 collegiate churches, who carry a rod tipped 
 with silver before the bishop, dean, &c. 
 
 VERGETTE,, in heraldry, denotes a 
 pallet, or small pale ; and hence, a shield 
 divided by such pallets, is termed ver- 
 gette. 
 
 VERJUICE, a liquor obtained from 
 grapes or apples, unfit for wine or cyder ; 
 or from sweet ones, whilst yet acid and un- 
 ripe. Its chief use is in sauces, ragouts, 
 &:c. though it is also an ingredient in some 
 medicinal compositions, and is used by the 
 wax- chandlers to purify their wax. 
 
 VERMES, in natural history, the last class 
 of the animal kingdom, according to the 
 Linnaean system. The animals in this class 
 are not merely those commonly known by 
 the name of worms, but likewise those 
 which have the general character of being 
 “ slow in motion, of a soft substance, ex- 
 tremely tenacious of life, capable of re-pro- 
 ducing such parts of their body as may have 
 been taken away or destroyed, and inha- 
 biting moist places.” There are five orders 
 in this class, viz. the 
 
 Infusoria 
 
 Intestina 
 
 Molldsca 
 
 Testacea 
 
 Zoophyta 
 
 VER 
 
 These animals are generally considered 
 as the lowest in the scale of animated be- 
 ing. The simplicity of their form, the hu- 
 mility of their station, and the low degree 
 of sense and motion which they seem to en- 
 joy, have rendered them objects of but lit- 
 tle attention to mankind in general, except- 
 ing as they contribute to the supply of their 
 wants, or to render themselves formidable, 
 by the pain and distress which they occa- 
 sion to those bodies which nature seems to 
 have destined for their habitation. But, to 
 ,the curious investigator of the ways of hea- 
 ven, every part of the vast creation be- 
 comes interesting, and this class of animated 
 beings, has, in later times, attracted a con- 
 siderable share of attention. To this they 
 seem fully entitled, if we consider the num- 
 ber of animals which are included under 
 the general name of worms : if we observe 
 the simplicity of form in some of them, and 
 the complicated structure of others; in 
 short, if we reflect on the, various modes in 
 which they are propagated, and on the sur- 
 prising faculty, which many of them pos- 
 sess, of spontaneous reproduction : the img- 
 gination will be astonished with their num- 
 ber and variety, and confounded by their 
 wonderful properties. The waters are peo- 
 pled with myriads of animated beings, 
 which, though invisible to our unassisted 
 eyes, are unquestionably endowed with or- 
 gans as perfect as the largest animals, since, 
 like these, they re-produce others similar 
 to themselves, and hold in the scale of na- 
 ture a rank as little equivocal, though less 
 obvious and obtrusive. The elegance of 
 form, and beauty of colour, which some of 
 the “ mollusca,” and “ zoophyta ” possess, 
 cannot fail to render them objects of admi- 
 ration to the most indifferent observer. 
 
 VERMICELLI, a composition of flour, 
 cheese, yolks of eggs, sugar, and saffron, re- 
 duced to a paste, and formed into long 
 slender pieces, like worms, by forcing it 
 with a piston through a number of little 
 holes 
 
 VERNIER, a scale adapted for the gra- 
 duation of mathematical instruments, so, 
 called from Pierre Vernier the inventor,. 
 Under the article Barometer will be seen 
 some account of this scale as applied to that 
 instrument, here we shall take it up more 
 generally. 
 
 This scale is derived from the following 
 principle. If two equal right lines, or cir- 
 cular arcs, A B, are so divided, that the 
 number of . equal divisions in B is one less 
 than the number of equal divisions in A, thea 
 
 
VER 
 
 VER 
 
 will the excess of one division of A be com- 
 pounded of the ratios of one of A to A, and 
 of one of B to B. For, let A contain 11 
 parts, tiien ope of A to A is as 1 to 11, or 
 
 Let B contain 10 parts, then one of 
 
 B to B is as 1 to 10, or—. Now ^ — i 
 ’ 10 10 11 
 _ n — to _ 1 _ 1 j_ 
 
 ~10 X it “10 X 11 “ 10 ^ 11‘ 
 
 Or it B contains n parts, and A contains 
 
 n -1- 1 parts ; then i is one part of B, and 
 
 — j — is one part of A. And ^ — =: 
 
 + 1 n n-^ 1 
 
 n 1 — n 1 1 
 
 n X 1 “ “+ 
 
 Tiie most commodious divisions, and 
 their aliquot parts, into which the degrees 
 on the circular limb of an instrument may 
 be supposed to be divided, depend on the 
 radius of that instrument. 
 
 Let R be the radius of a circle in inches ; 
 and a degree to be divided into n parts, each 
 
 being ^ th part of an inch. 
 
 Now the circumference of a circle, in 
 partsofits diameter 2 R inches, is 3.1415926 
 X 2 R inchc.s. 
 
 Then 360“ : 3.1415926 X 2 R : : 1“ : 
 
 3.1415926 
 360 ^ 
 
 2 R inches. 
 
 Or, 0.0174.5329 X R is the length of one 
 degree in inches. 
 
 Or, 0.01745329 X R X p is the length of 
 1“, in pth parts of an inch. 
 
 But as every degree contains n times such 
 parts, therefore = 0.01745329 X R X p. 
 The most commodious perceptible divii- 
 
 sion is - or — of an inch. 
 
 8 . 10 
 
 Example. Suppose an instrument of 30 
 inches radius, into how many convenient 
 parts may each degree be divided ? bow 
 many of these parts are to go to the breadth 
 of the vernier, and to what parts of a de- 
 gree may an observation be made by that 
 instrument ? 
 
 Now, 0.01745 X R = 0.5236 inches, the 
 length of each degree : and if p is supposed 
 
 about - of an inch for one division ; then 
 
 0.5236 Xp= 4.188 shows the number of 
 .such parts in a degree. But as this number 
 must be an integer, let it be 4, each being 
 1.5"; and let the breadth of the vernier con- 
 tain 31 of those parts, or 7|’, and be di- 
 vided into 30 parts. 
 
 Here n = i ; ot = — ; then ~ x — = 
 
 — of a degree, or 30', which is the least 
 
 part of a degree that instrument can show. 
 
 1 111 
 
 If M = “, and »i = — : then - x — = 
 o 36 ’ 5 36 
 
 60 ~ „ 
 
 r of a minute, or 20 . 
 
 o X o6 
 
 VERONICA, in botany, speedwell, a ge- 
 nus of the Diandiia Monogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Persouatae. Pe- 
 diciilares, Jussieu. Essential character: co- 
 rolla four-cleft, wheel-shaped, with the low- 
 est segment narrower ; capsule superior, 
 two-celled. There are fifty seven, species. 
 
 VERSED sine of an arch, a segment of 
 the diameter of a circle, lying between the 
 foot of a right sine, and the lower extremity 
 of the arch. 
 
 VERT, in heraldry, the term fora green 
 colour. It is called vert in the blazon of 
 the coats of all under the degree of nobles ; 
 but in coats of nobility, it is called eme- 
 rald ; and in tliose of kings, Venus. In en- 
 graving, it is expressed by diagonals, or 
 lines drawn athwart from right to left, from 
 the dexter chief corner to the sinister 
 base. 
 
 Vert, or Green hue, in forest law, any 
 tiling that grows and bears a green leaf 
 within the forest, that may cover a deer. 
 This is divided into over-vert and nether- 
 vert ; over vert is the great woods which, 
 in law-books, are nsiially called haiilt-bois ; 
 nether-vert is the under woods, otherwise 
 called snb-bois. We sometimes also meet 
 widi special vert, which denotes all trees 
 growing in the King’s woods within the fo- 
 re.st ; and those which grow in other men’s 
 woods, if they be such trees as bear fruit to 
 feed the deer. 
 
 VERTEBRAE, in anatomy, the twenty- 
 four bones of which the spine consists, and 
 on which the several motions of the trunk - 
 of our bodies are performed. 
 
 VERTEX is used, in astronomy, for the 
 point of heaven perpendicularly over our 
 heads, properly called the zenith. 
 
 VERTICAL circle, in astronomy, a great 
 circle of the sphere, passing through the 
 zenith and nadir, and cutting the horizon at 
 right angles: it is otherwise called azi- 
 muth. 
 
 Vertical prime, is that vertical circle or 
 azimuth which passes through the poles of 
 the meridian ; or which is perpendicular to 
 the meridian, and passes through the eqiii- 
 noctial points. 
 

 /'4«f./.lhalema ./ummin ? I’hrvg-anea _^7'aW^> Scaratens / 7 i/lo.JFuf. 4 .. 
 
 S UerralpB AV-.5.Sii'ax^ffz^aj-^ Sptex maml/oa Ft^ .y . SpliiTot atropos. FCg. S. 
 Tlurps p/iysapu., _ Fp.q.Vos^A y7,lpari.<. 
 
 yonp^m FahU^-hed hy Lcnpmim.Burst.llecs S: Orm£,j'ep.i.iffoff. 
 
 EKTOMOILOGT. 
 
 Flat, ‘IP. 
 
VES 
 
 Vertical plane, in perspective, is a plane 
 perpendicular to the geometrical plane, 
 passing through the eye, and cutting tlie 
 perspective plane at right angles. 
 
 Vertical plane, in conics, is a plane 
 passing through the veitex of the cone, and 
 parallel to any conic section. 
 
 VESPA, in natural history, the wasp. 
 Mouth horny, with a compressed jaw ; 
 feelers four, unequal, filiform; antennas 
 filiform, the first joint longer and cylin- 
 drical ; eyes linear; body glabrous; up- 
 per wings folded in each sex ; sting pun- 
 gent, concealed in the abdomen. More 
 than two hundred species have been 
 enumerated, divided into three sections, 
 which are again divided into sub-sections. 
 
 A. Tongue simple ; or without any. B. 
 Tongue bifid, retractile. C. Tongue in- 
 flected, and five-cleft. Wasps live mostly 
 in numerous societies, constructing curious 
 nests, or combs, generally under grotind ; 
 they prey upon other insects, especially 
 bees and flies, and devour meal, bread, and 
 fruit ; the larva is soft, without feet, and 
 feeds on the nectar of flowers and honey ; 
 the pupa quiescent, and has the rudiments 
 of wings. V. vulgaris, or common wasp,^ 
 is well known to every one. The nest of 
 this species is a highly curious structure, 
 and is prepared beneath the surface of some 
 dry bank, or other convenient situation. 
 Its shape is that of an upright oval, often 
 measuring ten or twelve inches at least 
 in diameter; it consists of several ho- 
 rizontal stages or stories of hexagonal 
 cells, the interstices of each story being 
 connected at intervals by upright pillars ; 
 and the exterior surface of the nest consists 
 of a great many layers or pieces, disposed 
 over each other in such a manner as best to 
 secure the interior cavity from the effects 
 of cold and moisture ; the whole nest, com- 
 prising both walls and cells, is composed of 
 a substance very much resembling the 
 coarser kinds of whitish-brown paper, and 
 consists of the fibres of various dry vegeta- 
 ble substances, agglutinated by a tenacious 
 fluid, discharged from the mouths of the in- 
 sects during their operations. The female 
 wasps deposit their eggs in the cells, one in 
 each cell appropriated for that purpose ; 
 from these are hatched the larva, or mag- 
 gots, which bear a near resemblance to 
 those of bees : they are fed by the labour- 
 ing wasps with a coarse kind of honey, and 
 when arrived at their full size, close up 
 their respective cells with a, fine tissue of 
 ilken filaments, and, after a certain period. 
 
 VES 
 
 emerge in their complete or perfect form. 
 
 The male insect, like the male bee, is desti- 
 tute of a sting. The society or swarm of 
 the common wasp, consists of a vast num- 
 ber of neutral or labouring insects, a much 
 smaller number of males, and still fewer fe- 
 males. They do not, like bees, prepare and 
 lay up a store of honey for winter use ; but 
 the few which survive the season of their 
 birth, remain torpid during the colder 
 months. 
 
 V. crabo, the hornet, is a species of a far 
 more formidable nature than the common 
 wasp, and is of considerably larger size : its 
 colour is a tawny yellow, with ferruginous 
 and black bars, and variegations. The nest 
 of this species is generally built in the ca- 
 vity of some decayed tree, or immediately 
 beneath its roots ; and not unfrequently in 
 timber yards and other similar situations. 
 
 It is of smaller .size than that of the wasp, 
 and of a somewhat globular form, with an 
 opening beneath ; the exterior shell con- 
 sisting of more or few layers of the same 
 strong paper like substance with that pre- 
 pared by the wasp : the cells are also of a 
 similar nature, but much fewer in number, 
 and less elegantly composed. The hornet, 
 like the wasp, is extremely voracious. 
 
 VESPERTILIO, the bat, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of Mammalia, of the order 
 Primates. Generic character: teeth erect, 
 sharp-pointed, approximated ; fore-feet pal- 
 mated, with a membrane surrounding the 
 bodv, and bv which the animal is enabled 
 to fly. Bats fly only by night, in quest of 
 their food, consisting of gnats and moths, 
 and when deprived of their eyes, appear to 
 feel no want of them, having a supplemen- 
 tal power of perception, by which they 
 avoid objects in the way with nearly as 
 much precision as in their perfect state. In 
 cold climates they pass the winter in tor- 
 por, assembling in holes and in caverns, in 
 which they are occasionally seen adhering 
 in great numbers to the walls, and some- 
 times suspended by their hind legs. Ihe 
 bones of the extremities of the fore legs of 
 bats are continued into long and thiii pro- 
 cesses, connected by a fine and almost 
 transparent skin, which they are pnabled to 
 unfold optionally, for flight, or to withdraw 
 into a very small compass, ^when they wash 
 to repose. The general division is into 
 those which have tails, and those which have 
 none. There are twenty-five species. 
 
 V. murinus, or the common bat, is two 
 inches and a half long, including its tail, 
 and nine wide, and is of a reddish-brown 
 
VES 
 
 colour, with black wings and ears, the last 
 rounded and small. It is found almost 
 throughout Europe. AVheii on the ground, 
 it is frequently unable to rise, without as- 
 cending some eminence for the greater con- 
 venience of managing its wings. 
 
 V. auritns, or the great-eaied bat, is dis- 
 tinguished from the former by the size of 
 its ears, which are more than an inch long. 
 This is very common in England, and its 
 manners, food, and size are similar to those 
 of the former. These animals are stated to 
 take their drink, as well as food, while upon 
 the wing, as they flutter over streamlets or 
 ponds, which they often do for the insect 
 food so copiously supplied by these situa- 
 tions. On the river Thames, in a fine even- 
 ing in summer, they may occasionally be 
 seen to the number of several scores, or 
 even hundreds, in one view. By the an- 
 cients the bat was consecrated to the god- 
 dess of the infernal regions, and its general 
 aspect, and nocturnal flights, and leathern 
 wings, render it not an inappropriate inha- 
 bitant of those obscure and dismal territo- 
 ries. These animals are capable of being 
 tamed, and have been brought to feed from 
 a person’s hand. In one instance of this 
 kind, they shewed extreme dexterity in 
 clearing flies of their wings, which they al- 
 ways refuse. They partook of raw flesh, 
 but preferred insects j and, in taking their 
 nourishment, they were desirous to avoid 
 observation, and for this purpose stretched 
 round their wings before their month. 
 They occasionally ran, but with extreme 
 ankwardness. 
 
 V. spectrum, or thi spectre bat, is found 
 in South America, and is a large species, its 
 wings extending nearly two feet and a quar- 
 ter. Its chief residence is in palm-trees. 
 
 V. yampyrus, or the vampyre bat, is an 
 inhabitant of India and South America, is 
 about twelve inches long, and the extent of 
 its wings is four feet, and in some extraor- 
 dinary instances, it is said, six. Its tongue 
 is pointed, and terminated by sharp prickles. 
 
 It is reported to suck tlie blood of cattle, 
 by inserting the point of its tongue into one’ 
 of their veins during sleep, so as to excite 
 little or no pain. Tins is said to be done 
 by them with respect to men also. Various 
 writers, of general respectability, concur iu 
 these statements, and have observed, that 
 in some parts of South America, and in In- 
 dia, it is, on this account, highly dangerous 
 to sleep in the open air, or in apartments 
 with open windows. This property of suck- 
 ing the blood of human beings, has long 
 
 VES 
 
 been afiirmed of the hats of Europe ; but 
 though assertions of this nature are incapa- 
 ble of being contradicted, there does not 
 appear to be any detail of well authenti- 
 cated facts in their support. The two last 
 species have no tail. 
 
 VE.STA, one of the small planetary bo- 
 dies discovered lately to revolve between 
 the planets Mars and Jupiter : the follow- 
 ing account is taken from the " Philosophi- 
 cal Transactions.” 
 
 “At our very first observations, with 
 magnifying powers of 150 and 300, applied 
 to the excellent new fifteen-feet reflector, 
 we found the planet Vesta, without any ap- 
 pearance of a disc, merely as a point, like a 
 fixed star, with an inten.se, radiating light, 
 and exactly of tlie same appearance as that 
 of any fixed star of the sixth magnitude. In 
 the same manner we both afterwards saw 
 this planet several times with our naked 
 eyes, when the sky was clear, and when it 
 was surrounded by smaller invisible stars, 
 which precluded all possibility of mistaking 
 it for another. This proves how veiy like 
 the intense light of this planet is to that of 
 a fixed star. As the observations and mea- 
 surements of Ceres, Pallas, and Juno, were 
 made with the same eye-glasses, but with 
 the thirteen-feet reflector, we soon after 
 compared the planet Vesta with the same 
 glasses of 136 and 288 times magnifying 
 power in the thirteen-feet reflector. In 
 both these telescopes its image was, with- 
 out the least difference, that of a fixe.d star 
 of the sixth magnitude, with an intense ra- 
 diating light ; so that this new planet may, 
 with the greatest propriety, be called an 
 asteroid. 
 
 “April 26th, in the evening, at nine 
 o’clock, true time, I succeeded in effecting 
 the measurement of Vesta, with the same 
 power of 288, by means of the thirtee.vfeet 
 l eflector, with which that of Ceres, Pallas, 
 and Jiino had been made ; and when view- 
 ed by this reflector, it also appeared ex- 
 actly in the same manner. Of several illu- 
 minated discs, of 2.0 to 0.5 decimal lines, 
 which I had before made use of for mea- 
 suring the satellites of Saturn and Jupiter, 
 the smallest disc only of 0.5 lines could be 
 used for this purpose ; by it the rounded 
 nucleus of the planet Vesta, when the disc 
 was at the distance of 611.0 lines from the 
 eye, appeared almost of the same size, and 
 I must even estimate its diameter as one- 
 sixth smaller. If, therefore, we attend, not 
 to the full magnitude of the projection, but 
 the estimation just mentioned,' it follows, 
 
VES 
 
 hy calculation, that the apparent diameter 
 of the planet Vesta is only 0.488 seconds, 
 and conse< 5 uently, only halt of what I have 
 found to be the apparent diameter of the 
 fourth satellite of Saturn. This extraordi- 
 nary smallness, with such an intense, ra- 
 diant, and unsteady light of a fixed star, is 
 the more remarkable, as, according to the 
 preliminary calculations of Dr. Gauss, there 
 can be no doubt that this planet is found in 
 the same region between Mars and Jupi- 
 ter, in which Ceres, Pallas, ajid Juno per- 
 form their revolutions rhund the sun ; that, 
 in close union with tliem, it has the same 
 cosmological origin ; and that, as a planet 
 of such smallness and of so very intense 
 light, it is comparatively near ^o the earth. 
 This remarkable circumstance will no doubt 
 be productive of important cosmological 
 observations, as soon as the elements of the 
 new planet have been suflficiently deter- 
 mined, and its distance from the earth as- 
 certained by calculation." 
 
 Much of what is said of Vesta is applica- 
 ble to the other small planetary bodies re- 
 ferred to in this article. 
 
 VESTRY, a place adjoining to a church, 
 where the vestments of the minister are 
 kept; also a meeting at such place, where 
 the minister, churchwardens, and principal 
 men of most parishes, at this day, make a pa- 
 rish vestry. On the Sunday before a vestry 
 is to meet, public notice ought to be given, 
 either in the church, or after divine service 
 is ended, or else at the church door, as the 
 parishioners come out ; both of the calling of 
 the meeting, and also the time and place of 
 the assembling of it ; and it is reasonable 
 then also to declare for what business tlie 
 meeting is to he held, that none may be 
 surprised, but that all may have full time 
 before, to consider of what is to be pro- 
 posed at the meeting. 
 
 VESUVIAN, in mineralogy, a species of 
 the Flint genus,; it is of a dark olive-green, 
 which passes into a blackish gree n. It oc- 
 curs massive, often crystallized. Specific 
 gravity about 3.5. Before the blow pipe, 
 it melts, without addition, into a yellowish 
 and faintly-translucent glass. It is found 
 among the exuvise of Vesuvius, in a rock 
 composed of mica, hornblende, garnet, and 
 calc spar, which Werner imagines to con- 
 stitute part of the primitive mass on 
 which that volcanic mountain rests. It 
 has also been found in Siberia, and in 
 Kamtschatka. At Naples it is cut into 
 ring'Stoiies, and is sold under various names. 
 
 VIB 
 
 Two specimens have been analyzed by 
 Klaproth ; the results are as follow ; 
 
 Ve^uvian of Vesuvius. 
 
 Silica 35.50 
 
 Lime 33.00 
 
 Allumina 22.25 
 
 Oxide of iron 7.50 
 
 Oxide of manganese ... 0.25 
 Loss 1.60 
 
 100.00 
 
 Vesuvian of Siberia. 
 
 Silica 42.00 
 
 Lime 34.00 
 
 Allumina 16.26 
 
 Oxide of iron 5 50 
 
 Loss.... 2.25 
 
 100.00 
 
 VESUVIUS, a famous volcano, or burn- 
 ing mountain, situated only six miles east of 
 the city of Naples, in Italy. See Volcano. 
 
 VIBRATION, in mechanics, a regular 
 reciprocal motion of a body, as, for exam- 
 ple, a pendulum, which, being freely sus- 
 pended, swings or vibrates from side to 
 side. Mechanical authors, instead of vibra- 
 tion, often use the term oscillation, espe- 
 cially when speaking of a body that thus 
 swings by means of its own gravity* or 
 weight. 
 
 The vibrations of the same pendulum are 
 all isochronal ; that is, they are performed 
 in an equal time, at least, in the same lati- 
 tude ; for in lower latitudes they are found 
 to be slower than in higher ones. See Pen- 
 nuLOM. In our latitude, a pendulum 39i 
 Indies long vibrates seconds, making 60 vi- 
 brations in a minute. 
 
 The vibrations of a longer pendulum 
 take up more time than those of a shorter 
 one, and that in the sub-duplicate ratio of 
 the lengths, or the ratio of the square 
 roots of the lengths. Thus, if one pen- 
 dulum be 40 inches long, and another only 
 10 inches long, the former will be dou- 
 ble the time of the latter in performing a 
 vibration ; for 40 : v' 10 v" 4 : v' 1> 
 that is, as 2 to 1. And because the num- 
 ber of vibrations, made in any given time, 
 is reciprocally as the duration of one vibra- 
 tion, therefore the number of such vibra- 
 tions is in the reciprocal subduplicate ratio 
 of the lengths of the pendulums. 
 
 Vibrations of a stvetched chord, or 
 string, arise from its elasticity ; which 
 
 7 ". 
 
VIC 
 
 power being in tiiis case similar to gravity, 
 as acting uniformiy, tlie vibrations of*a 
 chord fol'ow the same laws as tliose of pen- 
 dulums. Consequent'y the vibrations of 
 the same chord, equally stretched, though 
 they be of unequal lengths, are isochronal, 
 or are performed in equal times ; and the 
 squares of the times of vibration are to one 
 another inversely as their tensions, or 
 powers by w'hich they are stretched The 
 vibrations of a spring, too, are proportional 
 to tlie powers by which it is bent. These 
 follow the same laws as those of the chord 
 and pendulum ; and consequently are iso- 
 chronal, which is the foundation of spring- 
 watches. 
 
 Vibrations are also used in physics, &c. 
 and for several otlier regular alternate mo- 
 tions. Sensation, for instance, is supposed 
 to be performed by means of the vibratory 
 motion of the contents of the nerves, begun 
 by external objects, and propagated to the 
 brain. Tiiis doctrine has been particularly 
 illustrate I by Dr. Hartley, w ho has extends 
 ed it further than any other writer, in esta- 
 blishing a new theory of our mental opera- 
 tions. The same ingenious author also ap- 
 plies the doctrine of vibrations to the ex- 
 planation of muscular motion, which he 
 thinks is performed in the same general 
 manner as sensation and the perception of 
 ideas. For a particular account of his 
 theory, and the arguments by which it is 
 supported, see bis “ Observations on Blan,” 
 vol. 1. : see also Belsham’s “Elements;” 
 and “ Introductory Essays to Hartley,” by 
 Dr. Priestley. 
 
 VIBRIO, in natural history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Infusoria class and order. 
 Worm invisible to the naked eye, very sim- 
 ple, round, elongated. There are twenty 
 species, described by Adams, and other 
 authors on the microscope. 
 
 VIBURNUM, in botany, laurustmus, a 
 genus of the Pentandria Trigynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Dumosm. Capri- 
 folia, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx 
 five-parted, superior ; corolla five-cleft ; 
 berry one-seeded. There are twenty-three 
 species. 
 
 VICAR, one who supplies the place of 
 another. The priest of every parish is call- 
 ed rector, unless the prmdial tithes arc ap- 
 propriated, and then he is stiled vicar ; and 
 when rectories are appropriated, vicars are 
 to supply the rector’s place. For the main- 
 tenance of the vicar, there was then set 
 apart a certain portion of the tithes, com- 
 
 VIC 
 
 nioniy about a third part of the whole, which 
 are now what are called the vicarial tithes, 
 tlie re.st being reserved to the use of those 
 houses which, for the like reason, are term- 
 ed the rectorial tithes. 
 
 VICARAGE. For the most part vi- 
 carages were endowed upon appropria- 
 tions ; but sometimes vicarages have been 
 endowed without any appropriation of the 
 parsonage ; and there are several churches 
 where the tithes are wholly impropriated, 
 and no vicarage endowed ; and there, the 
 itnpropriators are bound to maintain curates 
 to perform divine service, &c. The par- 
 sons, patron, and ordinary, lyay create a vi- 
 carage and endow it ; and in time of va- 
 cancy of The clmrcli, the patron and ordi- 
 nary may do it ; but the ordinary alone 
 cannot create a vicarage, without the p^ 
 tron’s assent. 
 
 VICE, in smithery, and other arts em- 
 ployed in metals, is a machiiip, or instru- 
 ment, serving to hold fast any thing they 
 are at work upon, whether it is to be filed, 
 bent, riveted, &c. To file square, it is 
 absolutely necessary that the vice be placed 
 perpendicidar, with its chaps parallel to the 
 work-bench. 
 
 Vice, /land, is a small kind of vice serv- 
 ing to hold the lesser works in, that require 
 often turning about. Of these there are 
 two kinds : the broad-chapped hand-vice, 
 which is that commonly used ; and the 
 square-nosed hand-vice, seldom used but for 
 filing small round work. 
 
 Vice ia also a machine used by the gla- 
 ziers to turn or draw lead into flat rods, 
 with grooves on each side to receive the 
 edges of the glass. 
 
 Vice is also used, in the composition of 
 divers words, to denote the relation of 
 something that comes instead, or in the 
 place, of another ; as vice-admiral, vice- 
 chancellor, vice-chamberlain, vice-president, 
 &c. are officers who take place in the ab- 
 sence of admirals, &c. See the article 
 Admiral, &c. 
 
 VICIA, in botany, vetch, a genus of the 
 Diadelphia Decaudria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Papilionace®, or Leguminosae. 
 Essential character : stigma transversely 
 bearded on the lower side. There are 
 twenty-five species. 
 
 VICINAGE, in law, common of vici- 
 nage is, where the inhabitants of two town- 
 ships, which lie contiguous, have usually in- 
 tercommoned with one another, the beasts 
 of the one straying mutually into the other’s 
 
VIE 
 
 fields without any molestation from either. 
 This, indeed, is only a permissive right, in- 
 tended to excuse what, in strictness, is a 
 trespass in both, and to prevent a multipli- 
 city of suits ; and therefore either township 
 may inclose and bar out the other, fhoTigh 
 they have intercommoned time out of mind. 
 Neither has any person of one town a right 
 to put his beasts, originally, into the other’s 
 common ; but if they escape and stray there 
 of themselves, the law does not punish 
 trespass. 
 
 ' VI ET ARMIS, vAth force and arms, in 
 law, are words used in indictments, de- 
 clarations, &e. to express the charge of 
 forcible and violent committing any crime 
 or trespass ; but on appeal of death, on a 
 killing with a weapon, the w ords'ui et armis 
 are not necessary, because they are im- 
 plied; so in an indictment of forcibly en- 
 try alleged to have been made manu forti, 
 &c. 
 
 VIETA (Francis), in biography, a very 
 celebrated French mathematician, was born 
 in 1540, at Fontenai, a province of France. 
 Among other branches of learning in which 
 he excelled, he was one of the most respec- 
 table mathematicians of the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, or indeed of any age. His writings 
 abound with marks of great originality, and 
 the finest geniu,«, as well as intense applica- 
 tion. His application w'as such, that, it is 
 said, he has sometimes remained in his stu- 
 dy for three days together, witiiout eatmg 
 or sleeping. His inventions and improve- 
 ments, in all parts of the mathematics, were 
 very considerable. He was in a manner 
 the inventor and introducer of specious al- 
 gebra, in which letters are used insteijd of 
 numbers. He made also considerable im- 
 provements in geometry and trigonometry. 
 He gave some masterly tracts on trigonome- 
 try, both plane and spherical, which may 
 be found in the collection of his works, 
 published at Leyden in 1646, by Schooten, 
 besides another large and separate volume 
 in folio, published in the author’s life time', 
 at Paris,. in 1579, containing extensive tri- 
 gonometrical tables, with the construction 
 and use of the same. To this complete 
 treatise on trigonometry, plane and spheri- 
 cal, are subjoined several miscellaneous 
 problems and observations, such as, the 
 quadrature of the circle, the duplication (if 
 tlie cube, &c. Computations are here 
 given of the ratio of tiie diameter of a cir- 
 cle to the circumference, and of the length 
 of the sign of one minute, both to a great 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 VIL 
 
 many places of figures ; by which he found 
 that the sine of one minute is 
 
 between 2908881959 
 and 2908882056 ' 
 
 also the diameter of a circle, being 1000, 
 &c. that the perimeter of the inscribed and 
 circumscribed polygon of 393216 sides, will 
 be as follows, viz. the 
 
 Perimeter of the inscribed ) 
 
 polygon ‘ 
 
 Perimeter of the circum- 
 scribed polygon 
 
 and that therefore the circumference of the 
 circle lies between those two numbers. 
 
 Vieta was also a profound decypherer, 
 an accomplishment that proved very useful 
 to his country. As the different parts of 
 the Spanish monarchy lay very distant from 
 one another, when they had occasion to 
 communicate any secret designs, they 
 wrote them in ciphers and unknown cha- 
 racters, during the disorders of the league : 
 the cipher was composed of more than 500 
 different characters, which yielded their 
 hidden contents to the penetrating genius 
 of Vieta alone. His skill so disconcerted 
 the Spanish councils for two years, that they 
 published it at Rome, and other parts of 
 Europe, that the French King had only dis- 
 covered their ciphers by means of magic. 
 He died at Paris, in the year 1603, in the 
 sixty-third year of his age. 
 
 VIEW, in law, is generally where a real 
 action, or an action of trespass, is brought 
 in any of the Courts of Record at West- 
 minster, and it shall appear to the court to 
 be proper and necessary tliat the jurors 
 should have a view, they may order special 
 writs of disMngas, or habeas corpora, to 
 issue, commanding the sheriff to have six 
 of the first twelve of the jurors therein 
 named, or of some greater number of them, 
 at the place in question, &c. This is done 
 where it is of any importance to the deter- 
 mination of tire cause, to be acquainted 
 with the local situation and actual state of 
 the place injured. _ 
 
 VILLAIN, or Villein, in our ancient 
 customs, denotes a man of servile and base 
 condition, viz. a bondman or servant : and 
 there were anciently two sorts of bondmen 
 or villains in England : the one termed a 
 villain in gross, who was imraediately'bound 
 to the person of his lord and his heirs ; the 
 ether a villain regardant - to a manor, he 
 being bound to his lord as a member be- 
 li 
 
 31-115926537 
 
VIN 
 
 longing (ind annexed to tlie manor whereof 
 the lord was owner ; and he was propei;ly 
 a pure villain, of wliora the lord took re- 
 demption to many his daughter, and to 
 mak^liim free ; and whom the lord might 
 put out of his lands and tenements, goods 
 and chattels, at his will, and beat and clias- 
 tise, but not maim him. 
 
 VINCULUM, in algebra, a mark or 
 character, either drawn over, or including, 
 or some other way accompanying, a factor, 
 divisor, dividend, &c. when it is com- 
 pounded of several letters, quantities, or 
 terms, to connect them together as one 
 quantity, and show that they are to be 
 multiplied, or divided, &e. togetlier. Vieta 
 first used the bar or line over the quanti- 
 ties, for a vinculum, thus a -j- h ; and Albert 
 Girard the parenthesis, thus (a-\-h)-, the 
 former way being now chiefly used by the 
 English, and the latter by most other Eu- 
 ropeans. Thus a-\- b X c,ot (a -\-b) X c, 
 denotes the product of c and the sum a 6 
 considered as one quantity. Also ^a-\-b, 
 or denotes the square root of 
 
 tlie sum a-^b. Sometimes the mark : is 
 set before a compound factor, as a vincu- 
 lum, especially when it is very long, or an 
 infinite series ; thus 3a X : 1 — Sx-j- 3*^ — 
 4x^ -4* &c. 
 
 VINE. See ViTis. 
 
 VINCA, in botany, periwinJcle, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Contort®, Apo- 
 cineae, Jussieu. Essential character : con- 
 torted ; follicles two, erect; seeds naked. 
 There are five species. 
 
 VINEGAR is a liquor of an agreeable 
 smell, a pleasant and slrongly-acid taste, 
 and of a hue varying from light-red to 
 brown straw colour; and is prepared by 
 fermenting any substance or compound 
 which has already undergone tlie .spirituous 
 fermentation. Vinegar, therefore, may be 
 made immediately from any wine, malt 
 liquor, cyder, &c. ; or from the juice of the 
 grape and otiier fruits ; from infusion of 
 malt, or any saccharine liquid, through the 
 intermedium of vinous fermeiitation. Botli 
 these raetliods are actually practised with 
 complete success. To make vinegar out of 
 a liquor containing suitable materials, it is 
 only necessary, l.st, to allow some acee.ss 
 of air to liie vessel in which it is kept ; and, 
 2d, to keep it in a temperature rather 
 higlier than that of tlie atmosphere in tliis 
 climate, tliat is to say, about 75“ to 80“. 
 It is also almost essential, where a liquor 
 
 VIN 
 
 already fermented is employed, to add a 
 portion of yeast, or any other ferment; for 
 though any fermented liquor, if kept in a 
 moderate temperature in an open vessel, 
 will spontaneously run sour, or become 
 changed to vinegar; this change is too gra- 
 dual to produce this acid in perfection, and 
 the first acetified portion turns mouldy be- 
 fore the last has become sour ; but where 
 the substance employed has not yet under- 
 gone fermentaj;ion, the whole process of the 
 vinous and subsequent acetous fermenta- 
 tion will go on uninterruptedly with the 
 same ferment which at first set it in action, 
 which happens, for example, in the making 
 vinegar from malt, or from sugar and W'ater. 
 In this country vinegar is chiefly made from 
 malt. The following is the usual process 
 in London : A mash of malt and hot water 
 is made, which, after infusion for an hour 
 and a half, is conveyed into a cooler, a few 
 inches deep, and thence, when sufficiently 
 cooled, into large and deep fermenting 
 tuns, where it is mixed with yeast, and kept 
 in fermentation for four or five days. The 
 liquor (whicli is now a strong ale without 
 hops) is then distributed into smaller bar- 
 rels, set close together in a stoved cham- 
 ber, and a moderate heat is kept np for 
 about six weeks ; during which the fermen- 
 tation goes on equally and uniformly till tlic 
 whole is soured. Tliis is then emptied into 
 common barrels, which are set in rows 
 (often of many hundreds) in a field in the 
 open air, the bung-hole being just covered 
 with a tile, to keep off the wet but to allow 
 a free admission of air. Here the liquor 
 remains for four or five months, according 
 to the heat of the weather, a gentle fer- 
 mentation being kept up till it becomes 
 perfect vinegar. This is finished in the fol- 
 lowing way : Large tuns are employed, with 
 a false bottom, on which is put a quantity 
 of the refuse of raisins, or other fruit, left 
 by the makers of raisin and other home- 
 made wines, called technically rape. These 
 rape-tuns are worked by pairs ; one of them 
 is quite filled with tlie viuegar from the 
 barrels, and the other only three-quartei-s 
 full, so that the fermentation is excited 
 more easily in the latter than the former ; 
 and every day a portion of the vinegar is 
 laded from one to the other, till the whole 
 is completely finished, and fit for sale. 
 Vinegar, as well as fruit-wines, is often 
 made in small quantity for domestic uses,, 
 and the process is by no means difficult. 
 The materials may be either brown sugar 
 and water alone, or sugar with raisins, cur- 
 
VIR. 
 
 rants, and especially ripe gooseberries : 
 tliese should be mixed in the proportions 
 which would give a Strong wine, put into a 
 small barrel, which it should fill about three- 
 fourths, and the bung-hole very loosely 
 stopped. Some yeast, or, what is better, 
 a toast sopped in yeast, should be put in, 
 and the barrel set in the sun in summer, or 
 a little way from a fire in winter, and the 
 fermentation will soon begin. I'his should 
 be kept up constant, but very moderate, 
 till the taste and smell indicate that the 
 vinegar is complete. It should be poured 
 off Clear, and bottled carefully; and it will 
 keep much better if it is boiled for a mi- 
 nute, cooled, and strained before bottling. 
 Vinegar contains a considerable quantity 
 of colouring extractive matter, from which 
 it can only be freed by distillation ; the 
 process of which will be clearly understood 
 by a reference to the article Distil- 
 I.ATION. See also Acetic acid. When 
 vinegar is long kept, especially exposed 
 to the air, it becomes muddy, acquires 
 a mouldy, unpleasant smell, loses it^ clear 
 red colour and all its properties, and 
 finally, is changed to a slimy mucilage and 
 water. 
 
 VIOL, in music, a stringed instrument, 
 resembling in shape and tone the violin, of 
 which it was the origin. 
 
 VIOLA, in botany, violet, a genus of the 
 Syngenesiq Monogamia class and order. 
 Natural order of Campanacem. Cisti, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: calyx five-leav- 
 ed ; corolla five-petalled, irregular, horned 
 at the back ; anthers cohering; capsule 
 superior, one-celled, three-valved. There 
 are forty three species : some of these plants 
 are highly esteemed, particularly the V. 
 odorata, sweet violet, for its fragrance ; it 
 is a native of every part of' Europe, in 
 woods, among bushes, in hedges, and on 
 warm banks, flowering early in the spring. 
 
 VIOLIN. See Musical instruments. 
 
 VIOLONCELLO. See Musical instra- 
 ments. 
 
 VIPER. See Coluber. 
 
 VIRECTA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Rubiace®, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character: calyx five-toothed, with 
 teeth interposed ; corolla funnel-form ; stig- 
 ma two-parted ; capsule one-celled, many- 
 seeded, inferior. There are two species, 
 viz. V. biflora, two-flowered virecta; and 
 V. pratensis. 
 
 VIRGO, in astronomy, one of the signs 
 or constellations of the zodiac, and the 
 
 VIS 
 
 sixth according to order. It is marked 
 thus Rg, and in Ptolemy’s catalogue con- 
 sists of thirty-two stars, in Tycho’s of thirty- 
 nine, and in the Britannic of eighty-nine. 
 
 VIRTUAL/ocms, in optics, is a point in 
 the axis of a glass, where the continuation 
 of a refracted ray melts it. 
 
 VIS, a Latin word, signifying force or 
 power ; adopted by physieal writers to ex- 
 press divers kinds of natural powers or 
 faculties. Vis impressa is defined, by Sir 
 Isaac Newton, to be the action exercised 
 on any body, to change its state, either in 
 resisting, or moving uniformly in a right 
 line. This force consists altogether in the 
 action, and has no place in the body, after 
 the action is ceased. See Inertia, &c. 
 
 VISCUM, in botany, misseltoe, a genus 
 of the Dioecia Tetrandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Aggregat®, Linnmus. 
 Caprifolia, Jussieu. Essential character : 
 male, calyx four-parted ; corolla none; fila- 
 ments none ; anthers fastened to the calyx : 
 female, calyx four-leaved, superior ; corolla 
 none; style none; berry one-seeded; seed 
 cordate. There are twelve species. 
 
 VISIBLE, something that is an object 
 of sight or vision, or something whereby 
 the eye is affected, so as to produce a sen- 
 sation. 
 
 The Cartesians say that light alone is the 
 proper object of vision. But according to 
 Newton, colour alone is filie proper object 
 of sight; colour being that property of 
 light by which the light itself is visible, and 
 by which tlie images of opaque bodies are 
 painted on the retina. Philosophers in ge- 
 neral had formerly taken for granted, that 
 the place to which the eye refers any visi- 
 ble object, seen by reflection or refraction, 
 is that in which the visual ray meets a per- 
 pendicular from the object upon the reflect- 
 ing or the refracting plane. That this is 
 the case with respect to plane mirrors i^ 
 universally acknowledged ; and some ex- 
 periments with mirrors of other forms seem 
 to favour the same conclusion, and tlius af- 
 ford reason for extending the analogy to all 
 cases of vision. If a right line be held 
 perpendicularly over a convex or concave 
 mirror, its image seems to make one line 
 with it. The same is the case with a right 
 line held perpendicularly within water; for 
 the part which is within the water seems to 
 be a continuation of that which is without. 
 But Dr. Barrow called in question this me- 
 thod of judging of the place of an object, 
 and so opened a new field of Inquiry and 
 debate in this branch of science. This, 
 li g 
 
VIS 
 
 witli otlier optical investigations, he pub- 
 lished in liis Optical Lectures,- first printed 
 in 1674. According to him, we refer every 
 point of an object to the place from which 
 tile pencils of light issue, or from which 
 they would have issued, if no reflecting or 
 refracting substance intervened. Pursuing 
 this principle, Dr. Barrow proceeded to in- 
 vestigate the place in which the rays issu- 
 ing from each of the points of an object, 
 and that reach the eye after one reflection 
 or refraction, meet; and he found that 
 when the refracting surface was plane, and 
 the refraction was made from a denser me- 
 dium into a rarer, those rays would always 
 meet in a place between the eye and a per- 
 pendicular to the point of incidence. If a 
 convex mirror be used, the case will be the 
 same ; but if the mirror be plane, the rays 
 will meet in the perpendicular, and beyond 
 it, if it be concave. He also determined, 
 according to these principles, what form 
 the image of a right line will take when it 
 is presented in different manners to a sphe- 
 rical mirror, or when it is seen through a 
 refracting medium. 
 
 M. Bouguer adopts Barrow’s general 
 maxim, in supposing that we refer objects 
 to the place from which the pencils of rays 
 seemingly converge at their entrance into 
 the pupil. But when rays issue from below 
 the surface of a vessel of water, or any 
 other refracting medium, ,he finds that 
 there are always two different places of 
 this seeming convergence : one of them of 
 the rays that issue from it in the same ver- 
 tical circle, and therefore fall with different 
 degrees of obliquity upon the surface of 
 the refracting medium ; arid another of 
 those that fall upon' the surface with the 
 same degree of obliquity, entering the eye 
 laterally with respect to one another. He 
 says, sometimes o'tfe of these images is at- 
 tended to by the mind, and sometimes the 
 other ; and different images may be observ- 
 ed by different persons. And lie adds, that 
 an object plunged in wafer affords an ex- 
 ample of this duplicity of images. 
 
 From the principle above illustrated, se- 
 veral remarkable phenomena of vision may 
 be accounted for : as — That if the distance 
 between two visible objects be an angle 
 that is insensible, the distant bodies will ap- 
 pear as if contiguous; whence, a con- 
 timious. body being tlie result of several 
 contiguous ones, if the distances between 
 several visibles subtend insensible angles, 
 they vvill appear one continuous bocly ; 
 wliich gives a pretty illustration of the no- 
 tion of a continuum. Hence also parallel 
 
 VIS 
 
 lines, and long vistas, consisting of parallel 
 rows of trees, seem to converge more and 
 more the further tliey are extended frqpi 
 tlie eye; and the roofs and floors of long 
 extended alleys seen, the former to descend, 
 and the latter to ascend, and approacii 
 each other; because the apparent magni- 
 tudes of their perpendicular intervals are 
 perpetually diminisidng, while at the same, 
 time we mistake their distance. See 
 Priestley’s Light and Colours. 
 
 The mind perceives the distance of visi- 
 ble objects, 1st, From tlie different configu- 
 rations of tire eye, and the manner in 
 which the rays strike the eye, and in wliich 
 the image is impressed upon it. For the 
 eye disposes itself differently, according to 
 the different distances it is to see ; viz. for 
 remote objects the pupil is dilated, and the 
 crystalline brongiit nearer the retina, and 
 . the whole eye is made more globous; on 
 the contrary, for near objects, the pupil is 
 contracted, the crystalline thrust forwards, 
 and the eye lengthened. Again, the dis- 
 tance of visible objects is judged of by the 
 angle the object makes; from the distinct 
 or confused representation of the objects ; 
 and from the briskness or feebleness, or the 
 rarity or density of the rays. To this it is 
 owing, 1st, Tiiat objects which appear ob- 
 scure or confused, are judged to be more 
 remote; a principle which the painters 
 make use of to cause some of their figures 
 to appear further distant than others on the 
 same plane. 2d, To this it is likewise ow- 
 ing, that rooms whose walls are whitened, 
 appear the smaller; that fields covered with 
 snow, or white flowers, appears less than 
 when clothed with grass ; that mountains 
 covered witli snow, in the night time, ap- 
 pear the nearer, and that opaque bodies ap- 
 pear the more remote in the twilight. 
 
 The magnitude of visible objects, is 
 known chiefly by the angle contained be- 
 tween two rays drawn from the two ex- 
 tremes of the object to the centre of tlie 
 eye. An object appears so large as is tl:e 
 angle it subtends ; or bodies seen under a 
 greater angle, appear greater; and those 
 under a less angle, less, &c. Hence the 
 same thing appears greater or less as it is 
 nearer the eye or further off. And tliis is 
 called the apparent magnitude. But to 
 judge of the real magnitude of an object, 
 we must consider tlie distance ; for since a 
 near and a remote object may appear un- 
 der equal angles, though the magnitudes be 
 different, tiie distance must necessarily ba 
 estimated, because the magnitude is great 
 or small according as the distance is. So 
 
VIS 
 
 tiiat the real magnitude is in the compound 
 ratio of the distance and the apparent mag- 
 nitude ; at least when the subtended angle, 
 or apparent magnitude, is very small; other- 
 wise, the real magnitude will be in a ratio 
 compounded of the distance and the sine of 
 the apparent magnitude, nearly, or nearer 
 still its tangent. Hence, objects seen un- 
 der the same angle, have their magnitudes 
 in the same ratio as their distances. The 
 cliord of an arc of a circle appears of equal 
 magnitude from evety point in the circimi- 
 ■'^'erence, though one point be vastly nearer 
 than another. Or if the eye be fixed in 
 any point in the circumference, and a right 
 line be moved round so as its extremes be 
 always in the periphery, it will appear of 
 the same magnitude in every position. And 
 the reason is, because the angle it subtends 
 is always of the same magnitude. And 
 hence also, the eye being placed in any an- 
 gle of a regular polygon, the sides of it 
 will all appear of equal magnitude ; being 
 all equal chords of a circle described about 
 it. If tlte magnitude of an object directly 
 opposite to the ey^e be equal to its distance 
 from the eye, the wliole object will be dis- 
 tinctly seen, or taken in by tlie eye, but 
 nothing more. And the nearer you ap- 
 proach an object, the less part you see of 
 it. The least- angle under which an ordi- 
 nary object becomes visible, is about 0116 
 minute of a degree. 
 
 The figure of visible objects is estimated 
 chiefly from our opinion of the situation of 
 the several parts of the object. Tliis opi- 
 nion of the situation, &c. enables the mind 
 to apprehend an external object under tliis 
 or that figure, more justly than any simili- 
 tude of tlie images in the retina, with tlie 
 object cap; the images being often ellipti- 
 cal, oblong, &c, when the objedts they ex- 
 hibit to the mind are circles, or squares, &c. 
 
 Tiie laws of vision, with regard to the fi- 
 gures of visible objects, are. 3. That if 
 tlie centre of the eye be exactly in the dri 
 rection of a rigiit line, the line will appear 
 only as a point. 3. If the eye be placed 
 in the direction of a surface, it will appear 
 only as a line. 3. If a body be opposed 
 directly towards the eye, so as only one 
 plane of the smface can radiate on it, the 
 body will appear as a surface, 4. A remote 
 arch, viewed by an eye in the same plane 
 with it, will appear as a right line. 5. A 
 sphere, viewed at a distance, appears a cir- 
 cle. 6. Angular figures, at a distance, ap- 
 pear loiind. 7. If the eye look obliquely 
 m the centre of a regular figure, or a cir- 
 
 VIS 
 
 cle, the true figure will not be seen ; but 
 the circle will appear oval, &c. 
 
 VISION, is the act of seeing or of per- 
 ceiving external objects by the organ of 
 sight. As every point of an object, ABC, 
 (Plate XVI. Miscel. fig. 11.), sends out 
 rays in all directions, some rays from every 
 point on the side next the eye, will fall upon 
 the cornea, between E and F, and by pass- 
 ing on through the humours and pupil of 
 the eye, they will be converged to as many 
 points on the retina, or bottom of the eye, 
 and will thereon form a distinct inverted 
 picture, eba, of the object. Tims the pen- 
 cil of rays, g^r s, that Hows from the point, 
 A, of the object, will be converged to the 
 point, a, on the retina ; those from the 
 point, B, will be converged to the point b ; 
 those from the point, C, will be converged 
 to the point, c; and so of all the interme- 
 diate points, by which means the whole 
 image, a be, is formed, and the object made 
 visible, although it must be owned that the 
 ihethod by which the sensation is carried 
 from the eye by the optic nerve to the com- 
 mon sensory in the brain, and there dis- 
 cerned, is above the reach of our concep- 
 tion. Tliat vision is effected in tliis manner 
 may be demonstrated experimentally. Take 
 a bullock’s eye, w'hile it is fresh, and hav- 
 ing cut off the tliree coats from the back 
 part, quite to the vitreous humour, put a 
 piece of wliile paper over that part, and 
 hold the eye towards any bright object, 
 and you will see an invei'ted picture of the 
 object upon the paper. Tlie diariieters of 
 images at the bottom of the eye are propor- 
 tional to the angles which the objects sub- 
 tend at the eye, the same as in a lens, and 
 are reciprocally as the distances of the same 
 object viewed in different places. The eye 
 is in reality no more than a camera obsCura, 
 for the rays of light flowing from all the 
 points of an object, through the pupil of the 
 eye, do by the refraction of its humours, 
 paint the image thereof in the bottom of 
 the eye : just so it is in the camera obscura, 
 where all the rays refracted by a lens in the 
 window-shutter, or passing through a small 
 hole in it, paint the image on the opposite 
 wall. Some properties of the eye are these : 
 the eye can only see a very small part of an 
 object distinctly at once. For the collate- 
 ral parts of an object are not represented 
 distinctly in the eye ; and therefore the eye 
 is forced to turn itself successively to the 
 several parts of the object it wants to view, 
 that they may fall near the axis of the eye, 
 where alone distinct vision is performed. 
 
VISION. 
 
 When any point of an object is seen dis- 
 tinctly with both eyes, the axis of both 
 eyes are directed to that point, and meet 
 there ; and then the object appears single, 
 though looked at with both eyes ; for the 
 optic nerves are so framed, that the corres- 
 pondent parts in both eyes lead to the same 
 place in the brain, and give but one sensa- 
 tion, and the image will be twice as bright 
 with both eyes as with one. But if the axis 
 of both eyes be not directed to the object, 
 that object will appear double, as the pic- 
 tures in the two eyes do not fall upon cor- 
 respoudent or similar parts of the retina. 
 The best eye can hardly distinguish any 
 object that subtends at the eye an angle 
 less than half a minute, and veiy few can 
 distinguish it when it subtends a minute. 
 If tlie distance of two stars in the heavens 
 be not greater than this, they will appear as 
 one. Though men may see distinctly at 
 different distances, by altering the position 
 and figure of the crystalline, yet they can 
 only see distinctly within certain limits, and 
 nearer than that, objects appear confused. 
 But these limits are not the same in differ- 
 ent people. A good eye can see distinctly 
 when the rays fall parallel upon it, and 
 then the principal focus is at the bottom 
 of the eye; a man can judge at a small 
 distance, with a single eye, by frequently 
 observing how much variation is made 
 in the eye to make the object distinct, 
 and from this a habit of judging is ac- 
 quired. But this cannot be done at 
 great distances, because, though the dis- 
 tance be varied, the change in the eye 
 becomes then insensible. But a man 
 can judge of greater distances with both 
 eyes, than he can with one. For the eyes 
 being at a distance from one another, as 
 long as that distance has a sensible propor- 
 tion to the distance of the object, one gets 
 a habit of judging, by the position of the 
 axis of the eyes, which are always directed 
 to that point. For different distances re- 
 quire different positions of the axis; which 
 depend on the motions of the eyes, which 
 we feel. But in very great distances no 
 judgment can be made from the motion of 
 the eyes, or their internal parts. There- 
 fore we can only guess at the distances 
 from the magnitude, colour, and the posi- 
 tion of inteijacent bodies. Dimness of 
 sight generally attends old people, and this 
 may arise from two causes. 1. By the eyes 
 growing flat, and not uniting the rays at the 
 retina, which causes indistinctness of vision ; 
 or, 2. By the opacity of the humours of the 
 
 eye, whicli in time lose their transparency, 
 in some degree ; from whence it follow's 
 that a great deal of the light that enters 
 the eye, is stopped and lost; and every 
 object appears faint and dim. Hence the 
 necessity of spectacles. 
 
 If objects are seen through a perfectly 
 flat glass, the rays of light pass through it 
 from them to the eye, in a straight direc- 
 tion, and parallel to each other, and conse- 
 quently the objects appear very little either 
 diminished or enlarged, or nearer, or fln- 
 ther off, than to the naked eye ; but if tlie 
 glass they are seen through have any degree, 
 of convexity, the rays of light are directed 
 from the circumference towards the centre, 
 in an angle proportional to the convexity of 
 the glass, and meet in a point, at a greater 
 or lesser distance from the glass, as it is more 
 or less convex. This point, where the rays 
 meet, is called the focus, and this focus 
 is nearer or further off, according to the 
 convexity of the glass ; for as a little con- 
 vexity throws it to a considerable distance, 
 so when the convexity is much, the focus is 
 very near. Its magnifying power is also in 
 the same proportion to the convexity: for 
 as a flat glass scarcely magnifies at all, the 
 less a glass departs from flatness, the less 
 of Course it magnifies ; and the more it ap- 
 proaches towards the globular figure, the 
 nearer its focus is, and the more its magni- 
 fying power. People’s different length of 
 sight depends on the same principle, and 
 arises from more or less convexity of the 
 cornea and crystalline humour of the eye ; 
 the rounder these are, the nearer will thd 
 focus or point of meeting rays be, and the 
 nearer an object must be brought to see it 
 well. The case of short-sighted people is 
 only an over-roundness of the eye, which 
 makes a very near focus ; and that of old 
 people is a sinking or flattening of the eye, 
 whereby the focus is thrown to a great dis- 
 tance, so that tlie former may properly be 
 called eyes of too short, and the latter eyes 
 of too long a focus. Hence too, the remedy 
 for the last is a convex glass, to supply the 
 want of convexity in the eye itself, and 
 brings the rays to a shorter focus ; whereas 
 a concave glass is needful for the first to 
 scatter the rays and prevent their coming 
 to a point too soon. The nearer any ob- 
 ject can be brought to the eye, the larger 
 will be the angle under which it appears, 
 and the more it will be magnified. Now, 
 that distance from the naked eye, where 
 the generality of people are supposed to see 
 small objects best, is about six inches, con* 
 
VIT 
 
 scquently, when such objects are brought 
 nearer than six inches, tliey will become 
 less distinct ; and if to four or three, they 
 will scarce be seen at all. But by the help 
 of convex glasses we are enabled to view 
 things clearly at much shorter distances 
 than these ; for the nature of a convex lens 
 is to render an object distinctly visible to 
 the eye at the distance of its focus ; where- 
 fore the smaller a lens is, and the more its 
 convexity, the nearer is its focus, and the 
 more its magnifying power. Now, it is 
 evident from the figure, that if either the 
 cornea, or crystalline humour, or both of 
 them, be too flat, their focus will not be on 
 the retina, where it ought to be, in order 
 to render vision distinct, but beyond the 
 eye. Consequently those rays which flow 
 from the object, and pass through the hu- 
 mours of the eye, are not sufficiently con- 
 verged to unite, and therefore the observer 
 can have but a very indistinct view of the 
 object. This is remedied by placing a con- 
 vex glass, of a proper focus, befoi'e the eye, 
 which makes the rays converge sooner, and 
 imprints the image duly on the retina. If 
 either the cornea or crystalline humour, or 
 both of them, be too convex, the rays that 
 enter in from the object will be converged 
 to a focus in the vitreous humour, and by 
 diverging from thence to the retina, will 
 form a very confused image thereon, and 
 so of course, the observer will have as con- 
 fused a view of the object, as if his eye had 
 been too flat. This inconvenience is reme- 
 died by placing a concave glass before the 
 eye, which glass, by causing the rays to di- 
 verge between it and the eye, lengthens 
 the focal distance, so that if the glass be 
 properly chosen, the rays will unite at the 
 retina, and form a distinct picture of the 
 object upon it, 
 
 VISMEA, in botany, a genus of the Do- 
 decandria Trigynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Onagrse, Jussieu; Essential cha- 
 racter: calyx five-leaved, inferior j corolla 
 five-petalled ; stigmas five ; nut two or 
 three- celled, half inferior. There is but one 
 species, viz. V. mocanera, a native of the 
 Canary islands. 
 
 VISUAL, in general, something belong- 
 ing to vision. Thus, rays of light, coming 
 from an object to the eye, are called visual 
 l ays ; and the visual point in perspective is 
 a point in the horizontal line, wherein all 
 the visual rays unite. 
 
 VITAL air. See Oxygen gas. 
 
 VITEX, in botany, chaste-trec, a genus 
 of the Didynamia Angiospeiinia class and 
 
 VIT 
 
 order. Natural order of Personatae. Vitices, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five- 
 toothed; corolla- border six-cleft; drupe 
 one-seeded; a four-celled nut. There are 
 fourteen species. 
 
 VITIS, in botany, the vine, a genus of 
 the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Hederaceae. Vitices, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : petals cohering 
 at the top, shrivelling; berry five-seeded, 
 superior. There are twelve species, and 
 many varieties. 
 
 The most important species of the vitis 
 is V. vinifera, or common vine, w'hich has 
 naked, lobed, sinnated leaves. There are 
 a great many varieties ; and all the sorts 
 are propagated either from layers, or cut- 
 tings ; ' tlie latter method is said to be pre- 
 ferable, though the former is much used in 
 this country. 
 
 The uses of the fruit of the vine for mak- 
 ing wine, &c.-are well known. The vine 
 was introduced by the Romans into Bri- 
 tain, and appears formerly to have been 
 very common. From the name of vine- 
 yard yet adhering to the ruinous scites of 
 our castles and monasteries, there seem to 
 have been few in the country but what had 
 a vineyard belonging to them. The county 
 of Gloucester is particularly commended by 
 Malmsbury, in the twelfth century, as ex- 
 celling all the rest of the kingdom in the 
 number and goodness of its vineyards. In 
 the earlier pefiods of our history, the isle of 
 Ely was expressly denominated the isle of 
 Vines by the Normans. Vineyards are fre- 
 quently noticed in the descriptive accounts 
 of Doomsday ; and those of England are 
 even mentioned by Bede, as early as the 
 commencement of the eighth century. 
 
 , Doomsday exhibits to us a particular 
 proof that wine was made in England du- 
 ring the period preceding the conquest; 
 and after the conquest, the bishop of Ely 
 appears to have received at least three or 
 four tons of wine annually as tithes, from 
 the produce of the vineyards in his diocese, 
 and to have made frequent reservations in 
 his leases of a certain quantity of wine for 
 rent. A plot of land in London, which now 
 forms East Smitlitield and some adjoining 
 streets, was withheld fiom the religions 
 house within Aldgate by four successive 
 constables of the tower, in the reigns of 
 Rufus, Henry, and Stephen, and made by 
 them into a vineyard, which yielded great 
 emolument. In the old accounts of rectorial 
 and vicarial revenues, and in the old regis- 
 ters of ecclesiastical sails caacerning them, 
 
VIT 
 
 the titlie of wine is an article that frequent- 
 ly occurs in Kent, Surry, and other coun- 
 ties. And the wines of Gloucestershire, 
 within a century after the conquest, were 
 little inferior to the French in sweetness. 
 The beautiful region of Gaul, which had 
 not a single vfee in the days of Car-sar, had 
 iiunibers so early as the time of Strabo. 
 The south of it was particularly stocked 
 with them ; and they had even extended 
 themselves into the interior parts of the 
 country ; but the grapes of the latter did 
 not ripen kindly. Fiance was famous for 
 its vineyards in the reign of Vespasian, and 
 even exported its wines to Italy. The 
 whole province of Narbonne was then co- 
 vered with vines ; and the wine-merchants 
 of the country were remarkable for knav- 
 ish dexterity, tinging it with smoke, colour- 
 ing it (as was suspected) with herbs and 
 noxious dyes, anil even adulterating the 
 taste and appearance with aloes. And as 
 onrfiist vines would be transplanted froin 
 Ganl, so were in all probability those of 
 the Allobroges in Francbe-compt^. Tliese 
 were peculiarly fitted for cold countries. 
 They ripened even in the frosts of the ad- 
 vancing winter; and they were of the same 
 colour, and seem to have been of the same 
 species, as the black ranscadiues of the pre- 
 sent day, which have lately been tried in 
 ttiis island, and found to be the fittest for 
 the climate. These vvere brought into Bri- 
 tain a little after the vines had been car- 
 ried over all the kingdoms of Gaul, and 
 about the middle of the third century, 
 when the numerous plantations had gra- 
 dually spread over the face of the latter. 
 
 VITJVIANNTA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Abb 6 F. Vitmann, professor at 
 Milan, a genus of the Octandria Monpgynia 
 class and order. Essential character : calyx 
 four-cleft ; corolla foiir-petalled ; nectary 
 a scale at tlie base of each filament ; nut 
 semi lunar, compressed, one-seeded. There 
 is but one species, viz. V. elliptica, a native 
 of the East Indies. 
 
 VITRIOL, natural, in mineralogy, a spe- 
 cies of fossil salts, divided into three sub- 
 .species. t . Iron vitriol. 2. Copper vitriol. 
 3. Zinc vitriol. 
 
 The iron vitriol is of an emerald and ver- 
 digrease green, sometimes bordering on sky- 
 blue ; sometimes on grass green. It occurs 
 massive, tuberose, stalactitic, and crystal- 
 lized. It occurs usually with iron pyrites, 
 by tlie decomposition of which it is formed. 
 It is found in many parts of Germany, Ita- 
 ly, Sweden, and in many of the English 
 
 VIT 
 
 mines, in Teneriffe, and Greenland. It 19 
 employed to dye linen yellow, and wool 
 and silk black ; it is also of use in the ma- 
 nufacture of ink, of Berlin bine, for the pre- 
 cipitation of gold from its solution ; and 
 sulphuric acid can be obtained from it by 
 distillation, and the residuum, called calco- 
 thar of iron, is used as a red paint, and when 
 washed, for polishing steel, glass, &c. 
 
 Copper vitriol is of a dark sky-blue co- 
 lour, which sometimes approaches to verdi- 
 gris green, It occurs massive, disseminated, 
 Stalactitic, dentiform, and crystallized. If a 
 plate of iron be inserted in a solution of 
 copper vitriol, it soon becomes incrusted 
 witli metallic copper. With ammonia its 
 solution acquires a blue colour. It is found 
 in many parts of Germany, Sweden, and Si- 
 beria, in the copper mines of Ireland, and 
 in Anglesea, in Wales. It is used in cot- 
 ton and linen printing, and the oxide is, se- 
 parated from it, and used as a pigment. 
 
 Zinc vitriol is of a gieyish colour, and 
 found also in Germany and Sweden. 
 
 VITRUVIUS (Marcus Vitruvius 
 PoLLio), in biography, a celebrated Ro- 
 man architect, of whom however nothing 
 is known, but what is to be coiiected 
 from his ten books “ De Architectnra,” 
 still extant. In die preface to (he sixth 
 book, he writes, that he was carefully 
 instructed in the whole circle of arts 
 and sciences ; a circumstance which he 
 speaks of with much gratitude, laying it 
 down as certain, that no man can be a com- 
 plete architect without some knowledge 
 and skill in every other branch of know- 
 ledge. And in the preface to the first book 
 he inlbnns us, that he was known to Julius 
 Ca>sar ; that he w'as afterwards recom- 
 mended by Octavia to her brother Augus- 
 tus Caesar ; and that he was so favoured, 
 and provided. for, by this emperor, as to 
 be out of all fear of poverty as long as he 
 might live. It is supposed that Vitruvius 
 was born either at Rome or Verona ; but it 
 is not known which. His books of archi- 
 tecture are addressed to Augustus Caesar, 
 and not only show consummate skill in that 
 particular science, but also a very uncom- 
 mon genius and natural abilities. Cardan 
 ranks Vitruvius as one of the twelve per- 
 sons, whom he supposes to have excelled 
 all men in the force of genius and inven- 
 tion ; and would not have scrupled to 
 have given him the first place, if it could 
 be imagined that he had delivered no- 
 thing but his own discoveries. Those twelve 
 persons were, Euclid, Archimedes, Apollo- 
 
ViVERRA. 
 
 nius P6rg®us, Aristotle, Arcliytas of Ta-, 
 leiitiiiii, Vitruvius, Achindus, Mahomet Ibn 
 Moses, the inventor or 'improver of alge- 
 bra, buns Scotns, John Snisset, snrnamed 
 the calculi^or, Galen, and Heber of Spain. 
 The best edition of the architecture of Vi- 
 truvius is that of Amsterdam in 1649. Per- 
 rault gave an excellent French translation 
 of the same, and added notes and figures ; 
 the first edition of which was published at 
 Paris in 1673, and the second, much yn- 
 proved, in 1684. Mr. William Newton too, 
 an ingenious architect, published in 1780, 
 &c. curious commentaries on Vitruvius, il- 
 lustrated with figures ; to which is added a 
 description, with figures, of the military ma- 
 chines used by the ancients. 
 
 VIVERRA, the weasel, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of Mammalia, of the order 
 Fer®. Generic character ; six fore-teeth, 
 rather sharp ; tusks longer ; tongue ip some 
 smooth, in others aculeated backwards ; bo- 
 dy of a lengthened form. Gmelin separates 
 the Viverra from the Mustela genus, and in- 
 cludes the Lutr®, or otters, under the lat- 
 ter. Mr. Pennant unites the two first, and 
 forms the Lutrm into a distinct genus. This 
 arrangement appears preferable to the 
 other, is adopted by Shaw, and will be 
 followed here. There are forty five spe- 
 cies, of which the following are principally 
 deserving of notice. 
 
 V. ichneumon, or the ichneumon, of 
 which there are two varieties, the Indian 
 and the Egyptian. The Egyptian ichneu- 
 mon is nearly three feet and a half in full 
 length, and of a pale reddish grey colour. 
 It bears a mortal enmity to rats, and snakes, 
 and other offensive animals, with which 
 Egypt is infested, and is domesticated fre- 
 quently in that country for the sake of its 
 services on this account. With the ancient 
 Egyptians it was not only in high estima- 
 tion, but obtained the reputation of a sort 
 of deity, and was thought entitled to a de- 
 gree of adoration. Its movements are ra- 
 pid and agile in the extreme. In approach- 
 ing its prey it often moves upon its belly 
 like the feline tribe, or rather in the man- 
 ner of a serpent; at others it pursites it with 
 rapid boundings. It is able to swim, and 
 to dive also for a considerable time, and 
 frequents chiefly the borders of rivers. The 
 Indian ichneumon is considerably smaller, 
 imt is equally useful and esteemed. It at- 
 tacks without terror, and even with the ex- 
 treme of fierceness, the most formidable 
 and venomous serpents, particularly the co- 
 l)ra de capello, and destroys them without 
 
 difficulty. They are both forn-.idable to 
 animals much laiger than themselves, fas- 
 tening upon them with immoveable firm- 
 ness, and sucking their blood till they are 
 absolutely gorged with it. 
 
 V. striata, is a native of Mexico, and dis- 
 criminated by five longitudinal stripes of 
 white on its back of chocolate colour. 
 When irritated by fear or anger it emits a 
 vapour extremely fetid, in comparison with 
 which eveiy other odour, genqpally deemed 
 repulsive and disgusting, is prontinced to 
 be the most exquisite perfume. Even the 
 dogs engaged in the pursuit of these crea- 
 tures are stated to be compelled to aban- 
 don the course by this intolerable fietor, 
 and if but a small drop of it should attach 
 to the person or clothes of a human being, 
 it is said to require the ablutions of several 
 days to rid him of the nuisance, and pre- 
 vent his being any longer avoided with dis- 
 gust and horror. 
 
 V. civetta, or the civet, is a native of the 
 warm territories of Asia and Africa, and 
 above two feet long, exclusively of the tail. 
 It subsists on smaller quadrupeds and birds. 
 This animal is distinguished for its perfume, 
 for which it was well known to the an- 
 cients, who considered it as one of the most 
 powerful stimuli, and for which it is kept 
 in a state of confinement in Holland at the 
 present day, as well as in the East. The drug 
 produced by the civets is formed in a glan- 
 dular receptacle, and is taken from it by its 
 keeper several times in the course of a 
 week ; the quantity generally procured from 
 each civet at a time being about a drachm, 
 but varying with the state of the animal’s 
 health, and the nouiishing quality of its 
 food. It is in its original state of a yellow 
 colour and an unctuous appearance, and Is 
 extremely pungent, and indeed disagreeable. 
 Every part of the animal is penetrated by 
 its effluvia, and the effect of being shut up 
 in a room with one of these creatures in a 
 state of high irritation are nearly intolerable. 
 
 V. genetta, or the genet, is to be met 
 witliin Syria, Turkey, and Spain. These 
 animals are about the size of a small cat, of 
 a more lengthened form in head and body, 
 and of a longer tail. They are distinguished 
 by an agreeable perfume somewhat similar 
 to musk. They are gentle, easily tamed, 
 exceedingly active and cleanly, and in Con- 
 stantinople and other places are frequently 
 domesticated, and accomplish all the ob- 
 jects effected by the common cat. Their 
 colour is a tawny-red, spotted with black. 
 
 V. foina, or the martin, is of a black 
 
VIVERRA 
 
 tawny colour, and about eighteen inches 
 long. It is the most elegant of the weasel 
 tribe, with a small head, elegant shape, and 
 animated eyes, agile and graceful in its 
 movements, capable of being reared, when 
 taken young, to great familiarity and spor- 
 tiveness, yet ever addicted to abandon the 
 full supplies of confinement for the plea- 
 sures of freedom, however alloyed these 
 may be by occasional indigence or desti- 
 tution. It is an inhabitant of the woods, 
 living upon small birds and other animals, 
 and breeding in the holes of trees. It pro- 
 duces no disagreeable effluvia, but is strong- 
 ly perfumed. Its fur is highly valued. 
 
 V. martes, or the pine martin, is distin- 
 guished fiom the former by its yellow 
 breast. It is not frequent in England, but 
 in Germany, Sweden, and North America, 
 it is easily met with, particularly in woods 
 of pine treesi Ils fur is preferred conside- 
 rably to that of the last. It confines itself 
 to woods and fields, never entering the ha- 
 bitations of man, and breeds often in the 
 nest of file squirrel, the buzzard, and the 
 wood-pecker. 
 
 V. zibellina, or the sable, is about the 
 same size as the martin. Its general colour 
 is a deep shining brown, and the hair is ash- 
 coloured at the roots, and black at the tips. 
 It is found in the Arctic regions, and its fur 
 is a most valuable article of commerce, 
 when of a particular extent and beauty, be- 
 ing sold for from twelve to fifteen pounds. 
 This extraordinary price for the skin of so 
 small an animal induces the robust and 
 hardy natives of the north to hunt sables 
 amidst the rigours of winter with unwea- 
 ried assiduity and perseverance. These 
 make their progresses over regions covered 
 with snow, and in the most intense severity 
 of winter, marking the trees as they advance, 
 that they may recognize their direction for 
 return, and sometimes after spreading a net 
 before the entrance of one of the burrows 
 of a sable, waiting often even two whole 
 days for the animal’s appearance, and some- 
 times of course waiting in vain. These 
 men, during the extreme hunger which 
 they sometimes experience, find some allay 
 to it by pressing on their stomachs with 
 tightened cords thin pieces of board. The 
 furs are most valued which are taken between 
 November and Februai-y. The hunting in 
 Siberia was formerly conducted by crimi- 
 nals banished to that country, and by sol- 
 diers sent to it for this particular business, 
 and who were stationed there for several 
 years, and both were obliged to furnish a 
 
 certain number of skins. Sables are cs' 
 tremely active and lively by night, but 
 spend the greater part of the day in sleep. 
 They subsist on squirrels and small birds, 
 which they pursue from one tree to ano- 
 ther with the most elastic agility. Rats, 
 pine tops, and fruits, are also eaten by them. 
 They are stated also to be fond of fish, 
 and to be capable both of diving and swim- 
 ming. They live in holes in the banks of 
 rivers, and under the roots of trees. See 
 Mammalia, Plate XVI. fig. 5. 
 
 V. putorius, or the pole cat, bears a very 
 striking resemblance to the martin, is pos- 
 sessed of extreme nimbleness and activity, 
 and climbs trees, and even creeps up walls, 
 with great rapidity. It devours the smaller 
 animals without discrimination, and pigeons, 
 poultry, and rabbits, experience from it 
 most fatal havoc. During winter its neces- 
 sities urge it to frequent, if possible, not on- 
 ly the barn, but also the dairy. It is stated, 
 on respectable authority, that in some in- 
 stances pole-cats have been observed to 
 feed on fishes, particularly eels, which they 
 have dragged from rivulets at a distance to 
 their habitation, repeating their labours ma- 
 ny times in the course of a single night, and 
 consequently accumulating a great number 
 of these fishes for their subsistence. This 
 animal has been known in winter to attack 
 bee-hives, and devour the honey. It is ex- 
 tremly fierce, and will defend itself with 
 astonishing spirit, even against dogs. It 
 is distinguished for the most disagreeable 
 odour, which, however, is not retained in 
 the skin long after the animal is killed, this 
 being dressed with the fur on it, and being 
 held in considerable estimation. The female 
 produces, in summer, five or six young 
 ones, which require the attentions of the 
 parent only for a short time, and are trained 
 to suck the blood of the animals procured by 
 her for their support. 
 
 V. furor, or the ferret, resembles the pole- 
 cat both in form and manners. It is a na- 
 tive of Afi'kia, whence it is stated to have 
 been imported into Spain for the destruc- 
 tion of the rabbits, which had multiplied in 
 that country to the most injurious excess. 
 It was thence introduced into other Euro- 
 pean countries, but is ill adapted to endure 
 the rigours of a northern w inter, being par- 
 ticularly susceptible of cold. It may be 
 tamed, but appears little capable of grati- 
 tude or attachment, and has such a thirst 
 for blood, that it has been known to grasp 
 at the throats of infants in the cradle, and 
 suck them' till it has been completely gmg- 
 
Viv 
 
 ,e(l. It breeds twice a year, and will occa- 
 sionally devour its young as soon as they 
 are produced. In confinement it must be 
 kept in a box provided with wool, or other 
 warm materials, and may be fed with bread 
 and milk. Its sleep is long and profound, 
 and it awakes with a voracious appetite, 
 which is most highly gratified by the blood 
 of small and young animals. Its enmity to 
 rats and rabbits is unspeakable, and when 
 either are, though for the first time, pre- 
 sented to it, it seizes and bites them with 
 the most phrensied madness. When em- 
 ployed to expel the rabbit from its bur- 
 rows, it must be muzzled, as otherwise it 
 will suck the blood of its victim, and in- 
 stantly fall into a profound sleep, from which 
 it will awake only to the work of destruc- 
 tion, committing in the warren, w'here it 
 was introduced only for its services, the 
 most dreadful waste and havoc. It is pos- 
 sessed of high irritability, and when parti- 
 cularly excited, is attended with an odour 
 extremely offensive. See Mammalia, Plate 
 XVI. fig. 4. 
 
 V. vulgaris, or the common weasel, is 
 about nine inches long, including the tail, 
 is elegant in its appearance, and light in its 
 movements, but unpleasant by the odour 
 which accompanies it. It dwells under the 
 roots of trees, and subsists on field mice, 
 small birds, and even young rabbits. It is 
 also particularly fond of eggs. It is often 
 fatal to the hare itself, which appears to en- 
 tertain for the weasel extreme terror, and to 
 be overwhelmed at the sight of it into a com- 
 plete incapacity for resistance. It is a more 
 formidable enemy to rats and mice than 
 even the cat itself, as it has greater facility 
 for pursuing them to their retreats, and on 
 this account it is much valued and encourag- 
 ed by the farmer. Its bite is said to be almost 
 certainly, though not always immediately, 
 fatal. Its teeth are extremely sharp, and 
 generally first fixed on the head of its ene- 
 my, which often lingers in stupor, but 
 scarcely ever regains soundness. It com- 
 mences its depredations in the evening, and, 
 when it has produced its young, ranges with 
 extreme intrepidity and rapacity. It is 
 frequent near corn-mills, and wherever rats 
 and mice are abundant, and always retires 
 with its prey to its burrow, instead of de- 
 vouring it on the spot where it was kilted, 
 preferring it in a state of putrefaction. Dur- 
 ing confinement it appears highly agitated 
 and restless, and has by many been sup- 
 posed untameable, but Madamoiselle de 
 Juaistre has given an interesting and full de< 
 
 VIV 
 
 tail of the manners of one which she under- 
 took to protect and instruct, and which re- 
 paid her assiduity by the most sportive vi- 
 vacity, the most harmless conduct, and even 
 the most grateful attachment. For the stoat, 
 see Mammalia, Plate XVL fig. 3. Vol. iv. 
 
 VIVIANI (ViNCENTio), a celebrated Ita- 
 lian mathematician, was born at Florence 
 in 1621, some say 1622. He was a disciple 
 of the illustrious Galileo, and lived with 
 him from the 17 th,to the 20th year of his 
 age. After the death of his great master, 
 lie passed two or three years more in pro- 
 secuting geometrical studies without inter- 
 ruption, and hi this time it was that he 
 formed the design of his Restoration of 
 Aristeus. Tliis ancient geometrician, who 
 was contemporary with Euclid, bad com- 
 posed five hooks of problems, “ De Loci* 
 Solidis,” the bare propositions of which 
 were collected by Pappus, but the books 
 are entirely lost ; which Viviaiii undertook 
 to restore by the force of his genius. 
 
 He broke this work otf before it was 
 finished, in order to apply himself to ano- 
 tlier of the same kind, which was, to restore 
 the fifth book of Apollonius’s “ Conic Sec- 
 tions.” While he was engaged in this, Bo- 
 relli found, in the library of the Grand 
 Duke of Tuscany, an Arabic M.S. with a 
 Latin inscription, importing that it con- 
 tained the eight books of Apollonius’s Co- 
 nic Sections ; of which the eighth was not 
 found to be there. He carried this M.S. 
 to Rome, in order to translate it with the 
 assistance of a professor of the oriental lan- 
 guages. So unwilling however was Viviani 
 to lose the fruits of his labours, that he re- 
 fused to receive the smallest account from 
 Borelli on the subject. At length he finish- 
 ed the work, and published it in 1659, with 
 the title “ De Maximis et Minimis geome- 
 trica divinatio in quiiitum conicoriim Apol- 
 lonii Pergaei. He was called by tlie state 
 to undertake an operation of great import- 
 ance, viz. to prevent the inundations of the 
 Tiber, in which Cassini and he were em- 
 ployed for some length of time. On account 
 of his great talents he received a pension 
 from Louis XIV. In 1666 he was honoured 
 by the Grand Duke with the title of the 
 first mathematician. He resolved three pro- 
 blems which had been proposed to all the 
 mathematicians of Europe. In 1669 he was 
 chosen to till, in the Royal Academy of 
 Sciences, a place among the eight foreign 
 associates. This circumstance, so honour- 
 able to his reputation, gave new vigour to 
 his exertions, and he published three books 
 
IJLV 
 
 of the “ Divination upon Arisfeus,” in 1701, 
 which he dedicated to the King of France. 
 Viviani acquired a good fortune, vrhich he 
 laid out in building a magnificent house 
 at Florence ; here he placed a bust of Galileo, 
 with several inscriptions in honour of that 
 great man. He died in 1703, aged 81. 
 
 VIVIPAROUS, in natural history, an 
 epithet applied to such animals as bring 
 forth their young alive and perfect, in con- 
 tradistinction to them that lay eggs, which 
 are called oviparous animals. 
 
 ULEX, in botany, yurte or gorse, a genus 
 of tlie Diadelphia Decandria class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Papilionaceae, or 
 Leguminosa;. Essential character; calyx 
 two-leaved ; legume scarcely longer than 
 the calyx; filaments all connected. There 
 are throe sf ecics. 
 
 ULLAGE, in gauging, is so much of a 
 cask, or other vessel, as it wants of being 
 full. See Gauging. 
 
 ULMUS, in botany, the elm, a genus of 
 tlse Pentaiidria Digynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Scabridaj. Amentace®, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx five- 
 cleft, inferior, permanent; corolla none; 
 capsule membranaceous, compressed, flat, 
 one-seeded. There are seven species, two 
 -of which are natives of Biitain, viz, the 
 campestris, common elm; and the montana, 
 or w'ych elm. All the sorts of elm may be 
 eitlier propagated by layers, or stickers, 
 taken from the roots of the old trees, the 
 latter of which is generally practised by the 
 nursery gardeners. The elm delights in a 
 stiff strong soil. It is observable, however, 
 that here it grows comparatively slow, In 
 light land, especially if it is rich, its growth 
 is very rapid ; but its wood is light, porous, 
 and of little value, compared with that 
 which grows upon strong land, which is of a 
 closer, stronger texture, and at the heart 
 will have the colour, and almost the heavi- 
 ness and the hardness, of iron. On such soils 
 the elm becomes profitable, and is one of 
 the trees which ought, in preference to all 
 others, to engage the planter’s attention. 
 
 ULTRAMARINE. This precious co- 
 lour, so remarkable for its beauty and dura- 
 bility, is a pure deep sky blue. It is capa- 
 ble of bearing a low red heat without injury, 
 and it is not sensibly impaired by the action 
 ot the air and w^eather. It is the colouring 
 matter of the mineral already described 
 under the name Lazurstein, and appears 
 according to an analysis by Klaproth, to 
 consist of little else than oxide of iron. 
 
 ULVA, in botany, a genus of the Cryp- 
 
 UNC 
 
 togamia Alg® class and order. Generic 
 character ; fructifications are small glo- 
 bules, dispersed through a pellucid mem- 
 branaceous or gelatinous substance, or 
 frond. 
 
 UMBELLIFEROUS plants, arc such as 
 have their tops branched and spread out 
 like an umbrella ; on each little subdivision 
 of which there is grow'ing a small flower ; 
 such are fennel, dill, &c, 
 
 UMBER. There are two kinds of 
 umber, the one called Cologne umber, is a 
 variety of peat or of earthy brown coal. 
 There are large beds of it wrought in the 
 neighbourhood of Cologne, principally as an 
 article of fuel ; a pretty considerable ipian- 
 tity is also imported into Holland, where it 
 is used in the manufacture, or more pro- 
 perly in the adulteration of snuff, for which 
 purpose it appears to be better than the 
 common peat of the country ; a still smal- 
 ler quantity is consumed by the paint- 
 makers. The colour of this vegetable um- 
 ber is a warm somewhat pinkish brown, and 
 is an useful ingredient to the painter in wa- 
 ter-coloui-s. The second kind of uinber 
 goes by the name ofTurkish umber, and ap- 
 pears to be a variety of the iron ore called i 
 brown ironstone ochre. A specimen from 
 Cyprus was analysed by Klaproth, and af- 
 
 forded him. 
 
 Oxide of iron. 43 
 
 Oxide of manganese 20 
 
 Silex 15 
 
 Alumine.; 5 
 
 AFater 14 
 
 l()(» 
 
 UNCARI.V, in botany-, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : corolla salver-shaped . 
 germ crowned with a gland ; stigma two- 
 grooved; pericarpiurn two-celled, many- 
 seeded. Tnere are two species, viz. U . 
 inermis, and U. aculeata,. 
 
 UNCL4, in general, a Krtin term de- 
 noting the twelfth part of any thing ; parti- 
 cularly the twelfth part of a pound, called 
 in English an ounce ; or the tw-elfth part of 
 a foot, called an inch. 
 
 UNCLE, in algebra, the' nuitibers pre- 
 fixed before the letters of the members of 
 any power produced from a binomial, resi- 
 dual, or mnliinomial root. Thus, in the 
 fourth power of viz. -j- 4 & -j- g 
 
 6^ -|- 4 a 6’ -j- b‘>, the unci® are 4, 6, 4 ; 
 being the same with what others call co- 
 efBcients, See Binomial, Aegebra, &c, 
 
UND 
 
 UNDECAGON, in geometry, is a po- 
 lygon of eleven sides. If the side of a re- 
 gular undecagon be 1, its area vvill be 
 
 9.36564 nearly = ~ X 
 4 
 
 grees ; and therefore if this number be 
 multiplied by the square of the side of aiy 
 other regular undecagon, the product will 
 be the area of that undecagon. 
 
 UNDER currents, currents distinct from 
 the upper or apparent currents of the seas. 
 Some naturalists conclude that there are in 
 divers places under currents which set or 
 drive a contrary way from the upper cur- 
 rent, whence they solve the remarkable 
 phenomena of the sea’s setting strongly 
 through the Streights into the Mediterra- 
 nean, with a constant current twenty 
 leagues broad ; as also, that running from 
 the Eiixine throirgh the Bosphorus into the 
 Hellespont, and thence into the Archipe- 
 lago ; they conjecture, that there is an 
 under current whereby as great a quantity 
 of water is carried out as comes in. To 
 confirm this, it is observed, that between 
 the North and South Foreland, it is either 
 high or low water upon the shore three 
 hours before it is so off at sea; a certain 
 sign, that though the tide of flood runs 
 aloft, yet the tide of ebb runs under foot, 
 or close by the ground. Yet Dr. Halley 
 solves the currents setting in at the Streights 
 without overflowing the banks, from the 
 great evaporation, without supposing any 
 under current. 
 
 UNDERSr AN DING or June ment, in 
 
 the Hartleyan acceptation ofthe terra, is that 
 faculty by which w e contemplate mere sen- 
 sations and ideas, pursue truth, and assent to, 
 or dissent from, propositions. In this article, 
 and in Words, we shall, as we proposed in 
 Philosophy, mental, § 104, lay before 
 our readers a view' of the highly important 
 principles of Hartley respecting the under- 
 standing, occasionally making in his state- 
 ments such alterations as will 'best adapt 
 them to our object. 
 
 Whatever be the precise nature of assent 
 and dissent, they must class with ideas, 
 being only those very complex internal 
 feelings which are connected by association 
 with those groups of words which are called 
 propositions |n general, or affirmations and 
 negations in particular. — Assent (and conse- 
 quently its opposite, dissent) may be distin- 
 guished into two kinds, rational and practi- 
 cal. Rational assent to any proposition 
 niay be defined a readiness to affirm it to 
 be true, proceeding from a close a.ssociation 
 
 UND 
 
 of the ideas suggested by the proposition, 
 with the idea or internal feeling belonging 
 to the word truth ; or of the terms of the 
 proposition with the word truth. Rational 
 dissent is the opposite to this. — Practical 
 assent is a readiness to act in such a manner 
 as the frequent vivid recurrency of the ra- 
 tional assent disposes us to act and prac- 
 tical dissent the contrary. 
 
 Practical assent is then the natural con- 
 sequence of rational assent, when suffici- 
 ently impressed. It must liowever be ob- 
 served, first, that some propositions, mathe- 
 matical ones for instance, admit only of a 
 rational assent, the practical not being ap- 
 plied to them in common cases : secondly, 
 that the practical assent is sometimes gene- 
 rated, and arrives at a high degree of 
 strength, wdthout any previous rational as- 
 sent, and by methods which have little or 
 no connection with it ; yet still is in general 
 much influenced by it, and, conversely, ex- 
 erts a great influence upon it : thirdly, prac- 
 tical assent may be in opposition to rational 
 assent, and in consequence of its having 
 been long and firmly cultivated, may alto- 
 gether prevent the latter from influencing 
 the conduct. 
 
 Let us next inquire into the causes of ra- 
 tional and practical assent, beginning, I. 
 with that given to mathematical conclu- 
 sions. — Now the original cause that a per- 
 son affirms the truth of the proposition, 
 twice two are four, is the entire coincidence 
 ofthe visible or tangible idea of twice two, 
 with that of four, as impressed upon the 
 mind by various objects. We see every 
 where that both are only different names 
 for the same impression ; and it can only 
 be in consequence of association that the 
 word truth, its definition, or internal feel- 
 ing, becomes -appropriated to this coinci- 
 dence — Where the numbers are so large 
 that we cannot form any distinct visible ideas 
 of them, as when wesay 12 times 12 are equal 
 to 144 , rational assent is founded (if not on 
 the authority of a table or a teachei-) on a 
 coincidence of w'ords -arising from some me- 
 thod of reckoning up 12 times 12, so as to 
 conclude with 144, and resembling the co- 
 incidence of words which attends the be- 
 fore-mentioned coincidence of iijeas in the 
 simpler numerical propositions.^Tlie ope- 
 rations of addition, subtraction, multiplica- 
 tion, division, and extraction of roots, with 
 all tlie most complex operations relating to 
 algebraic quantities considered as the de- 
 notements of numbers, are no more than 
 methods of producing this coincidence of 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 words, founded upon and rising above one 
 another. And it is merely association again 
 which appropriates the word truth, &c. to 
 the coincidence of the words or symbols 
 which denote the numbers. 
 
 Tliis coincidence of terms is considered 
 as a proof that the visible ideas of the num- 
 bers under consideration would coincide as 
 much as the visible ideas of twice two and 
 four, were the former equally distinct with 
 the latter ; and indeed the same thing may 
 be fully proved, and often is so, by experi- 
 ments with counters, lines, &c. And hence 
 thinking persons, who make a distinction 
 often unthought of, between the coincidence 
 of terms and that of ideas, consider the real 
 and absolute truth to be as great in com- 
 plex numerical propositions as in the sim- 
 plest. Now as it is impossible to gain dis- 
 tinct visible ideas of ditferent numbers, 
 where at least they are considerable, terms 
 rlenoting them are a necessary means of dis- 
 tinguishing them one from anotlier, so as to 
 reason justly respecting them. 
 
 In geometry there is a like coincidence of 
 lines, angles, spaces, and solid contents, to 
 prove them equal in simple cases. After- 
 wards, in complex cases, we substitute the 
 terms whereby equal things are denoted 
 for each other, and then the coincidence of 
 the terms to denote the coincidence of the 
 visible ideas, except in the new step ad- 
 vanced in the proposition ; and thus we get 
 a new equality, denoted by a new coinci- 
 dence of terms ; and this in like manner 
 w’e employ in order to obtain a new equa- 
 lity. This resembles the addition of unity 
 to any number in order to make the next, 
 as of 1 to 20 in order to make 21. We 
 have no distinct visible idea of 20 or of 21 ; 
 but we have of the difference between 
 them, by fat'cying to ourselves a confused 
 heap of things, supposed or called tw'enty 
 in number, and then further fancying one 
 thing to be added to it. By a like process 
 in geometry we arrive at the demonstration 
 of the most complex propositions. — The 
 properties of numbers are applied to geo- 
 metry in many cases, as when we demon- 
 strate a line or space to he half or double of 
 any other, or in any other ratio to it. — And 
 as in arithmetic w'ords stand for indistinct 
 ideas, iir order to help us to reason about 
 them as accurately as if they were dis- 
 tinct ; as also cyphers stand for words, for 
 the same purpose ; and letters for cyphers, 
 to render the conclusions less particular ; 
 
 SV letters are put for geometrical quantities 
 
 also, and the agreements of the letters for 
 those of the quantities. 
 
 Thus we see the foundation upon which 
 the whole doctrine of quantity is built ; for 
 all quantity is denoted either by numbers 
 or by extension, or by letters denoting ei- 
 ther one or the other. The coincidence of 
 ideas is the foundation of rational assent in 
 simple cases; and that of ideas and of 
 terms, or of terras alone, in complex cases. 
 This is upon the supposition tliat the quan- 
 tities are to be proved equal ; but if they 
 are to be proved unequal, the want of coin- 
 cidence answers the same purpose. If they 
 are in any numerical ratio, this is only intro- 
 ducing a new coincidence. — Thus it appears 
 that the use of words, (either as visible or as 
 audible symbols), is necessary for geome- 
 trical and algebraic reasonings, as well as 
 for arithmetical. Also that association pre- 
 vails in every part of the processes hitherto 
 described. 
 
 But these are not the only causes of 
 giving rational assent to mathematical pro- 
 positions. The recollection of having once 
 examined and assented to each step of a de- 
 monstration ; the authority of an approved 
 writer, &c. are often sufficient to gain our 
 assent, though we understand no more than 
 the import of the proposition ; nay, even 
 though we do not proceed so far as this. 
 Now this again is a mere transfer of asso- 
 ciation ; the recollection, authority, &c. 
 being in a great number of cases associated 
 with the before-mentioned coincidence of 
 ideas and terms. — But here a new circum- 
 stance arises ; for memory and authority 
 are sometimes found to mislead ; and the 
 recollection of such experience puts the 
 mind into a state of doubt, so that some- 
 times truth, sometimes falsehood, will recur 
 and unite itself with the proposition under 
 consideration, according as the recollection, 
 authority, &c. in all their peculiar circum- 
 stances have been associated witli truffi or 
 with falsehood. 
 
 Thus the idea belonging to a mathemati- 
 cal proposition, with the rational assent or 
 dissent arising in the mind, as soon as it is 
 presented to it, is nothing more than a group 
 of ideas united by association, and forming a 
 very complex idea 53.) And this idea is 
 not merely the sum of the ideas belonging to 
 the terms ot the proposition, but also in- 
 cludes the notions or feelings, whatever 
 they be, which belong to tlie words equa- 
 lity, coincidence, and truth, and, in some 
 cases those of utility, importance, &c.— For 
 

 
 I 
 
 UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 mathematical propositions arc, in some cases, 
 attended with a practical assent, in the pro- 
 per sense of these words ; as when a per- 
 son takes this or that method of executing 
 a projected design, in consequence of some 
 mathematical proposition assented to from 
 his own examination, or from the authority 
 of others. Now the train of voluntary 
 actions denoting the practical assent, is 
 produced by the frequent recurrency of 
 ideas of utility and importance. These ope- 
 rate by association, and tliough tlie ra- 
 tional assent be a previous requisite, yet 
 the degree of the practical assent is propor- 
 tional to the vividness of those ideas ; and 
 in most cases they strengthen the rational 
 assent by reaction. 
 
 II. Propositions concerning natural bo- 
 dies are of two kinds, vulgar and scienti- 
 iical. Of the first kind are, “milk is white,” 
 “ gold is yellow,” “ a dog barks,” &c. These 
 are evidently nothing more than forming the 
 terras denoting the whole or some com- 
 ponent parts of the complex idea, into a 
 proposition, or employing those denoting 
 some of its common adjuncts in the same 
 way. The assent given to such propositions 
 arises from the associations of the terms as 
 well as of the ideas denoted by them. 
 
 . In scientifical propositions concerning 
 natural bodies, a definition having been 
 made of the body from its properties, 
 another property or power is joined to them 
 as a constant or common associate. Thus 
 gold is said to be soluble in the nitro-mn- 
 riatic acid. Now to persons who have 
 made the proper experiments a sufficient 
 number of times, these words suggest the 
 ideas which occur in those experiments, 
 and conversely are suggested by them, in 
 the same manner as the vulgar propositions 
 above-mentioned suggest, and are suggested 
 by common appearances. But then, if 
 they be scientific persons, their readiness to 
 affirm that gold is soluble in this acid uni- 
 versally, arises also from the experiments of 
 others, and from theif own and other per- 
 sons’ observations on tlie constancy and 
 tenor of nature. They find it to be a ge- 
 neral truth, that almost any two or three re- 
 markable qualities of a natural body, infer 
 the rest, being never found without them ; 
 and hence arises a readiness to affirm re- 
 specting all bodies possessing those two or 
 three leading qualities, whatever may be 
 affirmed of one. 
 
 The propositions formed respecting na- 
 tural bodies are often attended with a high 
 degree of practical assent, arising chiefly 
 
 from some supposed utility and importance, 
 and which is no ways proportioned to the 
 foregoing or similar acknowledged causes of 
 rational assent. And in some cases the 
 practical assent takes place before the rati- 
 onal ; but then, after some time, the rati- 
 onal assent is generated and cemented most 
 firmly by the prevalence of the practical. 
 This prodess is particularly observable in 
 the regards paid to medicines; that is, in 
 the rational and practical assent to the pro- 
 positions concerning their virtues. 
 
 The , influence of the practical assent 
 over the rational, arises from their being 
 united in so many cases. And the vivid- 
 ness of the ideas arising from the supposed 
 utility, importance, &c. produce a more 
 ready and closer union of the terms of tlie 
 proposition. 
 
 III. The evidences for past facts are a 
 man’s owm memory, and the authority of 
 others. These are under proper restric- 
 tions, the usual associates of true past facts, 
 and therefore produce the readiness to 
 affirm a past fact to be true, that is, the 
 rational assent. The integrity and compe- 
 tency of tlie witnesses being the principal 
 restriction or requisite in the accounts of 
 past facts, become principal associates to 
 tile assent to them ; and the contrary quali- 
 ties to dissent. 
 
 If it be asked ‘ how a narration of an event 
 supposed to be certainly true, or to be doubt- 
 ful, or to be entirely fictitious, differs in its 
 effect upon the mind in these circumstances 
 respectively, the words in which it is nar- 
 rated being the same in case?’ it may be 
 replied, first, in having the terms true, 
 doubtful, or fictitious, with a variety of 
 ideas usually associated with them, and the 
 corresponding internal feelings of respect, 
 anxiety, dislike, &c. connected with them 
 respectively j whence the whole effects, 
 exerted by each upon the mind, will differ 
 considerably from one another. Secondly, 
 if the events be of a very interesting nature, 
 the related ideas will recur oftener, and 
 thus agitate the mind the more, in propor- 
 tion to the supposed truth of the event. 
 And it confirms this, that the frequent 
 recurrence to the mind of an interesting 
 event, supposed to be doubtful, or even 
 fictitious, by degrees makes it appear like 
 a real one. The practical assent to past 
 facts often produces the rational assent, as 
 in the other cases before spoken of. 
 
 IV. The evidence for future tacts is of 
 the #ame kind with that for the propositions 
 concerning natural bodies, being like it ta- 
 
 
UNDERSTANDING. 
 
 keti from induction and analogy. This is 
 tlie foundation of the rational assent. ThS 
 practical depends upon the recurrency of 
 tlie ideas, and the degree of agitation pro- 
 duced by them in the mind. Hence reflec- 
 tion makes' the practical assent grow for a 
 long time after the rational is arisen to its 
 height ; or, which is often the case, if the 
 practical assent arises in any considerable 
 degree, without the rational, it will gene- 
 rate the rational. Thus the sanguine are 
 apt to believe and assert what they hope to 
 be true ; and the timorous what they fear. 
 
 V. There are many speculative abstract 
 propositions in logic, metaphysics, ethics, 
 controversial divinity, &c. the evidence for 
 w|iich is the coincidence or analogy of the 
 abstract terms, in certain particular appli- 
 cations of them, or as considered in their 
 grammatical relations. This causes the ra- 
 tional assent. As to the practical assent or 
 dissent, it arises from the ideas of import- 
 ance, reverence, piety, duty, ambition, jea- 
 lousy, envy, self-interest, <Src. which inter- 
 mix in these subjects, and thus, in some 
 cases, add great strength to the rational 
 assent, in others destroy it, and convert it 
 into its opposite. 
 
 On the whole it appears that rational 
 assent has different causes in propositions, 
 of different kinds, and practical assent in 
 like manrrer : that the causes of rational 
 are also different from those of practical : 
 that there is, however, a great affinity and 
 general resemblance in all the causes ; that 
 rational and practical assent exert a perpe- 
 tual reciprocal influence on each other ; 
 and, consequently that the ideas belonging 
 to assent and dissent, and their equivalents 
 and relatives are highly complex, unless in 
 the cases of very simple propositions, such 
 as mathematical ones. For, besides the 
 coincidence of ideas and terms, they in- 
 clude, in other cases, ideas of utility, im- 
 portance, respect, disrespect, ridicule, reli- 
 gious affections, hope, fear, &c. and bear 
 some gross general proportion to the vivid- 
 ness of these ideas. 
 
 It follows from the preceding statements, 
 that vicious men, that is, alt persons who 
 want practical faith, must be prejudiced 
 against the historical and other foundations 
 for rational faith in revealed religion. Fur- 
 ther, it is impossible any person should be 
 so sceptical as not to have the comple.x ideas 
 denoted by the words assent and dissent 
 associated with a great variety of proiiosi- 
 tions in the same manner as m otlier pfcv- 
 t'ciis ; jrst as he must have the same ideas 
 
 in general affixed to the words of his nd- 
 tive language, as other men have. An uni- 
 versal sceptic is therefore no more than a 
 person wdio varies from the common usage 
 in his application of a certain set of words, 
 viz. truth, certainty, assejit, dissent, &c. 
 
 We shall close this article with the very 
 important remarks on evidence, given by 
 Hartley, in proposition 87 ; referring to the 
 original those readers who wish to see how 
 he illustrates or proves them by the em- 
 ployment of simple mathematical expres- 
 sions, and who are disposed to enter into 
 his important observations respecting the 
 ascertainment of truth and the advance- 
 ment of kuow'ledge. 
 
 1. If the evidences for any proposition, 
 fact, &c. be dependant on each other, so 
 that the first is required to support the 
 second, the second the third, and so on ; 
 that, is, if a failure of any one of the evi- 
 dences renders all the rest of no value, the 
 separate probability of each evidence must 
 be very great in order to make the proposi- 
 tion credible ; and this holds so much the 
 more, as the dependent evidences are more 
 numerous. 
 
 2. If the evidences for any proposition, 
 fact, &c. be independent on each other; 
 that is, if they be not necessary to support 
 each other, but concur, and can, each of 
 them, when established upon its own pro- 
 per evidences, be applied directly to esta- 
 blish the proposition, fact, &c. in question ; 
 the deficiency in the probability of each 
 must be very great, in order to render the 
 proposition perceptibly doubtful, and this 
 holds so much the more, as the evidences 
 are more numerous. 
 
 3. The resulting probability may be suffi- 
 ciently strong in dependent evidences, and 
 of little value in independent ones, accord- 
 ing as the separate probability of each evi- 
 dence is greater or less. Thus the princi- 
 pal facts of ancient history are not less pro- 
 bable practically now, than ten or fifteen 
 centuries ago ; nor less so then, than in the 
 times immediately succeeding, because the 
 diminution of evidence in each century is 
 imperceptible. And for the same reason a 
 large number of weak arguments prove 
 little. 
 
 4. It appears likewise, that the inequa- 
 lity of the separate evidences does not pro- 
 duce much alteration in these remarks. In 
 like, manner, if the number of evidences, 
 dependent or independent, be great, We 
 may make great concessions as to the value 
 of each. Again, a strong evidence in de- 
 
UND 
 
 pendent ones can add notliing, but must 
 weaken a little ; and after a point is well 
 settled by a number of independent ones, 
 all that come afterwards are in one sense 
 useless, because they do no more than re- 
 move the imperceptible remaining defici- 
 ency ; on the other hand, however, as evi- 
 dence produces different effects on differ- 
 ent minds, it is of great moment in all points 
 of general importance, to have as many 
 satisfactory independent evidences as possi- 
 ble brought into view ; that if one feii in 
 its effects, from peculiar circumstances, 
 another may supply its place. And it will 
 be of great use to pursue these and such 
 like deductions, botlr mathematically, and 
 by applying them to proper instances se- 
 lected from the sciences, and from common 
 life, in order to remove certain prejudices, 
 which the use of general terms and ways of 
 speaking, with the various associations with 
 them, is apt to introduce and fix upon the 
 mind. It cannot but assist ns, in the art 
 of reasoning, thus to analyse, recompose, 
 and ascertain our evidences. 
 
 UNDULATION, in physics, a kind of 
 tremulous motion or vibration observable 
 in a liquid, whereby it alternately rises and 
 falls like the waves of the sea. Thus undu- 
 latory motion, if the liquid be smooth and 
 at rest, is propagated in concentric circles, 
 as most people have observed upon throw- 
 ing a stone, or other matter, upon the sur- 
 face of a stagnant water, or even upon 
 touching the surface of the water lightly 
 with the finger, or the like. The reason of 
 these circular undulations is, that by touch- 
 ing the surface with your finger, there is 
 produced a depression of the water in the 
 place of contact. By this depression, the 
 subjacent parts are moved successively out 
 of their place, and the other adjacent parte 
 thrust upwards, which lying successively on 
 the descending liquid, follow it j and thus 
 the parts of the liquid are alternately raised 
 and depressed, and that circularly. When 
 a stone is thrown into the liquid, the reci- 
 procal vibrations are more conspicuous : 
 here the water, in the place of immersion, 
 rising higher by means of the impulse, or 
 rebound, till it comes to fall again, gives an 
 impulse to the adjoining liquid, by which 
 means that is likewise raised about the 
 place of the. stone as about a centre, and 
 forms the first undulous circle ; this falling 
 gives another impulse to the fluid 
 next to it, further from the centre, which 
 rises likewise in a circle : and thus succtes- 
 VOL. VI, 
 
 UNI 
 
 sively greater and greater circles are pro- 
 duced. 
 
 UNGULA, in geometry, the section of a 
 cylinder cut off by a plane passing obliquely 
 through the plane of the base and part of the 
 cylindric surface. 
 
 UNICORN, an animal famous among 
 the ancients, but looked upon by the mo- 
 derns as fabulous, denominated from its dis- 
 tinguishing characteristic of having one horn 
 only, which is represented as five palms 
 long, and growing in the middle of the fore- 
 head. 
 
 The unicorn is one of the supporters of 
 the British arms. It i^ represented, by 
 heralds, passant, and sometimes rampant. 
 When in this last action, as in the British 
 arms, it is properly said to be saillant. Ar- 
 gent, an unicorn sejant sable, armed and 
 unguled, or, borne by the name of harding. 
 Unicorn/sA. See Monodon. 
 UNIOLA, in botany, a genus of the Tri- 
 andria Digynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Gramina. Graminem, Jussieu. 
 Essential character: calyx many-valved: 
 spikelet ovate, keeled. There are three 
 species. 
 
 UNONA, in botany, a genus of the Po- 
 liandiia Polygynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Coadunatae. Anonae, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx three-leaved; petals 
 six ; berries two or three-seeded, jointed like 
 a necklace. There are four species. 
 
 UNISON, in music, the effect of two 
 sounds which are equal in degree of tune 
 or in point of gravity and acuteness. ’ 
 UNITARIANS, in church history, are 
 those who believe that there is but one 
 God, the supreme object of religious wor- 
 ship ; and that this God is the Father only, 
 and not a Trinity consisting of Father’ 
 Son, and Holy Ghost. ’ 
 
 The Unitarians having been frequently 
 confounded with the old Socinians, it is 
 but justice to observe, that a very material 
 difference exists in some parts of the reli- 
 gious faith of these two sects. The Soci- 
 nians believed that Jesus Christ, though a 
 human being, was advanced by God to the 
 government of the whole created universe 
 and was, tlierefore, the proper object of re- 
 ligious worship. On account of their essen- 
 tial deviation from the doctrine of Socinus, 
 in this and some other respects, the modern 
 Unitarians disclaim the appellation Socinian 
 as inapplicable to their views of religious faith 
 and worship. This term is, however, very 
 comprehensive, and is applicable to a great 
 
UNITARIANS. 
 
 Variety of persons, who, notwithstanding, 
 agree in this one common principle, that 
 there is no distinction in the divine nature. 
 
 Tlie appellation of Unitarian may be 
 considered as a generic term, including in it 
 a number of specific differences. Indeed, 
 ail tliose who reject the doctrine of the Tri- 
 nity, and pay divine worship to the Father 
 only, may w’ith propriety be called Unita- 
 rians. As it is a principle among this body 
 of Cliristians, that the most unbounded li- 
 berty ought to be granted to every indivi- 
 dual to understand and explain the doc- 
 trines of the Scriptures according to his 
 own particular views, it has long been di- 
 vided into a number of parties, differing on 
 vaiious subjects not immediately affecting 
 the leading doctrine of the Divine Unity. 
 Though the ancient Arians appear never to 
 have adopted this appellation, yet most of 
 their successors of tlie present day assert 
 that they have a just claim to the title ; 
 because, they say, that they pay divine 
 adoration to the one God and Father only, 
 and not to Jesus Christ, or to the Holy 
 Ghost. If this be admitted, it will appear 
 that the Unitarian doctrine is of very an- 
 cient date. Indeed, they profess to derive 
 their faith solely from the sacred Scriptures 
 of the Old and New Testaments. 
 
 Soon after the Nicene Connell, wdien the 
 Christian world had wearied itself with re- 
 ligions wars and disputes concerning doc- 
 trines and government ; and the Papal 
 power had, apparently, converted the king- 
 dom of Christ into a kingdom ot this world, 
 the subjects of religious controversy ceased, 
 in a great degree, to agitate the minds of 
 men, until the memorable period of tlie Re- 
 formation. Then again did the flame, which 
 had been long sraotliering, burst out ; and 
 the great and leading maxim, of the right of 
 private judgment in matters of religion, on 
 wliicli the Reformation was founded, once 
 more gave liberty to the powers of the hu- 
 man understanding. How far those powers 
 weie exerted against many of the doctrines 
 of the Cluirch of Rome, we have already 
 described in the articles Protestants and 
 Reformation. Though Luther and his ad- 
 herents, liad done miicli towafds effecting a 
 complete reformation in religion, it was 
 thought by many persons of great learning 
 and pidty, that much still remained to be 
 cleared away, before the religion of Jesus 
 Christ could again assume its native lustre 
 and purity. Among the number of those who 
 were of this opinion, was a learned and emi- 
 Benf physician' of Spain, commonly called 
 
 Michael Servetus. This gentleman, con- 
 ceiVing that the ideas generally maintained, 
 concerning the Trinity, and some other po- 
 pular doctrines, were false and dangerous, 
 discovered and propagated what he con- 
 ceived to be a more rational theory ; the 
 leading feature of whicli related to the. doc- 
 trine of the Trinity, which he flatly denied; 
 at least in the manner in which it was then 
 commonly understood. 
 
 On this subject he published liis famous 
 book, entitled “ De Trinitatis Erroribus 
 with which, as Oecolampadius, writing to 
 Bucer, observes, the reformers at Berne 
 were very much offended. At the same time 
 he remarks, tliat the churches would be very 
 ill spoken of, unless their divines would 
 make it their business to “ cry it down.” 
 “ We know not,” he continues, “ how that 
 beast, (Servetus) came to creep in among 
 us ; he wrests all passages of Scripture to 
 prove, that the Son is not co-eternal and 
 consiibstantial with the Father, and that 
 the man Christ is the Son of God.” 
 
 Now it was, that the fears of Melancthon 
 began to be realized. In a letter to Joachim 
 Cameraper, tliis reformer thus expresses 
 himself : “ You know that I was always 
 afraid, that these disputes about the Trinity 
 would break out some time or other. Good 
 God ! what tragedies will this question pro- 
 duce among posterity ; — wlietlier the Logos 
 be a substance or a person.” To alleviate, 
 in some measure, tliese fears, this meek re- 
 former wrote a letter to the Popish Senate 
 at Venice, beseeching them to use their ut- 
 most endeavours to prevent the spread of 
 the errors contained in Servetus’s book. It 
 was, liowever, reserved for the zeal of 
 Calvin to convince the religious world that 
 the reformers, with all their zeal against 
 popery, had not learned to shake off a spirit 
 0.^- fiery persecution against those whom 
 they chose to account heretics. Not con- 
 tent with calling Servetus “ the proudest 
 knave of tlie Spanish nation,” “a villainous, 
 obscene, barking dog, a blockhead and a 
 beast,” this furious bigot, with all tlie abo- 
 minable cant with which the genius of his 
 religions creed could amply supply him, 
 caused the unhappy Servetus to be burnt at 
 the stake as a lieretic, after baviiig harassed 
 and tormented him in every possible way 
 that the most determined villainy and artful 
 liypocrisy could suggest. Thus died the 
 first U nitarian martyr after the Reformation ; 
 and thus was he treated by one of the prin- 
 cipal reformers ! 
 
 It was probably from the books of 
 
UNITARIANS. 
 
 Mkliael Servetus that Lslius Socinus, and 
 many other Italians, first imbibed their 
 anti-trinitarian opinions. From the papers 
 -ot' LeeUus Socinus, his nephew, Faustus So- 
 cinns, was afterwards led to the study of 
 theology. He improved on the system of 
 his uncle ; and was the cause of the Unita- 
 rian doctrine spreading itself over a great 
 part of Europe. In Poland, in particular, 
 this sect made astonishing progress. By 
 them was published the famous Kacovian 
 Catechism ; and the writings of the Polones 
 Fratres, in six large folio volumes, entitled, 
 “ Bibliotheca Fratruni,” are replete with 
 learning, and great biblical knowledge. 
 The leading doctrines maintained by the 
 Poloniau brethren, are as follow : 
 
 That the Holy Scriptures are to be un- 
 derstood and explained in such a manner as 
 that their doctrines shall be strictly agree- 
 able to the true principles of reason. 
 
 In consequence of this leading point in 
 their theology, they maintained that God, 
 who is infinitely more perfect than man, 
 though of a similar nature in some respects, 
 exerted an act of that power by which he 
 governs all things ; in consequence of 
 which, an extraordinary person was born of 
 the Virgin Mary. That person was Jesus 
 Christ, whom God first translated to hea- 
 ven by that portion of his divine power 
 called the Holy Ghost. Socinus and some 
 of his followers entertained this notion of 
 Christ’s having been, in some unknown time 
 of his life, taken up personally into heaven, 
 and sent down again to the earth, by 
 which they solved these expressions con- 
 cerning him : “ No man has ascended to 
 heaven but he that came down from 
 heaven, even the Son of Man which is in 
 heaven.” (John iii. 13.) Thus Moses, wl o 
 was the type of Christ, before the promul- 
 gation of the law, ascended to God upon 
 Mount Sinai. So Christ, before he entered 
 on the office assigned him by the Father, 
 was in consequence of the divine counsel 
 and agency, translated into heaven, that he 
 might see tlie things he had to announce to 
 the world in the name of God himself. 
 Being thus fully instructed in the know- 
 ledge of his counsels and designs, he sent 
 him again into this sublunary world to pro- 
 mulgate to mankind a new rule of life, more 
 excellent than that under which they had 
 formerly lived, to propagate divine truth by 
 his ministry, and to confirm it by his 
 death. 
 
 That those who obey the voice of this di- 
 vine teacher (and this obedience is in the 
 
 power of every one whose will and inclina- 
 tion leads that way) shall one day be 
 clothed with new bodies, and inhabit eter- 
 nally those blessed regions where God 
 himself immediately resides. Such, on the 
 contrary, as are disobedient and rebellious 
 shall undergo most terrible and exquisite 
 torments, which .shall be succeeded by an- 
 nihilation, or the total extinction of their 
 being. 
 
 Faustus Socinus supposed that, in con- 
 descension to human weakness, in order 
 that mankind might have one of their own 
 brethren more upon a level with them, to 
 whom they might have recourse in their 
 straits and necessities, Almighty God, for 
 his eminent virtues, had conferred upon Je- 
 sus Christ, the Son of Mary, some years 
 after he was born, a high divine power, 
 lordship, and dominion, for the government 
 of the chri.stian world only ; and had quali- 
 fied him to hear and answer the prayers of 
 his followers in such matters as related to 
 the cause of the gospel. The chief founda- 
 tion on which Socinus founded the opinion 
 of Christ’s being an object of religious 
 worship, was the declarations in the scrip- 
 tures concerning the kingdom and power 
 bestowed upon him. The interpretation 
 which he put on those passages which speak 
 of angels and heavenly powers being put 
 under him, and worshipping him; his having 
 a knowledge of the secret thoughts of men 
 imparted to him, and the like, which, with 
 some presumed instances of the fact, of 
 prayer being actually made to him, ho 
 maintained to be a sufficient though indi- 
 rect signification of the divine will, that 
 men should invoke Christ by prayer. But 
 he constantly acknowledged that there was 
 no express precept for making him an ob-- 
 jeet of religious worship. 
 
 Socinus allowed that the title of true 
 God might be given to Christ ; though all he 
 meant by it was, that he had a real divine 
 power and donimion bestowed upon him, to 
 qualify him to take care of the concerns of 
 Christians, and to Ijear and answer their 
 prayers, though he was originally nothing 
 more than a human creature. 
 
 There were some among the early Soci- 
 nians'who disapproved and rejected the 
 worship paid to Christ, as being without 
 any foundation in the Holy Scriptures, the 
 only rule of Christian faith and worship. 
 
 This is a general outline of the doctrines 
 of the Socinians. 
 
 The Unitarians, of the present day, are 
 principally divided into Ariaus and Hums 
 K k S 
 
UNITARIANS. 
 
 lutarians, or believers in the simple humanity 
 of Christ. For an account of the first of 
 these two classes, see the article Arians. 
 The summary of doctrines held by modem 
 Unitarians is as follows ; The capital arti- 
 cle in the religious system of this denomina- 
 tion is, that Christ was a mere man. But 
 they consider him as the great instrument 
 in the hands of God of reversing all the ef- 
 fects of the fall ; as the object of all the 
 prophecies from Moses to his own time; as 
 the great bond of union to virtuous and 
 good men, tVho, as Christians, make one 
 body in a peculiar sense ; as having com- 
 munications with God, and speaking and 
 acting from God in such a manner as no 
 other man ever did, and therefore, hav- 
 ingthe form of God, and being the Son 
 of God in a manner peculiar to himself; 
 as the mean of spreading divine and sav- 
 ing knowledge to all the world of man- 
 kind ; as, under God, the head of all 
 things to his church ; and as the Lord of 
 life, having power and authority from God 
 to raise the dead, and judge the world at 
 the last day. They suppose that the great 
 object of the whole scheme of revelation 
 was to teach men how to live here so as to 
 be happy hereafter ; and that the particular 
 doctrines they taught, as having a connec- 
 tion with this great object, are those of the 
 unity of God, his universal presence and in- 
 spection, his placability to repenting sin- 
 ners, and the certainty of a life of retribu- 
 tion after death. They suppose, that to be 
 a Christian implies nothing more than the 
 belief that Christ and his apostles, as well as 
 all preceding prophets, were commissioned 
 by God to teach what they declare they re- 
 ceived from him ; the most important article 
 of which is the doctrine of a resurrection to 
 immortal life. 
 
 This denomination of Christians argue 
 against the divinity and pre-existence of 
 Christ in the following manner : the scrip- 
 tures contain the clearest and most exprses 
 declarations that there is but one God, 
 without ever mentioning any exception in 
 favour of a Trinity, or guarding us against 
 being led into any mistake by such general 
 and unlimited expressions. E?;od. xx. 3 : 
 “ Thou shalt have no other God but me.” 
 Deut. vi. 4. Mark xii. 20. 1 Cor. viii. 6. 
 Ephes. iv. .5. It is the uniform language of 
 the sacred books of the Old Testament, 
 that one God, without any assistant either 
 equal or subordinate to himself, made the 
 world and all things in it, and that this one 
 God continues to direct all the affairs of 
 
 men. The first book of Moses begins 
 with reciting all the visible parts of the 
 universe as the work and appointment of 
 God. In the ancient prophetic accounts, 
 which preceded the birth of Christ, he is 
 spoken of as a man, as a human creature 
 highly favoured of God, and gifted with ex- 
 traordinary powers from him, and nothing 
 more. He was foretold, Gen. xxii. 8, to be 
 of “ the seed of Abraham.” Dent, xviii. 
 “ A prophet like unto Moses.” Psal. cxxvii. 
 11 : “Of the family of David,” &c. As a 
 man, as a prophet, though of the highest or- 
 der, the Jews constantly and uniformly 
 looked for their Messiah. Christ never 
 claimed any honour nor respect on his own 
 account, nor as due to himself as a person 
 only inferior to the most high God ; but 
 such as belonged only to a prophet, an ex- 
 traordinary messenger of God, to listen to 
 the message and truths which he delivered 
 from him. He in the most decisive terms 
 declares the Lord God to be one person ; 
 and simply, exclusive of all others, to be the 
 sole object of worship. He always prayed 
 to the one God as his God and Father. He 
 always spoke of himself as receiving his 
 doctrine and power from him, and again 
 and again disclaimed having any power of 
 his own. John v. 19 : “ Then answered 
 Jesus, and said unto them, verily, verily, I 
 say unto you, the Son can do nothing of 
 himself.” John xiv. 10 : “ The words 
 which I speak unto you, I speak not of my- 
 self ; but the Father that dwelleth in me, 
 he doeth the works.” He directed men 
 to worship the Father ; and never let fall 
 the least intimation that himself or any 
 other person whomsoever was the object of 
 worship. (See Luke xi. 1, 2. Matt. iv. 10.) 
 He says in John xvi. 23, “ And in that day 
 ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say 
 unto you, whatsoever ye shall ask the Fa- 
 ther in my name, he wdll give it you.” 
 
 Christ, they say, cannot be that God to 
 whom prayer is to be offered, because he is 
 the high priest of that God to make interces- 
 sion for us. (Acts vii. 25.) And if Christ be 
 not tlie object of prayer, he cannot be 
 either God or the maker and governor of 
 the world under God. The apostles, to th^ 
 latest period of their writings, speak the 
 same language, representing the Father as 
 the only true God, and Christ as a man, the 
 servant of God, who raised him from the 
 dead, and gave him all the power of which 
 he is possessed, as ai reward for his obedi- 
 ence. In Acts ii. 22, the apostle Pete^ 
 calls Christ “ a man approved of God,” 
 
UNI 
 
 &c. ; and in Acts xvii. the apostle calls him 
 “ the man whom God has ordained.” 1 Tim. 
 ii. 5 : “ There is one God, and one Media- 
 tor between God and man, the man Christ 
 Jesus.” Had the apostle Paul considered 
 Christ as being any thing more than a man 
 with respect to his nature, he could never 
 have argued with the least propriety or ef- 
 fect, “ that as by man came death, so by 
 man came also the resurrection of the 
 dead for it might have been replied, that 
 by man came death ; but not by man, but 
 by God, or the Creator of tlie world under 
 God, came the resurrection from the dead. 
 The apostles directed men to pray to God 
 the Father only : Acts iv. 24. Rom. xvi. 3T, 
 &c. 
 
 This denomination maintain that re- 
 pentance and a good life are of themselves 
 sufficient to recommend us to the divine fa- 
 vour ; and that nothing is necessary to 
 make us in all situations the objects of his 
 favour, but such moral conduct as he has 
 made us capable of. That Christ did 
 nothing by his death or in any other way to 
 render God kind and merciful to sinners j 
 or rather that God is of his own accord dis- 
 posed to forgive men their sins, without any 
 other condition than the sinner’s repen- 
 tance, is declared by the Almighty himself 
 constantly and expressly in the Old Testa- 
 ment, and never contradicted in the New. 
 Isaiah Iv. 7 ; “ Let the wicked forsake his 
 way, and tlie unrighteous man his thoughts ; 
 and let him return unto the Lord, and he 
 will have mercy upon him, and to our God, 
 for he will abundantly pardon.” See also 
 Fzek. xviii. 27. This most important doc- 
 trine of the efficacy of repentance alone on 
 the part of the sinner, as sufficient to re- 
 commend him to pardon with God, is con- 
 firmed by Christ himself, Matt. vi. 12 ; 
 “If ye forgive men their trespasses, yonr 
 heavenly Father will also forgive you.” 
 But above all, the beautiful and affecting 
 parable of the prodigal son, (Luke xv.) is 
 most decisive that repentance is all our 
 heavenly Father requires to restore us to 
 his favour. 
 
 The Unitarians of all ages have adopted 
 sentiments similar to those ofPelagius, with 
 respect to human nature. 
 
 Of late years, the Unitarians have been 
 very much upon the increase. They have 
 several societies, in various parts of the 
 countrj', for tlie promotion of their princi- 
 ples by the publication of books. In Lon- 
 don they have two large and flourishing 
 public societies — The one called “ The 
 Unitarian Society for promoting Christian 
 
 UNI 
 
 Knowledge and the practice of Virtue, by 
 the distribution of books.” This society 
 has lately published “ An improved version 
 of the New Testament, upon the basis of 
 Archbishop Newcome’s new translation, 
 with a corrected text, and notes critical and 
 explanatory.” Among the members of 
 this society are to be found some men of 
 high literary and political character. The 
 other society, established in London, is 
 called the “ Unitarian Fund, for promoting 
 Unitarianism by means of popular preach- 
 ing.” The objects of which are stated to 
 be; “l.To enable poor Unitarian con- 
 gregations to carry on religious worship. 
 2. To reimburse the travelling and other 
 expenses of teachers who may contribute 
 their labours to the preaching of the gospel 
 on Unitarian principles ; and 3. To relieve 
 those Christian ministers who by embracing 
 Unitarianism subject themselves to pover- 
 ty.” This society has now several mis- 
 sionaries in various parts of the united 
 kingdom ; and its funds are said to be in a 
 flourishing state. 
 
 This denomination is now spreading itself 
 in America. There are also some societies 
 in France, and other parts of the Continent, 
 of Unitarian Christians. 
 
 UNITY, in poetry. In the drama there 
 are three unities to be observed, viz. the 
 unity of action, that of time, and that of 
 place. In the epic poem, the great, and 
 almost only unity, is that of the action. 
 Some regard, indeed, ought to be had to 
 that of time; that of place there is no room 
 for. The unity of character is not reckoned 
 among the unities. The unity of the dra- 
 matic action consists of the unity of the in- 
 trigue in comedy, and that of the danger in 
 tragedy ; and this not only in the plan of 
 the fable, but also in the fable extended 
 and filled with episodes. ' 
 
 UNIVALVE shells, in natural history, a 
 term used to express one of the three gene- 
 ral classes of shell-fish ; the other two being 
 the Bivalves and Multivalves. See Con- 
 CHOLOGY, Shells, &c. 
 
 UNIVERSALISTS, in church history, 
 were originally those reformers who taught 
 a kind of middle doctrine, between the 
 systems of Calvin and Arminins. They 
 were denominated hypothetical Universal- 
 ists, because they maintained, that God is 
 willing to show mercy to all mankind ; and 
 because they held, that faith in Christ is a 
 necessary condition, to render them the 
 objects of the divine mercy. These opi- 
 nions were intended to be opposed to the 
 harsh and cruel notions of Calvin, concern 
 
UNI 
 
 ing election and reprobation, on the one 
 hand ; and to the opinions of Pelagius, con- 
 cerning the merit of good works, on the 
 other. The doctrines of the hypothetical 
 Upiversalists were propagated with success 
 by John Cameron ; and were further illus- 
 trated and defended by Moses Amyrant, a 
 man of great learning and sagacity, The 
 opinions he maintained, and which pro- 
 duced no small changes in the doctrine of 
 the reformed in France, are briefly sum- 
 med up in the following propositions : 
 
 That God desires the happiness of all 
 men j and, that no mortal is excluded by 
 any divine decree from the benefits that 
 are procured by the death, sufferings, and 
 gospel of Christ: 
 
 That, however, none can be made a par- 
 taker of the blessings of the Gospel, and of 
 eternal salvation, unless he believe in Jesus 
 Christ : 
 
 That, such, indeed, is the immense and 
 nuiveisal goodness of the Supreme Being, 
 that he refuses to none tire power of believ- 
 ing ; though he does not grant unto all his 
 assistance and succour, that they may wise- 
 ly improve this power lo the attainment of 
 everlasting salvation : 
 
 And that, in consequence of this, multi- 
 tudes perish through their own fault, and 
 not from any want of goodness in God. 
 
 It does not, indeed, appear, how this mi- 
 tigated view of the doctrine of predestina- 
 tion can effectually destroy the heart-ap- 
 palling thoughts occasioned by the more 
 open and direct notions of Calvin and his 
 adherents; but such were the opinions 
 taught by the hypothetical Universalists ; 
 and they were not without their good ef- 
 fect, in softening down many of the rigours 
 of high Calvinism. But the term Univer- 
 salists has now obtained -a far more exten- 
 sive signification ; as it is used lo designate 
 those Christians, who hold the doctrine of 
 the future restoration of all men to eternal 
 life and happiness. This sentiment was em- 
 braced by Origen in the third century ; 
 and, in more modern times, by the Cheva- 
 lier Ramsay, Dr. Cheyne, Dr. Hartley, and 
 others. Tlie most popular advocates for 
 this doctrine, were Dr. Ghauncy and the 
 late Rev. Elhanan Winchester. 
 
 Dr. Chauncy held, that as Christ died, 
 not for a select number of men only, but 
 for all men universally, that therefore all 
 men shall finally partake of the benefits of 
 his death ; if not in this state of existence, 
 yet in another. He held, that, as a mean, 
 in order to man’s being meet for salvation, 
 God will^ sooner or later, bring them all to 
 
 UNI 
 
 a willing and obedient subjection to his mo- 
 ral government. 
 
 This doctrine is maintained by many, not 
 so much, as they say, because it appears to 
 be indicated by some passages of Scrip- 
 ture : but because it is strictly agreeable to 
 the spirit and genius of the dispensation of 
 universal goodness displayed in the Gospel 
 of Christ. They contend, that the doctrine 
 of eternal punishments is not only a cruel 
 and hateful doctrine, but subversive ofall pro- 
 per ideas of the benevolent and wise charac- 
 ter of the Almighty, as well as destructive of 
 the true use and design of all punishment. 
 And as punishment cannot proceed from 
 a vindictive spirit on the pait of the 
 Almighty, it must he designed so to cor- 
 rect the offenders against his moral laws, 
 as to destroy the necessity of eternal punish- 
 ment, and restore the sinner to obedience, 
 and a desire after reformation ; which re- 
 formation, when effected, must render all 
 further punishment both unmerciful and 
 unjust. In defence of this reasoning they 
 say, that the scriptural words rendered ever- 
 lasting, eternal, for ever, and/or ever and for 
 ever, are frequently used to express things 
 of limited duration ; and that, when they 
 refer to the futffre state of punishment, 
 they are always to be so understood ; be- 
 cause to interpret these words otherwise, 
 would be to reason contrary to the analogy 
 of faith, the ideas of the divine goodness, 
 the design of the Gospel, and the plain 
 dictates of right reason. This doctrine has 
 to boast of having, among its advocates and 
 defenders, the names of Origen and his dis- 
 ciples ; of many of the German Baptists 
 prior to the reformation ; and, in later 
 times, of Petitpiere, a learned Swiss; of 
 Dr. Rust, Bishop of Dromore, in Ireland ; 
 of Archbishop Tillotson ; as well as of Bi- 
 shops Burnet and Newton. 
 
 This doctrine is also generally maintained 
 by those Christians who profess the Unitarian 
 faith, whether Arians or Humanitarians. It 
 has, however, been ably opposed by many 
 learned men ; though the controversy is 
 now pretty much at rest. 
 
 UNIVERSITY. This term signifies the 
 establishment of many colleges in one par- 
 ticular situation, all of which are subject to 
 the same general government, and which 
 are formed by the residence of numerous 
 professors in every branch of science, who 
 teach them to students assembled from all 
 parts of Europe, and particularly the coum 
 tries possessing those seals of learning. 
 
 So many centuries have elapsed since the 
 introduction of this mode of instruction, 
 
UNIVERSITY, 
 
 that each university is desirous to profit by 
 the oblivion involving their origin, in claim-- 
 ing the priority : tlius the members of the 
 two universities of Paris and Boulogne assert 
 that they were the first established ; nor are 
 those of Oxford and Cambridge less desirous 
 of maintaining their real, or supposed, rights 
 on this head. 
 
 As this is not the proper place to enter 
 into an historical account of these vast semi- 
 naries of learning, we shall refer our readers, 
 tor further information in this particular, to 
 works written expressly on the subject. 
 
 We shall now proceed to explain the va- 
 rious component parts of an university, and 
 to accomplish this correctly and minutely, 
 we have had recourse to the Cambridge 
 University calendar, compiled by Mr. Ra- 
 worth, who says, “ The university of Cam- 
 bridge is a society of students in all and 
 every of the liberal arts and sciences, incor- 
 porated (13 Elizabeth) by the name of the 
 chancellor, masters, and scholars. The 
 frame #f this little commonwealth standeth 
 upoh the union'of sixteen colleges, or so- 
 cieties, devoted to tlie study of learning and 
 knowledge, and for the better service of the 
 church and state.” Every college is in it- 
 self a corporate body, and governed by its 
 own statutes, which must, however, concur 
 with the general laws of the university, 
 formed by Elizabeth on previous privileges, 
 and confirmed by Parliament, consequently 
 they are the basis of all modern regulations. 
 Each of the colleges send deputies, both for 
 the executive and legislative branches of the 
 government, and the place of their meeting 
 is termed the senate house. 
 
 Masters of arts, doctors in divinity, civil 
 law, and physic, who have their names in- 
 scribed on the college boards, and are resi- 
 dent at Cambridge, possess votes in the 
 above assembly ; and of those there were, 
 in the year 1802, about 940. The senate 
 consists of two classes, which are called re- 
 gents or non-regents, with a view to some 
 particular offices assigned by the statutes of 
 the university to the junior division. Mas- 
 ters of arts of less than five years standing, 
 and doctors under two, form the regent, or 
 upper house : and it has besides the term of 
 white-hood house, from the circumstance of 
 the members having their hoods lined with 
 silk of the above colour : the remainder 
 constitute the non regent, or black-hood 
 house: doctors of more than two years 
 standing, and the public orator of the uni- 
 versity, are entitled to vole in either of those 
 houses at pleasure ; exclusive of which there 
 
 is a Caput, or council, composed of the vice 
 chancellor, a doctor of each faculty, and two 
 masters of arts, who are representatives of 
 the houses already mentioned. The vice 
 chancellor being a member of the Caput by 
 virtue of his office, his election to the former 
 only takes place annually, on the fourth of 
 November,when the Senate choose him from 
 the masters of the sixteen colleges; but 
 that of the Caput occurs after the same in- 
 terval on the 12th of October, in the follow- 
 ing manner; the vice chancellor and the 
 two proctors severally nominate five per- 
 sons, and from the fifteen thus proposed the 
 heads of colleges and doctors select five, ge- 
 nerally preferring the vice chancellor’s list. 
 
 The officer just mentioned calls the meet- 
 ings of the senate by a printed notice,wbich 
 specifies the cause, and must be suspended 
 in the halls of the .several colleges three days 
 previously to tlie time appointed. A con- 
 gregation of the members thus summoned 
 may proceed to business, and a congrega- 
 tion consists of any number above twenty- 
 six, including the proper officers of the Se- 
 nate, who are compelled to attend on oath 
 personally, or by their legal deputies. Ex- 
 clusive of these casual meetings, there are 
 statutable congregations, for conferring de- 
 grees, electing officers, &c. &c which are 
 held without notice. “ Every member has 
 a right,” says Mr. Raworth, “ to present 
 any proposition, or grace, to the considera- 
 tion of the Senate; but previously to its 
 being voted by the tw’o houses, it is to be 
 read and approved by the Council, or Caput ; 
 each member of which has a negative voice. 
 This custom has seldom been observed, 
 unless something manifestly absurd, or obvi- 
 ously derogatory to the credit ot the uni- 
 versity, is proposed; insomuch, that nothing 
 has been more common than for a person to 
 give a placet in the Capnt, and a non-placet 
 to the same in the body, upon the idea that 
 the Caput should be considered in the light 
 of a committee to prepare the graces iU 
 point of form for the subsequent vot- 
 ing; as without some such regulation it 
 might be difficult to take the sense of the 
 Senate upon thereat merits of the question.” 
 When a grace has passed the Caput, one of 
 two scrutators read it in the non-regent 
 house, and in the other it is read by the se- 
 nior proctor, after which the vice chancellor 
 dissolves the congregation; the ceremony 
 of reading is repeated in a second congre- 
 gation, and if a non-placet does not occur, 
 it becomes a statute; on the contiary, if a 
 non placet is put in by a member of either 
 
UNIVERSITy. 
 
 house, it is put to the vote there, and a ma- 
 jority decides the question. 
 
 Tlie senatus consultum decree, or grace, 
 of this learned assembly has the same force 
 and effect as an act of the legislature of 
 Great Britain, which fact is supported by 
 the opinion of the best counsel, and, “ in 
 cases where nothing is enacted in opposi- 
 tion to the laws of the land, neither the sta- 
 tutes of Elizabeth, nor the mandatory let- 
 ters of succeeding kings, although their au- 
 thority be apparently strengthened by un- 
 interrupted submission, can stand against 
 the determination of this respectable as- 
 sembly.” 
 
 A degree cannot be conferred without 
 passing of a grace for the purpose, which is 
 done with the same formality as if a new law 
 was to be made. This is, however, dis- 
 pensed with in the single case of a bachelor 
 of arts, as this requires reading in one con- 
 gregation only, when it is termed a suppli- 
 cat, and must be signed by the praelector, 
 who thus becomes responsible for the truth 
 I of its contents, besides the penalty of being 
 deprived of his privilege of voting in the 
 Senate for two years, or bearing any office 
 in the university, upon discovery of any 
 false assertions in it. Degrees are never 
 conferred, unless the persons receiving them 
 previously sign a declaration, that they are 
 hona fide members of the Church of Eng- 
 land, as by law established. All the'officers 
 of the university, forming the executive part 
 of it, are chosen by the Senate, the princi- 
 pal of whom is the chancellor, who presides 
 in all cases, and to whom is confided the 
 sole power of governing, excepting in cases 
 of mayhem and felony ; he is, besides, ex- 
 pected to protect and preserve all the rights 
 and privileges of the institution, and to see 
 that strict and impartial justice is admini- 
 stered in every case to the members ; and 
 that all this may be insured, the office has 
 lately been entrusted to noblemen of the 
 highest rank. Other parts of his official 
 duty are, the convoking of assemblies, the 
 sealing of diplomas, letters of degrees, pro- 
 visions, &c. given by the university. 
 
 The high steward is the next officer in 
 consequence to the chancellor, and to him 
 is granted the power to superintend the 
 trial of students accused of felony, within 
 the limits of the jurisdiction, which is one 
 mile in every direction from the suburbs of 
 the university ; he is also empowered to 
 hold a leet, according to the established 
 charter and custom, and is permitted to 
 have a deputy. 
 
 The vice chancellor’s office is explained 
 by his title ; but he acts as a magistrate for 
 the university and county, and must he the 
 head of some college. The regents elect 
 two proctors, who are officers of the peace, 
 and superintend the behaviour and disci- 
 pline of all the pupils, and may search for 
 and commit to prison those abandoned fe- 
 males who contribute to corrupt the morals 
 of the students at the university. Exclu- 
 sive of these purposes, the proctors are ap- 
 pointed to attend the congregations of the 
 Senate, when they stand in scrutiny with 
 the chancellor or vice chancellor, to take 
 the open suffrages, verbally and written, 
 which they read, and finally pronounce the 
 assent or dissent : the graces are read by 
 them in the regent house, where they take 
 the assents and dissents secretly, but after- 
 wards openly declare them. Although there 
 are some particular parts of the duties of 
 these officers which may be considered very 
 unpleasant, yet they must be masters of 
 arts, and are regents by virtue of then- 
 office, and are enabled to determine the 
 seniority of all masters of arts at the time of 
 their taking that degree; besides which, 
 they may nominate two moderators, who 
 are then appointed by a grace of the Senate. 
 Those persons act as the substitutes of the 
 proctors in the philosophical schools, and 
 alternately superintend disputations and 
 exercises there, and the examinations for 
 the degree of bachelor of arts. 
 
 Other officers are termed taxors, scruta- 
 tors, a public orator, a commissary, a regis- 
 trar, esquire bedells, and librarians. The 
 taxors, simitar to the moderators, are mas- 
 ters of arts and regents by virtue of their 
 office, which is to regulate the markets, 
 the assize of bread, the exactness of weights 
 and measures, by the different standards, 
 and to summon all offenders into the com- 
 missary’s court: the scrutators are non- 
 regents, and their functions are to attend at 
 every congregation, to read the graces in 
 the lower house, where they collect the 
 votes secretly or openly, in scrutiny, when 
 they publicly pronounce the assent or dis- 
 sent of that house. 
 
 The public orator holds an office which 
 is considered as one of the most honourable 
 in the university j he is, in fact, the medium 
 of the Senate upon all solemn occasions, 
 reading and recording all communications 
 to and from the Senate, and presenting all 
 honorary degrees, accompanied by a suit- 
 able speech. The commissary holds his 
 office under the chancellor, and officiates as 
 
UNIVERSITY. 
 
 assessor, or assistant, in tlie vice chancellor s 
 court; besides which, he holds a court ot 
 record, wliere all causes are subject to the 
 statute and civil law and custom of the. 
 university, and the persons for whom it is 
 held are all privileged, and scholars under 
 the degree of master of arts. The registrar 
 attends himself, or by deputy, all congrega- 
 tions, to give directions, if necessary, for 
 the correct wording of such graces as are 
 propounded, and to draw up any that the 
 vice chancellor may appoint; to receive 
 them when passed through both houses, and 
 to register them in the archives of the uni- 
 versity ; exclusive of which, his office re- 
 quires him to record the seniority of those 
 who proceed annually in the arts or facul- 
 ties, agreeably to the schedules furnished 
 to him by the proctors. 
 
 The esquire bedells attend the vice chan- 
 cellor during all public solemnities, pre- 
 ceding him with their insignia of silver 
 maces: tliey attend, besides, the doctors 
 when present in the regent house, by bring- 
 ing them to open scrutiny, there to deliver 
 their suffrages, either by word or writing, 
 according to the order of the statute ; and 
 to receive from the vice-chancellor and the 
 rest of the Caput the graces, which they de- 
 liver to the scrutators in the lower house ; 
 when, if granted, they convey them to the 
 proctors in the other. Previous to a meet- 
 ing, they proceed to every college, with an 
 open summons, either to the Senate, or 
 whatever else place may be appointed under 
 the regulations of the university ; and, final- 
 ly, they attend tlie professors and respon- 
 dents in each faculty from their several 
 colleges to the schools, collect penalties and 
 fines, and summon all members of the Se- 
 nate to the chancellor’s court. 
 
 We have now mentioned the different 
 officers of an university in England, with as 
 much brevity as the nature of the subject 
 will permit ; at the same time we must ob- 
 serve, that none can be more important in 
 a state, or can more deserve explanation. 
 There are two courts of law in the univer- 
 sity of Cambridge : the first of which is the 
 consistory court of the chancellor, where 
 that officer, or in his absence the vice chan- 
 cellor, assisted by some of the heads of col- 
 leges, and one or more doctors of the civil 
 law, preside, and administer justice de- 
 manded by any member of the university, 
 or afford it to those who conceive them- 
 selves injured by them in the cases cog- 
 nizable by this particular court; there all 
 pleas and actions personal, originating with- 
 
 in the jurisdiction of the university, to which 
 a privileged person is a party, and not re- 
 lating to mayhem or felony, is decided ac- 
 cording to the usual course of civil law, by > 
 citation, libel, &c. When the cause relates 
 to the sale or purchase of victuals, the 
 chancellor is directed by the charters and 
 customs of the body he governs ; and in 
 case they are silent upon the subject, the 
 statutes of England are his guide. The 
 decisions of this court are not absolute, as 
 an appeal may he made to the Senate, 
 which appoints three or five doctors, or 
 masters of art, who are empowered to exa- 
 mine, confirm, or reverse the decree com- 
 plained of. 
 
 The other court is the consistory court 
 of the commissary. The commissary, a 
 doctor of the civil law, acts under the 
 authority and seal ot the chancellor, and 
 sits as well in the University, as at Midsum- 
 mer and Stirbitch fairs, there to take know- 
 ledge, and to proceed in' all causes “ ad in- 
 stantiam et proraotionem partis ut supra,” 
 the parties, or one of them, being privi- 
 leged : saving that within the University all 
 causes or suits whereunto the proctors, or 
 taxors, or any ot them, or a master of arts, 
 or any other of superior degree, is a party, 
 are reserved solely and wholly to the juris- 
 diction of the chancellor or vice chancellor. 
 The manner of proceeding in tins court is 
 similar to that of the preceding, which has 
 a registrar, procurators, and advocates, and 
 a yeoman bedell, as is required in the con- 
 sistory court. Appeals are also allowed, 
 but in this case it must be made in the first 
 instance to the higher court, and may 
 from thence be removed to the Senate, and 
 the three or five delegates appointed by 
 that body. 
 
 The University possesses the right of 
 sending two members to the Imperial Par- 
 liament of the United Kingdom, who are 
 chosen^by the collective body of the Senate. 
 A council, termed the University council, 
 appointed for various purposes, is composed 
 by a grace of the Senate, and a solicitor is 
 nominated by the vice-chancellor. 
 
 The syndics, chosen from the members of 
 the senate, conduct all special affairs, such 
 as framing laws, regulating fees, and inspect- 
 ing the library, the printing, buildings, &c. 
 &c. Those of the University press cannot 
 proceed to business unless the vice-chancel- 
 lor and four others are present in the par- 
 lour of the office. All the professors of the 
 sciences are allowed stipends, which are 
 derived from various sources, composed of 
 
 
 />« 
 
UNIVERSITY. 
 
 the University chest, siuns from govern- 
 ment, or from estates appropriated for that 
 purpose : the whole income of the Univer- 
 sity being about eleven thousatid pounds per 
 annum, including fees for degrees, profits 
 of the printing office, &c. Of this sum eight 
 tlmiisand pounds is expended annually to 
 officers, professors in the library and schools, 
 the press, in taxes, and charitable dona- 
 tions, the whole under the management of 
 the vice-chancellor for the tiine being, 
 whose accounts are audited by three per- 
 sons appointed yearly by the senate. 
 
 nie Book of Statutes was printed in the 
 year t785, copies of which are possessed by 
 the vice- chancellor and the proctors, and 
 one is deposited in the public and in the 
 libraries of each college ; it consists of the 
 ancient statutes, those of Henry VIII. Ed- 
 ward VI. and those of the first and twelfth 
 years of the reign of Queen Elizabetli ; 
 
 “ Literas Regias ad Academiam datae ; In- 
 terpretationes Statutorum; Senafus con- 
 sulta sive gratiae decreta praefectornm ; Ju- 
 ramenta et Formulae.” Mr. Raworth says, 
 
 “ the statutes of the twelfth of Elizabeth, 
 and the Senatiis Consiilta, are those which 
 are chiefly respected at this time. Many 
 of the old statutes, decrees, interpretations, 
 &c. are looked upon as obsolete, some as 
 ridiculous, and others nijnecessary in the 
 present establishment ; yet what Dr. Bent- 
 ley observed of Trinity College statutes, 
 during his disagreement with the fellows of 
 that society, might .be urged concerning 
 these : “ Some are my club, and others my 
 rusty sword, which I can draw upon occa- 
 sion.” 
 
 The terms are three in number, Michael- 
 mas term commences on the tenth of Oc- 
 tober, and terminates the sixteenth day of 
 December; Lent term begins January thir- 
 teen, and is concluded on the Friday imme- 
 diately preceding Palm Sunday ; Midsum- 
 mer term begins one week after Easter 
 day, and ends on the Friday following com- 
 mencement day, which is invariably the 
 first Tuesday in July. Upon the decease 
 of a member of the Senate during the 
 term, and within the University, appli- 
 cation is made to the vice-chancellor, and 
 the bell of the University is tolled for one 
 hour, term instantly commences for three 
 days, and for that period lectures and dispu- 
 tations cease. 
 
 Most of the statutes made for the govern- 
 ment of the sixteen different colleges dic- 
 tate that the members or fellows of them 
 gliall be exclusively Englishmen, and some 
 
 even prescribe that they must be natives of 
 particular counties and districts ; hence an 
 invidiou-s distinction is created between the 
 residents of the northern and southern parts 
 of this Island, whicli though united for a 
 long time past in political matters, are 
 most completely separated in the parsnit of 
 knowledge, and it is too much to be feared 
 that tins circumstance is the real cause of 
 the affected contempt of the degrees and 
 academic honours granted by seminaries of 
 learning in Scotland and Ireland. It is sin- 
 gular that the individuals who founded the 
 colleges at Cambridge and Oxford should 
 have concurred in this narrow and illiberal 
 conduct almost universally, as they each 
 had a strong sense of religion, which how- 
 ever does not appear to have taught them 
 the best principle of it, brotherly love. As 
 a tew ot the colleges admit of general com- 
 petition for fellowships, and the members of 
 the two Universities seem sensible of the 
 injustice and impolicy of such distinctions 
 we may venture to hope some method will’ 
 be devised ere long to obviate or remove 
 them. The following regulation applies to 
 all the colleges at Cambridge. “ Whoso- 
 ever hath one English parent, although he 
 be born in another country, shall be esteem- 
 ed as if born in that county to which his 
 English parent belonged. But if both pa- 
 rents are English, he shall be reckoned of 
 that comity to which his father belonged.’’ 
 
 The colleges are thus constituted: The 
 head, by which odd term the master is de- 
 signated, who is generally a doctor of divi- 
 nity ; but Cains college may be governed 
 by a doctor of physic, and Trinity must 
 have a doctor of laws; the principal of 
 King’s IS styled provost, and of Queen’s 
 president. The fellows are generally ba- 
 chelors of divinity, , bachelors or masters of 
 arts, and others are bachelors and doctors 
 of law and physic, particularly at the two 
 colleges of Trinity-hall and Cains. There is 
 a distinction between the fellows, who are 
 divided into classes, called regular and bye; 
 the latter are considered as merely hono- 
 rary, never succeeding to college prefer- 
 ment, nor having any concern whatever in 
 the affairs of it, but are allowed an inconsi- 
 derable sum annually by their respective 
 colleges, which act as trustees for them 
 they are denominated Perse Wortley, York- 
 shire, Coventry, Platt, Dixie; and ’Tiver- 
 ton, Clergymen who are termed conduits 
 are employed in the several institutions 
 a.s chaplains, and perform some of the dg- 
 ties belonging to that office. 
 
 V 
 
UNIVERSITY. 
 
 Tliere are noblemen graduates, doctors 
 in the different faculties, and bachelors ot 
 divinity (who have been masters ot arts), 
 whose names are on the boards, and are a 
 members of the Senate ; they reside m the 
 University occasionally, but have no fur- 
 ther claim upon a college than the general 
 respect due to their rank in the honours ot 
 the former; their charges are inconsider- 
 able for keeping their names on the boards, 
 being about tour pounds per aimum. 
 
 Graduates, neither members of the Se- 
 nate, nor in statu pupillari are bachelors 
 of divinity, and denominated four and 
 twenty men, or ten-year men. These are 
 generally clergymen that procure the dig- 
 nities of the University in addition to their 
 ■wealth and preferment at an easy rate, 
 without the formalities of an education 
 within its jurisdiction. Oxford does not 
 permit this method ot partaking of acade- 
 mic titles, and indeed the possessors of 
 them enjoy but little reputation derived 
 from such at Cambridge. They are tole- 
 rated by the statutes of Elizabeth, which 
 allow'S persons who are admitted at any 
 college, when twenty-foir- years of age, and 
 upwards, after ten years (during the last two 
 of which they must reside the greater part 
 of three several terms) to become bache- 
 lors of divinity, without taking any prior 
 degree. 
 
 Bachelors of law and physic sometimes 
 put themselves to the unnecessary expense 
 of keeping their names upon the boards 
 till they obtain the distinction of doctors ; 
 bachelors of arts, on the contrary, who are 
 in statu pupillari, and pay for tutorage, 
 whether resident or non-resident, generally 
 keep their names on the boards to evince 
 their desire of becoming candidates for fel- 
 lowships, or members of the Senate; they 
 may, however, erase their names, and save 
 the expenses of tutorage and college detri- 
 menta, and take the degree of A. M. after 
 the usual time, by inscribing their names a 
 few days before their incepting, and paying 
 a quarter’s tutorage; some of these are 
 called bachelors commoners, as they are 
 allowed to dine with the fellows, and when 
 under graduates they were fellow com- 
 moners. 
 
 The fellow commoners are almost univer- 
 sally the younger sons of titled persons, or 
 the sons of men of ancient families and pro- 
 perty ; the denomination of those most pro- 
 bably' originated from the privilege they 
 enjoy of dining with the fellows. There 
 gre some few exclusive rights attached to 
 
 the rank of fellow commoners, but they 
 chiefly apply to the usages of the hall and 
 chapel, besides which their academic habits 
 are ornamented with gold or silver. Pensi- 
 oners and scholars pay for tlieir rooms, com- 
 mons, &c. Those who enjoy scholarships 
 read the graces, lessons in the ritual, &c. Of 
 the sizars it has been observed, they are gene- 
 rally men of inferior fortune, though fre- 
 quently by their merit they succeed to the 
 highest honours in the University. Theyusu- 
 ally have tiieir commons free, and receive, va- 
 rious emoluments, by which means they are 
 enabled creditably to proceed through their 
 comse of education. Most of our cliurch 
 dignitaries have been of this order. 
 
 Such is the general outline of an English 
 University, a constitution the work of ages, 
 with numerous perfections, and with very 
 few errors ; our confined limits will not 
 permit us to enlarge as we could wish upon 
 the forms adopted in the arduous undertak- 
 ing of teaching the sciences and a taste for 
 polite literature united, but we may safely 
 say they seem such as are best calculated 
 for the final purpose and to excite emula- 
 tion, and we are supported in this assertion 
 by the fact that no other Universities have 
 excelled those of England and Great Bri- 
 tain, in the aggregate, in the production of 
 excellent philosophers and respectable di- 
 vines. Supei-ficial knowledge is held in no 
 kind of estimation at either of our great 
 seminaries, the very essence and causes, as 
 well as effects, must be explored to satisfy 
 the expectations of the various professors, 
 formed by long experience and unexhausted 
 assiduity; a young man must therefore 
 study vigorously, and without relaxation, 
 for two years and one quarter, ere he ven- 
 tures to appear in a public exercise before 
 the University. The first year is occupied by 
 lectures from Euclid, with the first six books 
 of which he must be thoroughly acquainted, 
 and the principles of algebra, plane trigo- 
 nometry, and conic sections. Different 
 colleges have their peculiar systems, but 
 mechanics, hydrostatics, optics, fluxions, 
 and a part of Newton’s Priticipia, with the 
 method of increments, differential method, 
 and similar miscellanea, are the pursuits of 
 the second year ; to the third beloiig.s astro- 
 nomy, the Principia already mentioned, 
 spherical trigonometry, the most difficult 
 and important parts of fluxions, algebra, 
 and geometry : his last term, or the first 
 term of the fourth year, requires all the 
 energies of his mind; he is now more 
 deeply engaged in the arduous conflict (jf 
 
UNX 
 
 the schools with all his rivals, and prepar- 
 ing himself for the Senate-honse examina- 
 tion. 
 
 Having completed this course of natural 
 philosophy, we shall next turn our attention 
 to the mode adopted in the second head of 
 academical studies, or the course of moral 
 philosophy in the attainment of this branch. 
 The first year is devoted to Locke and 
 logic, and the two tbllowing to Paley, 
 Hartley, Burlamagni, Rutherford, Clarke 
 on the Attributes, and other authors whose 
 writings are of a similar tendency, and 
 those are made the subjects of various or- 
 ders of lectures in the different colleges ; 
 lectures on the chronology, geography, laws, 
 religious rites and customs of the nations 
 which are mentioned in the Old and New 
 Testaments, in some degree derived from 
 Reausobre, but partly from other sources, 
 are also given to promote an accurate know- 
 ledge of the foundation of our faith. Un- 
 fortunately, although these methods of pro- 
 moting the studies of the pupils were wisely 
 conceived, and are generally executed 
 with great ability and advantage, there 
 have been instances of neglect and very 
 slight attendance. 
 
 The third head includes the belles lettres, 
 or classics, and this of all the variety of 
 pursuit seems the most successful in eat'h 
 of the colleges, as every term has an appro- 
 priate selection of the best for the lecture- 
 room, when extracts from the most ap- 
 proved authors of antiquity, judiciously 
 commented on, and compared with simi- 
 lar passages from modern writers, forms a 
 source of entertainment highly grateful as 
 well as useful. Besides the exertions of 
 the tutor in this particular, the students 
 deliver either written, or viva voce, compo- 
 sitions in their respective chapels weekly, 
 which may be in the Latin or English lan- 
 guages. The author of the little but valu- 
 able work before mentioned, very properly 
 observes, that emulation of an honourable 
 kind is excited by prizes and rewards in 
 most of the colleges, and this emulation is 
 not of the dangerous nature too often per- 
 ceptible in inferior seminaries, as the first 
 man in each year feels his inferiority to 
 those a few years older than himself, and 
 the pre-eminence over his own year in his 
 own college, may receive a most violent 
 check in the collision with the rival heads 
 of his own standing in fifteen other col- 
 leges. 
 
 UNXIA, in botany, a genus of the Synge- 
 nesia Polygamia Superflua class and order. 
 
 VOI 
 
 Natural order of Compositte Discoidete, 
 Corymbiferm, Jussieu. Essential character” 
 calyx five-leaved ; leaflets ovate ; florets of 
 both disk and ray five ; seed-down none • 
 receptacle naked. There is but one species’ 
 VIZ. U. camphorata, a native of Surinam. ’ 
 VOICE. The parts employed in the 
 production of the voice are, the trachea or 
 wind pipe, by which the air passes to and 
 from the lungs : the larynx, which is a short 
 and cylindrical canal at the head of the 
 trachea ; and the glottis, which is a small 
 oval chink between two semicircular mem- 
 branes, extended horizontally from the en- 
 tering side of the larynx. 
 
 The trachea so much resembles a flute 
 that the ancients attributed the formation 
 of the voice to the trachea, as much as the 
 formation of the sound to the body of the 
 flute ; and till the commencement of the 
 last century, it was generally imagined that 
 me trachea had at least a considerable part 
 in the production of the voice. M. Dodart 
 has established the contrary. He observed, 
 that we neither speak nor sing in drawing 
 in our breath, but only when we expel that 
 which we have inhaled; and that the air 
 thus expelled from the lungs passes through 
 vessels, which increase in size as their dis- 
 tance from the lungs increases ; and finally 
 through the trachea, which is the most capa- 
 cious of any : so that the air, instead of be- 
 ing there confined and increasing in velo- 
 city, loses it. But the opening, denomi- 
 nated the glottis, being very narrow in 
 comparison with the size of the trachea, the 
 air can never pass through it without ac- 
 quiring a considerable degree of velocity : 
 so that the air thus compressed and forced 
 on, communicates as it passes a vibratory 
 motion to the particles of the two lips of 
 the glottis, which produces that effect on 
 the air which we call sound. The sound 
 thus formed, passes into the cavity of 
 the mouth and nostrils, where it reverbe- 
 rates ; and Dodart proves, that this rever- 
 beration is what principally gives the effect 
 to the voice. The different parts of the 
 mouth, each m its turn, contributes to these 
 reverberations, and modifies them ; and it 
 is this mixture of different reverberations, 
 well proportioned to one another, which 
 produces in the human voice a harmony 
 which no instrument can equal. When the 
 parts are defective, much of this pleasure is 
 lost. It is, then, the cavity of the mouth, 
 
 &c. that more properly answers to the body 
 of the flute; the trachea only furnishes the 
 ail, like the sound-board of the organ. 
 
>r /•«#V 
 
 VOI 
 
 The glottis, by means of different mus- 
 cles, can be extended or shortened, can 
 be dilated or contracted ; and it is these 
 changes which produce all the variety of 
 tone. The narrower the opening the greater 
 the rapidity with which the air passes, and 
 the more acute the sound: hence tliose who 
 wished to give their voice a very high tone, 
 would suffocate themselves if they conti- 
 nued it sufficiently long ; for, as they almost 
 entirely close the glottis, very little air can 
 issue ; and they are in a similar situation 
 with those whose respiration is stopped by 
 hanging, drowning, &c. But if the open- 
 ing of the glottis be too much dilated, the 
 air will pass too easily to produce any vi- 
 bration : hence those who wish to give their 
 voice too deep a tone, cannot produce any 
 sound. 
 
 This power of contraction and dilation 
 is, perhaps, the most wonderful part of the 
 mechanism of the voice. The diameter of 
 the glottis never exceeds -^th of an inch : 
 now, suppose a person capable of sounding 
 twelve notes (to which the voice easily 
 reaches), there must be the difference of 
 ^th part of an inch for each note. But if 
 we consider the subdivision of notes of 
 which the voice is capable, the motion of 
 the sides of the glottis appears still more 
 minute ; for if of two chords, so stretched 
 as to be exactly in unison, one be shortened 
 the 5 feth part of its length, a correct ear will 
 perceive the difference of the two sounds ; 
 and a good voice will sound the difference, 
 which is only ^Ijth part of a note. But sup- 
 pose that a voice can divide a note into 
 100 parts, it will foltow that the different 
 openings of the glottis will be 1200 in the 
 J-th of an inch, each of which will produce a 
 sound perceptible to a good ear. But the 
 movement of each side of the glottis being 
 equal, it is necessary to double this num- 
 ber, and the side of the glottis actually 
 divides the ^th of an inch into 2400 equal 
 parts ; that each vibration is ^ifeoth part of 
 an inch. 
 
 As yet we have simple, unarticulated 
 sound ; such as when we sing the notes of 
 a tune without words. Speech is made up 
 of articulated voice ; that is, voice modi- 
 fied by the action, not of the lungs, the 
 trachea, or the larynx, but of the throat, 
 palate, teeth, tongue, and lips. Every va- 
 riation in tone, however, is produced by a 
 variation in the glottis ; and in strength, by 
 the action of the lungs : so that all the parts 
 of this complicated mechanism are conti- 
 nually employed. Articulation begins when 
 
 
 V'OI 
 
 the voice has passed the larynx. The sim- 
 plest articulate sounds are those which pro- 
 ceed from an open mouth : they are so little 
 modified, that they are called in some other 
 languages by the term voice, and in our 
 own, from a derivative of the same word. 
 
 In transmitting these, the apertures of the 
 mouth may be pretty large, or somewhat 
 smaller, or very small ; which produces one 
 set of the variations of vowel sounds : be- 
 sides, in passing through the open mouth, 
 the voice may be gently acted upon by the 
 lips, or by the tongue and the palate, or by 
 the tongue and throat; and hence another 
 source of variation; and thus nine simple 
 vowel sounds are produced. When the 
 voice, in its passage through the mouth, is 
 totally Intercepted, or strongly compressed, 
 there ds formed a certain modification of 
 articulate sounds, which is called a conso- 
 nant. Silence is the effect of a total inter- 
 ception ; and indistinct sound, of a strong 
 compression : hence a consonant is not of 
 itself a distinct articulate voice ; and its in- 
 fluence, in varying the tones of language, 
 cannot be perceived, unless it be accompa- 
 nied with an opening of the moutli, that is 
 by a vowel sound. 
 
 Such is the nature of the mechanism of 
 the human voice ; so complicated, yet so 
 simple: and when we consider the great 
 variety of motions necessary to be per- 
 formed by every one who speaks with com- 
 mon fluency, instead of surprize that children 
 are so long before they can articulate, and 
 express a chain of ideas by words, we shall 
 see ground for admiration that this most in- 
 valuable acquisition is made so early. The 
 fact appears to be, that the powers of imi- 
 tation are at that period the principal source 
 of improvement ; and the organs being then 
 more capable of the requisite variation of 
 flexure than in the later periods of life, j 
 
 sounds are acquired (not indeed without 
 much trouble, and almost incessant exer- ^ 
 
 tion), which at the age of manhood baffle ; 
 
 the best-directed exertion. j 
 
 VOIDED, in heraldry, is understood of 
 an ordinary whose inner or middle part is 
 cut out, leaving nothing but its edges to | 
 
 show its form, so that the field appears j 
 
 through it. Hence it is needless to express i 
 
 the colour or metal of the voided part, be- j 
 
 cause it must of course be tliat of the field. 
 
 The cross voided, differs from the cross 
 fimbriated, in that the latter does not 
 show the field through it, as the other does ; 
 and the same obtains in other ordinaries. 
 
 VOIDER, in heraldry, one of the ordi- 
 
> VOL 
 
 naries whose figure is much like that of a 
 flask of flanch, only that it doth not bend 
 so much. 
 
 V(JLaNT, in heraldry, is when a bird 
 in a coat of arms is drawn flying, or having 
 its wings spread out. 
 
 VOLCANIC formations. The products 
 of volcanoes are ejected stones and ashes ; 
 lava and water mixed with ashes, of a slimy 
 consistence : the first order comprehends 
 the ejected stones and ashes ; the second, 
 the difl’erent kinds of lava ; and the third, 
 the matter of muddy eruptions. The stony 
 ejections are those which are always thrown 
 from the summit of the volcano : they ac- 
 cumulate and form the crater, whieh is 
 a funnel -shaped hollow. Mineralogists have 
 enumerated among ejected stones : 1. Gra- 
 nular lime-stone, which is said to contain 
 tremolite, pistacite, olivine, angite, Vesu- 
 vian, melanite, sommite, and hornblende ; 
 2. Granite j 5. Mica-slate ; 4. Green-stone j 
 and, 5. Sand-stone. Lava consists of two 
 sub-species; viz. slag-lava and foam-lava; 
 these do not extend far, having in general 
 flowed, in streanis of con-siderable height, 
 into hollows, and gradually consolidated 
 during its course. Matter of muddy erup- 
 tions comprehends volcanic- tuff, which is 
 composed sometimes of ashes, sometimes 
 of vesicular lava, and probably some particu- 
 lar chemical formations. See Volcanoes. 
 
 VOLCANOES, mountains which emit 
 ignited matter and smoke through aper- 
 tures communicating with cavities in the 
 depths of the earth, where eternal tires are 
 situated that burn with more or less force 
 
 they are influenced by causes which it 
 is impossible should ever be explained by 
 actual observation, but that may be con- 
 jectured with tolerable success from expe- 
 riments. Such have been made by many 
 naturalists (who deserve every praise for 
 their assiduity and research),' though not 
 with an accuracy, that distinguishes those 
 of the celebrated Abbe Lazarro Spallan- 
 zani, professor of natural liistory in the 
 university of Pavia : this gentleman, though 
 far advanced in life, acted with a vigour 
 and hardihood seldom found even in youth 
 and braved danger and death, in a thousand 
 ' horrid forms, in pursuit of his favourite ob- 
 ject, the elucidation of the phenomena of 
 volcanic fires. To whom, then, can we with 
 more propriety have recourse, in our at- 
 causes <md effects ? 
 Xhe Abbe observed, in the course of his 
 various examinations of craters, that vol- 
 canoes emit vast quantities of gas ; and he 
 
 VOL 
 
 found that stony substances were invaria- 
 bly, when completely heated by the sub- 
 terraneous fire, rarified, inflated, and ren- 
 dered cellular, by their elasticity; which 
 effect is observable in numbers of lavas 
 glasses, and enamels, ejected during eriip! 
 tions: and he discovered, in addition, that 
 their violence continually raised the liqui- 
 fied matter from the interior of the craters 
 to their very borders, over which it flowed 
 at each impulse. 
 
 He was at the same time equally atten- 
 tive to the nature and force of the fire 
 w'hich acts in the bowels of volcanic moun- 
 tains ; and, in the course of his researches, 
 discovered that Vesuvius, /Etna, the Eolian 
 Islands, and I*hia, are immense mountains 
 composed of rocks that have been liquified’ 
 and even vitrified, by the violence of the 
 subterraneous conflagration. “ What fire ” 
 he exclaim^ « can me produce equivalent 
 to these eftects!” Humble, however, as 
 all experiments appear with our limited 
 means, this venerable philosopher justly 
 thought imperfect knowledge of volcanoes 
 preferable to contented ignorance, and, 
 undismayed by tlie magnitude of the object 
 proceeded to ascertain, as far as possible! 
 what man is permitted to know on this 
 terrific subject. « I have,” he observes, 
 discovered, that the fire, of the glass-fur- 
 nace will completely refuse the vitrifica- 
 ti^s, enamels, pumices, scori®, and lavas, 
 of these and other volcanic countries. The 
 same will, m like manner, vitrify rocks 
 congenerous to those from which these 
 mountains have originated, by the means 
 of subterranean conflagrations. A less in- 
 tense ^e, on the contrary, produces no 
 ^ch effect on any of these substances. 
 Hetei mined to exercise the most rigorous 
 research, and to ascertain, with the greatest 
 possible- precision, the exact degree of heat 
 requisite to produce the above effects, he 
 had recourse to the pyrometer of Wedg- 
 wood, which he compliments and praises 
 by saying, nothing could be better adapted 
 lor hi3 purpose. 
 
 The terrific appearance of a volcano in 
 eruption is so appalling, so grand, and alto- 
 gether so wonderful, that it is by no means 
 astonishing the world should suppose the 
 vast volumes of smoke, ignited matter, and 
 stones, hurled into the air with inconceiva- 
 ble violence and rapidity, exclusive of the 
 torrents of liquified substances which roll 
 down its sides in solemn and destructive 
 majesty, were caused by more powerful 
 fires than those man has been permitted to 
 
VOLCANOES. 
 
 kindle ; in saying the world, we wish to be 
 understood as meaning those who have seen 
 or read of eruptions without examining the 
 subject further. Of natural philosophers, 
 there were many who coincided with this 
 general opinion ; and others have main- 
 tained the direct contrary supposition, as- 
 serting, that volcanic fires are extremely 
 feeble in their operations; following the 
 example of Spallanzani, we shall give tlie 
 substance of the arguments of each, in 
 order that the reader may draw his own 
 conclusion. It is evident that we must have 
 recourse to the same rule for ascertaining 
 the intensity of volcanic fires, which we 
 make use of in measuring the effects of 
 our fires when in activity on bodies im- 
 mersed in them ; and we have already men- 
 tioned, that Wedgwood’s pyrometer answers 
 for the purpose, as nearly as the nature of 
 the pursuit will permit; but tong before 
 the invention of this instrument, attempts 
 were made to attain the object in question, 
 particularly by the academicians of Naples, 
 who, at the time of the great eruption in 
 the year 1737, made an experiment on the 
 lava near the Torre del Greco, in a valley 
 where it had accumulated ; and though it 
 had ceased its motion several days, yet re- 
 tained a heat equal to that of red-hot iron. 
 They formed a piece of lead, weighing two 
 ounces, in a conical shape, which they placed 
 on the red-hot surface of the lavaj the 
 metal became soft in two minutes and a 
 half, and in one minute more it was com- 
 pletely melted : another piece of lead, in 
 every respect exactly similar, was then de- 
 posited on a plate of red-hot iron, rendered 
 so by burning coals beneath it, when they 
 found that it required six: minutes and a 
 lialf to soften, and seven and a half to li- 
 quify it. Water placed on the lava, boiled 
 furiously in three minutes, and on burning 
 coals, one minute later. Judging from these 
 tacts, the academicians concluded that lava, 
 tliough exposed to the external air for some 
 days, and consequently far less intensely 
 heated than when first issuing from the 
 crater, was much more fiery in its nature 
 than red-hot iron or burning coals : but this 
 conclusion is obviously incorrect ; because 
 Uie plate of iron, being surrounded by aif, 
 could not acquire all tlie heat which was 
 applied to it ; neither was it fair to rest an 
 opinion of this description upon a result 
 produced by means so unequal, as a vast 
 depth of ignited matter opposed to a thin 
 plate of iron. 
 
 ' Prince Cassano, a meiuber «f our Royal 
 
 Society, produced an instance of the vio- 
 lent heat of tlie lava which issued from Ve- 
 suvius, to that learned body, which seems 
 more to the purpose than that of the Aca- 
 demicians : the torrent of lava alluded to 
 approached a convent of Carmelites ; every 
 combustible article was immediately con- 
 sumed, even before the mass came into 
 contact with itq and the heat was so ex- 
 cessive, that the glasses standing upon a ta- 
 ble in the refectory, were instantly reduced 
 to shapeless pieces of that useful material : 
 this circumstance produced an experiment, 
 attended with the same consequences, 
 which was the fastening of a fragment of 
 glass to the end of a long stick, and hold- 
 ing it near the lava, when, at the close of 
 four minutes, it became a mere paste. A 
 fact of tlie same nature is mentioned by 
 Professor Bottis, in his account of the erup- 
 tion ofVesuvius, in the year 1667. Now, 
 tliough this effect may be produced by sus- 
 pending a piece of glass in the air of a glass 
 furnace, it must be admitted, tliat this being 
 in a state of full activity, and the heat excited 
 to the utmost, by every human means, is 
 not a just comparison with a body of lava 
 far removed from the spot where it acquired 
 its heat, which must, without doubt, be at 
 that spot ten times greater ; hence it ap- 
 pears decidedly clear, that the internal fires 
 ofVesuvius far exceeds that of our glass- 
 furnaces. 
 
 Bottis seems to have been one of the first 
 naturalists, who observed the rapidity with 
 which the fire of Vesuvius causes fusion ; 
 that gentleman mentions, in his descrip- 
 tion of the eruption of July, 1779, that he 
 saw a small hill, composed of porous lava 
 and scoriae, inclosing an inconsiderable 
 gniph, that produced a noise like that of 
 oil or fat, in the act of boiling or simmering 
 over a fire ; this appearance induced him 
 to examine it, when he found it contained 
 matter in fusion, which immediately heated 
 red hot, and then melted fr.igments of lava 
 or scori®, thrown into it. As Spallanzani 
 acknowledges, that his efforts to melt simi- 
 lar substances leqiiired half an hour, we 
 must admit, that this is another proof of 
 the superior heat of volcanic tires. A still 
 further evidence of their extreme heat is, 
 the great length of time which lavas retain 
 it. In the year 1737, some labourers, were 
 employed to remove the lava which had 
 crossed a road, and although a month had 
 elapsed from the period of the eruption, 
 they were compelled to desist, as tlie heat 
 softened their tdols beyond the possibility 
 
VOLCANOES. 
 
 of using them. Sir William Hamilton also 
 found it very great, and, dropping some 
 pieces of wood into the fissures of a mass, 
 situated four miles from the volcano, they 
 immediately took fire ; but Spallanzani il- 
 lustrated this fact more decidedly, by pass- 
 ing a body of lava near the upper crater of 
 Aitiia, visibly red hot, even in full day-light, 
 which had flowed from the mountain eleven 
 months before. 
 
 It is supposed, that the volcanic fires of 
 Iceland are very active and powerful, 
 which is inferred from the incompetency 
 of the blow-pipe to fuse the glass issuing 
 from them. Vallisueri, describing a new 
 volcanic islapd, which rose from the sea in 
 the year 1707, near Santorine, asserts, that 
 the sea in its vicinity became so violently 
 heated, that vast numbers of fish perished, 
 and were actually boiled; and it is well 
 known, that the same cause melted the 
 pitch in the seams of ships’ bottoms, and 
 occasioned their leaking : this modern fact 
 is corroborated on the authority of Strabo, 
 who declares, that the sea was observed to 
 boil for four days, between Thera and The- 
 rasia. The complete fluidity of lava is 
 another convincing proof of the excessive 
 heat prevailing in the centre, of volcanoes. 
 M. Bottis produces two instances, derived 
 from Vesuvius in 1771 and 1776, which de- 
 monstrate that this fiery mass assumes a 
 state of liquidity almost equal to water: the 
 Professor mentions four hills to have arisen 
 suddenly in the first case near the aperture 
 whence the larva proceeded, and from 
 three of those in the shape of cones, issued 
 streams of tlie melted matter, exactly re- 
 sembling fountains of water. During the 
 eruptions of the latter year, fresh lava, rush- 
 ing from the crater, fell upon that of I77i, 
 and rebounding from it into the air, there 
 congealed in various figures capriciously 
 ramified, and terminating in thin sharp 
 points like needles. A circumstance ob- 
 served by Sir William Hamilton, Count de 
 Wilzeck, Cardinal Herzan, and the Arch- 
 duke Maximilian of Austria, in the year 
 1775, seems to establish the fact, that the 
 fluidity of the lava has been such at times, 
 as to separate into portions, which, bein® 
 thrown up from the crater, fell again near 
 it, in a state so soft, that a guide who assist- 
 ed in conducting these illustrious visitors, 
 perceiving a fragment, passed his stick 
 through it, and presented it thus to the 
 Prince, who ordered both to be deposited 
 in his private museum ; this, however, sel- 
 dom occurs, at least the indefatigable Spal- 
 
 lanzani never discovered these fragments 
 flattened or indented, as if they had fallen 
 on some hard substance when in the con- 
 sistence of paste. 
 
 With respect to the rapidity of its mo- 
 tion, this must greatly depend upon the 
 quantity ejected, as well as the intensity of 
 its heat : when an opportunity happens for 
 attentive observation, the lava has been 
 known to rise suddenly to the summit of 
 the crater, and as suddenly overflowing its 
 boundaries, rush down in various rivulets of 
 fire; indeed Bottis compares it to “ a li- 
 quor which boils in a vessel, and rises and 
 overflows the edges of that vessel from the 
 violence of the heat.” The lava from Vesu- 
 vius, issuing in 1751, flowed over the space 
 of twenty-eight palms in one minute ; in 
 1754, it proceeded in two branches, at the 
 rate of thirty feet in forty-five seconds, and 
 afterwards uniting at thirty-three feet in 
 fifty seconds : to these facts may be added 
 the testimony of Sir William Hamilton, who 
 thought its velocity in 1765, equal to that 
 of the Severn, at the passage near Bristol. 
 It may, however, be necessary to observe, 
 that the fluidity of the matter does not al- 
 ways alone occasion its motion, which may 
 be accelerated by a great descent, or the 
 violent pressure of fresh lava constantly is- 
 suing from the~source, particularly as lavas 
 are known to harden when actually mov- 
 ing, so as to produce a sound when struck, 
 and to bear stones thrown on their surface ■ 
 but to place this fact beyond a doubt. Sir 
 William Hamilton informs us, that himself 
 and others, following the example of Mr. 
 Jamineau, British Consul at Naples, ac- 
 tually crossed a moving mass above fifty 
 feet in breadth ; yet even thus circum- 
 stanced, those dreadful rivers of fire have 
 been known to reach the sea eighteen, 
 twenty, and even thirty miles from their 
 commencement. 
 
 atguiuciiis uacu to esraoiisu an idea 
 that fires excited and maintained by hu- 
 man means, exceed those of volcanic origin 
 in force, lie in a very small compass indeed; 
 they are derived from observing, that some 
 furnaces “ vitrify lavas more decidedly than 
 volcanoes, and melt schorls which re- 
 main perfect in the former.” Dolomieu 
 places this supposition in a clear point of 
 view, in a memoir published by him of ba- 
 saltes. “I shall again repeat,” observes 
 this celebrated French naturalist, “what 
 cannot be too frequently inculcated, that 
 lavas are not vitrifications their fluidity is 
 similar to that of metals reduced to fusion ; 
 
, ''' 
 
 VOLCANOES. 
 
 it docs not chan!>e the order and manner of 
 bcinff, of the constituent parts of the lavas. 
 Wlien they cease to flow, they resume, like 
 metals, the grain, texture, and all the cha- 
 racters of their primitive base ; effects 
 which we cannot produce upon stones in 
 our furnaces, since we know not how to 
 soften them by fire, without changing the 
 manner in which they are aggregated. The 
 fire of volcanoes has not that intensity which 
 is supposed, and produces its effects rather 
 by the extension and duration of its action 
 than by its activity.” 
 
 Arguing uporr these various facts, and re- 
 marks of his own, leading to the same point, 
 Spallan/ani candidly acknowledges, that he 
 liad been more than once inclined to be- 
 lieve, that our fires possessed more energy 
 than those of volcanoes ; a number of expe- 
 riments, however, induced him to say, that 
 ‘‘ these tacts prove, first, that it is not al- 
 ways tnie, that yolcanic flies are insuffi- 
 cient for the fusion of shorls ; secondly, 
 by the vitrification of the garnets, they con- 
 firm the powerful activity of those fires ; 
 thirdly, that those fires operate in a man- 
 ner ill some measure unknown to us ; since, 
 at the same time that they vitrify the gar- 
 nets, they leave the base, in which they are 
 included in a state perfectly recognizable, 
 notwithstanding that the former are refrac- 
 tory to the fire of the furnace, while the 
 latter is easily fusible.” It has been a ge- 
 nerally received assertion, that volcanoes 
 emit flame during eruption, and that flowr 
 iiig lavas are attended by the same accom- 
 paniment of fire ; this supposition is erro- 
 neous, as may he proved by referring to 
 the works of Serao, Father Torre, Bottis, 
 and Sir William Hamilton, all of whom will 
 be found to liave omitted the observation 
 of flames. The first expressly says of the 
 lavas of Vesuvius, “ that when seen by 
 niglit, at any distance, they emit a light, 
 npt shining, like a bright flame, but of a 
 dead kind, like that of red-hot substances 
 which burn without flame and the last 
 mentions, that he has “observed upon 
 mount Vesuvius, that soon after a lava has 
 borne down and burned a tree, a bright 
 flame issues from its surface ; otherwise I 
 have never seen any flame attending an 
 eruption adding, that the light reflected 
 on tlie smoke, as it rises from the crater, by 
 the raging of the fire in the gulph beneath, 
 is frequently mistaken for flame. Spallan- 
 gani confirms the opinion of tliese accurate 
 ghservers, and declares he never saw flame 
 VOL. yi. 
 
 in, or proceeding from, any of the craters 
 he examined. 
 
 Fanjas thought it not improbable that 
 fire united with water may produce some of 
 those combinations of which we know not 
 the origin ; he says on this subject, “ I al- 
 most incline to be of opinion, that the 
 aqueous fluid, raised to a degree of ebulli- 
 tion and incandessence, of which our feeble 
 furnaces can give us no idea, sometimes 
 concurs with the inactive and concentrated 
 fire which exists in the immense volcanic 
 caverns, and that from this concurrence 
 results a multitude of combinations hitherto 
 unknown to us, which take effect on the 
 stones and earths that remain perhaps whole 
 ages in these burning gulphs, where the 
 fire, intent to destroy, has for its adversary 
 the water, which incessantly creates and op- 
 poses to it all the forms and modifications 
 of which the matter is susceptible.” 
 
 It will now be necessary to mention some 
 of the effects of gas, in the operations of 
 these fierce internal fires : it is well known 
 that their violent efforts to reach the sur- 
 face of the liquified masses contained in cra- 
 ters causes it to rise suddenly from the bot- 
 tom, completely filling their whole circum- 
 ference, and at length forcing it over the 
 sides in destructive streams, which over- 
 whelm in their passage every object, either 
 natural or artificial. Spallanzani made ten 
 distinct experiments, in order to obtain 
 some idea of the nature and effects of gas 
 as exhibited by volcanoes ; for this purpose 
 he made use of different lavas, enamels, and 
 glasses, ejected from them, and the conse- 
 quence was, a conviction that the bubbles 
 and inflations of various dimensions, ob- 
 servable in these substances, are not pro- 
 duced by the action of any permanent gas, 
 “ but by that of an aeriform fluid, produced 
 by the excessive attenuation of those same 
 products, in consequence of heat.” Dr, 
 Priestley made similar experiments, which 
 differed in some degree from those related by 
 the above celebrated Italian naturalist. The 
 doctor fused 4^ oiinces of lava from Iceland 
 in a sand-stone retort, and obtained twenty 
 measures of air, half of which, at the com- 
 mencement of the process, was carbonic 
 acid gas, and thp remainder, in purity 1.72, 
 extinguished a candle ; between the inter- 
 stices of this lava was a sand, which the 
 operator could not separate from it. Five 
 ounces and an half of Vesnvian lava pro- 
 duced thirty measures of air, with a slight 
 appearance of carbonic acid gas, the rest 
 L 1 
 
 I ' 
 
VOLCANOES. 
 
 was azotic, gas, from the degree 1.64 to 
 1.38, with respect to what came last. On 
 cooling, tiie residue broke the retort by its 
 excessive inflation. 
 
 Without entering into an examination of 
 the diflerence of opinion existing between 
 these philosophers, we shall give an extract 
 from the works of Spallanzani, that fully 
 illustrates this part of our subject ; “ I shall,” 
 he observes, “ now proceed to enquire what 
 part this aeriform vapour acts in the erup- 
 tions of volcanoes. Where it exists in the 
 depths of a volcanic crater, abundantly 
 mixed with a liquid lava violently urged by 
 subterranean conflagrations, I can easily 
 conceive, that by its energetic force it may 
 raise the lava to the top of the crater, and 
 compel it to flow over the sides and form a 
 current. Art can imitate this grand ope- 
 ration of nature on an infinitely less scale. 
 I placed in a glass furnace a cylindric cru- 
 cible, one foot high, add two inches and a 
 half in breadth, which I filled half full with 
 one of those volcanic products which most 
 inflate and boil in the fire. After some 
 hours, I observed that the liquid matter 
 began slowly to rise, and afterwards to rise 
 higher, until it at last overflowed the edges 
 of the crucible, forming small streams dow'n 
 its sides, which, when they reached the 
 plane on which the crucible stood, gave 
 origin to small currents, if that plane was 
 at all inclined. When I put more of the 
 same product into the crucible, the currents 
 became larger. If the plane was then taken 
 from the siirtace, and tlie small currents, 
 thus produced, examined, they were found 
 full of minute bubbles, as was likewise the 
 matter which remained in the crucible. 
 This curious experiment I made with seve- 
 ral glasses and volcanic enamels, as also 
 with a variety of cellular lavas, and always 
 with the same success.” 
 
 Judging from the result of the above 
 trial, it cannot be doubted that a similar 
 elastic vapour, collecting in vast quantities 
 under the surface of the earth, must, upon 
 meeting with resistance in its passage, pro- 
 duce loud noises resembling thunder, and 
 local tremblings of the surrounding earth, 
 besides forcing" its way upwards through 
 super-incumbent lava : other experiments, 
 made by Spallanzani, however, seem to 
 prove that it must be another cause which 
 expels the fiery matter with violence out of 
 craters, as the matrasses he used broke 
 without noise, and without ejecting or scat- 
 tering the substance, and particularly, as 
 the escape of gases has been frequently as- 
 
 certained by the hissing sounds attending 
 eruptions ; unfortunately, though those va- 
 pours offer themselves to examination, it 
 would be impossible to collect any part of 
 them without exposing the life of the expe- 
 rimentalist to almost certain destruction, 
 we must therefore admit their existence,, *; 
 and conjecture must supply the rest. 
 
 It will be recollected that all volcanoe.s, 
 at present in a state of activity, are sur- 
 rounded by, or situated very' near, the sea, 
 hence it appears clear, that the agency of 
 that body is extremely powerful in promot- 
 ing the violence of their eruptions, by rush- 
 ing at uncertain intervals, and from un- 
 known causes, through the caverns of the 
 earth, upon the ever-enduring fires there 
 existing ; and this supposition is supported 
 by the fact which has been repeatedly ob- 
 served of the sudden retiring of the sea im- 
 mediately preceding a violent explosion 
 from a crater, the certain consequence of 
 a rapid diminution of water on the shore. 
 Little need be urged to prove the imme- 
 diate and vehement separation that takes 
 place upon the collision of fire and water, 
 and of the force of steam thus produced ; 
 one instance however may be safely cited, 
 which will place this supposed colli.sion in 
 a true light, and is extracted from the 
 fourth volume of the “ Memoirs of the Aca- 
 demy at Bologna.” A bell of enormous di- 
 mensions had been ordered to be cast, at 
 Modena, and preparations of the usual de- 
 scription were made under a spacious por- 
 tico. After the metal had been completely 
 melted, it was led into the mould, situated 
 at a small depth under the pavement, 
 through a small channel ; the burning fluid 
 had no, sooner entered the mould than a 
 dreadful explosion took place, which re- 
 sembled in eveiy particular the horrid ef- 
 fects of springing a mine ; a deep hole was 
 sunk in the earth, the metal, the mould, 
 and every material of the portico above ■ 
 it, were scatterred in the air, and several 
 persons were killed and severely wounded ; 
 if such were the immediate consequences 
 of a trifling degree of moisture remaining 
 in the sand which composed the mould, it 
 may be naturally inferred, that a body of 
 water, meeting with subterraneous fires, 
 is capable of producing eruptions and earth- 
 quakes. It seems however extremely pro- 
 bable from experiments, that this effect 
 principally arises from the insinuation of 
 water under or below the surface of the 
 sides of those fires, as it has been ascer- 
 tained that water thrown upon fire evapo- 
 

 
 
 
 VOLCANOES. 
 
 rates without much violence, and yet if tlie 
 vapour thus generated is confined by sn- 
 periiicumbent earth, or loeks, its struggles 
 for a vent must occasion the violent disrup- 
 tion of those parts ; the event is different 
 on pouring water on melted tin, which is 
 the only metal that is separated by this 
 means so as to render it a dangerous ope- 
 ration to the experimentalist. 
 
 Spallanzani concludes many curious and 
 interesting observations derived from expe- 
 rience, by saying, “ from this series of ex- 
 periments I think we are authorised to 
 conclude, that when a quantity of water 
 falls on the burning crater of a volcano, it 
 has not the power of producing explosions ; 
 but that the latter on the contrary are 
 very violent when the water penetrating 
 below, reaches the conflagration ; when 
 suddenly reduced to vapour by the beat, it 
 finds no room for its dilatation ; or when it 
 insinuates itself laterally among the liquified 
 matters; of which we have a satisfactory 
 proof in the explosion of the lava, violently 
 forced from the containing vessel, on the 
 introduction of water into a cavity made in 
 it.” 
 
 From what has been already said, a tole- 
 rable conception may be formed of the 
 probable causes of volcanic eruptions, it 
 now remains for us to add a concise narra- 
 tive of their visible phenomena, and for this 
 purpose we find ample Materials furnished 
 by Spallanzani, whose ascent of Stromboli 
 deserves every praise for its courage, though 
 we cannot help condemning him for the ex- 
 ercise of very daring temerity. The visit 
 we allude to was made in 1788, when the 
 appearance of the mountain was bifurcated, 
 and the crater situated at some distance 
 from the summits, from both of which the 
 operations within it are distinctly visible, 
 and from those the height of the ejections 
 may be ascertained, with tolerable accuiacy. 
 During violent internal agitation the matter 
 appears to ascend half a mile and more, but 
 when the mountain is in actual eruption, 
 the scattered fragments prove, that the im- 
 pelling force is very greatly increased. Af- 
 ter having attentively examined the crater 
 from the summit above alluded to, Spallan- 
 zani approached the crater, where he found 
 that the explosions succeeded each other so 
 rapidly, that they might almost be said to 
 occur without any intervals of quiet, but 
 they varied in their force ; the matter, in 
 some instances, not rising more than fifty 
 feet, and falling again into the crater ; and 
 in others it was elevated half a mile ; the 
 
 sounds, consequently, are proportionably 
 loud, or the reverse, and resemble a hissing 
 noise ; the fragments of lava were actually 
 fluid during their progress, which was evi- 
 dent from their globular shape, and becom- 
 ing hard before they fell upon the sides of 
 the mountain, that foi'm is preserved. 
 
 The exhalations exhibited a thick cloud 
 several miles in extent, which wore strongly 
 impregnated with sulphur ; this cloud was 
 impenetrable by the beams of the sun, and 
 appeared very black in the midst, but w'hite 
 on the edges, and was, in all probability, a 
 mile in depth. The vapour thus floating 
 from the mountain was derived from three 
 distinct sources, though doubtlessly pro- 
 duced by the same cause in the first in- 
 stance : when an ejection of lava took 
 place, it was always accompanied by a 
 cloud of grey smoke from the crater ; to 
 the west of that spot were a number of ob- 
 scure apertures, each of which sent forth a 
 volume of similar vapour; and to the east, 
 a vast cavern emitted a column at least 
 twelve feet in diameter, extremely black 
 and dense. 
 
 “ Not satisfied with the observations I 
 had already made,” observes Spallanzani, 
 “ my curiosity impelled me to attempt fur- 
 ther discoveries. From the pointed rock 
 on which I stood, I could only see the edges 
 of the inside of the crater, I considered, 
 therefore, whether it might not be po.ssible 
 to obtain a sight of the lower parts like- 
 W'ise ; and, looking round me, I perceived 
 a small cavern hollowed in the rock, very 
 near the gulph of the volcano, into which 
 the rock above prevented the entrance of 
 any burning stones, should they be thrown 
 so far. It was likewise so elevated, that 
 from it the crater was open to my view. I 
 therefore hastened to take my station in 
 this cavity, taking advantage of one of the 
 very short intervals between the eruptions. 
 To my great satisfaction, my expectations 
 were completely fulfilled ; I could here look 
 dow'n into the very bowels of tlie volcano, 
 and truth and nature stood as it were un- 
 veiled before me." Thus situated in pro- 
 bable safety, the intrepid Spallanzani saw 
 the following wonders. 
 
 The crater he found to be of a circular 
 form, with edges composed of a chaos of 
 sand, scoriae, and lava; and he imagined 
 the circumference to be about three hun- 
 dred and forty feet. Similar to all other 
 craters, that of Stromboli assumes the shape 
 of a truncated inverted cone, the sides of 
 which, from east to south, were gently in- 
 L 1 2 
 
 n 
 
 m 
 
 ft 
 
 f 
 
 
dined, but the remainder very steep. Many 
 parts of this internal descent appeared to 
 be incnisted with yellow substances, which 
 he supposed to be the muriate of ammonia 
 (sal ammoniac) or sulphui'. 
 
 Fluid lava, resembling melted brass, red- 
 hot, and liquid, filled the crater to a certain 
 height, and this matter appeared to be in- 
 fluenced by two distinct impelling powers, 
 the one whirling and agitated, and the 
 other upwards ; at times it rose rapidly, and 
 when the surface had reached within thirty 
 feet of the edges of the crater, an explosion 
 took place like a short clap of thunder, and 
 at the same instant, a portion of the lava 
 was hurled with inconceivable swiftness in- 
 to the air, which was as instantaneously se- 
 parated into numerous fragments, and those 
 w'ere accompanied by a copious discharge 
 of sand, ashes, and smoke. Imihediately 
 before the eruption occurred, the lava ap- 
 peared inflated, and large bubbles, some se- 
 veral feet in diameter, rose and burst, the 
 detonation followed, and the lava sunk, till 
 a repetition of this operation was com- 
 menced ; during tlie rising, a sound issued 
 from the crater like that produced by a li- 
 quid boiling violently in a cauldron. Blany 
 of the eruptions were so inconsiderable, 
 that their effect could not be visible ai a 
 small distance from the mountain ; in those 
 the fragments constantly fell back into the 
 gulph, with a sound, on their collision with 
 the great mass of matter, similar to that 
 produced by water when forcibly struck 
 with flat staves : in the greater explosions, 
 many of the pieces returned into the cra- 
 ter, some falling on the sides and rolling 
 down, but many descended a precipice, 
 formed by one. side of the mountain, to the 
 sea. 
 
 The pieces of scoriaceous lava, as they 
 moved in the air, retained their red-hot ap- 
 pearance, though the sun shone clear; 
 many of them came in contact during their 
 progress, and, according to the degree of 
 heat they possessed, they adhered, or were 
 broken. The smoke seemed to be foreign 
 to the lava, as none attended the fragments 
 thrown into tlie air, and that which escaped, 
 passed through fissures, and at the mo- 
 ment the lava burst. According to Spal- 
 lanzani’s conjectures, the crater may be 
 about twenty-five or thirty feet in depth, 
 when the lava is raised to its greatest 
 height, and upon its subsiding, forty or fifty. 
 There are no visible marks of its ever hav- 
 ing overflowed so as to descend like those 
 pf ./Etna and Vesuvius. 
 
 “ Though the ejections of the larger and 
 heavier stones have short intermissions, 
 those of the lesser and lighter have scarcely 
 any. Did not the eye perceive how those 
 showers of stones originate, it would be 
 supposed that they fell from the sky : the 
 noise of the more violent eruptions, resem- 
 bling that of thunder, and the darkness oc- 
 casioned by the mounting cloud of smoke, 
 present the image of a tempest.” 
 
 While this naturalist was employed in 
 intense observation, the eruption suddenly 
 ceased, the lava sunk to a greater depth 
 than )isual, and remained thus depressed ; 
 the fierce light subsided, and at tlie same 
 instant the various streams of smoke, issuing 
 before silently from the apertures west of 
 the crater, began to rush forth with a loud 
 hissing noise, and the apertures to shine 
 with a bright colour of fire. “ I know no- 
 thing,” says Spallanzani, “ to which the 
 sound produced by the issuing of these 
 fumes can be more properly compared than 
 the blowing of large bellows into a furnace 
 by which metals are melted ; such as I have 
 seen at Zalatna, in Transylvania, and Schem- 
 nitz and Kremnitz, in Hungary, except that 
 those volcanic bellows roared a lumdred 
 times louder, and almost deafened the ear.” 
 
 We cannot conclude this article more 
 properly than by giving an account of the 
 crater of iEtna, as it was examined by the 
 above author, to whicli he ascended with 
 equal danger and difficulty, and where he 
 was compelled to sit nearly two hours ere he 
 could commence his observations s he then 
 says, “ I viewed with astonishment the 
 configuration of the borders, the internal 
 sides, the form of ttie immense cavern, its 
 bottom, an aperture wbicli appeared in it, 
 the melted matter which boiled within, and 
 the smoke which ascended from it. The 
 whole of this stupendous scene was distinctly 
 displayed before me; and 1 shall now pro- 
 ceed to give some description of it, though 
 it will only be possible to present the rea- 
 der with a very feeble image, as the sight 
 alorie can enable him to form ideas at all 
 adequate to objects so grand and astonish- 
 ing. 'Fhe upper edges of the crater, to 
 judge by the eye, are about a mile aud a 
 half in circuit, and form an oval, the longest 
 diameter of wliich extends from east to 
 west. As they are in several places broken, 
 and crumbled away in large fragments, they 
 appear as it were indented, and these in- 
 dentations are a kind of enormous steps, 
 formed of projecting lavas and scorire. The 
 internal sides of the cavern, or crater, are 
 
VOLCANOES. 
 
 inclined id different angles in different 
 places : “ on the west the inclination is gen- 
 tle ; on the north the steepness increases ; 
 and from tliis point to the south-east the 
 descent becomes more sudden, till, where 
 the observer stood, they were almost per- 
 pendicular. The funnel-shape, however, 
 still prevails, as in every other instance, 
 and the surface was extremely rugged, and 
 strewed with concretions of an orange co- 
 lour, which proved to be the muriate of 
 ammonia; and it is very probable that the 
 numerous stripes of yellow on the nearly 
 horizontal plane at the bottom may be the 
 same substance. “ In this plain, from the 
 place where I stood, a circular aperture 
 was visible, apparently about five poles in 
 diameter, from which issued the larger co- 
 lumn of smoke, which I had seen before I 
 arrived at the snmmit of iEtna. I shall not 
 mention several streams of smoke which 
 arose like thin clouds fl ora the same bot- 
 tom, and different places in the sides. The 
 principal column, which at its origin might 
 be about twenty feet in diameter, ascended 
 rapidly in a perpendicular direction while 
 it was within the crater ; but when it had 
 risen above the edges inclined towards tlje 
 west, from the action of a light wind ; and 
 when it had risen higher, dilated into an ex- 
 tended but thin volume. This smoke was 
 white, and being impelled to the side op- 
 posite to that on which I was, did not pre- 
 vent my seeing within the aperture; in 
 which I can affirm, I very distinctly per- 
 ceived a liquid ignited matter, whidi conti- 
 nually undulated, boiled, and rose and fell, 
 without spreading over the bottom. This 
 certainly was the melted lava, which had 
 arisen to that aperture from the bottom of 
 the jEtnean gulph.” 
 
 Being favourably situated for observing 
 the effects of external violence on the liquid 
 matter within the aperture, the abbe rolled 
 large fragments of lava down the side, which 
 entering the opening, produced a sound re- 
 sembling the sudden immersion of a heavy 
 substance in a thick tenacious paste. In 
 performing this experiment, the effect was 
 multiplied by the stones loosening others in 
 their passage, some of which fell on the 
 plane ; those, rebounding, even when very 
 large, caused a sound extremely different 
 from the others that struck the liquid lava : 
 this circumstance proves, that, though the 
 bottom may be a comparatively thin cover- 
 ing of the gulph, it is capable of great re- 
 sistance, We shall proceed with a short 
 notice of 
 
 Volcanoes in the moon. As the moon 
 has on its surface mountains and valleys in 
 common with the earth, some modern as- 
 tronomers have discovered a still greater 
 similarity, viz. that some of these are really 
 volcanoes, emitting fire as those on earth 
 do. An appearance of this kind was dis- 
 covered some years ago by Don Ulloa in 
 an eclipse of the sun. It was a sniail bright 
 spot, like a star, near the margin of the 
 moon, and which he at that time supposed 
 to have been a hole, with tlie sun’s light 
 shining through it. Succeeding observa- 
 tions, liowever, have induced astionomers 
 to attribute, appearances of this kind to the 
 eruption of volcanic fire; and Dr. Herschel 
 has particularly observed several eruptions 
 of the lunar volcanoes, the last of which he 
 gives an account of in the Philosophical 
 Transactions for 1787. “ April 19, 10'* 
 
 36”, sidereal time. I perceive (says he) 
 tliree volcanoes in different places of the 
 dark part of the new moon. Two of them 
 are either already nearly extinct, or other- 
 wise in a state of going to break out ; which 
 perhaps may be decided next lunation. The 
 third shows an actual eruption of fire, or 
 luminous matter. I measured the distance 
 of the crater from the northern limb of the 
 moon, and found it S' 57.3" : its light is 
 much brighter than the nucleus of the co- 
 met which M. Mechain discovered at Paris 
 the lOth of this month. 
 
 “ April 20, 10** 2” sidereal time. Tlie 
 volcano burns with greater violence than 
 last night. Its diameter cannot be less 
 than 3" by comparing it with that of the 
 Georgian planet : as Jupiter was near at 
 hand, I turned the telescope to his third 
 satellite, and estimated the diameter of the 
 burning part of the volcano to be equal to 
 at least twice that of the satellite : whence 
 we may compute that the shining or burn- 
 ing matter must be above three miles in 
 diameter. It is of an irregular round figure, 
 and very sharply defined pn the edges. The 
 other two volcanoes are much further to- 
 wards the centre of the moon, and resemble 
 large, pretty faint nebulae, that are gradually 
 much brighter in the middle ; but no well- 
 defined luminous spot can be discerned in 
 them. These three spots are plainly to be 
 distinguished from the rest of the nrarks 
 upon the moon; for the reflection of the 
 sun’s rays from the earth is, in its present 
 situation, sufficiently bright, with a ten feet 
 reflector, to show the moon’s spots, even 
 the darkest of them ; nor did I perceive 
 any similar phenomena last lunation, though 
 
 / 
 
I then viewed the same places with the 
 same instrument. 
 
 '* The appearance of what I have called 
 llie actual fire, or eruption of a volcano, 
 exactly Tesembled a small piece of burning 
 charcoal when it is covered by a very thin 
 coat of white ashes, which frequently ad- 
 here to it wlien it has been some time ig- 
 nited ; and it has a degree of brightness 
 about as strong as that with which such a 
 coal would be seen to glow in faint day- 
 light. All the adjacent parts of the volcanic 
 mountain seemed to be faintly illuminated 
 by the eruption, and were gradually more 
 obscure as they lay at a greater distance 
 from the crater. This eruption resembled 
 much that which I saw on the 4th of May, 
 in the year 1783, but differed considerably 
 in magnitude and brightness ; for the vol- 
 cano of tlie year 1783, though much brighter 
 than that which is now burning, was not 
 nearly so large in the dimensions of its erup- 
 tion ; the former seen in the telescope re- 
 sembled a star of the fourth magnitude as 
 it appears to the naked eye; this, on the 
 contrary, shows a visible disc of luminous 
 matter very different from the sparkling 
 brightness of star light.” 
 
 VOLK.AMERIA, in botany, so named 
 in memory of John George Volkamer, pliy- 
 sician at Nuremburg, a genus of the Didy- 
 namia Angiospermia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Personal®. Viticcs, Jussien. 
 Essential character : calyx five cleft; corolla 
 segments directed the same way; drupe 
 two-seeded ; nuts two-celled. There are 
 eight species. 
 
 VOLITION. See Will. 
 
 VOLUNTARY, in music, is an extem- 
 pore performance upon, or a composition 
 written for the organ, and serving to relieve 
 and emballish divine service. 
 
 VOLVOX, in natural history, a genus of 
 the Vermes Infusoria class and order. 
 Worm invisible to the naked eye, simple, 
 pellucid, spherical. There are nine species. 
 V. sphmrula is, as its name denotes, sphe- 
 rical, willi similar rounded molecules. It is 
 seen in stagnant waters. Body composed 
 ol about sixty pellucid homogeneous trans- 
 parent or greenish-yellow points, moves 
 slowly about a quarter of a circle from 
 right to left, and then back again from left 
 to right. 
 
 VOLUTA, in natural history, a ge.nus 
 of the Vermes Testacea class and order. 
 Animal a limax; .shell one-celled spiral; 
 aperture without a beak, and somewhat 
 effuse ; pillar twisted, or plaited, generally 
 
 without lips or perforation. There are 
 nearly two hundred species in sections. 
 A. aperture intire ; B. siibcylindrical emar- 
 ginate; C. oboval effiise emarginate ; D. 
 fusiform ; E. ventricose ; spire papillary at 
 the tip. In the first section is V. auris 
 mid® ; shell contracted, oval, oblong, wdth 
 nigged spire; pillar two-tootlied. It inlia- 
 bits India, in marshy woods and swamps, 
 and very much resembles an helix ; about 
 four inches long ; shell brown, solid, wrin- 
 kled or striate ; spire large, with from six to 
 nine whorls, each terminated by a granu- 
 lated band, the outer ones cancellate ; aper- 
 ture long, wider beneath. In section D 
 we may notice V. episcopalis ; shell emar- 
 ginate, smooth; margins of the whorls in- 
 tire; lip denticulate ; pillar with four plaits. 
 It inhabits India. The inhabitant, or fish, is 
 said to be of a poisonous nature, if eaten, 
 and to wound those who touch it with a 
 kind of pointed trunk. The natives of the 
 island of Tanna fix the shells in handles, 
 and use them as hatchets. 
 
 VOLUTE, in architecture, a kind qf spi- 
 ral scroll, used in the Ionic and Composite 
 capita), whereof it makes the principal 
 characteristic and ornament. 
 
 VOR'JTCELLA, in natural history, a 
 genus of Vermes Infusoria class and order. 
 Body contractile, naked, and furnished with 
 ciliate rotatory organs. There are about fifty 
 or sixty species in sections. A. Seated on a 
 pedicle, or stem. B. Furnished with a tail. 
 C. Without a tail. anastatica is com- 
 pound, bell-shaped, with an oblique mouth 
 and scaly rigid stem. It inhabits fresh wa- 
 ters, forming clusters branched out in various 
 directions ; ovaries seated on the stems in the 
 form of bulbs, which detach themselves 
 from the stems, and fix themselves to other 
 substances, producing a new cluster. V. 
 nasuta is cylindrical, with a projecting 
 point in the middle of the cup. It is found 
 in stagnant water, invisible to the naked 
 eye, pellucid, changing its form perpetu- 
 ally, quick in motion, and having a rota- 
 tM-y organ surrounding the middle of the 
 body. 
 
 VOSSIUS (Gerard John), in bio- 
 graphy, one of the most learned and labo- 
 rious writers of the seventeenth century, 
 was ot a considerable family in the Nether- 
 lands ; and was born in 1577, near Heidel- 
 berg, at a place where his father, John 
 Vossius, was minister. He first learned 
 Latin, Greek, and Philosophy, at Uort, 
 where his father had settled, and died. In 
 1595, he went to Leyden, where he further 
 

 
 
 VOT 
 
 pursued these studies, joining mathematics 
 to them, in wliich science he made a con- 
 siderable progress. He became Master of 
 Artsand Doctor in Philosophy in l.WB ; and 
 soon after Director of the College at Dort; 
 and, in 1B18, Professor of Eloquence and 
 Chronology in the academy there, the same 
 year in which appeared his “ History of the 
 Pelagian Controversy.” This history pro- 
 cured him much odium and disgrace on the 
 Continent, but an ample reward in Eng- 
 land, where Archbishop Laud obtained 
 leave of King Charles I. for Vossius to hold 
 a prebendary in the church of Canterbury, 
 while he resided at Leyden. This was in 
 1629, when he came over to be installed, 
 took a Doctor of Laws degree at Oxford, 
 and tlien returned. 
 
 In 1633, he was called to Amsterdam to 
 fill the chair of a Professor of History ; 
 where he died in 1649, at seventy-two 
 years of age : after having written and pub- 
 lished as many works as, when they came 
 to be collected and printed at Amsterdam 
 in 1695, &c., made six volumes folio. 
 
 VOTES. The decision of any question 
 by an assembly of persons being in its own 
 nature impracticable in the case of dissent, 
 by one or more of the individuals, it be- 
 comes an object of practical necessity to 
 provide for that case, in most instances, by 
 some expedient. In our English law the 
 determination of twelve men upon ajury 
 is rendered unanimous by annexing the 
 condition, that they shall not delay longer 
 than it shall be possible for them to subsist 
 without the necessaries of life. Upon al- 
 most any other occasion it has been esta- 
 blished that the wish of the majority shall 
 be taken as the sense of the whole. 
 
 This last rule is, however, capable of 
 many modifications, one of the most strik- 
 ing is, that which is used in all arrange- 
 » meuts of delegation. In order to insure 
 the possession of knowledge, fidelity, dili- 
 gence, and dispatch, it is usual in society 
 to perform the business of the public by 
 delegates, in successive order of power 
 and responsibility. Thus, a large and 
 mixed multitude, possessing very little poli- 
 tical knowledge, liable for the most part 
 to be misled by prejudices or corruption, 
 incapable, on many accounts, of pursuing ob- 
 jects with steadiness, and from their number 
 absolutely unable to deliberate or decide, 
 with the smallest degree of efficacy, may 
 nevertlieless be very capable of determining 
 the single question who shall be their dele- 
 gate in a less numerous assembly of wis.e 
 
 VOW 
 
 and virtuous men ; and this last a-saembly , 
 may give power to their chairman and their 
 committees to perform many acts wliich 
 could scarcely be effected by themselves 
 in their entire mass. 
 
 These proceedings, however, are sup- 
 posed to have the determination of single 
 questions in view at a time ; hut there are 
 questions of vote which in their own nature 
 possess a degree of complexity. Into these 
 our limits will not allow us to enter, but 
 there is one relating to personal elections, 
 which Borda,in his Memoirs of the French 
 Academy, has pointed out, and is intitled 
 to our notice. It relates to the choice of 
 one out of a number of candidates, which is 
 made simply by taking him who has the 
 majority of voices, but which may not coin- 
 cide with the wish of the electors, and may 
 even be that which is the most opposite 
 to that wish. 
 
 The example is, suppose these candi- 
 dates, A, B, and C, had twcnty-oiie elec- 
 tors ; then if A have eight votes, B seven, 
 and C six, A will be elected. But the 
 truth here manifested is, that eight voters 
 out of twenty-one give the preference to 
 A beyond B and C, and it is not known in 
 what order of preference those voters plaee 
 these two last. A like observation may be 
 made as to the other sets who have voted 
 in preference for B and C. So that if the 
 seven voters for B had possessed the means 
 of showing, and had declared their prefer- 
 ence of C to A, C would have had thirteen 
 votes, and prevailed, against A ; and there 
 is nothing in this cause of election which 
 can show that this would not have been the 
 result. 
 
 Mr. B. proposes that this should be reme- 
 died by each voter giving in a list of the 
 order of merit in the candidates, and he 
 shows at length, by mathematical reason- 
 ing, the true indication to be deduced from 
 such lists. But as this practice might pro- 
 bably be too remote from vulgar appre- 
 hension to be much approved, it may be 
 sufficient to refer the reader to the Me< 
 moir, and to remark that, in order to be 
 certain that an election, made in the com^ 
 mon way, is really the wish of the majority, 
 it is necessary that the number of votes 
 obtained by the successful candidate should 
 be to the whole number of electors, in a 
 greater ratio than the number of candidates 
 by one to their total number. 
 
 VOWEL, in grammar, a letter which 
 affords a complete sound of itself, or a letter 
 so simple as only to need a bare opening of 
 
UR A 
 
 tlie mouth to make it heard, and to form a 
 distinct voice. See Grammar. 
 
 The vowels are six in number, viz. A, E, 
 I, O, U, Y, and are called vowels in con- 
 tradistinction to certain other letters, which 
 depending on a particular application of 
 some part of the mouth, as the teeth, lips, 
 or palate, can make no perfect sound with- 
 out an opening of the mouth, that is, with- 
 put the addition of a vowel, and are there- 
 fore called consonants., 
 
 UPRIGHT, in heraldry, is used in res- 
 pect of shell fishes, as crevices, &c. when 
 standing erect in a coat. 
 
 UPUPA, the hoopoe, in natural history, a 
 genus of birds of tite order Pica?. Generic 
 character; bill long, slender, and bending; 
 nostrils in the base of the bill ; tongue ob- 
 tuse, entire, and triangular ; middle toe of 
 the three toes before, connected in some 
 degree to the outermost. There are eight 
 species, of which the following deserve the 
 chief notice. U. epops, common hoopoe ; 
 this weighs three ounces, and is a foot 
 long; is found in Europe, Asia, and Africa; 
 but, even in the warmest countries of Eu- 
 rope, is said to be migratory. In England 
 it is by no means abundant. It is devoted 
 to solitude, and rarely seen even in pairs. 
 At Cairo, however, in Egypt, these birds 
 appear in small flocks, and build on the ter- 
 races of houses fronting the bustle ' and 
 noises of the street. They seldom perch on 
 trees, confining themselves almost entirely 
 to the ground. When agitated by strong 
 passion, whether of .surprise or anger, of 
 fear or attachment, they erect their'’ crests 
 and spread their tails with great fullne.ss and 
 intensity. They feed upon insects, and give 
 them to tlieir young ; and their nests are, 
 for want of that cleanly management for 
 which birds are generally distinguished, in- 
 tolerably disgusting to the smell, in conse- 
 quence of the putrid remains of this species 
 of food. In confinement they will live on 
 bread and cheese, or raw meat. See Aves 
 Plate XIV. fig. - 1 . ’ 
 
 U. promerops is about four feet long, 
 but the body is little larger than that of a 
 pigeon. Its plumage is of the most various, 
 beautiful, and brilliant colour, and strongly 
 reminds the observer of the bird of para- 
 dise, to which, indeed, it is considered as 
 allied. It is found in New Guinea, and em- 
 ployed by the natives as one of the most 
 striking personal embellishments. 
 
 URAN, in mineralogy, a genus of ores 
 containing three species. 1 . “Pitch-ore” 
 of a velvet-black colour, inclining to iron- 
 
 UR A 
 
 black ; it occurs almost always massive and 
 disseminated: specific gravity between 6 3 
 and 7.5. It is completely infusible, with- 
 out addition, before tlie blow pipe. AVith 
 soda, or bora.x, it forms a grey, slaggy glo- 
 bule ; with phosphoric salts a tran.sparent 
 green bead. It dissolves imperfectly in 
 sulphuric and muriatic acids ; but is nearly 
 dissolved in nitrons and nitro-muriatic acids. 
 
 It consists of 
 
 Uran 86..5 
 
 Oxide of iron 2.5 
 
 Sulphurated lead e.o 
 
 Silica 5,0 
 
 100.0 
 
 It occurs in veins, in primitive mountains, 
 with lead and siver ores ; and is usually ac- 
 companied with lead glance, copper pyrites, 
 iion ochre, &e. It is found in Saxony and 
 Noiway, and is distinguished from brown- 
 blende by colour, specific gravity, fracture, 
 and streak ; from wolfram by its streak and 
 fracture. , 
 
 The- chief colour of the second species, 
 uran-niica, is grass-green : specific gravity 
 3.1. It dissolves in nitrous acid without 
 effervescence, and communicates to it a 
 lemon-yellow colour. It consists of an 
 oxide of uran, with a slight admixture of 
 copper. It occurs in ironstone veins, in 
 Cornwall, Germany, and France. It is not 
 like mica, to wliich it has a great resem- 
 blance, elastic. 
 
 The third species is nran-ochre, which 
 is of a straw-yellow colour: it occurs 
 usually as a coating or efflorescence on pitch 
 ore. From the ore we have 
 
 URANIUiVr, in chemistry, a metal dis- 
 covered by Klaproth in the year 1789. It 
 was then announced as a metal more diffi- 
 cult to be reduced than manganese, exter- 
 nally of a grey colour, and rnternally of a 
 clear hrown, of considerable lustre, and 
 middling hardness, that it might be scratch- 
 ed and filed, and that its oxide gives a 
 deep orange colour to porcelain. It has 
 been obtained from three different minerals. 
 The first is in the state of sulphuret, of a 
 blackish colour, and ofa shining fracture, and 
 sometimes lamellated. In this s’tateit is some- 
 times combined with iron and sulphureted 
 lead. The uranium is in the metallic state. 
 
 The second ore from which this metal is 
 obtained, is the native oxide of uranium. 
 It js always in the state of yellow powder 
 on the surface of the sulphuret. The spel 
 cific gravity is 3.24. AVhen it is of a pure 
 yellow colour it is then a pure oxide. 
 
r.-* 
 
 
 UR A 
 
 • Tlie third ore of the metal is the native 
 carbonate of nranium. Of tliis tliere are 
 two distinct varieties, tlie one of a pale 
 preen, and sometimes of a silvery white 
 colour. This contains but a small quantity 
 of the oxide of copper, and is very rare. 
 Tlie other is of a shining deep green, which 
 is the green mica, or glimmer, of mineralo- 
 gists. Klaproth supposed that it contained 
 an oxide of nranium, mixed with the oxide 
 of copper ; but it has been since discovered 
 to have carbonic acid in its composition. 
 
 It is crystallized in small square plates, and 
 sometimes, though rarely, in complete oc- 
 tahedrons. 
 
 The process by which Klaproth reduced 
 this metal is the following : He mixed the 
 yellow oxide of uranium, precipitated from 
 its solutions by an alkali, with linseed oil, in 
 the form of a paste, and this being exposed 
 to a strong heat, there remained a black 
 powder, which had lost rather more than 
 one-fourth of its weight. It was then ex- 
 posed to the heat of a porcelain furnace, in 
 a close crucible, and the oxide was after- 
 wards found in a coherent mass, but friable 
 under the lingers, and reduced to a black 
 shining powder. It decomposed nitric acid 
 with effervescence. This black powder, 
 covered with calcined borax, was for the 
 second time exposed to a still stronger 
 heat, by which a metallic mass was obtain- 
 ed, consisting of very small globules adher- 
 ing together. 
 
 The colour of uranium iS of a dark grey , 
 and internally of a pale brown. It has little 
 brilliancy, on account of the spongy mass 
 in which state it is obtained. It may be 
 scratched with a knife, and is extremely in- 
 fusible. The specific gravity is 6.4. When 
 uranium is exposed to a red heat in the 
 open air, or w'hen it is acted on by the 
 blow-pipe, it undergoes no change. The 
 yellow oxide of uranium does not melt. It 
 acquires a brownish-grey colour when it is 
 long heated in the air, but it has not been 
 ascertained whether it gains or loses oxygen. 
 The oxide of uranium is reduced by means 
 of charcoal, when it is exposed to heat. 
 The yellow oxide, when mixed with com- 
 mon enamelling flux, tinges porcelain of a 
 deep orange colour. 
 
 URANIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 flexandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Musae, Jussieu. Essential 
 character; calyx none ; corolla three-petal- 
 ed ; nectary two-leaved, with one of the 
 leaves bifid ; capsule inferior, three-celled, 
 many-seeded j seeds in two rows, covered 
 
 URE 
 
 with an aril. There is only one species, 
 riz. U. speciosa, a lofty tree, growing 
 naturally in the marshy places of Mada- 
 gascar. 
 
 URANOSCOPUS, the star-gazer, in na- 
 tural history, a genus of fishes of the order 
 Jugulares. Generic character : head large, 
 depressed, rough ; mouth with an internal 
 cirrus ; gill-membrane with six papillous- 
 toothed rays ; gill-covers edged with a mem- 
 branaceous fringe. 
 
 U. scaber, or the bearded star-gazer, is a 
 native of the Mediterranean, and frequents 
 deep places near the shores, feeding on 
 aquatic insects and small fishes, which it 
 decoys within its reach by waving the long 
 cirrus of the mouth in various directions. 
 The smaller fishes mistake these for worms, 
 and in endeavouring to seize the supposed 
 food are themselves caught and devoured 
 by the star-gazer, which lay imbedded and 
 unobserved in the mud or gravel of the 
 bottom. ^ 
 
 URENA, in botany, a genus of the Mo- 
 nadelphia Polyandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Coliimuiferae. Malvaceae, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: calyx double, 
 outer five-cleft; capsule five-cleft, divisible 
 into five parts, with the cells closed, and 
 one seed in each. There are eight species. 
 URETHRA. See Anatomy. 
 
 UREA, in chemistry. The nature and 
 properties of urea have been chiefly inves- 
 tigated by Fourcroy and Vauquelin. It is 
 obtained from urine. It may be extracted 
 by the following process: If a quantity of 
 human urine which has been passed a few 
 hours after taking food, be evaporated with 
 a gentle heat, to the consistence of a thick 
 syrup, and allowed to cool, it concretes into 
 a crystalline mass. Add to this mass, in se- 
 parate portions, four times its weight of 
 alcohol ; with the application of a gentle 
 heat, great part is dissolved, and w hat re- 
 mains consists of different saline substances. 
 Separate the solution from the undissolved 
 part, and introduce it into a retort. Distil 
 with the heat of a sand-bath, and continue 
 the boiling till the liquid is reduced to the 
 form of a thick syrup. The matter which 
 remains in the retort crystallizes as it cools. 
 The crystals thus formed are urea. 
 
 Urea, which is prepared by this process, 
 is crystallized in the form of plates, crossing 
 each other. It is viscid, resembling thick 
 honey, and of a yellowdsh-white colour. It 
 has a strong acrid taste, anda fetid alliaceous 
 smell. It deliquesces in the air, and by 
 attracting moisture is converted into a thick 
 
- ^ URI 
 
 brown liquid It is very soluble in water, 
 and also in alcohol. The solution in water 
 concentrated, is of a brown colour. This 
 solution is gradually decomposed, air is 
 emitted, which is partly composed of am- 
 monia, and acetic acid is formed in the 
 liquid. If the solution in water be boiled, 
 and as the evaporation goes on fresh por- 
 tions of water be added, the urea is decom- 
 posed ; carbonate of ammonia is disengag- 
 ed, while acetic acid is formed, and char- 
 coal precipitated. Tlie component parts 
 of urea, therefore, are supposed to be 
 
 Oxygen 39.5 
 
 Azote 32.5 
 
 Carbon 14.7 
 
 Hydrogen 13.3 
 
 100.0 
 
 The caustic fixed alkalies readily dissolve 
 urea, and disengage from it ammonia ; and 
 the solution contains tlie benzoic, acetous, 
 and carbonic acids, united with the alkali 
 employed. The urea almost entirely dis- 
 appears from urine during certain diseases, 
 and a very large quantity of saccharine mat- 
 ter is produced, which when evaporated 
 and clarified resembles Muscovado sugar. 
 
 URIC acid. This acid was discovered 
 by Scheele in the year 1776. It was at first 
 called litliic acid. It constitutes one of the 
 component parts of urinary calculi, and is 
 also found in human urine. There is one 
 species of calculus which is almost entirely 
 composed of this substance; it is that 
 sjiecies which resembles wood in appear- 
 ance and colour. Thik acid is insipid, in- 
 odorous, almost insoluble in cold water, and 
 soluble only in about 360 parts of boiling 
 water. It separates fi om this when it cools, 
 into small yellowish crystals. The solution 
 in water reddens the tincture of turnsole. 
 There is scarcely any action between the 
 tsric acid and the sulphuric and nturiatic 
 acids. It is soluble in the concentrated 
 nitric acid, to which it communicates a red 
 colour. It would appear that in this change 
 of colour the nature of the acid is also 
 changed, for part of it is converted into 
 oxalic acid. Oxyninriatic acid very readily 
 acts upon uric acid, either by suspending a 
 calculus in the liquid acid, or, which is 
 easier, by passing a stream of oxymuriatic 
 acid gas through water, at the bottom of 
 which is placed the uric acid in powder. 
 Its colour becomes pale, the surface swells 
 up, it softens, and is at last converted into 
 a jelly. This part disappears, and is soon 
 dissolved, giving a milky colour to the 
 
 URI 
 
 liquid. There is extricated, by slow effer- 
 vescence, small bubbles of carbonic acid 
 gas. The liquid by evaporation gives mu- 
 riate of ammonia, acidulous oxalate of am- 
 monia, both crystallized ; muriatic acid, and 
 malic acid. Thus the oxymuriatic acid de- 
 composes the uric acid, and converts it into 
 ammonia, carbonic, oxalic, and malic acids. 
 Various facts show that uric acid is a com- 
 pound of a very peculiar kind, formed of 
 azote, of carbon, of hydrogen, and oxygen, 
 and susceptible of a great number of diffe- 
 rent changes by chemical agents. 
 
 URINL. The properties of urine vary 
 considerably, according to the consti- 
 tution and health of the body, and the 
 period when it is voided after taking food. 
 The urine of a healthy person is of a light 
 orange colour, and uniformly transparent. 
 It has a slightly aromatic odour, in some de- 
 gree resembling that of violets. It has a 
 slightly acrid, saline, bitter taste. The spe- 
 cific gravity varies from 1.005 to 1.033. 
 The aromatic odour, which leaves it as it 
 cools, is succeeded by what is called the 
 urinous smell, which latter is converted to 
 anotlier, and, finally, to an alkaline odour. 
 Urine converts the tincture of turnsole into 
 a green colour, from which it is concluded 
 that it contains an acid. No less than thirty 
 different substances have been detected in 
 urine by chemical analysis ; viz. a great va- 
 riety of salts, acids, ammonia, &c. 
 
 Urine is much disposed to spontaneous 
 decomposition. The time when this pro- 
 cess commences, and the rapidity of the 
 changes which take place, depend on the 
 quanxity of the gelatine and albumen. When 
 the proportion of these substances is con- 
 siderable, the decomposition is very rapid. 
 This is owing to the great number of sub- 
 stances, and.the united force of their attrac- 
 tions overcoming the existing affinities of 
 the different compounds of which fresh 
 urine consists, and especially to the facility 
 with which urea is decomposed. This sub- 
 stance is converted during putrefaction into 
 ammonia, carbonic acid, and acetic acid. 
 Hence the smell of ammonia is' always re- 
 cognized while urine is undergoing "these 
 changes. Part of the gelatine is deposited 
 in a flaky form, mixed with mucilage. Am- 
 monia combines with phosphoric acid, and 
 the phosphate of lime is precipitated. It 
 combines also with phosphate of magnesia, 
 and forms a triple salt. The other acids, 
 the uric, benzoic, the acetic, and carbonic 
 acids, are all satmated with ammonia. See 
 Physiology. 
 

 
 
 URSUS. 
 
 URSUS, the hear, in natural history, a 
 pemis of Mammalia, of the. order Ferae. 
 Generic character: six front teeth both 
 above and below, the two lateral ones of 
 the lower jaw lohed, and longer than the 
 otliers, with smaller or secondary teeth at 
 the internal bases; tasks solitary; five or 
 six grinders on each side, the first approach- 
 ing the tusks; tongue smooth; snout pro- 
 minent ; eyes furnished with a nictitating 
 membrane. There are ten species. 
 
 XJ. arctos, the brown bear, is met with in 
 almost all the northern territories of Europe 
 and Asia, and lives solitary in remote fo- 
 rests, subsisting principally on fruits and 
 other vegetable substances, and occasionally 
 devouring animals. It is particularly fond 
 ef honey, and is said to possess great sap- 
 city in discovering it; and will ascend high 
 trees to obtain it. It frequently resides in 
 the hollows of frees, and sometimes fixes 
 its habitation in the banks of rivers, for the 
 sake offish, which it sometimes takes and 
 devours. Towards the close of autumn, it 
 retires to its habitation in a state highly 
 fleshy and fat, and remains for weeks toge- 
 ther without food, and almost without mo- 
 tion. The female withdraws to the most 
 obscure recesses at the same time, to pro- 
 duce her young, which are in general no 
 more than two, extremely small, and in 
 form little resembling the future full-grown 
 animal. During the first month these are 
 blind ; for four months they are attended 
 by the dam with such vigilance and tender- 
 ness, that she almost abstains from her own 
 necessary noilrishment. After a certain 
 period, the female returns to the den of the 
 male with her young, which it was neces- 
 sary for a time to seci-ete from him, lest he 
 should devour them ; and in spring they 
 quit their cavern, and range with great vo- 
 racity, after their long confinement, in pur- 
 suit of food. They will climb trees with 
 great alacrity, and strip them almost com- 
 ■pletely of their fruit. The date tree is a 
 particular favourite with them. These ani- 
 mals are often taken young, and subdued 
 to a great degree of tameness and 'docility, 
 and taught a variety of tricks and dances : 
 but the discipline of torture is applied to 
 produce these effects; and the extreme 
 cruelty requisite to accomplish these crea- 
 tures for the usual exhibitions they are in- 
 structed to make, are a disgrace to civilized 
 society, and worthy of the interference ot 
 legislation. Bears were formerly common 
 in Greece ; and even in this country they 
 once existed, and were guarded with jea- 
 
 lousy by the forest laws, as beasts of chacc; 
 and after their extermination they were 
 imported for the diversion of baiting them, 
 which was an entertainment displayed in 
 honour of nobles and princes. They were 
 exhibited, from Africa, in the grand specta- 
 cles at Rome. See Mammalia, Plate XXI. 
 fig. 4. \ 
 
 U. Americanus, or the American bear, 
 has a long pointed nose, and is generally 
 smaller than the above species. It abounds 
 in the northern territories of America, and 
 is said to live exclusively on vegetable food, 
 extreme hunger only being able to induce 
 it to eat the flesh of animals. These bears 
 reside in trees, mounting and descending 
 them with great alertness. Their skins form 
 an important article of merchandize ; their 
 flesh, when young, is thought delicious ; and 
 their fat is thought an admirable applica- 
 tion for sprains and bruises. They are taken 
 frequently by setting fire to the trees which 
 they inhabit. 
 
 U. maritimns, or the Polar bear, is nearly 
 double the size of the common bear, and is 
 stated to have been seen of the length of 
 twelve feet. It is completely white. Its 
 principal residence is on the shores of 
 Greenland and Hudson’s Bay, and it inha- 
 bits only the coldest regions of the world. 
 
 It possesses the most formidable strength 
 and ferocity. The sailors of Barenfz, in 
 his voyage in quest of a north-east passage 
 to China, were assaulted in their boat by 
 these animals, carried off, and devoured 
 within the view of their companions. They 
 will attempt to board armed ships, and, de- 
 fying every obstacle with the most fearless 
 energy, have sometimes only with the great- 
 est difficulty been prevented. They subsist 
 on fishes, seals, and whales, ‘at sea ; and by ' 
 land devour birds, hares, deer, and various 
 other animals; and will also 'eat berries and 
 various other vegetables. In Greenland they 
 sometimes surround the habitations of the 
 natives, allured by the strong smell of the 
 seal oil, and attempt to break through to 
 commit their depredations; but are re- 
 ported to be effectually repelled by the 
 smell of burnt feathers. In winter they 
 ingulph themselves in the snow, or immure 
 themselves in some cavern, where they pass 
 in torpor the Polar night, making their 
 egress only with the re appearance of the 
 .sun : in summer they are often found on 
 large masses of floating ice at sea, and, 
 swimming with great excellence, they pass 
 from one of these to apother witli much 
 facility ; they are sometimes, however, car- 
 
URSUS. 
 
 iried to vast distances from land, and perish 
 for want of the means of subsistence. They 
 produce generally two young ones at a 
 birth, and the attachment between these 
 and the dam is one of the strongest exhi- 
 bited in the whole animal creation. The 
 natives of Kamtschatka always avoid firing 
 at a young bear if the dam be present, as 
 the rage of the latter to revenge the injury 
 is active and unbounded, and she rushes to 
 the spot from which the attack was made 
 with almost irresistible rapidity and fury : 
 she moreover deplores the destruction ol 
 her cubs by sounds and gesticulation, indi- 
 cating the most violent and heart-rending 
 sorrow, folding them, though lifeless, to her 
 bosom, attempting to recover them back 
 to animation, and continuing by them long 
 after the last spark of life has been extin- 
 guished in them. Tho fondness of the young 
 for the parent is little less strong and im- 
 pressive. These creatures are hunted by 
 the natives of Kamtschatka with great skill, 
 intrepidity, and success : if the hear should 
 not instantly fall by a musket-shot, or be 
 disabled from running, he rushes towards 
 his antagonist animated with the completest 
 spirit of vengeance ; and, should he not in 
 this instant be received upon the spear, 
 ■which is dexterously prepared to transfix 
 him at the critical moment, the death of 
 the hunter is almost the certain and imme- 
 diate consequence. Fatal results have not 
 unfrequcntly attended the sportsmen in 
 these conflicts. These animals have consi- 
 derable sagacity, and are stated, upon re- 
 spectable authority, to ascend rocks with 
 extreme caution, to avoid the observance of 
 a herd of bareins feeding beneath, and 
 which, on account of the Speed of the latter, 
 they could not openly approach : from these 
 summits, however, they will loosen and roll 
 down large stones, and thus destroy or mu- 
 tilate their prey beneath, descending after- 
 wards to enjoy the rich reward of their 
 stratagem and toil. The inhabitants of 
 Kamtscliatka are reported to pride them- 
 selves in imitating the movements of the 
 bears in their dances, and to acknowledge 
 themselves highly indebted tp them for the 
 application of various simples for wounds 
 and diseases. The morse is one of the most 
 formidable enemies of the bear, and gene- 
 rally triumphs from the advantage of its 
 lengthened and formidable tusks. See 
 Mammalia, Plate XXI. fig. 5. 
 
 The U. gulb, or glutton, is about three 
 feet long, exclusively of its tail, which is 
 one foot in length. It is met with in the 
 
 northern regions of Europe and Asia. Its 
 name is characteristically derived from its 
 habits, as it preys with extreme voracity 
 on almost every species of animal food, in 
 its fresh or putrid state. It is said to lay 
 wait in trees, and to spring on a variety of 
 animals passing unsuspectingly beneath, 
 and, after exhausting them by sucking their 
 blood, to tear them in pieces and devour 
 them. It produces from two to four young 
 once a year. Its strength and ferocity are 
 such, that it sometimes contends for its 
 prey victoriously, even with the wolf or the 
 bear. The skin of this animal is an article 
 of commerce, and it is most esteemed as 
 such in proportion as its colour approaches 
 to a perfect blackness. 
 
 U. luscus, or the wolverene, is supposed 
 to be merely a variety of the former. It 
 has been brought into this country from 
 Hudson’s Bay, about twice the size of a fox, 
 and was in this instance perfectly tame and 
 inoffensive. 
 
 U. tutor, or the racoon, is a native of 
 America and the West Indies, of a grey 
 colour, and with a head shaped like that of 
 a fox, and of the length pf between two 
 and three feet without the tail. Its natural 
 food consists of fruits, young sugar-canes, 
 and unripe maize ; and also, it is thought, 
 of eggs and poultry. It is nocturnal, and 
 seldom quits its hole by day; and during 
 the rigours of winter, it continues there in 
 a state of abstinence and perhaps of torpor,.. 
 It may be domesticated with great facility, 
 and is seen in this familiar state in many 
 houses in America. It is agile and spright- 
 ly, ascends trees with great ease, is parti- 
 cularly fond of vegetable sweets, and averse 
 from acid substances, and, while taking its 
 food, generally uses its fore feet as hands, 
 sitting on its hind ones. It is said to have 
 an admirable tact at opening oysters and 
 other shell-fish, and is extremely cleanly in 
 all ils habits. Its fur is highly useful in the 
 manufacture of hats. 
 
 U. meles, or the common badger, is 
 about two feet fiom the nose to the tail, 
 and is found in almost all the temperate 
 regions both of Europe and Asia, living in 
 subterranean habitations, which its feet are 
 admirably adapted for preparing. Its food 
 consists of fruits and roots, frogs and in- 
 sects^; and the resemblance of its teeth to 
 those of beasts of prey, makes it probable 
 that it destroys lambs and larger animals, 
 which it is stated to do ; in a domestic state 
 it prefers raw flesh to every other species 
 pf food. It w ill attack bee-hives, to.obtain 
 
 I 
 
USE 
 
 the honey contained in them. It sleeps 
 much; passes the winter, or the ;rreater 
 part of it, in its burrowed residence, in a 
 state of letliargy and torpor ; and in sum- 
 mer produces, generally, three young ones 
 at a birth. These animals are inoft'ensive 
 in tlieir manners ; reluctant to attack, but 
 well prepared by nature for defence, which 
 they conduct with an alertness, intrepidity, 
 and perseverance, truly admirable. To 
 afford a spectacle of these qualities to the 
 populace of several countries, the badger is 
 frequently baited with dogs, which, from 
 the looseness of the badger’s skin and the 
 coarseness of its iiair, are prevented some- 
 times from penetrating to his flesh with 
 their teeth, and almost always, from so 
 fastening him by their bite as to preclude 
 his turning in various directions for their 
 annoyance. The strength of his jaws, and 
 the sharpness of his teeth, enable him to 
 deal the most painful and destructive 
 wounds ; indeed, his bite almost uniformly 
 brings with it the flesh, as well as the blood 
 of his antagonist. He is at length over- 
 powered by numbers, but seldom without 
 having inflicted a severe and fatal revenge. 
 His agility of movement in the conflict 
 gives a most important advantage, as his 
 blow is as it were struck, while the enemy 
 is only preparing for the attack. The 
 badger is particidarly cleanly in his habits ; 
 and his flesh, prepared like that of the hog, 
 is said to be equally valuable and welbfla- 
 voured. 
 
 URTICA, in botany, nettle, a genus of 
 the Monoecia Tetrandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Scabridae. Urticaa, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character ; male, calyx four- 
 leaved ; corolla none ; nectaiy central, cup- 
 shaped : female, calyx two-leaved ; corolla 
 none ; seed one, superior, shining. There 
 are fifty-nine species. 
 
 URTICULARIA, in botany, bladder- 
 wort, a genus of the Diandria Monogynia 
 class and order. Natural order of Cory- 
 dales. Lysimachi®, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter : corolla ringent, spurred ; calyx two- 
 Jeaved, equal ; capsule one-celled. Thei e 
 are thirteen species. 
 
 USANCE, in commerce, is a determinate 
 time fixed for the payment of bills of ex- 
 change, reckoned either from the day of 
 the bills being accepted, or from the day of 
 their date ; and thus called because regu- 
 lated by the usage, and custom of the places 
 whereon they are drawn. See Exchange. 
 
 USE, ill law', is a trust and confidence 
 pposed in another, who is tenant of the 
 
 UST 
 
 land, that he shall dispose of the land ay- 
 cording to the intention of cestuy que tise, 
 or him to whose use it was granted, and 
 suffer him to take the profits. 
 
 By statute 27, Henry VIII. c. 10. com- 
 monly called the statute of uses, or the sta- 
 tute for transferring uses into possession, 
 the cestuy que use is considered as the real 
 owner of the estate ; whereby it is enacted, 
 that when any person is seised of lands to 
 the use of another, the person entitled to 
 the use in fee-simple, fee-tail, for life or 
 years, or otherwise, sliallstand and be seised 
 or possessed of the land, in the like estate, 
 as he hath of the use, trust, or confidence. 
 And thereby the act makes cestuy que use 
 complete owner both at law and in equity. 
 This is one of the most important statutes 
 in the law respecting conveyances, and it 
 is as it were the hinge, upon which all the 
 system of conveyancing turns. It is ex- 
 tremely difficult to explain its effect in this 
 dictionary, but it may be important to say, 
 that in any conveyance which operates un- 
 der the statute of uses, it is nece.ssary to 
 declare a use, as to say the estate is given 
 to A B, to the use of A B, without which 
 the use, that is, all the interest in the estate, 
 results to the donor. A trust is now what 
 a use was formerly. See Trust. 
 
 USHER, an officer, or servant, who has 
 the care and direction of the door of a 
 court, hall, chamber, or the like. 
 
 In the king’s houshold there are two gen- 
 tlemen ushers of the privy-chamber appoint- 
 ed to attend the door, and give entrance to 
 persons that have admittance thither ; four 
 gentleraen-ushers, waiters; and eight gen- 
 tlemen-ushers, quarter-waiters in ordinary. 
 
 Usher also signifies an officer of the 
 Court of Exchequer, of which there are 
 four who attend the barons and chief offi- 
 cers of that court at Westminster, as also 
 juries, sheriffs, &c. at the pleasure of the 
 court, There is also an usher of the Court 
 of Chancery. 
 
 Usher of the Blade Rod, the eldest of 
 the gentlemen-ushers daily waiters at court 
 whose duty is to bear the rod before the 
 King at the feast of St. George, and other 
 solemnities : he has also the keeping of the 
 chapter-house door, when a chapter of the 
 order of the garter is sitting, and in time 
 ,of parliament attends the house of peers 
 and takes delinquents into custody. He 
 wears a gold badge, embellished with the 
 ensigns of the order of the garter. 
 
 USTERIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 
usu 
 
 Monandi'ia Monogynia class and order. Es- 
 sential character ; caly.\ foiir-tootliod, with 
 one segment much larger than the rest ; co- 
 rolla funnel-form, four-toothed ; capaule 
 one-celled, two-seeded • seeds arilled. There 
 is but one species, viz. U. giiineensis, a na- 
 tive of Guinea. 
 
 USURY, in a strict sense, is a contract 
 upon the loan of money, to give the lender 
 a certain profit for the use of it, upon all 
 events, whether the borrower made any ad- 
 vantage of it, or the lender suffered any 
 prejudice for the want of it, or whether it 
 he repaid at the appointed time or not; 
 and in a large sense, it seems, that all un- 
 due advantages, taken by a lender against a 
 borrower, come under the notion of usury. 
 
 The statute 12 Anne, c. 16, enacts that 
 no person, upon any contract which shall 
 be niade, shall take for loan of any mo- 
 ney, wares, &c. above the value of dl. 
 for the forbearance of 1001. for a year ; and 
 all bonds and assurances for the payment 
 of any money to be lent upon usury, where- 
 upon or whereby there shall be reserved, 
 or taken, above five pounds in the hundred, 
 shall be void ; and every person who shall 
 receive, by means of any corrupt bargain, 
 loan, exchange, shift, or interest, of any 
 •wares, or other things, or by any deceitful 
 way, for forbearing, or giving day of pay- 
 ment for one year, for their money or other 
 things, above 51. for 100/. for a year, &c. 
 shall forfeit treble the value of the monies 
 or other tilings lent. 
 
 But if a contract, which carries interest, 
 be made in a foreign country, our courts 
 will direct the payment of interest, accord- 
 ing to the law of that country in which the 
 contract was made. Thus, Irish, Ameri- 
 can, Turkish, and Indian interest have been 
 allowed in our courts, to the amount of 
 each 12/. per cent. For the moderation or 
 exorbitance of interest depends upon local 
 circumstances ; and the refusal to enforce 
 such contracts would put a stop to all fo- 
 reign trade. 
 
 It may be considered as a general rule, 
 that whatever is taken for interest can by 
 no trick or contrivance be so concealed as 
 to evade the general words of this statute. 
 It is a question in polities whether the laws 
 against usury are good for any thing except 
 to afford government a monopoly in the 
 borrowing of loans. Where advantage is 
 taken of ignorance or distress equity would 
 relieve in all cases. But surely it is hard 
 to prevent men from making the fair price 
 of the loan of money. A maximum is always 
 
 VUL 
 
 injurious. The real price of interest is not 
 well settled, and usurers are compelled to 
 be exorbitant to indemnify themselves of 
 extraordinary risks. 
 
 UVARIA, in botany, a genus of the Po- 
 lyandria Polygynia class and order. Natu- 
 ral order of Coaduiiatae. Aiionae, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx three-leaved ; 
 petals six ; berries numerous, pendulous, 
 four-seeded. There are eleven species. 
 
 VULGATE, a very ancient Latin trans- 
 lation of the bible, and the only one the 
 church of Rome acknowledges authen- 
 tic. See Bible. The ancient vulgate of 
 the old testament was translated almost 
 word for word, from the Greek of the 
 LXN. The author of the version is not 
 known, nor so much as guessed at. 
 
 Vulgate of the New Testament. This 
 the Romanists generally hold preferable to 
 the common Greek text, in regard it is this 
 alone, and not the Greek text, that tlie 
 council of Trent had declared authentic. 
 Accordingly that church has, as it were, 
 adopted this edition. The priests read no 
 other at the altar, the preachers quote no 
 other in the pulpit, nor the divines in the 
 schools. 
 
 VULTUR, the vulture, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of birds of the order Accipi- 
 tres. Generic character: the bill strait, 
 hooked at the point ; the head without fea- 
 thers ; the skin on the fore part naked; 
 tongue bifid ; neck retractile ; legs and feet 
 covered with great scales ; claws large, lit- 
 tle hooked, and very blunt. Tliese birds are 
 rapacious to an extreme degree, and some- 
 times feed in tlie midst of cities unterrified. 
 It is observed that they prefer universally 
 tainted meat to what is fresh, and seldom 
 destroy animals when they can procure a 
 sufficiency of carrion. Their scent is in 
 the highest degree acute, and they are sup- 
 posed to perceive the effluvia of carcases 
 at the distance even of miles. They are 
 found most numerous in the warmest cli- 
 mates, and must be regarded as a race of 
 birds eminently useful in clearing tlie sur- 
 face of the globe from putrid remains, which 
 might infect the air, and produce all the 
 ravages and mortality of pestilence. Tliere 
 are seventeen species, of which we shall 
 notice the following. 
 
 gryphns, or the condur vulture, is 
 found particularly in South America, and 
 from point to point of its wings is of the 
 width of twelve feet. The feathers of its 
 back are of a brilliant black. Its quill fea- 
 thers are more than two feet and a quarter 
 

 
 •m 
 
 
 
 
 AWE S . 
 
 Flute XIV. 
 
 /■^.i.Slruthio t\untiu.f : JiUu^ ostrieh..H^.iiXsca.\Xi'a.% melajwecphalue : Black headed ihh. 
 
 .li-oclulus amethyetinue ramedtysdne Humminij-bird - /S/.^,Fpupa maona : (rmnd hoopoe . 
 bui fl.Viiliui* papa '.Kiria tadeure. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 
WAC 
 
 in length, and are half an inch in diame- 
 ter. 
 
 V. harpyia, or the crested vulture, is ra- 
 ther larger than a turkey, and is distin- 
 guished by a crest of four feathers on its 
 liead. Its strength is extraordinary, and 
 with a single stroke of its bill it is reported 
 to be able to cleave down the scull of a 
 man. It is found in Mexico and Brasil. 
 
 V. aura, or the carrion vulture, is of the 
 same size as the last, is common both in 
 North aud South America, and feeds on 
 carcasses and on snakes. Its odour is par- 
 ticularly rank. It is far from being fero- 
 cious and dangerous, may be easily reared 
 tame, and is considered in the West Indies 
 as highly useful in destroying reptiles, ver- 
 min, and carrion, insomuch that the killing 
 of them is prohibited by law. They roost 
 together at nights in considerable numbers, 
 in the manner of rooks. 
 
 WAF 
 
 V. Sagittarius, or the secretary vulture, 
 is distinguished by the extraordinary length 
 of its legs, and, when standing upright, is a 
 yard high. It is found ift Africa, aad in the 
 PhilippineTslands, It principally lives on li- 
 zards and rats, aud various species of ver- 
 min. It strikes with its feet forwards, and 
 never the contrary. It takes up tortoises 
 in its claws, and dashes them with great 
 force on the ground, and will repeat this 
 process tilt these animals are completely 
 killed. For the king vulture, see Aves, 
 Plate XIV. fig. 5. 
 
 UVULARIA, in hofany, a genus of the 
 Hexandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Sarmentace®. Lilia, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : corolla six petalled, 
 erect ; nectary hollow at the base of each 
 petal ; filaments very short. There are six 
 species. 
 
 , -A: 
 
 ^ w, 
 
 y. - 
 
 W or w, is the twenty-first letter of our 
 ’ alphabet, and is composed, as its 
 name implies, of two v’s. It was not in use 
 among the Hebrews, Greeks, or Romans, 
 but chiefly peculiar to the northern nations, 
 the Teutones, Saxons, Britons, &c. But 
 still it is not used by the French, Italians, 
 Spaniai-ds, or Portuguese, except in proper 
 names, and other terms borrowed from lan- 
 guages in which it is originally used, and 
 even then it is sounded like the single v. 
 This letter is of an ambiguous nature, being 
 a consonant at the beginning of words, and 
 a vowel at the end. It may stand before all 
 tlie vowels except u, as water, wedge, win- 
 ter, wonder : it may also follow the vowels, 
 a, e, 0, and unites with them into a kind of 
 double vowel, or dipthong, as in saiv, few, 
 cow, &c. 
 
 WACCE, in mineralogy, a species of the 
 clay genus, of a greenish grey colour, of va- 
 rious degrees of intensity ; it occurs some- 
 times massive, sometimes vesicular, and the 
 vesicul® are either filled wdieu the com- 
 pound is denominated amygdaloid, or emp- 
 ty. It is not very heavy, and it is the cha- 
 racteristic of it that it falls to pieces in the 
 open air. It belongs to the floetz trap for- 
 mation 5 where it occurs in beds which ge- 
 
 nerally lie under basalt, and above clay. 
 It is found in veins, and generally forms the 
 basis of amygdaloid. It frequently contains 
 imbedded crystals of mica and basaltic horn- 
 blende, but does not, like basalt, include 
 augite or olivine. It is found in many 
 parts of Germany, and in Sweden. AFerner 
 considers it as intermediate between basalt 
 and clay. When basalt contains mica, it is 
 passing to wacce. Near Joachimstal there 
 is an immense rent filled with wacce, in 
 which whole trees are found imbedded. 
 
 WACHENDORFIA, in botany, a genus 
 of the Triandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Ensat®. Irides, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : corolla six-petalled, 
 unequal, inferior ; capsule three-celled, su- 
 perior. There are five species all natives 
 of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 
 WADD, or Waduing, is a stopple of 
 paper, hay, straw, or the like, forced into 
 a gun upon the powder to keep it close in 
 the chamber; or to put up close to the shot 
 to keep it from rolling out. 
 
 AF AFERS are made thus : take very fine 
 flour, mix it with glair of eggs, isinglass, 
 aud a little yeast ; mingle the materials ; beat 
 them well together, spread the batter, be- 
 ing made tliin with gum water, on even tin 
 
WAI 
 
 plates, and dry them in a stove ; then cut 
 tliem out for use. You may make them of 
 what colour you please, by tinging the 
 paste with brazil or vermilion for red ; in- 
 digo or verditer, &c. for blue ; saffron, tur- 
 meric, or gamboge, &c. for yellow. 
 
 WAFT, in naval language, a signal dis- 
 played from the stern of a ship for some 
 particular purpose, by lioisting the ensign, 
 furled up together into a long roll, to the 
 head of its staff, or to the mizen-peek. It 
 is particularly used to summon the ship’s 
 boats off from the shore. 
 
 WAGER of law is a particular mode of 
 proceeding, whereby, in an action of debt, 
 brought upon a simple contract between 
 the parties, without any deed or record, the 
 defendant may discharge himself by swear- 
 ing in court, in the presence of compurga- 
 tors, that he owes tlie plaintiff nothing, in 
 manner and form as he has declared, and 
 bis compurgators swear, that they believe 
 what he says is true. And this waging his 
 law is sometimes called making his law. It 
 being at length considered, that this waging 
 of law offered too great a temptation to per- 
 jury, by degrees new remedies were dd- 
 vised, and new forms of action introduced, 
 wherein no defendant is at liberty to wage 
 his law, as in assumpsit and trover. Also 
 when a new statute inflicts a penalty, and 
 gives an action of debt to recover it, it is 
 usual to add, in which no wager of law shall 
 be allowed. 
 
 Wagers. In general a wager may be 
 considered as legal, if it be not an incite- 
 ment to a breach of the peace, or to immo- 
 rality, or if it do not affect the feelings or 
 interest of a third person,, or expose him to 
 ridicule ; or if it be not against sound poli- 
 cy. See Insurance, Wager, Policy. 
 
 WAIFS are goods which are stolen and 
 waved by a felon in his flight from those 
 who jnirsue him, which are forfeited ; and 
 though waif is generally spoken of goods 
 stolen, yet if a man be pursued w'ith hue 
 and cry as a felon, and he flee and leave 
 his own goods, these will be forfeited as 
 goods stolen ; but they are properly fugi- 
 tive’s gppds, and not forfeited till it be 
 found before the coroner, or otherwise of 
 record, that he fled for the felony. See Es- 
 
 TRAYS. 
 
 WAIST, in ship-building, that part of a 
 ship which is contained between the quarter- 
 deck and forecastle, being usually a hollow 
 space, with an ascent of several steps to 
 either of those places. When the waist of 
 a merchant-ship is only one or two steps of 
 
 WAL 
 
 descent from the quarter-deck and fore- 
 castle, .she is said to be galley-built ; but 
 when with six or seven steps she is called 
 frigate-built. 
 
 WAISTEKS, in naval affairs, people sta- 
 tioned in the waist in working the ship. 
 As their business requires only strength 
 without art or Judgment, they are commonly 
 selected from the .strongest landsmen and 
 ordinary seamen. 
 
 WAIVER, .signifies the passing by of a 
 thing, or a refusal to accept it.: sometimes 
 it is applied to an estate, or something con- 
 veyed to a man, and sometimes to plea, &c. 
 and a w aiver on disagreement as to goods and 
 chattels, in case of a gift, will be effectual. 
 
 WAKE of a ship, is the smooth water 
 astern when she is under sail. This show s 
 the way she has gone in the sea, whereby 
 the mariners judge what way she inake.s. 
 For if tire wake be right a-stern, they con- 
 clude she makes her vvay forwards ; but if 
 the wake be to leew'ard a point or two, 
 then they conclude she falls to the leeward 
 of her course. When one ship, giving 
 chase to- another, is got as far into the wind 
 as she, and sails directly after her, they say, 
 she has got into her w’ake, A ship is said 
 to stay to the w eather of her wake, when, 
 in her staying, she is so quick, that she does 
 not fall to leeward upon a tack, but that 
 wheij she is tacked, her wake is to the lee- 
 ward j and it is a sign she feels her helm 
 very well, and is quick of steerage. 
 
 WALE, or Wales, in a ship, those outer- 
 piost timbers in a ship’s side, on which 
 the sailors set their feet in climbing uj). 
 Tiiey are reckoned from the water, and aie 
 called her first, second, and third wale, or 
 bend. 
 
 Wale knot, a round knot or knob made 
 with three strands of a rope, so that it 
 cannot slip, by which the tacks, top-sail 
 sheets, and stoppers arc made fast, as also 
 some otlier ropes. 
 
 AVale reared, on board a ship, a name 
 the seamen give to a ship, which, after .she 
 comes to her bearing, is built straight up. 
 This way of building,, though it does not 
 look well, nor i.s, as the seamen term it, 
 ship-shapen ; yet it has this advantage, that 
 a ship is thereby more roomy within board, 
 and becoihes thereby a wholesome ship at 
 sea, especially if her bearing be well laid 
 put. 
 
 WALES. By statute 27 Henry ATII, 
 c. 26, and other subsequent statutes, the 
 dominion of AVales shall be incorporater^ 
 with, and part of the realm of England ^ 
 
WAL 
 
 and all peisoiis born in Wales shall enjoy 
 all liberties and privileges as the subjects in 
 England do. And the lands in Wales shall 
 be inheritable after the English tenure, and 
 not after any Welsh laws or customs ; and 
 the proceedings in all the law courts shall 
 be in the English' tongue. A session is also 
 to be held twice a year in every county, by 
 judges appointed by the King, to be called 
 the Great Sessions of the several counties in 
 Wales, in which all pleas of real and per- 
 sonal actions shall be held, with the same 
 form of process, and in as ample manner, 
 as in the Court of Common Pleas at West- 
 minster ; and writs of error shall lie from 
 judgments therein to the Court of King’s 
 Bench at Westminster. But the ordinary 
 original writs, or process, of the King’s 
 courts at Westminster, do not run into the 
 principality of Wales, though process of 
 execution does, as also all prerogative writs; 
 as, writs of certiorari, quo minus; manda- 
 mus, and the like. Murders and felonies in 
 any part of Wales may be tried in the next 
 adjoining English county; the judges of as- 
 size havinga concurrentjurisdiction through- 
 out all Wales, with the justices of the grand 
 sessions. All local matters arising in Wales, 
 triable in the King’s Bench, ai e, by the 
 common law', to be tried by a jury, re- 
 turned from the next adjoining county in 
 England. No sheriff or officer in Wales 
 shall, upon any process out of the courts at 
 Westminster, hold any person to special 
 bail, unless the cause of action be twenty 
 pounds, or upwards. 11 and 12 William, 
 c. 9. 
 
 AVALL, in architecture, the piincipal 
 part of a building, as serving both to inclose 
 it, and support the roof, floors, &c. See 
 Building. 
 
 WALLENIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Matthew Wallen, a genus of the 
 Tetrandria Monogynia class, and order. 
 Essential character : calyx four-cleft, infe- 
 rior ; corolla tubular, four-cleft ; berry one- 
 seeded. There is but one species, viz. W. 
 laurifolia, a tall tree growing naturally in 
 Jamaica and Hispaniola. 
 
 WALLIS (Dr. John), in biography, an 
 eminent English mathematician, was the 
 son of a clergyman, and born at Ashford, 
 in Kent, November 23, 1616. After being 
 instructed, at different schools, in gi-ammar 
 learning, in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, 
 with the rudiments of logic, music, and the 
 French language, he was placed in Ema- 
 nuel College, Cambridge. About 1640, he 
 entered into orders, and was chosen Fellow 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 WAL 
 
 of Queen’s College. He kept his fellow- 
 ship till it was vacated by his marriage, but 
 quitted his college to be chaplain to Sir 
 Richard Darley : after a year spent in tliis 
 situation, he spent two more as chaplain to 
 Lady Vere. While he lived in this family 
 he cultivated the art of deciphering, whicii 
 proved very useful to him on several occa- 
 sions : he met with rewards and prefer- 
 ment from the government at home for de- 
 ciphering letters for them ; and it is said, 
 • that the Elector of Brandenburg sent him 
 a gold chain and medal, for explaining for 
 him some letters written in ciphers. 
 
 Academical studies being , much inter- 
 rupted by the civil wars in both the Univer- 
 sities, many learned men from them re- 
 sorted to London, and formed assemblies 
 there. Wallis belonged to one of these, 
 the members of which met once a week, to 
 discourse on philosophical matters ; hnd this 
 society was tlie rise and beginning of that 
 which was afterwards incorporated by the 
 name of llie Royal Society, of which Wallis 
 was one of the most early members. 
 
 The Sivilian professor of geometry at 
 Oxford being ejected by the parliamehtary 
 visitors, in 1649, AVallis was appointed to 
 succeed him, and he opened his lectures 
 there the same year. In 1653, he published, 
 in Latin, a Grammar of the English Tongue, 
 for the use of foreigners; to which was 
 added, a tract “ De Loquela sen Sonorum 
 formatione,” &e. in which he considers phi- 
 losophically tlie formation of all sounds used 
 in articulate speech, and show's how the or- 
 gans being put into certain positions, and 
 the breath pushed out from the lungs, the 
 person will thus be made to speak, whether 
 he hear himself or not. Pursuing these re- 
 flections, he was led to think it possible, 
 thata deaf person might be taiight to speak, 
 by being directed so to apply the organs of 
 speech, as the sound of each letter re- 
 quired, which children learn by imitation 
 and frequent attempts, rather than by 
 art. 
 
 In 1657, he collected and published his 
 mathematical works, in two parts, entitled, 
 
 “ Mathesis Universalis,” in quarto ; and, in 
 1 658, “ Commercium Epistolicum de Ques- 
 tionibus quibusdam Mathematicis nuper ha- 
 bitum, in quarto ; which was a collection 
 of letters written by many learned men, as 
 Lord Brounker, Sir Kenelni Digby, Fer- 
 mat, Schooten, Wallis, and others. 
 
 Upon the Restoration he met with great 
 respect ; the King thinking favourably of 
 him on account of some services he had done 
 M m 
 
wal . 
 
 % 
 
 both to himself and his father, Cliavles I. 
 H(! was, therefore, confirmed in his places, 
 also admitted one of the King’s chaplains 
 in ordinary, and appointed one of the di- 
 vines empowered to revise the B 9 ok of 
 Common Prayer. He was a very useful 
 member of the Royal Society, and kept up 
 a literary corresponden ce with many learned 
 men. 
 
 In 1670, he published his “ Mechanica; 
 sive de Motu,” quarto. In 1676, he gave 
 an edition of “ Archimedis Syracusani Are- 
 narius cf Dimensio Circuli and, in 1682, 
 he published from the manuscripts, “ Clau- 
 dii Ftolemaci OpusHarraonicum,”in Greek, 
 vyith a Latin version and notes; to which 
 he afterwards added, “ Appendix de vete- 
 rum Harmonica ad hodiernam comparata,” 
 &c. 
 
 In 168,a, he published his “ History and 
 Practice of Algebra,” in folio ; a woi k that 
 is full of learned and useful matter. Be- 
 sides the works above mentioned, he pub- 
 lished many others, particularly his “ Arith- 
 metic of Infinites,” a book of genius #nd 
 good invention, and perhaps almost his 
 only work that is sc, for he was much more 
 distinguished for his industry and judgment, 
 than for his geniusr Also a multitude of 
 papers in the Philosophical Transactions, 
 in almost every volume, from the first to 
 the twenty-fifth volume. 
 
 In 1697, the curators of the University 
 press at Oxford thought it for the honour of 
 the University to collect the Doctor’s, ma- 
 thematical works, which had been printed 
 separately, some in Latin, some in English', 
 and published them all together in the Latin 
 tongue, in three volumes, folio, 1699. 
 
 Dr. Wallis died at Oxford the 28th of 
 October, 1703, in the eighty eiglith year of 
 his age, leaving behind him one son and two 
 daughters. We are told, that he was of a 
 vigorous constitution, and of a mind which 
 was strong, calm, serene, and not easily 
 ruffled or discomposed. He speaks of him- 
 self, in his letter to Mr. Smith, in a strain 
 which shows liim to have been a very cau- 
 tious and prddent man, whatever his secret 
 opinions and attachments might be. He 
 concludes ; “ It hath been my endeavour all 
 along, to act by mpderate principles, being 
 willing, whatever side was uppermost, to 
 promote any good design, for the true inte- 
 rest of religion, of learniHg, and of the 
 public good.” 
 
 WALRUS. See Trichecus. 
 
 WALTHERIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Augustin Frederic Walther, Pro- 
 
 WAil 
 
 fessor qf Medicine at Leipsic, a genus of 
 the Monadelpiiia Pentandria class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Columnifera:. Ti- 
 liaceae, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 double ; outer lateral three-leaved, decidu- 
 ous; petals five; style one; capsule one- 
 celled, two-valved, one-seeded. There are 
 six species. 
 
 WAPENTAKE (from the Saxon), the 
 same witli what we call a hundred, and 
 more especially used in the northern coun- 
 tie,s beyond the river Trent. There have 
 been several conjectures as to the original 
 of the word ; one of whicli is, that an- 
 ciently musters were made of the armour 
 and weapons of the inhabitants of every 
 hundred ; and from those that could not 
 find sufficient pledges of their good ahear- 
 ing, their weapons were taken away, and 
 given to others ; whence, it is said, this word 
 is derived. 
 
 MVVJID (Dr. Seth), an Englisli prelate, 
 chiefly famous for his knowledge in mathe- 
 matics and astronomy, was the son of an 
 attorney, an<l born at Buntingford, Hert- 
 fordshire, in 1617 or 1618. From hence he 
 was removed and placed a student in Sidney 
 College, Cambridge, in 1632. Here he ap- 
 plied with great vigour to his studies, par- 
 ticularly to the mathematics, and was cho- 
 sen fellow of his college. 
 
 The civil war breaking out, Ward was 
 involved, not a little in the consequences of 
 it. He was ejected from his fellowship for 
 refusing the covenant ; against which lie 
 soon after joined, with several others, in 
 drawing up that noted treatise, wliich was 
 afterwards printed. Being now obliged to 
 leave Cambridge, he resided for some time 
 with certain friends about London, and at 
 otlier times at Aid bury, in Surry, with the 
 noted mathematician Oughtred, where he 
 prosecuted his inatliematical studies. 
 
 He had not been long in this family be- 
 fore the visitation of the University of 0.x- 
 ford began ; the effect of which was, that 
 many leai’ned and eminent persons were 
 turned out, and among them Mr. Greaves, 
 the Savilian professor of astronomy. This 
 gentleman laboured to procure Ward for his 
 successor, whose abilities in his way were 
 universally known and acknowledged ; and 
 effected it ; Dr. Wallis succeeding to the 
 geometry professorship at the same time. 
 Mr. Ward then entered himself of Wadham 
 College, for the sake of Dr. Wilkins, who 
 was tile warden ; and he presently ap- 
 plied himself to bring the astronomy lec- 
 tures, which had long been neglected and ^ 
 
WAR 
 
 disused, into repute again ; and for this pur- 
 pose he read them very constantly, nev^r 
 missing one reading day all the while he lield 
 the lecture. 
 
 In 1654, both the Savilian professors did 
 their exercises, in order to proceed doctors 
 in divinity ; and when they were to be pre- 
 sented, Wallis claimed precedency. This 
 occasioned a dispute ; which being decided 
 in favour of Ward, who was really the se- 
 nior, Wallis went out grand compounder, 
 and so obtained the precedency. 
 
 In 16.')9, Ward was chosen president of 
 Trinity College, but was obliged at the Re- 
 storation to resign that place. He had 
 amends made him, however, by being pre- 
 sented, in 1660, to the rectory of St. Lau- 
 rence, .Jewry. The same year he was also 
 installed precentor of the church of Exe- 
 ter. In 1661, he became Fellow of the 
 Royal Society, and Dean of Exeter ; and 
 the year following he was advanced to the 
 bishopric of the same church. In 1667, he 
 was translated to the see of Salisbury ; and, 
 in 1671, was made Chancellor of the order 
 of tlie Garter; an honour which he pro- 
 cured to be periiiaueutly annexed to the see 
 of Salisbury, after it had been held by 
 laymen for above one hundred and fifty 
 years. 
 
 Dr-. Ward was one of those utrhappy per- 
 sons who have had the misfortune to survive 
 tiieir senses, which happened in consequence 
 of a fever ill cured ; he lived till the Revo- 
 lution, but without knowing any thing of 
 the matter ; and died in Jamrary, 168-9, 
 about seventy-one years of age. He was 
 the- author of several Latin works in astro- 
 nomy aird ditferent parts of tire mathema- 
 tics, which were thought excellent in their 
 day ; but tlreir use. Iras been str|>('tseded by 
 later irtrprovernents and the Newtoniarr phi- 
 losophy. 
 
 WARDMOTE, a court kept in every 
 ward in Londoit, usually called Ihe ward- 
 mote court : and the wardmote inquest has 
 power every year to inquire into, and pre- 
 sent, all detanlts concerning the watch and 
 constables not doing their duty ; that en- 
 gines, &c. be provided against fire ; persons 
 selling ale and beer be honest, artd sitffer 
 no disorders, nor permit gaming, &c. ; that 
 they sell in law'ful measures ; aitd searches 
 be made for vagrants, beggars, and idle 
 persons, &c. who shall be pnnished. 
 
 WARE, or Wear, in naval afliairs, to 
 cause a ship to change her course from one 
 board to the other, by turning her stern to 
 the wind. Hence it is used in the same 
 
 WAR 
 
 sense of veering, and in oppositifln to tack- 
 ing, in wlpcli the head is turped to the 
 wind, and the stern to the leeward. 
 
 WARNING piece, in the military art, is 
 the gun which is fired every night about 
 sun-set, to give notice to the drums and 
 trumpets of the arhiy to beat and sound a 
 retreat or tattoo, which is likewise called 
 setting the watch. 
 
 Warning ivhcel, in a dock, is the third 
 or fourth, according to its distance from the 
 fir.st wheel. ' 
 
 WARP, in the manufactures, is the 
 threads, whether of silk, wool, linen, hemp, 
 &c. that are extended lengthwise on the 
 weaver’s loom ; and across which the work- 
 man by means of liis shuttle passes the 
 threads of the woof, to form a doth, rib- 
 band, fustian, or other matter. For a wool- 
 len .stuff to have the necessary qualities, it 
 is required that the threads of the warp be 
 of the same kind, of wool, and of the same 
 fineness throughout; that they be sized 
 with Flanders or parchment size, well pre- 
 pared, and that tiiey be in sufficient num- 
 ber with regard to the breadth of the stuff 
 to be wrought. To warp a ship, is to shift 
 Iier from one place to another, when the 
 wind and tide will permit it without danger. 
 
 WARRANT, a pr-iecipe, under hand and 
 seal, to some officer, to bring any offender 
 before the person granting it ; and w-arrants 
 of commitment are issued by the Privy 
 Council, a secretary of state, or justice of 
 peace, &c. where there has beea a private 
 information, ora witness has deposed against 
 an offender. Any one under tlie degree of 
 nobility may be arrested for a misdemeanor, 
 or any thing done against tlte peace of the 
 kingdom, by warrant from a justice of the 
 peace ; though if the person be a peer of 
 the realm, he must be apprehended for a 
 breach of the peace by warrant out of the 
 King’s Bench. 
 
 A general warrant to apprehend all per- 
 sons suspected, without naming or particu- 
 larly describing any person in special, is 
 illegal and void for its uncertainty : for it is 
 the duty of the magistrate, and ought not 
 • to be left to the officer, to judge of the 
 ground of the suspicion. Also a warrant to 
 apprehend all persons guilty of such a crime 
 is no legal warrant; for the point upon 
 whicii its authority re.sts is a fact to be de- 
 cided on a subsequent trial ; namely, whe- 
 ther the person apprehended thereupon be 
 guilty or not guilty. A warrant may be 
 iawfiilly 'granted by any justice, for (reason, 
 felony, prsemunire, or any ofl'ence against 
 M,m 2 - ' 
 
WAR 
 
 the peace, and it seems clear, that where a 
 statute gives any one justice a Jurisdiction 
 over any offence, or a power to require any 
 person to do a certain thing ordained by 
 such statute, it impliedly gives a power to 
 every such Justice to make out a warrant to 
 bring before him any one accused of such 
 offence, or compelled to do any thing or- 
 dained by such statute; for it cannot 
 but be intended, that a statute which 
 gives a person Jurisdiction over an offence, 
 means also to give him the power incident 
 to all courts of compelling the party to come 
 before him. But in cases where the King 
 is not a party, or where no corporal punish- 
 ment is appointed, as in cases for servants’ 
 wages, and the like,, it seems that a sum- 
 mons is the more proper process ; and for 
 default of appearance the Justice may pro- 
 ceed; and so indeed it is often directed by 
 special statutes. A warrant from any one 
 of the Justices of the Court of King’s Bench 
 extends over all the kingdom, and is tested 
 or dated England, but a warrant of a Jus- 
 tice of peace in one county must be backed, 
 that is, signed by a Justice of another county, 
 before it can be executed there : and a 
 warrant for apprehending an English or a 
 Scotch offender may be indorsed in the op- 
 posite kingdom, and the offender carried 
 back to that part of the united kingdom in 
 which the offence was committed. This is 
 also now extended to Ireland, upon a pro- 
 per certificate of an indictment or informa- 
 , tion filed in .either country. 
 
 Warrant of attorney, is an authority 
 and power given by a client to his attorney 
 to appear and plead for him; or to suffer 
 judgment to pass against him by confessing 
 the action, by nil dicit, non sum informatus, 
 &c. and although a warrant of attorney 
 given by a man in custody to confess a 
 judgment, no attorney being present, is 
 void as to the entry of Judgment, yet it may 
 be a good warrant to appear and file com- 
 mon bail. A w’arrant of attorney to con- 
 fess a Judgment affords the best personal 
 security that a creditor can have, and if to- 
 gether with it a saleable lease is pledged, it 
 is perhaps the best security that can be 
 had. 
 
 WARRANTY, a promise or covenapt by 
 deed, made by the bargainer for himself 
 and his heirs, to warrant or secure the bar- 
 gainee and his heirs against all men, for the 
 enjoying any thing agreed on between 
 them. Warranty is either real or personal ; 
 real, when it is annexed to lands or tene- 
 ments granted for life, &c. and this is either 
 
 WAS 
 
 in deed, as by the words “ I warrant” ex- 
 pressly ; or in law, as by the word dedi, “ I 
 have given,” or some other amplification. 
 Personal, which either respects the pro- 
 perty of the thing sold, or the quality of it. 
 Warranties in their more general divisions 
 are of two kinds ; first, a warranty in deed, 
 or an express warranty, which is when a 
 fine, of feoffment in fee, or a lease for life, 
 is )nade by deed, which has an express 
 clause of warranty contained in it, as when 
 a conusor, feoffer, or lessor, covenants to 
 wari ant the land to the conusee, feoffee, or 
 lessee ; secondly, a warranty in law, or an 
 implied warranty, which is when it is not 
 expressed by the party, but tacitly made 
 and implied by the law. A warranty in 
 deed is either lineal or collateral A lineal 
 warranty is a covenant real, annexed to the 
 land by him who either was owner of or 
 might have inherited the land, and fiom 
 whom his heir lineal or .collateral might 
 possibly have claimed the land as heir from 
 him that made the warranty. A collateral 
 warranty is made by him that had no right, 
 or possibility of right, to the land, and is col- 
 lateral to the title of the land. On a sale of 
 goods, tlie seller by implication warrants 
 that he has a good title to them. See In- 
 surance. 
 
 WARREN, a franchise, or place privi- 
 leged either by prescription or grant from 
 the king, to keep beasts and fowl of warren 
 in ; as rabbits, hares, partridges, pheasants, 
 &c. 
 
 WASH, among distillers, the fermentable 
 liquor used by the malt distillers. 
 
 WASP. See Vespa. 
 
 WASTE, is the committing any spoil or 
 destruction in houses, lands, &c. by tenants, 
 to the damage of the heir, or of him in re- 
 version or remainder ; whereupon the writ 
 or action of waste is brought for the recovery 
 of the thing wasted, and damages for the 
 waste done. There are two kinds of waste, 
 voluntary or actual, and negligent or per- 
 missive. Voluntary waste may be done by 
 pulling down or prostrating houses, or cut- 
 ting down timber trees : negligent waste 
 may be, by suffering an house to be unco- 
 vered; whereby the spars or rafters, plan- 
 ches, or other timber of the house, are rot- 
 ten, or by not properly repairing. A writ 
 of waste, to punish the offence after it has 
 been committed, is an action partly found- 
 ed upon the common law, and partly upon 
 the statute of Gloucester, and may be 
 brought by him that has the immediate state 
 of inhej-itance in reversion or remainder 
 
WATCH. 
 
 against the tenant for life, tenant in dower, 
 tenant by tlie courtesy, or tenant for years. 
 This action of waste is a mixed action ; partly 
 real, so far as it recovers' land ; and partly 
 personal, so far as it recovers damages; 
 for it is brought for both those purposes ; 
 and if the waste be proved, the plaintiff 
 shall recover the thing or place wasted, and 
 also treble damages, by the said statute. 
 6 Edward I. c. 5. The writ of waste callg 
 upon the tenant to appear, and .'■how cause 
 why he has committed waste and destruc- 
 tion, in the place named, to the disherison of 
 the plaintiff. And if the defendant make 
 default, or do not appear at the day assigned 
 him, then the sheriff is to take with him a 
 jury of twelve men, and go in person to the 
 place alledged to be wasted, and there en- 
 quire of the waste done, and the damages, 
 and make a return or report of the same to 
 the court, upon which report the judgment 
 is founded. The more common remedy is 
 now by an action upon the case for damages 
 only. A tenant at will is not liable for per- 
 missive waste, nor a tenant from year to year. 
 
 WATCH, in the art of war, a number of 
 men posted at any passage, or a company 
 of the guards who go on the patrol. 
 
 At sea the term watch denotes a measure 
 or space of four hours, because half the 
 ship’s company watch, and do duty in their 
 turns, so long at a time; and they are 
 termed starboard watch and larboard watch. 
 
 Watch is also used for a small portable 
 movement or machine for the 'measuring of 
 time, having its motion regulated by a spiral 
 spring. Watches, strictly taken, are all 
 such movements as show the parts of time ; 
 as clocks are such as publish it, by striking 
 on a bell, &c; But, commonly, the name 
 watch is appropriated to such as are carried 
 in the pocket, and plock to the large move- 
 ments, whether they strike or not. See 
 Chronometer, Clock, Horology. 
 
 The several members of the w'atch pat t 
 are, 1. The balance, consisting of the rim, 
 which is its circular part; and the verge, 
 which is its spindle, to which belong the 
 two pallets, or levers, that play in the teeth 
 of the crown wheel. 2. The potence, of 
 pottance, which is the strong stud in pocket 
 watches, whereon the lower pivot of the 
 verge plays, and in the middle of which one 
 pivot of the balance-wheel plays ; the bot- 
 tom, of tlie potence is called the foot, the 
 middle part the nose, and the upper part 
 the .shoulder. 3. The cock, which is the 
 piece covering the baymce. 4. The regu- 
 
 lator, or pendulum spring, which is the 
 small spring in new pocket watches, under- 
 neath the balance. 5. The pendulum, whose 
 parts are the verge, pallets, cocks, and the 
 bob. 6. The wheels, which are the crown- 
 wheel in pocket pieces, and swing-wheel in 
 pendulums, serving to drive the balance or 
 pendulum. 7. The contrate-wheel, which 
 is that next the crown-wheel, &c. and whose 
 teeth and hoop lie contrary to those of 
 other wheels; whence the name. 8. The 
 great, or first wheel, which is that the fusee, 
 immediately drives : after which are 
 the second wheel, third wheel, &c. 9. Last- 
 ly, between the frame and dial-plate is the 
 pinion of l eport, which is that fixed on the 
 arbor of the great wheel, and serves to 
 diive the dial-wheel as that serves to carry 
 the hand, 
 
 Plate Watch represents the parts of a 
 watch the proper size : fig. t is a plan 
 of the wheel work, the upper plate 
 (fig. 2) being removed to expose them; 
 fig. 2 is the upper plate, the cock, F, (fig. 5) 
 being taken away to show the balance; 
 fig. 3, the wheel work beneath the dial; 
 fig. 4, a detached part; fig. 5, a general 
 elevation of the whole, being supposed to 
 be set out at length to show the whole at 
 one view; 'fig. 6, the great wheel; fig, 7, 
 the under side of the fusee ; fig. 8, the main- 
 spi ing, barrel, &c. 
 
 The essential difference between a clock 
 and a watch consists in two particulars: 
 first, it is moved by a spring in lieu of a 
 weight; and, secondly, its motion is go- 
 verned by a balance instead of a pendulum. 
 The balance is a small wheel, n, (fig. 2 and 
 5, Plate Watch) fixed on an arbor, or axis, 
 called the verge, and turning freely upon 
 pivots at the ends of the arbor. To the 
 axis of the balance the inner end of a very 
 elastic spiral spring, o, called the pendulum 
 spring, is fastened, and the outer end of the 
 spiral is made fast to some fixture, r: in 
 this state the balance will have a position of 
 rest, which will be when the spiral spring o 
 is in that position which it 'would assume 
 when detached from the bal'ince, and per- 
 fectly at liberty: now, if the balance is 
 turned round on its pivots by any external 
 force in either direction, it will wind up or 
 unwind the spiral spring, which will (when 
 the external force is removed) return the 
 balance to its state of rest ; and as this is 
 done with considerable velocity, the mo- 
 mentum the balance acquires by its mo- 
 tion will cany it beyond the point of res^ 
 
WATCH. 
 
 «n the other side; tliis again alters the 
 spring, which returns the balance, throwing 
 it beyond the point of rest ;^and in this 
 manner the balance will vibrate until the 
 friction of the pivots and the resistance of 
 the air destroys the original impulse. All 
 vibrations of such a balance which pass 
 through equal spaces will be performed in 
 equal times. 
 
 This simple apparatus is all which is re- 
 quired for measuring time, the other mecha- 
 nism of the watch being devoted to two 
 objects: first, to give a small impulse to 
 the balance at each vibration, to overcome 
 the friction and resistance ot the air, and 
 cause the balance to describe equal arcs : 
 and, secondly, to register the number of 
 vibrations the balance has made. 
 
 The first of these objects requires a power 
 which shall be in constant readiness to act 
 upon the balance. TJiis is accomplished 
 by the re-action of a spiral steel spring. A, 
 (fig. 8) which when at rest and liberty as- 
 sumes that position and size ; it is coiled up 
 closer, and put into a brass box, a, called 
 the spring barrel ; a small hook which is at 
 the outer end of the spring being put 
 through a hole in the side of the box, a 
 small arbor, B, is put into the centre of the 
 box, and the cover or lid of the box, D, is 
 shut in : the arbor has a hook projecting 
 from it, which enters a hole in the inner 
 end of the spring A; its pivots project 
 through the barrel at each side, and enter 
 holes in the two plates E E, (fig. 5) which 
 forms the frame of the watch ; the lower 
 pivot passes through the plate, and has a 
 small rachet wheel, b, (fig. 3 and 5) fixed 
 upon it, a click entering the teeth thereof 
 prevents the arbor turning roupd ; a small 
 steel chain is hooked to the spring-barrel, a, 
 (fig. 1 and 6) ; at one end it passes round 
 the barrel several times, then round the 
 fusee, d, and is hooked to it by its end. The 
 fusee, d, is a conical piece of brass, with h 
 spiral groove cut thereon to receive the' 
 chain: it is mounted on pivots which turn 
 in holes, in the two plates E E, and one of 
 the pivots, e, projects a considerable dis- 
 tance, and is cut square. Now if a key is 
 applied to this square, and the fusee, d, by 
 that meatis turned round so as to wind the 
 chain upon it, the spring barrel will be 
 turned round, and the outer end of the 
 spring. A, being hooked to the barrel|will be 
 turned round also; as the jnner end is im- 
 moveable, by being fixed to the arbor-, B, 
 the spring will be coiled up into a closer 
 
 spiral than it was when at liberty, and will 
 consequently exert a re-action upon the 
 chain, and by that means upon the ftrsee, 
 which will be turned rorrnd thereby when 
 the key is removed. To prevent too much 
 chain being wound upon the fusee, -and by 
 that means breaking the chain, or over- 
 straining the spring, a contrivance called a 
 guard is added : it is a small lever, x (fig. 1) 
 moving on a stud fixed to the upper plate 
 of the watch, and pressed downwards by a 
 small spring, z: as the chain is wound upon 
 the fusee, it rises in the spiral groove, and 
 lifts up the lever, x, until it touches the upper 
 plate ; it is then in a position to intercept 
 the edge of the spiral piece of metak seen ' 
 on the top of the fusee, and thus stop it 
 from being wound up any further. 
 
 The power of the spring is transmitted to 
 the balance by means of several cog wheels; 
 the first, f, is upon the fusee ; it is shown 
 separated from the fusee in fig. 6, having a 
 hole through the centre to receive the arbor 
 of the fusee, and a projecting ring upon its 
 surface; the under surface of the fusee is 
 shown in fig. 7, having a circular groove cut 
 ill it to receive the corresponding ring upon 
 the great wheek fig. 6 : the inner edge of 
 the groove is cut with teeth to form a 
 rachct wheel; when the whbel and fusee 
 are put together, a small click, g, (fig. 6) 
 takes into the teeth of the rachet: as the 
 fusee is turned by the key, to wind up the 
 watch, this click slips over the sloping sides 
 of tlie teeth without turning the great wheel; 
 but when the fusee, is turned the other way 
 by the chain, the- click catches the teeth of 
 the rachet wheel, and causes the cog wheel 
 to turn with the fusee ; the great wheel, jf, 
 h-as forty-eight teeth, and turns a pinion of 
 twelve teeth on an arbor in the centre of 
 the watch, which carries the minute hand : 
 a ■p'heel, h, of fifty-four teeth, called the 
 centre wheel, is fixed updn this arbor, and 
 turns a pinion on the same arbor with 
 the third wheel, k, of forty-eight teeth, 
 which turns the pinion of the contrate 
 wheel, i, of forty-eight teeth ; the contrate 
 wheel gives motion to a pinion of six teeth, 
 and to the balance wheel, m, whicii has fif- 
 teen large teeth, which stop against two 
 small pallets upon the arbor of the balance, 
 or verge, r: these pallets are two small 
 teeth, projecting from the verge at right 
 angles to each other; one engages the up- 
 per side of the wheel, and the other takes 
 the lower. By the action of the main- 
 spring, a, the wheels are all turned, and the 
 
WAT 
 
 balance wheel, m, if there was no obstruc- 
 tion, would turn with great velocity until 
 all the chain was wound otF the fusee ; but 
 one of the pallets of the verge is always en- 
 gaged with one of the teeth of the wheel, 
 suppose one of the teeth on the lower side ; 
 now, by the balance turning round to make 
 a vibration, the pallet allows the tooth to 
 slip off, and the wheel begins to run down 
 by the action of the main-epring, marking 
 the vibrations by moving the hands G H ; it 
 is, however, stopped immediately, by the 
 next tooth at the top of the wheel meeting 
 the upper pallet of the verge: the balance 
 and pallet was at that time just beginning 
 to return, and the top of the wheel moving 
 in contrary direction to the bottom, the 
 tooth presses against the pallet, and assists 
 the balance to maintain the same arc in its 
 vibration : when the balance is about to re- 
 turn, the upper tooth of the wheel slips off" 
 the pallet, and the lower one catches on the 
 lower pallet, and assists the balance as be- 
 fore ; one of the pivots of the balance wheel 
 w oiks in a small frame, y, called the pot- 
 tance ; the lower pivot of the verge works 
 in the bottom of it also, and the upper pivot 
 turns in a cock, F, screwed to the plate E, 
 and covering the balance to defend it from 
 injury. ’ 
 
 The hands, G H, are moved by the cen- 
 tral arbor which projects through the lower 
 plate, E, (fig. 6) and receives a pinion of 
 twelve teeth fixed on the end of a tube 
 which fits tight upon the arbor, but will slip 
 round easily to set the hands when the 
 watch is wrong : the other end of the tube 
 is square, and receives the minute hand, H, 
 which points out the minutes on a circle of 
 sixty upon the dial plate M M ; the pinion 
 on the tube turns a wheel, L, of forty-eight 
 (seen in plans in fig. 3) on whose arbor is 
 a wheel of sixteen, turning another wheel, 
 K, of forty-eight, the arbor ot vvhit h is a 
 tube fitting on the other tube, and has the 
 hour hand, G, fixed upou'it: by tins arrange- 
 ment the minute hand, H, turns round 
 twelve times for one revolution of the hour 
 hand, G. 
 
 As the time the-balance takes to perform 
 a vibration depends upon the arc it passes 
 through, the least increase of force in the 
 main-spring would alter the rate of the 
 watch; therefore the fusee is cut into a 
 spiral, diminishing from top to bottom, as 
 the spring draws tlie chain with greater 
 force when wound up than when it is more 
 released. The chain acts upon a shorter 
 leyer when the spring is wound up, and 
 
 WAT 
 
 npon a longer when it is down, so as to re- 
 gulate the unequal action of the spring to a 
 perfectly regular force upon the wheel 
 work. 
 
 As it will most probably happen that a 
 w'atch will not always keep the same time, 
 it is necessary to have an adjustment that 
 mai^ cause it to move faster or slower : this 
 can be done by two ways, either by increas- 
 ing or diminishing the force of the main- 
 spring, a, which increases or diminishes the 
 arc the balance describes ; or it may be 
 done by strengthening or weakening the 
 pendulum spring, o o, which will cause the 
 balance to move quicker or slower. The 
 first is done by turning the rachet wheel, b, 
 (fig. 5 and 3) on the end of the arbor of the 
 main-spring, thereby winding up or letting 
 down the spring without turning the fusee ; 
 but as this is a very coarse adjustment, it is 
 never used but by the maker, and recourse 
 is had to the pendulum spring, o, (fig. 2) 
 which is fixed to a stud, r, upon the plate 
 E, by one end, and the verge of the balance 
 by the other: p is a small piece of metal, 
 called the curb, having a notch in it to re- 
 ceive the spring : the acting part of the 
 spring is from p to the centre ; and as the 
 curb, p, is moveable, the acting loiigth can 
 be altered : the curb is cut into teeth, and 
 turned by a pinion, q, (fig. 4) which repre- 
 sents the piece, sssss, detached from the 
 plate, E, and turned up : the pinion, g, has a 
 small dial, divided into thirty, fixed to its 
 arbor on the upper side of the plate, s s, by 
 which it can be set so as to regulate the 
 watch to the utmost nicety : tttt (fig. l) 
 are four pillars by which the two plates, 
 E E, of the watch are held together ; and 
 tttt (fig. 2) represent the heads ot the 
 same pillars coming through tlie upper 
 plate, and small pins put through to keep 
 the plate down. 
 
 WATER, a transparent fluid, without 
 colour, smell, or daste, in a very small degree 
 compressible ; when pure, not liable to 
 spontaneous change ; liquid in the common 
 temp'erature of our atmosphere, assuming 
 tlie solid form at 32'* Fahrenheit, and the 
 gaseous at 212“, but returning unaltered to 
 its liquid state on resuming any degree of 
 heat between these points, capable 6f dis- 
 solving a greater number of natural bodies 
 than any other fluid whatever, especially of 
 those known by the name of the saline ; 
 performing the most important functions in 
 the vegetable and animal kingdoms, and 
 entering largely into their compo-sition as 
 a constituent part. Water is formed of 
 
WATER. 
 
 liydrogen, combined with oxygen, in the 
 proportion of 14.42 to 85.58. Water is 
 assumed as the standard, or unity, in all 
 tri'files of specific gravity. A cubic inch of 
 it weighs, at thirty inches of the barometer, 
 and 60“ thermometer, 252,422 grains. Wa- 
 fer does not enter tlie list of materia me- 
 dica of* any of the colleges, but it is so im- 
 portant, both as an article of diet, and as 
 an agent in the cure of diseases, that a 
 bi'iet a( count of its varieties and properties 
 cannot but be proper in this place. The 
 purest natural water is melt^ snow, or 
 rain, . collected in the open fields. That 
 which falls in towns, or is collected from 
 the roofs of houses, is contaminated with 
 soot, animal effluvia, atid other impurities; 
 although, after it has rained for some time , 
 the quantity of these diminishes so much, 
 that hlorvean says, it may be rendered al- 
 most perfectly pure by means of a little 
 barytic w'ater and exposure to the atmos- 
 phere. Rain . wafer, after it falls, either 
 remains on the surface of the earth, or 
 penetrates through it until it meets with 
 some impenetrable obstruction to its pro- 
 gress, when it bursts out at some lower 
 part, forming a spring or well. The water 
 on the surface of the earth either descends 
 along its declivities in streams, which, gra- 
 dually wearing channels for themselves, 
 combine to form rivers, which at last reach 
 the sea ; or it remains stagnant in cavities 
 of considerable depth, forming lakes or 
 ponds, or on nearly level ground forming 
 marshes. Although the varieties of spring 
 waters are exceedingly numerous, they may 
 be divided into, 1. flie soft, which are suffi- 
 ciently pure to dissolve soap, and to answer 
 the purposes of pure water in general. ' 2 
 The hard, which contain earthy salts, de- 
 compose soap, and are unfit for many pur- 
 poses, both in domestic economy and in 
 manulactnrcs. 3. The saline, which are 
 .strongly impregnated with soluble salts. 
 When spring waters possess any peculiar 
 character, they are called mineral waters. 
 See Waters, mineral. 
 
 River water is in general soft, as it is 
 formed of spring water, which by exposure 
 becomes more pure; and running surface 
 water, witich although turbid from particles 
 of clay suspended in it, is otherwise very 
 pure. Lake water is similar to river water. 
 The water of marshes, on the contrary, is 
 exceedingly impure, and often highly fetid, 
 from the great proportion of animal and 
 vegetable matters , constantly decaying in 
 them. 
 
 So early as the year 1776, an experiment 
 was made by Macquer to ascertain what 
 would be the product of the combustion of 
 iifflammable air, or hydrogen gas. He 
 accordingly set fire to a bottle full of it, 
 and held a saucer over the flame, but no 
 soot appeared upon it as he expected, for 
 it remained quite clean, and was bedewed 
 with drops which were found to be pure 
 water. Various conjectures were now 
 formed about the nature of the product of 
 the combustion of oxygen and hydrogen 
 gases.' By some it was supposed the car- 
 bonic acid gas; by others it was conjec- 
 tured it would be the sulphurous or sulphu- 
 ric acid. The latter was the opinion of 
 M. Lavoisier. Such were the experiments 
 and opinions of the French chemists previ- 
 ously to the year 1781. About the beginning 
 of that year, Mr. Warltire, a lecturer in 
 natural philosophy, had long entertained an 
 opinion that the combustion of hydrogen 
 gas with atinosj)heric air, might determine 
 the question, whether heat be a heavy 
 body. Apprehensive of danger in making 
 the experiment, he had for some time de- 
 clined it, but was at last encouraged by 
 Dr. Priestley, and accordingly prepared an 
 apparatus for the purpose. This was a 
 copper vessel properly fitted, and filled 
 with atmospherical air and hydrogen gas, 
 which was exploded by making the electric 
 spark pass through it. A loss of weight of 
 two grains was observed after the comhus- 
 tion. A similar experiment was repeated 
 in close glass vessels, which, though clean 
 and dry before the combustion, became 
 immediately wet with moisture, and lined 
 with a sooty matter. This sooty matter, 
 Dr. Priestley afterwards supposed, pro- 
 ceeded from the mercury which had been 
 employed in filling the vessel. During tlie 
 same year Mr. Cavendish repeated the ex- 
 periments of Mr. Warltire and Dr. Priest- 
 ley. He perfonned them several times 
 with atmospheric air and hydrogen gas, in 
 a vessel which held 24,000 grains of water 
 and he never could perceive a loss of 
 W’eight more than one-fifth of a grain, and 
 often none at all. In all these experiments 
 not the least sooty matter appeared in the 
 inside of the glass. To e.xamine the nature 
 of the dew which appeared in the inside of 
 the glass, he burnt 500,000 grain measures 
 of hydrogen gas, with about two and a half 
 times that quantity of common air ; and in 
 this combustion he obtained one lumdred 
 and thirty-five grains of water, wlpch bad 
 neither taste nor smell, and w'hen it was 
 
WAT 
 
 evaporated, left no sensible sediment. It 
 seemed to be pure water. In another ex- 
 periment, he exploded, in a j;lass globej 
 19,500 grain measures of oxygen ga.s, and 
 37,000 of hydrogen gas, by means of the 
 electric spark. The result of the experi- 
 ment was thirty grains of water, which con- 
 tained a small quantity of nitric acid. The 
 experiments of Mr. Cavendish were made 
 in the year 1781, and they are undoubtedly 
 conclusive with regard to the composition 
 of water. It would appear that Mr. Watt 
 entei tained the same ideas on this subject. 
 When he was informed by Dr. Priestley of 
 the result of these experiments, he ob- 
 serves, ‘‘ Let ns consider what obviously 
 happens m the deflagration of hydrogen and 
 oxygen gases. These tw'o kinds of air 
 unite with violence, they become red hot, 
 and when cooling totally disappear. When 
 the vessel is cooled, a quantity of water is 
 found in it equal to the weight of the air 
 employed. The water is then the only 
 remaining product of the process; and wa- 
 ter, light, and heat are all the products, un- 
 less there be some other matter set free, 
 which escapes our sgnses. Are we not then 
 authorised to conclude, that water is com- 
 posed, of oxygen and hydrogen gases, de- 
 prived of part of their latent or elementary 
 heat ; that oxygen gas is composed of wa- 
 ter, deprived of its hydrogen, and united 
 to elementary heat and light ; and that the 
 latter are contained in it in a latent state, 
 so as not to be seMsible to' the thermometer 
 or to the eye. And if light be only a modi- 
 fication of heat, or a circumstance attend- 
 ing it, or a component part of the hydrogen 
 gas, then oxygen gas is composed of water 
 deprived of its hydrogen, and united to 
 elementary heat.” Thus it appears that 
 Mr. Watt had a just view of the compo- 
 sition of water, and of the nature of the pro- 
 cess by which its component parts pass to a 
 liquid state from that of an elastic fluid. 
 Towards the end of the same year, M. La- 
 voisier had made some experiments, the 
 result of which surprised him ; for the pro- 
 duct pf the combustion of the oxygen and 
 hydrogen gases, instead of being sulphuric 
 or sulphurous acid, as he expected it, was 
 pure w'ater. This led him to procure an 
 apparatus, with which the experiment might 
 be performed on a large scale, and with 
 more accuracy and precision. Accordingly 
 the experiments were performed, on the 
 twent 5 '-fourth of June, 1783, in presence 
 of several academicians, and also of Sir 
 Charles Hlagdcn, wb.o was at that time in 
 
 WAT 
 
 Paris. , A similar experiment was after- 
 wards performed by M. Monge, with the 
 same result ; and it was repeated again by 
 Lavoisier and Meusnier, on a scale so large 
 as to put the matter beyond a doubt. The 
 conclusion, therefore, from the whole was, 
 that water is composed of oxygen and hy- 
 drogen, Water exists in three different 
 states; in the solid state, or state of ice, in 
 the liquid, and- in the state of vapour or 
 steam. Its principal properties have al- 
 ready been detailed in treating of the 
 effects of caloric. It assumes the solid 
 form when it is cooled down to the tempe- 
 rature of 32°. In this state it increases in 
 bulk, by which it exerts a prodigious ex- 
 pansive force, which is owing to the new 
 arrangement of its particles, which assume 
 a crystalline form, the crystals crossing 
 each other at angles of 60° or 120°. The 
 specific gravity of ice is less than that of 
 water. When ice is exposed to a tempe- 
 r.'itnre above 32°, it absorbs caloric, which 
 then becomes latent, and is converted 
 into the liquid state, or that of Water. At 
 the temperature of 42W, w'ater has reached 
 its maximum of density. According to the 
 experiments of Lefevre Gineaux, a French 
 cubic foot of distilled water, taken at its 
 maximum of density, is equal to 70 pounds, 
 223 grains French, equal 529,452.9492 
 troy grains. An English cubic foot at the 
 same temperature weighs 437,102.4946 
 grains troy. By Professor Robinson’s ex- 
 periments it is ascertained, that a cubic foot 
 of water, at the temperature of 55”, weighs 
 998.74 avoirdupois ounces, of 437.5 grains 
 troy each, or about li ounce less than 1000 
 avoirdupois ounces. When water is exposed 
 to the temperature of 212°, it boils ; and if 
 this temperature be coniinued, the whole i.s 
 converted into an elastic invisible fluid, 
 called vapour or steam. This, as has been 
 already shown, is owing to the absorption 
 of a quantity of caloric, which is necessary 
 to retain it in the fluid form. In this state 
 it is about 1800 times its bulk wheri in 
 the state of water. This shows what an ex- 
 pansive force it must exert when it is con- 
 fined, and hence its application in the 
 steam engine, of which it is the moving 
 power. 
 
 Waters, mineral. The complete and ac- 
 curate analysis of mineral waters is one of 
 the most diflicult subjects of chemical re- 
 search, and requires a very extensive ac- 
 quaintance with the properties and habi- 
 tudes of a numerous class of substances. 
 Such minuteness, however, is scarcely ever 
 
WATERS, MINERAL. 
 
 required in the experiments that are subser- 
 vient to the ordinary purposes of life ; a ge- 
 neral knowledge of the romposition of bo- 
 dies being sufficient to assist in directing 
 the most useful applications of them. In- 
 stead therefore of giving a very ample de- 
 tail of all the methods pointed out by Kir- 
 wan and others, we shall describe the means 
 wliich are most generally useful in re« 
 searches of this kind. 
 
 Before any proceeding is made in the 
 analysis of a water, it is proper to inquire 
 into its natural history, and to examine at- 
 tentively its physical characters. The tem- 
 perature of the water must be carefully ob- 
 served, and the qtiantity inquired into, which 
 it yields in a given time. The sensible qua- 
 lities of taste, smell, degree of transparen- 
 cy, &c. are also 'best ascertained at the 
 fountaiu-iiead. The specific gravity of the 
 water must also be found. See Gravity, 
 specific- 
 
 The readiest way of judging of the con- 
 tents of mineial wafers are by applying 
 tests or re-agents, the chief of which are the 
 following : 
 
 Infusion of litmus is a test of most un- 
 combined acids. 
 
 If the infusion redden the unboiled, but 
 not the boiled water, we may infer, tliat 
 the acid is volatile, and most probably, the 
 carbonic. Sulphuretted hydrogen gas, dis- 
 solved iu water, also reddens litmus, but 
 not after boiling. 
 
 To ascertain whether the change be pro- 
 duced by carbonic acid, or by sulphuretted 
 hydrogen, when experiiueiit shows that the 
 reddening cause is volatile, add barytic wa- 
 ter. This, if carbonic acid be present, will 
 occasion a preihpitate, which will dissolve, 
 •w'ith effervescence, on adding a little muri- 
 atic acid. Sulpliuretted hydrogen may also 
 be contained, along witli carbonic acid, in 
 the same water; which will be determined 
 by tlie tests hereafter to be described. Pa- 
 per tinged with litmus is also reddened l)y 
 tlie presence of carbonic acid, but regains 
 its blue colour on drying. 
 
 Infusion of Litmus reddened by Phosphoric 
 Add,-— Tincture of Brazil wood, — Tincture 
 of 'Turmeric, and Paper stained with each of 
 these three Substances, — Tincture of Red Cab- 
 bage.— All these different tests have one 
 and the same object. 
 
 Infusion of litmus, reddened by phospho- 
 ric acid, or litmus paper reddened by it, 
 has its blue colour restored by alkalies and 
 earths, and by carbonated alkalies and car- 
 bonated earths. Turmeric paper and tinc- 
 
 ture are changed to a reddish brown by 
 alkalies, whether freed fiom carbonic acid 
 or not; by earths, freed from carbonic acid, 
 but not by carbonated eartlis. 
 
 The red infusion of Brazil-wood, and pa- 
 per stained with it, become' blue by alka- 
 lies and earths, and even by the latter, 
 W'hcn dissolved by an excess of carbonic 
 acid. In the last mentioned case, however, 
 tire change will either cease to appear, or 
 will be much less remarkable when the wa- 
 ter lias been boiled. 
 
 Tincture of' cabbage is, by the same 
 causes, tniiied green ; as is also paper stain- 
 ed with the juice of the violet, or with the 
 scrapings of radishes. 
 
 Tincture of gulls, — Tincture of galls is 
 employed for discovering iron, with which 
 it produces a black tinge. The iron, how- 
 ever, in order to be detected by this test, 
 must be in the state of a red oxide, or, if 
 oxydized in a less degree, its effects will not 
 be apparent, unless after standing some 
 time in contact with the air. By applying 
 this test before and after evaporation, or 
 boiling, we may know whether the iron be 
 held in solution by carbonic acid, or by a 
 fixed acid ; for, 
 
 1. If it produce its effect before the ap- 
 plication of heat, and not afterward, carbo- 
 nic acid is the solvent. 
 
 2. If after, as well as before, a fixed and 
 vulgarly called mineral acid is the solvent. 
 
 3. If, by the boiling, a yellowish pow- 
 der be precipitated, and yet galls continue 
 to strike the water black, the iron, as often 
 happens, is dissolved both by carbonic 
 acid gas and by a fixed acid. 
 
 Sulphuric Acid. — Sulphuric acid discovers, 
 by a slight effervescence, the presence of 
 carlionic acid, whether uncombiued or unit- 
 ed with alkalies or earths. 
 
 2. If lime be present, the addition of sul- 
 phuric acid occasions, after a few days, a 
 white precipitate. 
 
 3. Barytes is piecipatcd instantly, in the 
 form of a white powder. 
 
 4. Nitric or muriatic salts, in a dry state, 
 or dissolved in very little water, on adding 
 sulphuric acid, and applying heat, are de- 
 composed : and if a stopper, moistenetl with 
 solution of ammonia, be held over the ves- 
 sel, white clouds will appear. For distin- 
 guishing whether nitric or muriatic acid be 
 the cause of this appearance, rules will be 
 given hereafter. 
 
 Oxalic Add and Oxalates. — This acid is 
 a most delicate test of lime, which it sepa- 
 rates from ail its combinations. 
 

 
 ' 7 ; 
 
 
 WATERS, MINERAL. 
 
 1 . If a watpr, which is precpitated by ox- 
 alic acid, become milky on adding a wa- 
 tery solution of carbonic acid, or by blow’- 
 ing air through it from the lungs, by means 
 of a quill or glass tube, we may infer that 
 lime (or barytes which has never yet been 
 found pure in waters) is present in an un- 
 combiiicd state, 
 
 2. If the oxalic acid occasion a precipi- 
 tate before, but not after boiling, the lime 
 is dissolved by an excess of carbonic acid. 
 
 3. If after boiling, by a fixed acid. A 
 considerable, excess of any of the mineral 
 acids, however, prevents the oxalic acid from 
 occasioning a precipitate, even though lime 
 be present j because some acids decompose 
 the oxalic, and others, dissolving the oxa- 
 late of lime, prevent it from appearing. 
 (Vide Kirwan on Waters, page 88). 
 
 The oxalate of ammonia, or of potash, are 
 not liable to the above objection, and are 
 preferable, as re-agents to the uncombined 
 acid. Yet even these oxalates tail to detect 
 lime when supersaturated with muriatic or 
 nitric acids ; and, if such an exbess be pre- 
 sent, it must be saturated, before adding 
 the test, with ammonia. A precipitate will 
 then be produced. 
 
 Tlie quantity of lime, contained in the 
 precipitate, may be known, by first igniting 
 it with access of air, which converts the 
 oxalate into a carbonate ; and by expelling 
 from this last the carbonic acid, by a strong 
 hejt, in a covered crucible. According to 
 Dr. Marcet, 117 grains of sidphate of lime 
 give 100 of oxalate of lime, dried at 160° 
 Fahrenheit. 
 
 Fluate of ammonia is also a most delicate 
 test of time. 
 
 Barytic IFater.—l. Barytic water is a 
 very effectual test for detecting the pre- 
 sence of carbonic acid, with which it forms 
 a precipitate, which is soluble with effer- 
 vescence in dilute nitric, or better in mu- 
 riatic acid. 
 
 2. Barytic water is also a most sensible 
 test of sulphuric acid and its combinations, 
 which it indicates by a precipitate not so- 
 luble in muriatic acid. 
 
 Metals.— Of the metals, silver, bismuth, 
 and mercury, are tests of the presence of 
 'hydro-sulphurets, and of sulphuretted hy- 
 drogen gas. If a little quicksilver be put 
 into a bottle, containing water impregnated 
 with either of these substances, its surface 
 soon acquires a black film, and, on shaking 
 the bottle, a blackish powder separates 
 from it. Silver leaf and bismuth are speed- 
 ily tarnished by the same cause. 
 
 Sulphate, Nitrate, and Acetate of SiU 
 fpr. — These solutions are all, in some mea- 
 sure, applicable to the same purpose. 
 
 Tliey are peculiarly adapted to the disco- 
 very of muriatic acid and of muriates, with 
 which they form a white precipitate. A 
 precipitation, however, may arise from other 
 causes, which it may be proper to state. 
 The solutions of silver in acids are precipi- 
 tated by carbonated alkalies and earths. 
 The agency of the alkalies and earths may 
 be prevented, by previously saturating them 
 with a few drops of the same acid in which 
 the silver is dissolved. The nitrate and ace- 
 tate of silver are decomposed by the sul- 
 phuric and sulphureous acids ; but this may 
 be prevented by adding, previously, a few 
 drops of nitrate or acetate of barytes,' and, 
 after allowing the precipitate to subside, 
 the clear liquor may be decanted, and the 
 solution of silver added. Should a preci- 
 pitate now take place, the presence of mu- 
 riatic acid, or some of its combinations, 
 may be suspected. To obviate uncertain- 
 ty, whether a precipitate be owing to sul- 
 phuric or muriatic acid, a solution of sul- 
 phate of sijver may be employed, which, 
 when no uncombined alkali, or earth, is pre- 
 sent, is affected only by the latter acid. 
 
 The solutions of silver are also precipi- 
 tated by sulphuretted hydrogen, and by 
 hydro-sulphurets; but the precipitate is 
 then reddish, or brown, or black ; or it 
 may be at first white, and afterwards be- 
 come speedily brown or black. It is solu- 
 ble, in great part, in dilute nitrous acid, 
 which is not the case if occasioned by mu- 
 riatic or sulphuric acid. 
 
 The solutions of silver are precipitated 
 by extractive matter ; but in this case also 
 the precipitate has a dark colour, and is so- 
 luble in nitrous acid. 
 
 Acetate of Lead . — Acetate of lead is a test 
 of sulphuretted hydrogen and of hydro-snl- 
 phurets of alkalies, which occasion a black 
 precipitate ; and if a paper, on which cha- 
 racters are traced with a solution of acetate 
 of lead, be held over a portion of water 
 containing sulphuretted hydrogen gas, they 
 are soon rendered visible, especially when 
 the water is a little warmed. 
 
 Muriate, Nitrate, and Acetate of Barytes. 
 
 These solutions are all most delicate tests 
 
 of sulphuric acid and of its combinations, 
 with which they give a white precipitate, 
 insoluble in dihite muriatic acid. They are 
 decomposed, however, by carbonated alka- 
 lies ; but the precipitates, occasioned by 
 carbonates, is soluble in dilute muriatic or 
 
WATERS, 
 
 nitric acid, with effervescence, and may 
 even be prevented by adding previously a 
 few drops of the same acid as that con- 
 tained in the barytic salt, which is em- 
 ployed. 
 
 One hundred grains of dry sulphate of 
 barytes contain (according to Klaproth, 
 vol. i. p, 168.) about of sulphuric 
 acid, of the specific gravity 1850; accord- 
 ing to Clayfield, ( Nicholson’s Journal, 
 4to. iii. 38;) 33 of acid, of specific gra- 
 vity 2240 ; according to nteviiard, after cal- 
 cination, about 25 ; and according to Mr. 
 Kirwan, after ignition, 23.5 of real acid. 
 The same chemist states, that iro grains of 
 ignited sulphate of barytes denote 100 of 
 dried sulphate of soda ; while 136.36 of the 
 same substance indicate 100 of dry sulphate 
 of potash; and tOO parts result from the 
 precipitation of 52.11 of sulphate of mag- 
 nesia. 
 
 From Klaproth’s experiments, it appears 
 that 1000 grains of sulphate of barytes indi- 
 cate 595 of desiccated sulphate of soda, 
 Or 141 6 of tbe crystallized salt. The same 
 chemist has shown, that 100 grains of sul- 
 phate of barytes are produced by the preci- 
 pitation of 71 grains of sulphate of lime. 
 
 Prussiates of Potash and of Lime. — Of 
 these two, the prnssiate of potash is the 
 most eligible. When pure, it does not 
 speedily assume a blue colour, on ihe addi- 
 tion of an acid, nor does it immediately pre- 
 cipitate muriate of barytes. 
 
 Prussiate of potash is a very sensible test 
 of iron, with the solutions of which in acids 
 it produces a Prussian blue precipitate, in 
 consequence of a double elective affinity. 
 To render its effects more certain, how- 
 ever, it may be proper to add, previously, 
 to any water suspected to contain iron, a 
 little muriatic acid, with a view to the sa- 
 turation of uncombined alkalies or earths, 
 which, if present, prevent the detection of 
 very minute quantities of iron. 
 
 1. If a water, after boiling and filtration, 
 does not afford a blue precipitate, on the 
 addition of prussiate of potash, the solvent 
 of the ii on may be inferred to be a volatile 
 one, and probably the carbonic acid. 
 
 2. Should the precipitation ensue in the 
 boiled water, the solvent is a fixed acid' 
 the nature of which must be ascertained by 
 other tests. 
 
 In using the prnssiate of potash for the 
 discovery of iron, considerable caution is 
 necessary, in order to attain accurate re- 
 sults. The prnssiate should, on all occa- 
 sions, be previously crystallized ; and the 
 
 MINERAL. I 
 
 quantity of oxide of iron essential to its con- 
 stitution, or at least an invariable accompa- 
 niment, should be previously ascertained in 
 the following manner'; Expose a known 
 weight of the crystallized salt to a low red 
 heat in a silver crucible. After fusing and 
 boiling up, it will become dry, and will 
 then blacken. Let it cool ; wash off the 
 soluble part ; collect the rest oa a filter; dry 
 it, and again calcine it with a little wax. 
 Let it be again W'eighed, and the result will 
 show the proportion of oxide of iron present 
 in the salt which has been examined. This 
 varies from 22 to 30 and upwards per cent. 
 When the test is employed for discovering 
 iron, let a known weight of the salt be dis- 
 solved in a given quantity of water; add 
 the solution gradually ; and observe how 
 much is expended in effecting the precipi- 
 tation. Before collecting the precipitate, 
 warm the liquid, which generally throws 
 down a further portion of Prussian blue. 
 Let the whole be washed and dried, and 
 then ignited with wax. From the weight 
 of the oxide obtained, deduct that quantity, 
 which, by tlie former experiment, is known 
 to be present in the prussiate that has been 
 added; and the remainder will denote the 
 quantity of oxide of iron present in the li- 
 quor which is under examination. 
 
 Succinate of Soda and Succinate of Ammo- 
 nia are also tests for iron. 
 
 In applying these agents, it is necessary 
 not to use more than is sufficient for the 
 purpose ; because an excess of them re-dis- 
 solves the precipitate. The best mode of 
 proceeding is to heat the solution contain- 
 ing iron, and to add gradually the solution 
 of succinate, until it ceases to produce any 
 effect. A brownish precipitate is obtained, 
 consisting'of succinate of iron. This, when 
 heated with a little wax, in a low red heat,, 
 gives an oxide of iron containing about se- 
 venty per cent, of the metal. 
 
 The succinates, however, precipitate alu- 
 raine, provided there be no considerable 
 excess of acid in the aluminous salt. On 
 magnesia they have no action, and hence 
 they may be successfully employed in the 
 separation of these two earths. 
 
 Phosphate of Soda.— An easy and valua- 
 ble method of precipitating magnesia has 
 been suggested by Dr. Wollaston. It is 
 founded on the property which fully neu- 
 tialized carbonate of ammonia possesses; 
 fiist to dissolve tiie carbonate of magnesia 
 formed, when it is added to the solution of 
 magnesian salt. For this purpose a solution 
 of carbonate of ammonia, prepared with a 
 
WATERS, MINERAL. 
 
 portion of that salt which has been exposed, 
 spread on a paper, for a few hours to the 
 air, is to be added to the solution of the 
 magnesian salt sufficiently concentrated; 
 or to a water suspected to contain magne- 
 sia, after being very much reduced by eva- 
 poration. No precipitate will appear, till 
 a solution of phosphate of soda is added, 
 when an abundant one will fall down. Let 
 this be dried in a temperature not exceed- 
 ing too® Fahrenheit. One hundred grains 
 of it will indicate nineteen of magnesia, or 
 about sixty-four of muriate of magnesia. 
 
 Muriate of Lime. — Muriate of lime is 
 principally of use in discovering the pre- 
 setice of alkaline carbonates, which, though 
 they very rarely occur, have sometimes 
 been found in mineral waters. Of all the 
 three alkaline carbonates, muriate of lime 
 is a sufficient re agent ; for those salts se- 
 parate from it a carbonate of lime, soluble, 
 with effervescence, in muriatic acid. 
 
 With respect to the discrimination of the 
 different alkalies, potash may be detected 
 by muriate of platina. Carbonate of ammo- 
 nia may be discovered by its smell ; and by 
 its precipitating a neutral salt of aiumine, 
 while it has no, action apparently on mag-^ 
 nesian salts. , 
 
 To estimate the proportion of an alkaline 
 carbonate present in any water, saturate 
 its base with sulphuric acid, and note the 
 weight of real acid which is required. Now 
 too grains of real sulphuric acid saturate 
 181.48 potash, and 78.32 soda. 
 
 Analysis of Waters by Evaporation . — 
 The reader, who may wish for rules for the 
 complete and accurate analysis of mineral 
 waters, will find in almost every chemical 
 work a chapter allotted to this subject. He 
 may consult Kirwan’s “ Essay on the Ana- 
 lysis of Mineral Waters,” London, 1799. 
 
 Before evaporation, however, the gaseous 
 products of the water must be collected, 
 which may be done by filling with it a 
 large glass bottle, or retort, capable of hold- 
 ing about fifty cubic inches, and furnished 
 with a ground stopper and bent tube. The 
 bottle is to be placed up to its neck in a 
 kettle filled with brine, which must be kept 
 boiling for an hour or two, renewing, by 
 fresh portions of hot water, what is lost by 
 evaporation. The disengaged gas is con- 
 veyed, by a bent tube, into a graduated 
 jar, filled with, and inverted in, mercury, 
 where its bulk is to be determined. On the 
 first impression of the heat, however, the 
 
 water will be expanded, and portions will 
 continue to esc.ape into the graduated jar 
 till the water has obtaineil its maximum of 
 temperature. This must be suffered to es- 
 cape, and its quantity to be deducted from 
 that of the water submitted to experiment. 
 
 In determining, with precision, the quan- 
 tity of gas, it is necessary to attend to the 
 state of the barometer and thermometer. 
 
 The gases most commonly found in mine, 
 ral waters, are carbonic acid ; sulphuretted 
 hydrogen; nitrogen; oxygen gas; and, in 
 the neighbourhood of volcanoes only, sul- 
 phureous acid gas. 
 
 To determine the proportion of the gases, 
 constituting any mixture obtained from a 
 mineral water in the foregoing manner, the 
 following experiments may be made. If 
 the use of re-agents has not detected the 
 presence of sulphuretted hydrogen, and 
 there is reason to believe, from the same 
 evidence, tliat carbonic acid forms a part of 
 the mixture, let a graduated tube be nearly 
 filled with it over quicksilver; pass up a 
 small portion of solution of potash, and agi- 
 tate this in contact with the gas; the 
 amount of the diminution will show how 
 much carbonic acid has been absorbed ; 
 and, if the quantity submitted to experi- 
 ment was an aliquot part of the whole gas 
 obtained, it is easy to infer the total quan- 
 tity present in the water. The unabsorb- 
 able residuum consists, most probably, of 
 oxygen and azotic gases; and the propor- 
 tion of these two is best learned by the use 
 of Dr.' Hope’s eudiometer. 
 
 If sulphuretted hydrogen be present, 
 along with carbonic acid, the separation of 
 these two is a problem of some difficulty. 
 Mr. Kirwan recommends, that a graduated 
 glass vessel, completely filled with the mix- 
 ture, be removed into a vessel containing 
 nitrous acid. This instantly condenses the 
 sulphuretted hydrogen, but not the car- 
 bonic acid gas. It seems to be a more eli- 
 gible mode to cdndense the sulphuretted 
 hydrogen by oxymuriatic acid gas (obtain- 
 ed from muriatic and hyper-oxymuriate of 
 potash), adding the latter gas very cau- 
 tiously, as long as it produces any condensa- 
 tion. Or, perhaps, a better plan of effect- 
 ing the separation is the following, recom- 
 mended by Mr. Henry : half fill a graduated 
 phial with the mixed carbonic acid and sul- 
 phuretted hydrogen gases, and expel the 
 rest of the water by oxymuriatic aeid gas. 
 Let the mouth of the bottle be then closed 
 with a well ground stopper, and let the 
 

 WATERS, 
 
 mixture be kept twenty-four hours. Then 
 ■withdraw the stopper under water, a quan- 
 tity of which fluid will immediately rush in. 
 Allow the bottle to stand half an hour with 
 out agitation. The redundant oxymuriatic 
 acid gas will thus be absorbed ; and very 
 little of the carbonic acid will disappear. 
 Su])posing that, to ten cubic inches of the 
 mixed gases, ten incites of oxymuriatic gas 
 have been added, and that, after absorp- 
 tion, by standing over water, five inches re- 
 main, the result of this experiment shows, 
 that the mixture consisted of equal parts of 
 sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid 
 gases. 
 
 Whenever this complicated admixture of 
 gases occurs, as in the Harrowgate, and in 
 some of the Cheltenham waters, it is ad- 
 visable to operate separately on two por- 
 tions of gas, with the view to determine, by 
 the one, the quantity of carbonic acid and 
 sulphuretted hydrogen ; and that of azote 
 and oxygen by the other. In the latter in- 
 stance, remove both the absorbable gases 
 by caustic potash, and examine the remain- 
 der in the manner already directed. 
 
 Nitrogen gas sometimes occurs in mine- 
 ral waters, almost in an unmixed state. 
 Wlien this happens, the gas will be known 
 by the characters already described as be- 
 longing to it. Sulphureous acid gas may 
 be detected by its peculiar smell of burning 
 sulphur, and by its discharging fhe colour-' 
 of an infusion of roses, which has been red- 
 dened by the smallest quantity of any acid 
 adequate to the effect. 
 
 («) The water should next be evaporated 
 to dryness. The dry mass, when collected 
 and accurately weighed, is to be put in a 
 bottle, and highly rectified alcohol poured 
 on it, to the depth of an inch. After hav- 
 ing stood a few hours, and been occasion- 
 ally shaken, pour the whole on a filter, wash 
 it with a little more alcohol, and dry and 
 weigh the ren)ainder. 
 
 (h) To the undissolved residue add nine 
 times its weight 'of cold distilled water; 
 shake the mixture frequently; and, after 
 some time, filter ; ascertaining the loss of 
 weight. 
 
 (c) Boil the residuum, for a quarter of 
 an hour, in sometimes more than five hun- 
 dred times its weight of water, and after- 
 wards filter. 
 
 (d) The residue, which must be dried 
 and weighed, is no longer soluble in water 
 or alcohol. If it has a brown colour, de- 
 noting the presence of iron, let it be moist- 
 
 MINERAL. 
 
 ened with water, and exposed to the sun'# 
 rays for some weeks. 
 
 I. The sohition in alcohol (a) may con- 
 tain one or all of the following salts : mu- 
 riates of lime, magnesia, or barytes, or ni- 
 trates of the same earths. Sometimes, also, 
 the alcohol may take up sulphate of iron, ;n 
 which the metal i^ highly oxydized, as will 
 appear by its reddish-brown colour. 
 
 1. In order to discover the quality and 
 quantity of the ingredients, evaporate to 
 dryness; weigh the residuum; add above 
 half its weight of strong sulphuric acid ; and 
 apply a moderate heat. The muriatic or 
 nitric acid will be expelled, and will be 
 know'n by the colour of their fumes ; the 
 former being white, and the latter orange- 
 coloured. 
 
 2. To ascertain whether lime or magne- 
 sia be the basis of the salts, let'the beat be 
 continued till no more fumes arise, and let 
 it then be raised to expel the excess of sul- 
 phuric acid. To the dry mass, add twice 
 its weight of distilled water. This will take 
 up the sulphate of magnesia, and leave the 
 sulphate ot lime. The two sulphates may 
 be separately decomposed, by boiling with 
 three or four times their weight of carbo- 
 nate of potash. The carbonates of lime 
 and magnesia, thus obtained, may be sepa- 
 rately dissolved in muriatic acid, and eva- 
 porated. Tlie weight of the dry salts will 
 inform «s bow much of each the alcohol bad 
 taken up. Lime and magnesia may also be 
 separated by the use of phosphate of soda. 
 
 II. The watery solution (b) may contain 
 a variety of salts, the accurate separation 
 of whicli from each other is a problem of 
 considerable difficulty. 
 
 1. The analysis of this solution may be 
 attempted by crystallization. For this pur- 
 pose let one half be evaporated by a very 
 gentle beat, not exceeding 80“ or 90“. 
 Should any crystals appear on the surface 
 of the solution, while hot, in the form of a 
 pellicle, let them be separated and dried 
 on bibulous paper. These are muriate of 
 soda, or common salt. The remaining so- 
 lution, on cooling very gradually, will per- 
 haps affoid crystals distinguislrable by their 
 form and other qualifies. When various 
 salts, however, are contained in tbq same 
 solution, it is extremely difficult to obtain 
 them sufficiently distinct to ascertain their 
 kind. 
 
 2. The nature of the saline contents must 
 therefore be examined by tests, or re- 
 agents. 
 
WAT 
 
 The presence of an uncombfncd al- 
 kali, as well as uiicombined acids, will 
 be ’discovered by the stained papers, 
 and tests already pointed out. The ve- 
 getable alkali, or potash, may be distin- 
 guished from the mineral, or soda, by mu- 
 riate of platina. 
 
 If neutral salts be present in the so- 
 lution, we have to ascertain both the na- 
 ture of the acid, and that of the base. 
 This may be done by attention to the 
 rules already given, for the application of 
 tests, which it is unnecessary to repeat in 
 this place. 
 
 III. The solution by boiling water con- 
 tains scarcely any thing besides sulphate of 
 lime. 
 
 IV. The residuum (d) is to be digested 
 in distilled vinegar, which takes up magne- 
 sia and lime, but leaves, undissolved, alu- 
 mine and highly oxydized iron. Evaporate 
 the solution to dryness. If it contain ace- 
 tate of lime only, a substance will be ob- 
 tained which does not attract moisture from 
 tlie air ; if magnesia be present, the mass 
 will deliquesce. To separate, the lime from 
 the magnesia, proceed as in I. 
 
 Tlie resniue insoluble in acetous acid, 
 may contain aluniine, iron, and silex. The 
 two first may be dissolved by muriatic acid, 
 from which the iron may be precipitated, 
 first by prussiate of potash, and the alumine 
 afterward by a fixed alkali. 
 
 Water ordciil, or Trial, among our 
 ancestors, was of two kinds, by hot and by 
 cold water. Trial, or purgation, by boil- 
 ing or hot water, was a way of prqving 
 crimes, by immerging the body, or the 
 arm, in hot water, with divers religions ce- 
 remonies. In tlie judgment by boiling wa- 
 ter, the accused, or he who personated the 
 accused, was obliged to put his naked arm 
 into a cauldron full of , boiling water, and to 
 draw out a stone thence placed at a gieater 
 or less depth, according to the quality ot 
 the crime. This done, the ai m was wrapp- 
 ed up, and the judge set his seal on tiie 
 cltfth, and at the end of three days they re- 
 turned to view it, when if it were found 
 without any scald, the accused was declared 
 innocent. The, nobles or great personages 
 purged themselves thus, by hot water, and 
 the populace, by cold water. The trial, or 
 purgation, by cold water, was thus : after 
 ceilain prayers and other ceremonies, the 
 accused was swaddled, or tied up, all in a 
 pelotoon or lump, ami thus cast into a ri- 
 ver, lake, or vessel, of cold water, where if 
 
 WAT 
 
 he sunk he was held criminal, if he floated, 
 innocent. 
 
 Water bailiff', is an officer in sea-port 
 towns, appointed for the searching of ships ; 
 and in London, the water bailiff hath the 
 supervising and search of fish, brought thi- 
 ther ; and the gathering of the toll arising 
 from the Thames ; his office is likewise to 
 arrest men for debt, &;c. or otlier personal 
 or criminal matters upon the river Thames. 
 
 Water spout, an extraordinary meteor, 
 most frequently observed at sea. It gene- 
 rally begins by a cloud, which appears very 
 small, and which is called by the sailors the 
 squall ; this augments in a little time into 
 an enormous cloud of a cylindrical form, 
 or that of a cone on its apex, and pro- 
 duces a noise like the roaring of an agi- 
 tated sea, sometimes accompanied with 
 thunder and liglitning, and also large quan- 
 tities of rain or hail, sufficient to inundate 
 large vessels, and carry away in their course ; 
 when tliey occur by land, trees, houses, and 
 every thing that opposes their impetuosity. 
 Sailors, dreading the fatal consequences of 
 water spouts, endeavour to dissipate them 
 by firing a cannon into them just before they 
 approach the ship. We shall give' an ac- 
 count of one as described by M. Tourne- 
 fort, in his Voyage to the Levant. 
 
 “ The first of these,” says this traveller, 
 “ that we saw, was about a musqnet-shot 
 from our ship. There we perceived the 
 Walter began to boil, and to rise about a foot 
 above its level. The water was agitated 
 an(i whitish; and above its surface there 
 seemed to stand a smoke, such as might be 
 imagined to come from wet straw before it 
 begins to blaze. It made a sort of a mur- 
 'muring sound, like that of a torrent heard 
 at a distance, mixed, at the same time, 
 with a hissing noise, like that of a serpent : 
 shortly after we perceived a column of. this 
 smoke rise up to the clouds, at the same 
 time whirling about with great rapidity. It 
 appeared to be as thick as one’s finger ; and 
 the former sound still continued. Wien 
 this disappeared, after lasting for about 
 eight minutes, upon turning to the opposite 
 qu-arter of tlie sky, we perceived anotlier, 
 which began in the manner of the former ; 
 presently after a third appeared in the west ; 
 and instantly beside it still another arose. 
 The most distant of- these three could not 
 be above a musket-shot from the ship. 
 They all continued like so many heaps of 
 wet straw set on fire, that continued to 
 smoke, and to make the same noise as be- 
 fore. We soon after perceived each, with 
 
WATER SPOUT. 
 
 its respective canal, mounting up in the 
 clouds; and spreading, where it touched 
 the cloud, like the mouth of a trumpet ; 
 making a figure, to express it intelligibly, 
 as if the tail of an animal was pulled at one 
 end by a weight. These canals were of a 
 whitish colour, and so tinged, as I suppose, 
 by the water which was contained in them ; 
 for, previous to this, they were apparently 
 empty, and of the colour of transparent 
 glass. These canals were not straight, but 
 bent in some parts, and far from being per- 
 pendicular, but rising in their clouds with a 
 very inclined ascent. But what is very 
 particular, the cloud to which one of them 
 was pointed happening to be driven by the 
 wind, the spout still continued to follow its 
 motion without being broken ; and passing 
 behind one of the oihers, the spouts crossed 
 each other, in the form of a St. Andrewf’s 
 cross. Ill the beginning they were all about 
 as thick as one’s finger, except at the lop, 
 where they were broader, and two of them 
 disappeared; but shoitly after the last of 
 the three increased considerably, and its 
 canal, which was at first so small, soon be- 
 came as thick as a man’s arm, then as his 
 leg, and at last thicker than his whole body. 
 We saw distinctly, through this transparent 
 body, the water, which rose up with a kind 
 of spiral motion ; and it sometimes dimi- 
 nished a little of its thickness, and again re- 
 sumed the same ; sometimes widening at 
 top, and sometimes at bottom ; exactly re- 
 sembling a gut filled with water, pressed 
 with the fingers, to make the fluid rise or 
 fall; and T am well convinced that this al- 
 teration in the spout was caused by the 
 wind, which pressed the cloud, and com- 
 pelled it to give up its contents. After 
 some time its bulk was so diminished as to 
 be no thicker than a man’s arm again, and 
 thus swelling and diminishing, it at last be- 
 came very small. In the end, I observed 
 the sea which was raised about it to resume 
 its level by degrees, and the end of the ca- 
 nal that touched it to become as small as if 
 it had been tied round with a cord; and 
 this continued till the light, striking through 
 the cloud, took away the view. I still, 
 however, continued to look, expecting that 
 its parts would join again, as I had before 
 seen in one of the others, in which the spout 
 was more than once broken, and yet again 
 came together; but I was disappointed, for 
 the spout appeared no more.” 
 
 In the Philosophical Transactions we 
 have descriptions of several; their effects, 
 in some instances, are probably much ex- 
 
 aggerated. One at Topsham is said to have 
 cut down an apple-tree, several inches in 
 diameter : another, we are told, seemed to 
 be produced by a concourse of winds, turn- 
 ing like a screw, the clouds dropping down 
 into it : it threw trees and branches about 
 with a gyratory raotiorf. See Piiilosophical 
 Transactions, vol. xxii. and xxiii. One in 
 Deeping Fen, Lincolnshire, was first seen 
 moving across the land and water of the 
 fen : it raised the dust, broke some gates, 
 and destroyed a field of turnips : it va- 
 nished with an appearance of fire. Dr. 
 Franklin supposes that a vacuum is made by 
 the rotatory motion of the ascending air, 
 as when water is running througu a funnel, 
 and that the water of the sea is thus raised. 
 But Dr. Young says, no such cause could 
 do more than produce a slight rarefaction 
 of the air, much less raise the water to the 
 height of thirty or forty feet, or more. 
 
 Professor Wolke describes a water spout 
 which passed immediately over the ship in 
 which he was sailing, in the Gulph of Fin- 
 land ; it appeared (o be twenty-five feet in 
 diameter, consisting of drops about the size 
 of cherries. The sea was agitated round its 
 base, througb a space of about one hundred 
 and thirty feet in diameter. One of the 
 latest accounts of the phenomenon of a wa- 
 ter spout is that read to the Royal Society 
 in the year 1803, from a letter written to 
 Sir Joseph Banks, by Captain Ricketts, of 
 the royal navy ; 
 
 ■“ In the month of July, 1800, Captain 
 Ricketts was called on deck, on account 
 of the rapid approach of a water-spout, 
 among the Lipari islands. It had the ap- 
 pearance of a viscid fluid, tapering in its 
 descent, proceeding from the cloud to Join 
 the sea. It moved at the rate of aboilt two 
 miles an hour, with a loud sound of rain. 
 It passed the stern of the ship, and wetted 
 the after-part of the main-sail : hence it was 
 inferred, that water-spouts are not continu- 
 ous columns' of water; and subsequent ob- 
 servations confirmed the opinion. In No- 
 vember, 1801, about twenty miles from 
 Trieste, a water-spout was seen eight miles 
 to the south ; round its lower extremity was 
 a mist, about twelve feet high, somewhat 
 of the form of an Ionian capital, with very 
 large volutes, the spout resting obliquely 
 on its crown. At some distance from this 
 spout the sea began to be agitated, and a 
 mist rose to the heiglit of about four feet : 
 then a projection descended from the black 
 cloud that was impending, and met the 
 ascending mist about twenty feet above the 
 
WAVE. 
 
 sea ; the last ten yards of the distance were 
 described with very great rapidity. A cloud 
 of a light colour appeared to ascend in this 
 .spout something like quicksilver iii a tube. 
 The first spout then snapped at about one- 
 third of its height, the inferior part subsid- 
 ing gradually, and the superior curling up- 
 w'ards. Several other projections from the 
 cloud appeared, with corresponding agita- 
 tions of tlie water below, but not always 
 in spots vertically under them : seven spouts 
 in all were formed ; two other projections 
 were re-absorbed. .Some of the spouts 
 were not only oblique but curved ; the as- 
 cending cloud moved most rapidly in those 
 which were vertical : they lasted from three 
 to five minutes, and their dissipation was 
 attended by no fall of rain. 
 
 WAVE, in physics, a volume of water 
 elevated by the action of the wind, &c. 
 upon its surface, into a state of fluctuation, 
 and accompanied by a cavity. The extent 
 fi'om the bottom or lowest point of one ca- 
 vity, and across the elevation, to the bot- 
 tom of the next cavity, is the breadth of 
 the wave. Waves are considered as of two 
 kinds, which may be distinguished from 
 one another by the names of natural and 
 accidental waves. The natural waves are 
 those which are regularly proportioned in 
 size to the strength of the wind which pro- 
 duces them. The accidental waves are 
 those occasioned by the wind’s reacting 
 upon itself by repercussion from hills or 
 high shores, and by the dashing of the waves 
 themselves, otherwise of the natural kind, 
 against rocks and shoals; by which means 
 these waves acquire an elevation much 
 above what they can have in their natural 
 state. 
 
 Mr. Boyle proved, by numerous experi- 
 ments, tliat the most violent wind never pe- 
 netrates deeper than six feet into the wa- 
 ter ; and it seems a natural consequence of 
 this, that the water moved by it can only 
 be elevated to the same height of six feet 
 from the level of the surface in a calm ; 
 and these six feet of elevation being added 
 to the six of excavation, in the part from 
 whence that water so elevated was raised, 
 should give twelve feet for the utmost ele- 
 vation of a wave. This is a calculation 
 that does great honour to its author; as 
 many experiments and observations have 
 proved that it is very nearly true in deep 
 seas, where the waves are purely natural, 
 and have no accidental causes to render 
 them larger than their just proportion. 
 
 vof^ yi. 
 
 It is not to be understood, however, that 
 no wave of the sea can rise more than six 
 feet above its natural level in open and 
 deep water; for waves vastly higher than 
 these are formed in violent tempests in the 
 great .seas. These however are not to be 
 accounted waves in their natural state, but 
 as compound ‘waves formed by the union of 
 many others; for in these wide plains of 
 water, when one wave is raised by the 
 wind, and would elevate itself up to the 
 ' exact height of six feet, and no more, the 
 motion of the w'ater is so great, and the 
 succession of waves so quick, that while 
 this is rising, it receives into it several other 
 waves, each of which woitld have been at 
 the same height with itself; these run into 
 the first wave one after another, as it is 
 rising ; by which means its rise is continued 
 much longer than it naturally would have 
 been, and it becomes accumulated to an 
 enormous size. A number of these com- 
 plicated waves rising together, and being 
 continued in a long succession by the con- 
 tinuation of the storm, make the waves so 
 dangerous to ships, which the sailors in 
 their phrase call mountains high. 
 
 “ The Motion of the Waves,” makes an 
 article in the Newtonian philosophy; the 
 author having explained their motions, and 
 calculated their velocity from mathematical 
 principles, similar to the motion of a pen- 
 dulum, and to the reciprocation of water in 
 the two legs of a bent and inverted syphon 
 or tube. See Principia. 
 
 “ .Stilling Waves by means of Oil.” This 
 wonderful property, though well known to 
 the ancients, as appears from the writings 
 of Pliny, was for many ages either quite 
 unnoticed, or treated as fabulous by suc- 
 ceeding pbilosophere. By means of Dr. 
 Franklin, the subject again attracted the 
 attention of the learned ; though it appears, 
 from some anecdotes, that seafaring people 
 have always been acquainted with it. Mr. 
 Pennant, in his British Zoology, vol. iv. un- 
 der the article Seal, takes notice, that when 
 these animals are devouring a very oily fish, 
 which they always do under water, the 
 waves above are remarkably smooth; and 
 by this mark the fishermen know where to 
 find them. .Sir Gilbert Lawson, who serv- 
 ed long in the army at Gibraltar, assured 
 Dr. Franklin, that the fishermen in that 
 place are accustomed to pour a little oil on 
 the sea, in order to still its motion, tliat 
 they may be enabled to see the oysters ly- 
 ing at its bottom, which are there very 
 N n 
 
WAX 
 
 large, aud wliich they take up w ith a pro- 
 per instrument. A similar practice obtains 
 among fishermen in various other parts, and 
 Dr. Franklin was informed by an old sea- 
 captain, that the fisliermen of Lisbon, when 
 about to return into the river, if they saw 
 too great a surf upon the bar, would emp'ty 
 a bottle or two of oil into the sea, which 
 would suppress the breakers, and allow 
 them to pass freely. 
 
 The Doctor having revolved in his mind 
 all these pieces of information, became im- 
 patient to try the experiment himself. At 
 last having an opportunity of observing a 
 large pond very rough with the wind, he 
 dropped a small quantity of oil upon it. 
 But having at first applied it on the lee- 
 side, the oil was driven back again upon 
 the shore. He then went to the windward 
 side, and poured on about a tea-spoon full 
 of oil ; this produced an instant calm over 
 a space several yards square, which spread 
 amazingly, and extended itself gradually 
 till it came to the lee-side ; making all that 
 quarter of the pond, perhaps half an acre, 
 as smooth as glass. This experiment was 
 ofteii repeated in dilferent places, and al- 
 ways with success. 
 
 WAVED, Wavy, or Wavey, in he- 
 raldry, is said of a borduie, or any ordi- 
 nary, or charge, in a coat of arms, having 
 its outlines indented, in manner ot the 
 rising and falling of waves: it is used to 
 denote, that the first of the family in whose 
 arms it stands, acquired its honours for sea- 
 service. 
 
 WAX. There are two or three sub- 
 stances which resemble each other so 
 closely as to have received the name of 
 wax. The first, and by far the most impor- 
 tant, is bees’ wax, which is consumed in 
 such vast quantities for giving light; and is 
 also used for a variety of other purposes. 
 Another kind of wax is the myrtle wax, 
 which is extracted pretty largely in Loui- 
 siana, and some other parts ot America, 
 from the myiica cerifera. Another sub- 
 stance very similar to wax is the pe la of 
 the Chinese, tlie product of an insect, tlie 
 exact species of wliicli is not known ; and 
 the white matter which yields the laccic 
 acid has also a strong resemblance to wax. 
 The properties wliich all these substances 
 have in common are, fusibility at a inede- 
 rate heat; when kindled, burning with 
 much flame; insolubility in water, solubi- 
 lity in alkalies, and also in alcohol and 
 ether. In these two latter properties all 
 the species of wax ditfer froni the concrete 
 
 WAX 
 
 oils, witli which, in otlier respects, they have 
 a very strong resemblance. Bees’ wax is 
 the substance, excreted from the body of 
 the bee, of which these insects construct 
 their cells, both those for containing honey 
 and for tlie lodgment of their young. It is 
 collected for the use of man wherever bees 
 are kept. A' young hive will yield at tlie 
 end of the season about a pound of wax ; 
 and an old hive about twice as much. The 
 colour of wax, when fresh from the bee, is 
 nearly white, but it soon grows consider- 
 ably yellow in the hive, or if very old is of 
 a dark brown. The wax which is the ordi- 
 nary bees’ wax of the shops, is a pale yel- 
 low substance, of an agreeable honey-like 
 smell, soft, and somewhat unctuous to the 
 touch, but without sticking to the fingers, 
 in winter becoming considerably hard and 
 tough, and melting at about 142°. This 
 yellow colour and the smell of wax are en- 
 tirely taken away by exposing it, when di- 
 vided into thin laminae, to the united action 
 of the light and air, and by this means it 
 becomes perfectly white, scentless, some- 
 what harder and less greasy to the touch, 
 and in this state it is employed for candles 
 and many other purposes. Bleached wax 
 burns with a very pure white light, and" 
 gives no offensive smell, and very little 
 smoke compared with tallow. Being less 
 fusible than tallow it requires a smaller 
 wick. Bleached wax melts at about 155“ 
 or 7“ higher than tire unbleached. Its spe- 
 cific gravity is less than that of water, be- 
 ing about .96. Alcohol has no sensible 
 action on wax when cold, but on boiling 
 it dissolves rather less than l-20tli of its 
 weight of waxy tire greater part of which 
 separates when cold in ^the form of white 
 flocculi, and what remains in solution is en- 
 tirely precipitated by water. Wax is solu- 
 ble abundantly in the fixed oils; but very 
 sparingly in the essential oils. It is usually 
 supposed tliat tire wax is the pollen of 
 flowers, which the bees visibly collect on 
 their thighs, and afterwards elaborate in 
 some unknown way. The great difference 
 between wax and this matter which the 
 bees collect, has however been long re- 
 marked. When examined by the micros- 
 cope, this little mass of jiollen is obviously 
 composed of a number of hard grains com- 
 pressed together, and if it is laid on a liot 
 plate, it does not melt as wax would do, 
 but smokes, dries, and is reduced to a coal, 
 and if kindled it burns without melting. 
 Some late very curious experiments of Hu- 
 ber, one of the most celebrated apiarists in 
 
WAY 
 
 Europe, has further shown that the pollen 
 lias no share wliatever in the formation of 
 wax, but that this latter substance is pro- 
 duced indiscriniiiialely from honey, sugar, 
 or any other saccharine matter which serves 
 as food for tlie bees. 
 
 WAY, a passage or road. The Roman 
 ways are divided into consular, praetorian, 
 military, and public ; and of these we have 
 four remarkable ones in England : the first, 
 Watling street, or Watheling-street, leading 
 from Dover to London, Dunstable, Towces- 
 ter, Atterston, and the Severn, extending 
 as tar as Anglesea in Wales. The second, 
 called Hikenild, or Ikenild-street, stretches 
 from Southampton over the river Isis, at 
 Newbridge; tlience by Camden and Lich- 
 field ; then passes the Derwent, near Der- 
 by, and ends at Tinmouth. The third, call- 
 ed Fosse- way, because in some places it was 
 never perfected ; but lies as a large ditch, 
 leads from Cornwall through Devonshire, 
 by Tethbnry, near Stow in the Wolds; and 
 beside Coventry to Leicester, Newark, and 
 so to Lincoln. The fourth, called Erming, 
 or Erminage-street, extends from St. Da- 
 vid’s, in Wales, to Southampton. 
 
 Way, in law. A way may be by prescrip- 
 tion, as, if the owners and occupiers of such 
 a farm have immemorially used to cross 
 another’s ground ; for this immemorial usage 
 implies an original grant. A right of way 
 may also arise by act and operation of law ; 
 for if a man grant to another a piece of 
 ground in the middle of his field, he at the 
 same time tacitly gives him a way to come 
 at it; for where the law gives any thing to 
 any person, it gives implied whatever is ne- 
 cessary for enjoying the same. 
 
 Way, milky. See Galaxy. 
 
 Way of a ship, is sometimes the same as 
 her rake, or run forward or backward : but 
 this term is most commonly understood of 
 her sailing. Thus when she goes apace, it 
 is said, that she hath a good way, or makes 
 a fresh way. So when an account is kept 
 how fast she sails by the log, it is called 
 keeping an account of her way ; and be- 
 cause most ships are apt to fall a little to 
 leeward of their true course, they always, 
 m casting up the log board, allow something 
 for her leeward way. 
 
 Way of the rounds, in fortification,.' is a 
 space left for the passage of the rounds be- 
 tween the rampart and the wall of a forti- 
 fied town. This is not now much in use ; 
 because the parapet, not being above a foot 
 thick, is soon overthrown by the enemy’s 
 cannon. 
 
 WEA 
 
 WEATHER, rules for judging of. 1 . The 
 lisingof the mercury presages, in general, 
 fair weather; and its falling foul weather, 
 as rain, snow, high winds, and storms. 
 When the surface of the mercury is convex, 
 or staiids higher in the middle than at the 
 sides, it is a sign the mercury is then in a 
 rising state ; but if the surface be concave or 
 hollow in the middle, it is then sinking. 2. In 
 very hot weather, the falling of the raer- 
 cury indicates thunder. 3. In winter, the 
 rising presages frost ; and in frosty wea- 
 ther, if the mercury falls three or four divi- 
 sions, there will be a thaw ; but, in a con- 
 tinued frost, if the mercury rises, it will 
 certainly snow. 4. When foul weather 
 happens soon after the depression of the 
 mercury, expect but little of it ; on the 
 contrary, expect but little fair weather 
 when it proves fair shortly after the mercu- 
 ry has risen. 5. In foul weather, when the 
 mercury rises much and high, and so conti- 
 nues for two or three days before the bad 
 weather is entirely over, then a continuance 
 of fair weather may be expected. 6. In 
 fair weather, when the mercury falls much 
 and low, and thus continues for two or three 
 days before the rain comes, then a deal of 
 wet may be expected, and probably high 
 winds. 7. The unsettled motion of the 
 mercury denotes unsettled weather. 8. The 
 words engraved on the scale are not so 
 much to be attended to, as the rising and 
 falling of the mercury ; for, if it stand at 
 much rain, and then rises to changeable, it 
 denotes fair weather, though not to conti- 
 nue so long as if the mercury had risen 
 higher. If the mercury stands at fair, and 
 falls to changeable, bad M'eather may be 
 expected. 9. In winter, .spring, and au- 
 tumn, the sudden falling of the mercury, 
 and that for a large space, denotes high 
 winds and storms ; but in summer it pre- 
 sages heavy showers, and often thunder. It 
 always sinks lowest of all for great winds, 
 though not accompanied with rain ; but it 
 falls more for wind and rahi together, than 
 for either of them alone. 10. If after rain 
 the wind change into any part of the north, 
 with a clear and dry sky, and the mercury 
 rise, it is a certain sign of fair weather. 
 
 11 . After very great stonns of wind, when 
 the mercury has been low, it commonly 
 rises again very fast. In settled fair wea- 
 ther, except the barometer sink much, ex- 
 pect but little rain. In a wet season, the 
 smallest depressions must be attended to ; 
 for when the air is much inclined to show- 
 ers, a little sinking in the barometer de 
 N n 2 
 
notes more rain. And in such a season, if 
 it rise suddenly fast and high, fair weather 
 cannot he expected to last more than a day 
 or two. 12. The greatest lieights of the 
 mercury are found upon easterly and north- 
 easterly winds ; and it may often rain or 
 snow, the wind being in these points, while 
 the barometer is in a rising state, the ef- 
 fects of the wind counteracting. But the 
 mercury sinks for wind as well as rain, in 
 all other points of the compass. 
 
 WEAVING, the art of making threads 
 into cloth. This art is of very ancient ori- 
 gin. The fabulous story of Penelope’s 
 web ; and, still more, the frequent allusions 
 to this art in the sacred writings, tend to 
 show, that the constructing of cloth from 
 threads, hair, &c. is a very ancient inven- 
 tion. It has, however, like other useful 
 arts, undergone an infinite variety of im- 
 provements, both as to the materials of 
 which cloth is made, the apparatus neces- 
 sary in its construction, and the particular 
 modes of operation by the artist. Weav- 
 ing, when reduced to its original principle, 
 is nothing more than the insertion of the 
 weft into the web, by forming sheds ; but 
 this principle has been so extensively ap- 
 plied in almost every country, and the 
 knowledge of its various branches has been 
 derived from such a variety of sources, that 
 no one person could ever be practically 
 employed in all its branches ; and though 
 every part bears a strong analogy to the 
 rest, yet a minute knowledge of each of 
 these parts, can only be acquired by expe- 
 rience and reflection. We will, however, 
 endeavour to give the reader as comprehen- 
 sive an idea of the history and progress of 
 this ancient and invaluable art as the na- 
 ture of the thing, and the limits to which 
 we are necessarily confined, will permit. 
 
 The history of this art is very little 
 known, and its peat antiquity necessarily 
 involves the earlier aeras of it in the most 
 perfect obscurity. Enough, however, is 
 known, to prove that none of the species 
 of it originated in Britain. The silk manu- 
 facture was first practised in China, and the 
 cotton in India. Both the woollen and 
 linen were borrowed from the continent of 
 Europe, and all improvements in them, in 
 this country, were first introduced by fo- 
 reign artificers who settled amongst us. Tq 
 the present day, our superiority in point of 
 quality is only universally acknowledged in 
 the cotton manufacture whilst in those of 
 silk, woollen, and linen, it is still disputed 
 bv other countries. But it should be un- 
 
 derstood, that we are here speaking ipore 
 particularly of the art in its more advanced 
 and improved state. For, when it is consi- 
 dered, that as the wants of mankind are 
 nearly the same in all countries, it is not 
 improbable that the same arts, however va- 
 ried in their operations, may have been in- 
 vented in different countries. It is not, 
 however, certain, that the art of making 
 cloth is one which the Britons invented. It 
 is more probable, that the Gauls learned it 
 from the Greeks, and communicated the 
 knowledge of it to the people of Britain. 
 And it is certain, that the inhabitants of the 
 southern parts of Britain were well ac- 
 quainted with the arts of dressing, spinning, 
 and weaving, both flax and wool, when they 
 were invaded by the Romans. 
 
 The art of making linen, which was pro- 
 bably the first species of cloth invented, 
 was communicated by the Egyptians, the 
 inhabitants of Palestine, and other eastern 
 nations, to the Europeans. By slow de- 
 grees it found its way into Italy ; and it af- 
 terwards prevailed in Spain, Gaul, Ger- 
 many, and Britain. The Belgse manufac- 
 tured linen on the continent; and when 
 they afterwards settled in this island, it is 
 probable they continued the practice, and 
 taught it to the people among whom they 
 resided. 
 
 Whatever knowledge the Britons might 
 possess of the clothing arts, prior to the in- 
 vasion, it is very certain, that these arts 
 were much improved amongst them after 
 that event. It appears, from the Notitia 
 Imperii, that there was an imperial manu- 
 factory of woollen and linen cloth, for the 
 use of the Roman army then in Britain, 
 establjshed at Venta Belgarum, now called 
 Winchester. 
 
 In Bishop Aldhelm’s book, concerning 
 “ Virginity,” written about A. D. 680, it is 
 remarked, “ that chastity alone forms not a 
 perfect character ; but requires to be ac- 
 companied and beautified by other virtues.” 
 This observation is illustrated by the fol- 
 lowing simile, borrowed from the art of fi- 
 gure-weaving ; “ It is not a web of one uni- 
 form colour and texture, without any va- 
 riety of figures, that pleaseth the eye, and 
 appears beautiful ; but one that is woven 
 by .shuttles, filled with threads of purple, 
 and many other colours, flying from side to 
 side, and forming a variety of figures and 
 images, in different compartments, with ad- 
 mirable art.” Perhaps the most curious spe- 
 cimen of this ancient figure-weaving and 
 embroidery, now to be found, is that pre- 
 
WEAVING. 
 
 served in tlie cathedral of Bayeanx. It is a 
 piece of linen, about 19 inches in breadth, 
 and 6T yards in length, and contains the his- 
 tory of the conquest of England by William 
 of Normandy j beginning with Harold s em- 
 bassy, A. D. 1065, and ending with his, 
 death, at the battle of Hastings, A. D. 1066. 
 This curious work is supposed to have been 
 executed by Matilda, wife to William, 
 Duke of Normandy, afterwards King of 
 England, and the ladies of her ^court. 
 
 Although it is certain that the art of fi- 
 gure-weaving was then known in Britain, 
 it must be owned, that the piece of tapestry 
 just mentioned owes most of its beauty to 
 the exquisite needle-work with which it is 
 adorned. 
 
 About the close of the eleventh century, 
 the clothing arts had acquired a consider- 
 able degree of improvement in this island. 
 About that time, the weavers in all the 
 great towns were formed into guilds or cor- 
 porations, and had various privileges be- 
 stowed upon them by royal charters. In the 
 reign of Richard I. the woollen manufac- 
 ture became the subject of legislation ; and 
 a law was made, A. D. 1197, for regulating 
 the fabrication and sale of cloth. The num- 
 ber of weavers, however, was compara- 
 tively small, until the policy of the wise and 
 liberal Edward III. encouraged the art, by 
 the most advantageous offers of reward and 
 encouragement to foreign cloth-workers and 
 weavers who would come and settle in Eng- 
 land. In the year 1331-, two weavers came 
 from Brabant, and settled at York. The 
 superior skill and dexterity of these men, 
 who communicated their knowledge to 
 others, soon manifested itself in the im- 
 provement and spread of the art of weav- 
 ing in this island. 
 
 Many weavers from Flanders were driven 
 into England by the cruel persehutions of 
 the Duke D’Alva, in the year 1567, who 
 settled in different parts of the kingdom, 
 and introduced, or promoted, the manufac- 
 ture of baizes, serges, crapes, and other 
 stuffs. 
 
 About the year 1686, nearly 50,000 ma- 
 nufacturers, of various descriptions, took 
 refuge in Britain, in consequence of the re- 
 vocation of the edict of Nantz, and othei 
 acts of religious persecution committed by 
 Louis XIV. These improvements, &c. 
 chiefly related to linen weaving. 
 
 The arts of spinning, throwing, and weav- 
 ing silk, were brought into England about 
 the middle of the fifteenth century, and 
 were practised by a company of women in 
 
 London, called silk-women. About A. D. 
 1480, men began to engage in the silk ma- 
 nufacture, and the art of silk-weaving, in 
 England, soon arrived at very great perfec- 
 tion. 
 
 The civil dissejitions which followed this 
 period, retarded the progress of this art ; 
 but afterwards, when the nation was at rest , 
 the arts of peace, and, among others, that 
 of weaving, made rapid advances in almost 
 every part of the kingdom. It has been 
 generally supposed, that silk-weaving, parti- 
 cularly that offigure-weaving, has never been 
 brought to that perfection in England, to 
 which it has attained in other countries. Our 
 silk-weavers, however, seem at length deter- 
 mined to remove this reproach. For this 
 purpose a most magnificent undertaking is 
 at this time begun by the weavers in Spital- 
 fields, London ; the object of which is “ to 
 remove those prejudices which have long 
 prevailed in favour of foreign manufac- 
 tures.'’ This object is intended to be ac- 
 complished by the “weaving of certain 
 flags, for public exhibition, on which are to 
 appear figures, flowers, and other devices,” 
 interwoven with various coloured silks. 
 
 After considerable labour and expense, 
 this design is now begun to be put into exe- 
 cution, under the superintendance of a com- 
 mittee, who are appointed to receive sub- 
 scriptions, and conduct the execution of the 
 plans, &c. Mr.William Titford, of Union- 
 street, Bishopsgate, has been appointed trea- 
 surer by the committee, and the undertaking 
 is now making advances towards its final ac- 
 complishment. The weaving of the first 
 flag is begun, and about twelve or fourteen 
 inches of it completed. The designs for 
 this flag are curious and well executed. 
 They represent, within a large oval, “ a fe- 
 male figure, with a dejected aspect, reclin- 
 ing on a remnant of brocade.” Two figures, 
 representing Enterprise and Genius, ap- 
 pear to encourage the dejected fpmale. In 
 the back ground is the Temple of Fame, on 
 the top of which is a flag bearing the wea- 
 vers’ arras, to which Genius is directing the 
 attention of the reclining figure. The four 
 corners of this design, which are intended 
 to be correctly engraved, are ornamented 
 with appropriate emblematical figures of 
 Peace, Industry, &c. It is two yards wide ; 
 and the figures in the body of the design are 
 drawn nearly as large as life ; but the silks, 
 being all dyed fast colours, have not that 
 brilliant appearance, in the work, which 
 could have been wished. What makes this 
 piece of work more curious, and will con- 
 
WEAVING. 
 
 ▼ey an extraordinary stability to its tex- 
 ture, is, that it has a satin ground, and is 
 brocaded on both sides exactly alike. The 
 threads of the web, or porry, are upwards 
 of 48,900, the lead attached to the harness 
 weiglis upwards of 500 pounds, and the 
 shuttles, constantly in use, amount to up- 
 wards of 500. Two men are employed in 
 the weaving, who are able to make, upon an 
 average, about three quarters of an inch 
 daily. 
 
 The expense of this stupendous under- 
 taking, with respect to the first flag only, 
 will be not less than one thousand guineas. 
 The admirers of art, and the friends 
 of our national manufactures, will not 
 think this information trifling or unneces- 
 sary ; the correctness of which the writer 
 of this article has been at considerable 
 pains to ascertain : nor ought we to omit to 
 mention, that the idea, and much of the de- 
 sign, of this piece of figure-work, originated 
 principally with Mr. Samuel Sholl, an inge- 
 nious silk-weaver, to whom the Society of 
 Arts, a few years ago, gave a silver medal 
 and thirty guineas, for the construction of 
 an improved loom for weaving slight silks. 
 For some account of the silk manufacture, 
 sec the article Silk. 
 
 The art of cotton-weaving, in its present 
 improved state, has not been long known 
 either in this or any other country. Where- 
 ever it originated, it is certain that most of 
 oar manufactures, in this respect, are un- 
 equalled in any part of the known world ; 
 and were it not for the many commei cial 
 restrictions, by which the present war is so 
 unfortunately distinguished, there is every 
 rational prospect that our cotton trade 
 would he still further improved and ex- 
 tended. 
 
 Having briefly traced the history of this 
 art in Great Britain, we proceed to a de- 
 scription of the manner in which it is prac- 
 tised in this country ; confining our obser- 
 vations chiefly to the art of cotton weaving. 
 
 The apparatus nece.ssary in the art of 
 cloth-weaving consists, chiefly, in the loom, 
 shuttle, reed, and heddles, or harness, the 
 form and use of which are here described. 
 
 There are several kinds of looms for 
 cloth-weaving, the most common of which 
 is that delineated on Plate Loom, (fig. i 
 and 2) which represents the common silk- 
 loom. In this plate. A, (fig. 1) is the yarn- 
 beam; B, the cloth-beam, or breast-roll; 
 DE, thetreddles; dd, ee, the heddles, or 
 harness; G, the lay, or batten; M, the 
 seat-board ; and T T, the rods. Fig. § is a 
 
 view of the lay, or batten and reed ; which, 
 to show the reed more distinctly, is repre- 
 sented without the lay-cape, being a long 
 piece of wood, having a groove running along 
 its lowermost side, for the purpose of sus- 
 taining the upper edge of the reed. The lay- 
 cape is that part of the machine on the 
 middle of which the weaver lays hold with 
 his left hand when in the act of weaving. 
 F', the lay-pole; GG, the lay-swords; H, 
 the shuttle-race ; 1 1, the boxes which re- 
 ceive the shuttles ; h k, the peckers ; y, the 
 pecking-peg, or handle, and R, the reed. 
 
 When the weaver has received his warp 
 from the warping-raill (for an account of 
 which see Manufacture of Cotton), his 
 first care is to wind it upon the beam in a 
 proper manner. Having ascertained the 
 number of half-gangs, or beers, and the 
 breadth of the web, he passes a small shaft 
 of wood through the interval formed by the 
 last of the lower pics upon the warping- 
 mill, and a small cord tied to this shaft 
 through that formed by the first. This 
 gives him the lease for beaming, and keeps 
 the half-gangs distinct. When this has 
 been done, and the cord made fast at both 
 ends of the shaft, the knotting left by the 
 warper is cut, and the warp stretched to 
 its proper breadth. An instrument, or uten- 
 sil, called a ravel, is then to be used. Ra- 
 vels are somewhat like reeds, and are also 
 of different dimensions. Oue proper for 
 the purpose being found, every half-gang is 
 ]>laced in an interval between two of the 
 pins. The upper part, or cape, is then put 
 on and secured, and the operation of wind- 
 ing the warp upon the beam commences. 
 In broad works, two persons are employed 
 to hold the ravel which serves to guide the 
 warp, and to spread it regularly upon the 
 beam; one or two to keep the chain, or 
 chains, of the warp, at a proper degree of 
 tension, and one or more to turn the beam 
 upon its centres. The warp being regu- 
 larly wound upon the beam, the weaver 
 prepares to take it through the heddles, and 
 this operation is called drawing. 
 
 Before the operation of drawing com- 
 mences, two rods are inserted into the lease 
 formed by the upper lease-pins on the warp- 
 ing-mill; the ends of these rods are tied to- 
 gether, the twine by which the lease was se- 
 cured is cut away, and the warp stretched to 
 its proper breadth. The beam is then sus- 
 pended by cords behind the heddles and 
 somewhat higher, the warp hanging down 
 perpendicularly. The weaver then places 
 himself in front of the heddles, and another 
 
WEAVING. 
 
 jicrsoii is placed behind. The former opens 
 every heddle in succession, and it is the 
 business of the latter to select every thread 
 in its order, and deliver it to be drawn 
 through the open heddle. The succession 
 in which the threads are to be delivered is 
 easily ascertained by the rods, as every 
 thread crosses that next to it. The warp, 
 after passing through the heddles, is next 
 drawn through the reed by an instrument 
 called a sley or reed-hook, two or more 
 threads being taken through every interval. 
 
 These operations being finished, the 
 cords or mounting which move the heddles 
 are applied ; the reed is placed in the lay, 
 or batten, and the warp is divided into small 
 portions, which arc tied to a shaft con- 
 nected by cords to the cloth-beam. 
 
 When the weaver has finished these two 
 operations of beaming and drawing, he pro- 
 ceeds to dress his warp. And here it should 
 be remarked, that the operation of dressing 
 applies principally to cotton. The same 
 practice, when used upon silk, has a very 
 destructive tendency ; which is that of in- 
 juring the colours of the silk; and when used, 
 as it sometimes very improperly is, by 
 weavers of white satin, the injury done to 
 the work is irreparable. In cotton, the 
 operation of dressing is indispensable ; in 
 silk, this is by no means the case. 
 
 Dressing is justly esteemed of the first 
 importance, in the art of weaving warps 
 spun from flax or cotton ; for it is impossi- 
 ble to produce work of a good quality, un- 
 less care be used in dressing the warp. 
 
 The use of dressing is, to give to yarn 
 sufficient strength or tenacity, to enable it 
 to bear the operation of weaving into cloth. 
 It also, by laying smoothly all the ends of 
 the fibres, which compose the raw mate- 
 rial, from which the yarn is spun, tends 
 botir to dituinish the friction during the 
 process, and to render the cloth smooth, 
 and glossy, when finished. The substance 
 in common use. for dressing, is simply a mu- 
 cilage of vegetable matter boiled to a con- 
 sistency in water. AVheat flour, and some- 
 times potatoes, are the substances com- 
 monly employed. These answer sufficiently 
 well in giving to the yarn both the smooth- 
 ness and tenacity required; but the great 
 objection to them is, that they are too easily 
 and rapidly affected by the operation of 
 the atmosphere. When dressed yarn is al- 
 lowed to stand exposed to the air, for any 
 considerable portion of time, before being 
 woven into cloth, it always becomes hard, 
 brittle, and comparatively inflexible. It is 
 
 then tedious and troublesome to weave, 
 and the cloth is rough, wiry, and uneven. 
 This effect is chiefly remarked in dry wea- 
 ther, when the weavers of fine cloth find it 
 indispensably necessary to have their yarn 
 wrought up, as speedily as possible, after 
 being dressed. To counteract this incon- 
 veniency, herring or beef brine, and other 
 saline substances, which have a tendency to 
 attract moisture, are sometimes mixed in 
 small quantities with the dressing : but this 
 lias not proved completely and generally 
 successful; probably, because the propor- 
 tions have not been sufficiently attended 
 to, and because a superabundance of mois- 
 ture is eijually prejudicial with a defieieECy. 
 Indeed, the variation of the moisture of 
 the air is so great and so frequent, that it 
 has hitherto been impossible to fix any uni- 
 versal rule for the quantity to be mixed. 
 
 It is stated as a fact, which will appear 
 singular to weavers in this country, that in 
 India the process of weaving, even their 
 finest muslins, is conducted in the open air, 
 and exposed to all the heat of the climate, 
 which is intense. (See Mancfacture of 
 Cotton) We, know well that this would 
 be impracticable with fine work in this 
 country, even in an ordinary summer day. 
 It is not known, in this country, what is 
 the substance which the Indian weavers 
 employ for dressing their wai-ps. It cer- 
 tainly would prove of important benefit to 
 our manufactures were this investigated in 
 a satisfactory manner. 
 
 Neither does it appear that this subject, 
 which is of much importance, lias liiUierto 
 attracted the attention- ^ scientific men, 
 or that it lias been treated in an accurate 
 or philosophical manner. It, however, 
 opens a wide field for chemical investiga- 
 tion, and promises to prove equally useful 
 to mankind, and lucrative to the person 
 who may succeed in supplying the deside- 
 ratum. 
 
 When the warp, previously dressed, lias 
 been wiouglit up, as far as can be done 
 conveniently, the weaver is obliged to sus- 
 pend the operation of weaving, and to pre- 
 pare a fresh quantity of warp. It i.s neces- 
 sary to stop, when the dressed warp has ap- 
 proached within two or three inches of the 
 back leaf of the heddles, that room may be 
 allowed to join the old dressing to tlie new. 
 The first operation, as in wool and silk, is 
 to clear the warp, with the comb, from the 
 lease rod to the yarn roll, or beam. The ' 
 proof that this operation has been properly 
 executed is, by bringing back the rods, 
 
WEAVING. 
 
 , successively, from their working situation 
 to the roll. When this has been done, the 
 two rods nearest to the heddles, are drawn 
 out of the warp to one side, and the lease 
 rod only remains. The next duty of the 
 weaver is, to examine the yarn about to be 
 dressed, and carefully to take away every 
 knot, lump, or other obstruction, which 
 might impede the progress of the work, or 
 injure the fabric of the cloth. In silk warps 
 no further dressing is necessary ; but in cot- 
 ton warps the weaver proceeds to apply 
 the substance used for dressing, which is 
 rubbed gently, but completely, into the 
 whole warp, by means of two brushes used 
 in succession, one of which he holds in 
 each hand. He then raises the lease rod, 
 which in cotton-weaving is a middle rod, 
 on one edge, to divide the warp, and sets 
 the air in motion by moving a large fan, for 
 tlie purpose of drying the warp which has 
 been dressed. Fustian-weavers use a large 
 red-hot iron for this purpose. It is proper, 
 in this stage of the operation, to draw one 
 of the dressing brushes lightly over the warp 
 at intervals, in order to prevent any ob- 
 struction, which might arise by the threads, 
 when agitated by the fan, cohering, or stick- 
 ing to each other, whilst in a wet state. 
 Whenever the warp is sufficiently dried, a 
 very small quantity of grease is brushed 
 over it, the lease rod is again placed upon 
 its flat side, and cautiously shifted forward 
 to the heddles. The other rods ate then 
 put again into their respective sheds, and 
 the process is finished. 
 
 The first operation of dressing the warp 
 being finished, the weaver begins that of 
 forming the cloth. The operations re- 
 quired, are only three, and these are very 
 simple ; 
 
 1st. Opening the sheds in the warp, alter- 
 nately, by pressing the treddles with his feet. 
 
 2d. Driving the shuttle through each 
 shed, when opened. This is performed by 
 the right hand, when the fly shuttle is used, 
 and by the right and left hand, alternately, 
 in the common operation. 
 
 3d. Pulling forward the lay, or batten, 
 to strike home the woof, and again pushing 
 it back nearly to the heddles. This is done 
 by the left hand with the fly, and by each 
 hand, successively, in the old way. See 
 Fly Shuttle, in Manufacture of Cotton. 
 
 In describing operations so simple and 
 uniform, it is neither easy nor necessary to 
 go much into detail. 
 
 By examining any piece of plain cloth, it 
 will be found to be composed of two or 
 
 more distinct sets of threads, or filaments, 
 running in opposite directions perpendicu- 
 larly to each other; those threads (or, as 
 some weavers call them, yarns) in the direc- 
 tion of the cjoth’s length are called tlie 
 warp, and extend entirely from one end of 
 the piece of clotli to the other. The thread, or 
 yarn, running across the cloth in an horizon- 
 tal direction is called the woof, or weft. 
 It is in fact one continued thread through 
 the whole piece of cloth, being woven alter- 
 nately over and under each yarn of the warp, 
 until it arrives at the outside one. It then 
 passes round the yarn, and returns back 
 over and under each thread, as before ; but 
 in such a manner that it now goes over each 
 yarn which it passed under before; thus 
 firmly knitting or weaving the whole toge- 
 thei'. The outside yarn of the warp, round 
 which the woof is doubled, is called the sel- 
 vage, and cannot be unravelled without 
 breaking the woof. The breadth of the 
 cloth determines the number of yarns the 
 warp shall contain ; and its quality limits 
 their distances from each other, and deter- 
 mines the fineness or set of the reed. 
 
 Though we have already generally ex- 
 plained the references to the plates, it will 
 be necessary to be more minute in our 
 description, in order to show the use to 
 which the different parts of the apparatus 
 are applied : d d are two sticks, connected 
 together by several threads; which system 
 of threads is called a heddle : e e is another 
 heddle behind the former ; in the middle of 
 each thread composing the heddle is a loop, 
 through which the yarns of the warp are 
 passed ; one half of them going through the 
 loops of the heddle, e e, the other half of the 
 yarns passing between the threads of the 
 heddle, and afterwards through the eyes or 
 loops of the other heddle, d d. The two hed- 
 dles, dd and e e, are connected together by 
 two small cords going over pulleys suspended 
 from the top of the loom, so that when one 
 heddle is drawn ■down the other will be 
 raised up. The heddles receive their motion 
 from the levers, or treddles, D E, moved 
 by the weaver’s foot. The yarns of the warp 
 are passed alternately through the loops of 
 the heddles, so that by pressing down one 
 treddle, as E, all the yarns belonging to the 
 heddle, e e, are drawn down ; and, by means 
 of the cords and pulleys, the other heddle, 
 d d, with all the yarns belonging to it, are 
 raised up; leaving a space, called the shed, 
 of about two inches between the yarns. 
 F G, G H (fig. 2) is a frame called the bat- 
 ten, or lay, suspended by the bar, F, from the 
 
WEAVING. 
 
 upper rails of the loom, so that it can swing 
 backwards and forwards. The bottom bar, 
 H, is much broader than the rails, G G, and 
 projects before their plane about an inch 
 and a half, forming a shelf called the shuttle- 
 race. The end^ of the bar, H, have boards 
 nailed on each side, and at the ends, to form 
 two short troughs, or boxes, 1 1, in which 
 pieces of wood, or thick leather, k k, called 
 peckers, or drivers, traverse : they are 
 guided by two small wires, fixed at one end 
 to the uprights, G G, and at the other to the 
 end pieces of the troughs, 1 1. Each pecker 
 has a string fastened to it, tied to the han- 
 dle, y, which the weaver holds in his right 
 hand when at work, and with which he pulls 
 each pecker, alternately, forward. R, is a 
 small frame fixed upon the shuttle-race, H, 
 formed of a number of small pieces of split 
 reeds, or canes ; or else of pieces of flat wire 
 of steel or brass. This frame is called the 
 reed. When this is in its place, the yarns of 
 the warp pass between the canes, or dents. 
 The shuttle is a small piece of wood, pointed 
 at each end, about six incites long. It has an 
 oblong mortice in it, containing a small bob- 
 bin, on which is wound the weft, which runs 
 through a small hole in the shuttle, called 
 the eye. The shuttle has two little wheels 
 on the under side, by which it runs upon 
 the shuttle-race, H. See Fly Shuttle^ in the 
 article Manufacture of Cotton. 
 
 The weaver sits on the seat M, (fig. i) 
 which hangs by pivots at its ends, that it 
 may adapt itself to the ease of the weaver 
 when he sits upon it. It is lifted out when 
 the weaver gets into the loom, and he puts 
 it in again after him. He leans lightly 
 against the cloth roll, B, and places his feet 
 upon the treddles, D E. In his right hand 
 he holds the handle, y, (fig. 2) and by his 
 left he lays hold of a bar, called the lay- 
 cape, which crosses the batten, or lay, GG, 
 and serves to support the upper edge of the 
 reed, R. He commences the operation by 
 pressing down one of the treddles with his 
 foot : this depresses one half of the yams of 
 the warp, and raises the other, as before de- 
 scribed ; the shuttle is placed in one of the 
 troughs, I, against the. pecker, k, belonging 
 to that trough ; by drawing the handle of 
 the pecker with a sudden jerk, he drives 
 the pecker against the shuttle, and throws 
 it across the warp upon the shuttle race in- 
 to the other trough, I, leaving the yarn of 
 the woof which was wound on the bobbin 
 after it. With his left he then pulls the lay 
 towards him; by means of the reed, the 
 yarn of the woof, which before was lying 
 
 loose between the warp, is driven up to- 
 wards the cloth roll : the weaver now pres- 
 ses down his other foot, which reverses the 
 operation, pulling down the heddle which 
 was up before, and raising that which befirre 
 was depressed: by the other pecker he 
 now throws the shuttle back again, leaving 
 the woof after it between the yarns of the 
 warp ; and, by drawing up the batten, beats 
 it close up to the thread before thrown. In 
 this manner the operation is continued until 
 a few inches are woven ; it is then wound 
 upon the cloth roll, by putting a short lever 
 into a hole made in the roll, and turning 
 it round. A click, acting in the teeth of 
 a serated wheel, prevents the return of the 
 roll. The yarn roll, A (tig. 1), has at each end 
 a cord wound round it. One end of this 
 cord is tied to the frame of the loom, the 
 other has a weight hung to it : this repe 
 causes a friction, which prevents its turning 
 (unless the yarn is drawn by the cloth 
 beam), and always preserves a proper de- 
 gree of tension in the yarn. T T (fig. i) 
 are two smooth sticks (cotton weavers have 
 usually three) put between the yarns, to 
 preserve the lease, and keep the threads, or 
 yarns, from entangling. In cotton-weaving, 
 these sticks, or rods, are kept at an uniform 
 distance from the heddles, either by tying 
 them together, or by a small cord with a 
 hook at one end, which lays hold of the 
 front rod, and a weight at the other, which 
 hangs over the yarn beam. The cloth is 
 kept extended during the operation of 
 weaving, by means of two pieces of hard 
 wood, with small sharp points in their ends, 
 which lay hold of the edges, or selvages, of 
 the cloth. The^e pieces are connected by 
 a cord, passing obliquely through hples, or 
 notches, in each piece. By this cord they 
 can be lengthened or shortened, according 
 to the breadth of the web. They are kept 
 flat after the cloth is stretched by a small 
 bar turning on a centre fixed in one of the 
 pieces,with its longer end projecting closely 
 over the edge of the other piece. These 
 pieces of wood, thus, formed, are called the 
 temples. Silk-weavers usually stretch their 
 cloth by means of two small sharp-pointed 
 hooks, fastened to the ends of two strings, 
 with little weights at the other ends ; and 
 the strings are made to pass over little pul- 
 leys in eaph side of the loom, at a suitable 
 distance from the selvages of the cloth. 
 
 In the treading of a web, most beginners 
 are apt to apply the weight, or force, of 
 the foot much too suddenly. The bad con- 
 sequences attending this mistake, are parti- 
 
WEAVING. 
 
 cnlaily Teit in weaving fine or weak cotton 
 yarn. Tn weaving, as in every other branch 
 of mechanics/ the resistance, or reaction, is 
 always nearly as great as the moving power, 
 or force, whicli it is necessary to apply. 
 From this it follows, that the body of the 
 warp must sustain a stress, nearly equal to 
 the force, with which the weaver’s foot is 
 applied to the treddle. Besides this, every 
 individual thread is subjected to all the 
 friction, occasioned by the heddles, and 
 splits of the reed, between which the 
 threads pass, and with which they are gene- 
 rally in contact when rising and sinking. 
 But the art of spinning has not been as yet, 
 and probably never can be, brought to such 
 a degree of perfection, as to make every 
 thread capable of bearing its proportion 
 of this stress equally. It is confirmed, 
 both by mathematical demonstration, and 
 by practical experience, that when any 
 body is to be moved with increased velo. 
 city, it is necessary to exert greater power 
 to move it ; and as the resistance increases 
 in proportion to the power, this sudden ap- 
 plication of the pressure of the foot to the 
 treddle, must cause a proportional increase 
 of the stress upon the warp, and also of the 
 friction. Now, as it is impossible to make 
 every thread equally strong, and equally 
 tight, those whicli are the weakest, or the 
 tightest, must bear much more than their 
 equal jiroportion of the stress. This causes 
 them to be broken very frequently, and, 
 even with the greatest attention, more time 
 is lost in tying and replacing them, than 
 would have been sufficient for weaving a 
 very considerable quantity into cloth. But 
 when the weaver, from inattention, con- 
 tinues the operation, after one or more 
 threads are broken, the consequence is still 
 worse. AVlien a thread has been broken, it 
 no longer retains its parallel situation to the 
 rest, but crossing over or between those 
 nearest to it, either breaks them also, or 
 interrupts the passage of the shuttle ; most 
 frequently it does both. 
 
 In every kind of weaving, and espe- 
 cially in thin wiry fabrics, much of the 
 beauty of the cloth depends upon the woof 
 being well stretched. But if the motion of 
 the shuttle be too rapid, it is very apt to 
 recoil, and thus to slacken the thread, It 
 has also a greater tendency either to break 
 the woof altogether, or to unwind it from 
 the pirn or bobbin, in doubles, which, if 
 not picked out, destroy the regularity of 
 the fabric. The woof of muslins and thin 
 cotton goods, is generally woven into the 
 
 cloth in a wet state. This tends to lay tlie" 
 ends of the fibres of the cotton smooth and 
 parallel, and its effect is similar to that of 
 dressing of the warp. The person who 
 winds tlie woof upon the pirn, ought to be 
 very careful that it be well bnilt, so as to 
 unwind freely. The best shape for those 
 used in the fly-shuttle, in cotton weaving, is 
 that of a cone; and the thread ought to 
 traverse freely, in the form of a spiral or 
 screw, during the operation of winding. 
 
 The same wheel, used for winding the 
 warp upon bobbins, is also fit for winding 
 the weft. It only requires a spindle of a 
 different shape, with a screw at one end, 
 upon which the pirn is fixed. The wheel 
 is so constructed, that the spindles may be 
 easily shifted, to adapt it for either purpose. 
 
 That the fabric of the cloth may be uni- 
 form in thickness, it is necessary that the 
 lay, or batten, should be brought forward 
 with the same force every time. In the 
 common operation of weaving, this regu- 
 larity must be acquired by practice. It is, 
 however, of consequence to the weaver, to 
 mount, or prepare, his loom in such a man- 
 ner, that the range of the lay may be in pro- 
 portion to the thickness of his cloth. As the 
 lay swings, backward and forward, upon 
 centres placed above, its motion is similar to 
 that of a pendulum. Now the greater the 
 arc, or range, through which the lay passes, 
 the greater will be its effect, in driving 
 home the weft strongly, and tlie thicker 
 will be the fabric of cloth, in so far as that 
 depends upon the weft. For this reason, 
 in weaving coarse and heavy goods, the 
 heddles ought to be hung at a greater dis- 
 tance from the point where the weft is 
 struck up, than would be proper in light 
 work. The point, or rather line, where 
 the last wrought shot of weft is struck up, 
 is called by weavers the fell. The pivots, 
 upon which the lay vibrates, ought, in gene- 
 ral, to be exactly at equal distances from a 
 line drawn perpendicular to the tell, and 
 one drawn perpendicular to the heddles, 
 and between these two lines. But as the 
 fell is constantly varying in its situation, 
 during the operation, it will be proper to 
 take the medium. This is the place where 
 the fell will be, when a bore (i. e. as much 
 as can be woven without drawing fiesli 
 yarn) is half wrought np. From thi.?, the 
 following conclusion may also be drawn; 
 The bores ought always to be short in 
 weaving light goods ; for the less that the 
 extremes vary fi-oin the medium, the more 
 regular will be the are, or swing, of the lay ' 
 
WEAVING . 
 
 Having given a general ontlitie of the na- 
 ture and process of plain weaving ; it is ne- 
 cessary, in order to convey to our readers a 
 more comprehensive idea of the art, to notice 
 tlie fanciful and ornamental parts of the busi- 
 ness. The extent to wliich this species of 
 manufacture is carried renders it an object 
 of very great importance, and deserving a 
 more minute description than our limits will 
 admit. 
 
 Stripes are formed upon cloth, either by 
 the warp or by the woof. When the former 
 of these ways is practised, the variation of 
 the process is chiefly the business of the 
 warper : in the latter case it is that of the 
 wehver. By unravelling any shred of 
 striped cloth, it may easily be discovered, 
 whether the stripes have been produced by 
 the operations of the warper or those of the 
 weaver. 
 
 Checks are produced by the combined 
 operations of the warper and tlie weaver. 
 
 Tweeted cloths are so various in their tex- 
 tures, and at the same time so complicated 
 in their formation, that it is impossible to 
 convey' an adequate idea of the mode of 
 constructing them, without the aid of several 
 engraved figures. In examining any piece 
 of plain cloth, it will be observed, that all the 
 threads in the warp and woof cross each 
 other, and are tacked alternately. This is 
 not the case in tweeled cloths j for in this 
 instance only the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, 
 &c. threads cross each other to form a tex- 
 ture. Tweeled cloths have been fabricated 
 of various descriptions. In the coarsest 
 kinds every third thread is crossed : in finer 
 fabrics, they cross each other at intervals of 
 four, five, six, seven, or eiglit threads, and 
 in some very fine tweeled silks the crossing 
 does not take place until the sixteenth in- 
 terval. 
 
 Tweeling is produced by multiplying and 
 varying the number of leases in the harness; 
 by the use of a back-harness, or double- 
 harness; by increasing the number of 
 threads in each split of the reed ; by an 
 endless variety of modes in drawing the 
 yarns through the harness; and by increas- 
 ing the number of treddles, and changing 
 tlie manner of treading them. When the 
 numlier of treddles requisite to raise all 
 the variety of sheds necessary to produce 
 very extensive patterns would be more 
 than one man could manage, recourse is 
 had to a mode of mounting, or preparing 
 the loom, by the application of cords, &c. 
 to the harness; and a second person is ne- 
 cessary to raise the sheds required, by pull- 
 
 ing the strings attached to the respective 
 leases of the back harness, which are sunk 
 to their first position by means of leaden 
 weights underneath. This is the most com- 
 prehensive apparatus used by weavers for 
 fanciful patterns of great ektent, and it is 
 called the draw-loom. In weaving very 
 fine silk tweels, such as those of sixteen 
 leases, the number of threads drawn through 
 each interval of the reed is so great, that, if 
 woven with a single reed, they would ob- 
 struct each other in rising and sinking, and 
 the shed would not be sufficiently open to 
 allow the shuttle a free passage. To avoid 
 this inconvenience, other reeds are placed 
 behind that which strikes up the weft ; and 
 the warp threads are so disposed, that those 
 which pass through the same interval in the 
 first reed are divided in passing through the 
 second, and again in passing through the 
 third. By these means the obstruction, if 
 not entirely removed, is greatly lessened. 
 
 In the weaving of plain thick woollen 
 cloths, to prevent obstructions of this kind, 
 arising from the closeness of the set, and 
 roughness of the threads, only one fourth of 
 the warp is sunk and raised by one treddle, 
 and a second is pressed down to complete 
 the shed, between the times when every 
 shot of weft is tlirown across. 
 
 Double cloth is composed of two webs, 
 each of which consists of separate warp 
 and separate weft ; but the two are inter- 
 woven at intervals. The junction of the 
 two webs is formed by passing each of them 
 occasionally through the other, so that each 
 particular part of both is sometimes above 
 and sometimes below. 
 
 This species of weaving is almost exclu- 
 sively confined to the manufacture of car- 
 pets in this country. The material employ- 
 ed is dyed woollen, and, as almost all car- 
 pets are decorated with fanciful ornaments, 
 the colours of the two webs are different, 
 and they are made to pass through each 
 otlier at such intervals as will form the 
 patterns required. Hence it anscs, that the 
 patterns of each side of the carpet are the 
 same, but the colours are reversed. Carpets 
 are usually woven in the draw loom. 
 
 Gauze differs in its formation from other 
 cloths, hy having the threads of tlie warp 
 crossed over each other, instead of lying 
 parallel. They are turned to the right and 
 left alternately; and each shot of weft pre- 
 serves the twine which it has received, 
 This effect is caused by a singular mode 
 of producing tlie siieds, which cannot easily 
 be described without the aid of drawings. 
 
WEI 
 
 Cross, or net-weaving, is a separate branch 
 of the art, and requires a loom particularly 
 constructed for the purpose. 
 
 Spots, Brocades, and Lappets, are pro- 
 duced by a combination of the arts of plain, 
 tweeled, and gauze weaving ; and, as in 
 every other branch of the art, are produced 
 in all their varieties by different ways of 
 forming the sheds, by the application of 
 heddles, and their connections with the 
 treddles which move them. Indeed, the 
 whole knowledge of the art consists in this 
 part of the apparatus of a loom. 
 
 In drawing up the foregoing account of 
 the art of weaving we have laboured under 
 inconveniences of no small magnitude. The 
 many different kinds of cloth ; the almost 
 infinite variety of ways, though all on the 
 same general principle, of constructing 
 them ; the different formation of apparatus in 
 making different cloths; and, lastly, the 
 want of uniformity in the technical phraseo- 
 logy of the art, have all tended to render 
 cur descriptions far more intricate and dif- 
 ficult than they otherwise would have been. 
 The assistance, however, which we have de- 
 rived from the very excellent “ Essays on 
 the Art of Weaving,” by Mr. Duncan, 
 ought not to pass by us unacknowledged. 
 It is a most curious and valuable publica- 
 tion, embracing almost every thing neces- 
 sary to be known concerning the art on 
 which it professes to treat. 
 
 WEBERA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : contorted ; berry in- 
 ferior, two-celled, ceils one seeded ; style 
 elevated ; stigma club-shaped ; calyx five- 
 cleft. There are three species. 
 
 WEDGE, one of the mechanical powers, 
 as they are called. The wedge is a trian- 
 gular prism, whose bases are equilateral 
 acute-angled triangles. See Mechanics. 
 
 WEEK, in chronology, a division of time 
 comprising seven days. See Chrono- 
 logy. 
 
 WEIGELIA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of Christ. Ehrenfr. Weigel ; a genus of 
 the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character : calyx five-leaved ; co- 
 rolla funnel-form ; style from the base of 
 the germ ; stigma peltate ; seed one. There 
 are two species, viz. W. japonica, and 
 W. corceensis, both natives of Japan. 
 
 WEIGHT, in physics, is a quality in na- 
 tural bodies, by which they tend towards 
 the centre of the earth. See Gravitation. 
 Weight may be distinguished into absolute, 
 specific, and relative. It is demonstrated 
 
 WEI 
 
 by Sir Isaac Newton : 1. That the weights 
 of all bodies, at equal distances from the 
 centre of the earth, are proportional to the 
 quantities of matter that each contains.' 2. 
 On different parts at the earth’s surface, 
 the weight of the same body is different ; 
 owing to the spheroidal figure of the earth, 
 which causes the bodies on the surface to 
 be nearer the centre in going from the 
 equator towards the poles ; and the increase 
 of weight is nearly in proportion to the 
 square of the sine of the latitude : the 
 weight at the equator to that at the pole 
 being as 229 : 230 ; or the whole increase of 
 weight from the equator to the pole is the 
 229th part of the former. 3. That the 
 weights of the same body, at different dis- 
 tances above the earth, are inversely as the 
 squares of the distances from the centre. 
 So that a body at the distance of the moon, 
 which is 60 semi-diameters from the earth’s 
 centre, would weigh only P®*'*- 
 
 what it weighs at the surface of the earth. 
 4. That at different distances within the 
 earth, or below the suiface, the weights of 
 the same body are directly as the distances 
 from the earth’s centre ; so that at half 
 way toward the centre a body would weigh 
 but half as much, and at the centre it would 
 weigh nothing at all. 5. A body immersed 
 in a fluid, which is specifically lighter than 
 itself, loses so much of its weight as is equal 
 to the weight of a quantity of the fluid of the 
 same bulk with itself. Hence a body loses 
 more of its weight in a heavier fluid than in a 
 lighter one, and therefore it weighs more in 
 a lighter fluid than in a heavier one. 
 
 Tiie weight of a cubic foot of water is 
 1000 ounces, or 62|i6. avoirdupois ; this, 
 multiplied by 32, gives 200016. the weight 
 of a ton : hence eight cubic feet formerly 
 made a hogshead, and four hogsheads a ton, 
 in capacity as well as in weight. Measures 
 for corn, coals, and other dry articles, were 
 constructed on the same principle. A bushel 
 of wheat, assumed as a general standard for 
 all sorts of grain, weighed 62116. eight of 
 these make a quarter, and four quarters, or 
 32 bushels, a ton weight. Coals were sold 
 by the chaldron,, and supposed to weigh a 
 ton, though in reality it weighs much more. 
 Hence a ton weight is the common stan- 
 dard for liquids, wheat, and coals. Had 
 this analogy been adhered to, the confusion 
 which is occasioned by different local weights 
 would have been avoided. 
 
 To regulate the weights and measures of 
 a country is a branch of the sovereign’s pre- 
 rogative. For the public conveniencej 
 
WEIGHT. 
 
 these ought to be universally the same 
 throughout the nation, the better to reduce 
 the prices of articles to equivalent values. 
 But as weight and measure arc things in 
 their nature arbitrary and uncertain, it is 
 necessary that they are reduced to some 
 fixed rule or standard. It is, however, im- 
 possible to fix such a standard by any writ- 
 ten law or oral proclamation : as no person 
 can, by words only, give to another an ade- 
 quate idea of a pound weight, or foot rule. 
 It is therefore expedient to have recourse 
 to some visible, palpable, material standard, 
 by forming a comparison with which all 
 weights and measures may be reduced to 
 one uniform size. Such a standard was an- 
 ciently kept at Winchester ; and we find in 
 the laws of King Edgar, nearly a century be- 
 fore the conquest, an injunction that this 
 measure should be observed throughout the 
 realm. 
 
 Most nations have regulated the standard 
 of measures of length trora some parts of 
 the human body : as the palm, the hand, 
 the span, the foot, the cubit, the eU, (ulna 
 or arm) the pace, and the fathom. But as 
 these are of different dimensions in men of 
 different proportions, ancient historians in- 
 form ns, that a new standard of length was 
 fixed by our King Henry the First; who 
 commanded that the ulna, or ancient ell, 
 which answers to the modern yard, should 
 be made of the exact length of his own 
 arm. See Measure. 
 
 The standard of weights was originally 
 taken from grains or corns of wheat, whence 
 our lowest denomination of weights is still 
 called a grain ; thirty-two of which are di- 
 rected, by the statute called “ compositio 
 mensurarnm,” to compose a penny-weight, 
 twenty of which make an ounce, and twelve 
 ounces a pound, &c. Under King Richard 
 the First it was ordained, that there should 
 be only one weightand one measure through- 
 out the nation ; and that the custody of the 
 assize, or standard of weights and mea- 
 sures, should be committed to certain per- 
 sons in every city and borough ; from whence 
 the ancient office of the king’s ulnager seems 
 to have been derived. These original stand- 
 ards were called pondus regis, and mensura 
 domini regis, and are directed by a variety 
 of subsequent statutes to be kept in the ex- 
 chequer chamber, by an officer called the 
 clerk of the market, except the wine gallon, 
 which is committed to the city of London, 
 and kept in Guildhall. The Scottish stand- 
 ards are distributed among the oldest bo- 
 roughs. The elward is kept at Edinburgh, 
 
 the pint at Stirling, the pound at Lanark, 
 and the firlot at Linlithgow. 
 
 The two principal weights, established in 
 Great Britain, are troy weight and avoirdu- 
 pois weight, as before mentioned. Under 
 the head of the former it may further be 
 added, that a carat is a weight of four 
 grains ; but when the term is applied to 
 gold, it denotes the degree of fineness. Any 
 quantity of gold is supposed divided into 
 tw’enty-four parts. If the whole mass is 
 pure gold, it is said to be twenty-four ca- 
 rats fine ; if there are twenty-three parts of 
 pure gold, and one part of alloy or base 
 metal, it is said to be twenty-three carats 
 fine, and so on. Pure gold is too soft to 
 be used for coin. The standard coin of this 
 kingdom is 22 carats fine. A pound of 
 standard gold is coined into 44^ guineas, 
 and therefore every guinea should weigh 
 5 dwts. 9|| grains. A pound of silver for 
 coin contains 11 oz. 2 dwts. pure silver, 
 and 18 dwts, alloy ; and standard silver 
 plate 11 ounces pure silver, with one ounce 
 alloy. A pound of standard silver is coined 
 into 62 shillings, and therefore the weight 
 of a shilling should be 3 dwts. 20|f grains. 
 
 Under the words avoirdupoise and troy 
 will be found an account of those weights ; 
 here we may add a small table from Mr. 
 Ferguson, which gives a more enlarged com- 
 parison between these two weights. 
 
 175 Troy pounds are equal to 144 avoirdu- 
 pois pounds. 
 
 175 Troy ounces are equal to 192 avoirdu- 
 pois ounces. 
 
 1 Troy pound contains 5760 grains. 
 
 1 Avoirdupois pound contains 7000 grains. 
 
 1 Avoirdupois ounce contains 4371 grains. 
 
 1 Avoirdupois dram contains 27.34375 
 grains. 
 
 1 Troy pound contains 13 or. 2.651428575 
 drams avoirdupois, 
 
 1 Avoirdupois lb. contains 1 lb. 2 oz. 11 
 dwts. 16 grs. troy. 
 
 Therefore the avoirdupois lb. is to the lb. 
 troy as 175 to 144, and the avoirdupois or. 
 is to the troy or. as 437 1 is to 480. 
 
 The moneyers, jewellers, &c. have a par- 
 ticular class of weights for gold and preci- 
 ous stones, viz. carat and grain ; and for 
 silver, the penny- weight and grain. The 
 moneyers have also a peculiar subdivision 
 of the troy grain : thus, dividing 
 The grain into 20 n\ites. 
 
 The mite into 24 droits. 
 
 The droit into 20 periots. 
 
 The periot into 24 blanks. 
 
 
WEIGHT. 
 
 Tlie dealers in wool have likewise a parti- 
 cular set of weights : viz. the sack, weigh, 
 tod, stone, and clove ; the proportions of 
 which are as below ; viz. 
 
 The sack containing 2 weighs. 
 
 The weigh fii tods. 
 
 The tod 2 stones. 
 
 The stone 2 cloves. 
 
 The clove 7 pounds. 
 
 ENGLISH Weights. 
 
 Troy Weight. 
 
 lb. oz. drms. scruples, grains. grammes. 
 
 1 = 12 = 96 = 283 = 6760 = 372.96 
 1 = 8 == 24 = 480 = 31.08 
 1 = 3 = 60 = 3.885 
 
 1 = 20 = 1 .39,5 
 
 1 = 0.064-75 
 
 Avoirdupois Weight. 
 
 But these weights differ in almost every 
 county where dealings in wool are carried 
 on largely. 
 
 Also 12 sacks make a last, or 4368 pounds. 
 Further, 
 
 56 lb. of old hay, or 60 lb. new hay, make 
 a truss. See Truss. 
 
 In order to show the proportion of the 
 several weights used throughout Europe, 
 we shall add a reduction of them to one 
 standard, viz. the London and Amsterdam 
 pound. 
 
 1. Proportion of the weights of the prin- 
 cipal places of Europe. 
 
 The 100 lb. of England, Scotland, and 
 Ireland, are equal to 
 
 lb. oz. 
 
 ■ 91 8 of Amsterdam, Paris, &c. 
 
 96 8 of Antwerp or Brabant. 
 
 88 0 of Rouen, the viscounty weight. 
 
 106 0 of Lyons, the city weight. 
 
 90 9 of Rochelle. 
 
 107 11 of Toulouse and Upper Langue- 
 
 doc. 
 
 113 0 of Marseilles or Provence. 
 
 81 7 of Geneva. 
 
 93 5 of Hamburgh. 
 
 89 7 of Francfort, &c. 
 
 96 1 of Leipsick, &c. 
 
 137 4 of Genoa. 
 
 132 11 of Leghorn. 
 
 153 11 of Milan. 
 
 152 0 of Venice. 
 
 154 10 of Naples. 
 
 97 0 of Seville, Cadiz, See. 
 
 104 13 of Portugal. 
 
 96 5 of Liege. 
 
 112 I of Russia. 
 
 107 ^ of Sweden. 
 
 89 t of Denmark. 
 
 AFe shall now shqw the correspondence 
 between English weights and some modern 
 weights in France and other countries, 
 which will be very useful in reading works 
 on statistics and chemistry, as well mo- 
 dern as tliose that ha<e been long pub- 
 lished, and become standard books. 
 
 Ib. oz. drms. grains. grammes. 
 
 1 = 16 = 256 =: 7000 = 453.25 
 
 1 = 16 = 437.5 =: 28.32 
 
 1 = 37,975 = 1.81 
 
 Correspondence of English weights with those 
 used in France before the revolution. 
 
 The Paris pound, poids de marc of Char- 
 leniagne, contains 9216 Paris grains: it is 
 divided into 16 ounces, each ounce into 3 
 gros, and each gros into 72 grains. It is 
 equal to 7561 English troy grains . 
 
 The English tioy pound of 12 ounces 
 contains 5760 English troy grains, and is 
 equal to 702 Paris grains. 
 
 The English avoirdupois pound of 16 
 ounces contains 7000 English troy grains, 
 and is equal to 8538 Paris grains. 
 
 To reduce Paris grains to En-A 
 glish troy grains, divide by ( 
 
 To reduce English troy grains ( 
 to Paris grains, multiply by . 
 
 To reduce Paris ounces to En-n 
 
 glish troy, divide by / 
 
 To reduce English troy ounces ( 
 to Paris, multiply by J 
 
 Or the conversion may be made by means 
 of the following tables. 
 
 1. To reduce French to English troy weight. 
 
 The Paris pound =: 7561 A _ 
 
 The ounce z=: 472.5624 ( 
 
 The gros = 59.0703 f ‘^i’ns 
 
 The grain ~ .8204 ' ^ 
 
 2. To reduce English troy to Paris weight. 
 
 \ 
 
 1.2189 
 
 ■ 1.015734 
 
 29.2541/ 
 
 The English troy pound ? 
 
 of 12 ounces J 7021. 
 
 The troy ounce = 585.0893 
 
 The dram of 60 grains. .. = 73.1354 
 
 The pennyweight, orde- > _ 
 
 nier, of 24 grains j 
 
 The scruple of 20 grains = 24.37841’ 
 
 The grain ~ 1 . 218 ^ 
 
 o. To reduce English avoird. to Paris iveight. 
 The avoirdupois pound 5 
 of 16ounces,or7000 5- = 8538, / 
 
 troy grains j f -S 
 
 The ounce 
 
 533,6250 
 
WEIGHT. 
 
 TABLE, 
 
 Showing I he comparison between French and 
 English grains. de Marc.) 
 
 TrCDch irrs. 
 
 = En". crs. 
 
 En?. ers. = 
 
 French srrs. 
 
 1 
 
 0 . 8203 
 
 1 
 
 1.2189 
 
 2 
 
 1.6407 
 
 2 
 
 2.4378 
 
 3 
 
 2.4611 
 
 3 
 
 3.6568 
 
 4 
 
 3.2815 
 
 4 
 
 4.8757 
 
 5 
 
 4.1019 
 
 5 
 
 6.0947 
 
 6 
 
 4.9223 
 
 6 
 
 7.3136 
 
 7 
 
 5.7427 
 
 7 
 
 8.5325 
 
 8 
 
 6.5631 
 
 8 
 
 9.7515 
 
 9 
 
 7 .o8.‘55 
 
 9 
 
 10.9704 
 
 10- 
 
 8.203 
 
 10 
 
 12.189 
 
 20 
 
 16.407 
 
 20 
 
 24.378 
 
 30 
 
 24.611 
 
 30 
 
 36.568 
 
 40 
 
 32.815 
 
 40 
 
 48.757 
 
 50 
 
 41.019 
 
 50 
 
 60.947 
 
 60 
 
 49.223 
 
 60 
 
 73.136 
 
 70 
 
 57.427 
 
 70 
 
 85.325 
 
 80 
 
 65.631 
 
 80 
 
 97.513 
 
 90 
 
 73.835 
 
 90 
 
 109.704 
 
 100 
 
 82.03 
 
 100 
 
 121.89 
 
 200 
 
 164.07 
 
 200 
 
 243.78 
 
 300 
 
 246.11 
 
 300 
 
 565 , 68 
 
 400 
 
 328.151 
 
 400 
 
 487.57 
 
 500 
 
 410.19 
 
 500 
 
 609.47 
 
 600 
 
 492.23 
 
 600 
 
 731.36 
 
 700 
 
 574.27 
 
 700 
 
 853.25 
 
 800 
 
 656. 3^ 
 
 800 
 
 975.15 
 
 900 
 
 738.35 
 
 900 
 
 1097.04 
 
 1000 
 
 820.3 
 
 1000 
 
 1218.9 
 
 2000 
 
 1640.7 
 
 2000 
 
 2437.8 
 
 3000 
 
 2461.1 
 
 3000 
 
 3656.8 
 
 4000 
 
 3281.5 
 
 4000 
 
 4875.7 
 
 5000 
 
 4101.9 
 
 5000 
 
 6094.7 
 
 6000 
 
 4922.3 
 
 6000 
 
 7313.6 
 
 7000 
 
 5742.7 
 
 7000 
 
 855‘2 . 5 
 
 8000 
 
 6563.1 
 
 8000 
 
 9751/5 
 
 9000 
 
 7383.5 
 
 9000 
 
 10970.4 
 
 10,000 
 
 8233.0 
 
 10,000 
 
 12189.0 
 
 . 
 
 GERMAN. 
 
 71 lbs. or ^rs. English troy = 74 lbs. or 
 grs. German apothecaries weight. 
 
 1 oz. Nuremberg medic, weight z= 7 dr. 
 
 2 sc. 9 grains English. 
 
 1 mark Cologne = 7 oz. 2 dw’t. 4 gr. 
 English troy. 
 
 DUTCH. 
 
 1 Ih. Dutch = llb. 3 oz. 16 dwt. 7 gr. 
 Eiiglhh troy. 
 
 787^ lbs. Dutch = 1038 lbs. English troy. 
 
 SWEDISH WEIGHTS, 
 
 Used by Bergman and Scheele. 
 
 The Swedish pound, which is divided 
 like the English apothecary, or troy pound, 
 weighs 6536 grains troy. 
 
 The kanne of pnre water, according to 
 Bergman, weighs 42250 Swedish grain.s, 
 and occupies 100 Swedish cubical inches. 
 Hence the kanne of pure water weighs 
 48088.719444 English troy grains, or is 
 equal to 189.9413 English cubic inches ; 
 and the Swedish longitudinal inch is equal 
 to 1.238435 English longitudinal inches. 
 
 From these data, the following rules are 
 deduced : 
 
 1. To reduce Swedish longitudinal inches 
 to English, multiply by 1.2384, or divide 
 by 0.80747. 
 
 2. To reduce Swedish to English cubical 
 inches, multiply by 1.9, or divide by 0.5265. 
 
 3. To reduce the Swedish pound, ounce, 
 dram, scruple, or grain, to the correspond- 
 ing English troy denomination, multiply by 
 1.1382, or divide by 8.786. 
 
 4 . To reduce the Swedish kannes to Eng- 
 lish wine pints, multiply by .1520207, or di- 
 vide by 6.57804. 
 
 5. The lod, a weight sometimes used by- 
 Bergman, is the 32d part of the Swedish 
 pound : therefore, to reduce it to the Eng- 
 lish troy pound, multiply by .03557, or di- 
 vide by 28.1156. 
 
 Universal Standard for Weights and Mea- 
 sures, 
 
 This is an object of vast importance 
 could it be attained : we fear, however, that 
 like a project for universal peace and good 
 will among men, it is a thing rather to be 
 desired than expected, in the present state 
 of things. Philosophers may speculate on the 
 importance and excellence of such a scheme, 
 but statesmen, busy in projects of ambition, 
 have not leisure to attend to any thing that 
 does not augment their power, extend their 
 influence, and render them rather a terror 
 to mankind, than the objects of their praise 
 and veneration. It behoves us, however, 
 to give, in few words, a sketch of what has 
 been attempted with a view to an universal 
 standard for weights and measures through 
 the whole world. The plans laid down have 
 been deduced from philosophical principle.^. 
 After the invention of pendulum clocks, it 
 occurred that the length of a pendulum 
 ^hich .should vibrate seconds would be pro- 
 per to be made a universal standard for 
 
WEI 
 
 length, whatever the denomination should 
 be fixed on, whether yard, or any thing else. 
 It was however found, that it would be dif- 
 ficult in practice to measure and determine 
 tlie true length of such a pendulum, that is, 
 the exact distance between the point of 
 suspension and the point of oscillation. An- 
 other cause of inaccuracy was afterwards 
 discovered, when it was found that tlie se- 
 cond’s pendulum was of different lengths 
 in all the different latitudes, owing to the 
 spheroidal figure of the earth, (See Earth,) 
 which is tlie cause why places, in different 
 latitudes, at different distances from the 
 centre, and of course the pendulums are 
 acted upon by different forces of gravi- 
 ty, and therefore require to be of different 
 lengths. In the latitude of London this is 
 found to be 39^ inches nearly. 
 
 The Society of Arts, &c. have offered 
 premiums for a plan that might accomplish 
 this great object : and among other devices 
 then brought forward was one by Mr. Hat- 
 toi^ which consisted in measuring the dif- 
 ference of the lengths of two pendulums at 
 different times of vibration ; which could 
 be performed more easily and accurately 
 than that of the length of one single pendu- 
 lum. This method was put in practice, 
 and fully explained, and illustrated, by the 
 late Mr. Whitehurst, in his attempts to as- 
 certain an universal standard of weights and 
 measures. The same kind of inaccuracy of 
 measurement obtains in this way, though in 
 a smaller degree, as in a single pendulum. 
 Another method has been proposed, on ob- 
 serving very accurately the space that a hea- 
 vy body falls freely through in one second of 
 time. Here absolute accuracy is almost 
 unattainable, besides, the form of the earth 
 introduces difficulties, owing to the different 
 distances from the centre, and the con- 
 sequent diversity in the force of gravity 
 by which the body falls. This space, in the 
 latitude of London, has been found 193 
 inches, of course it is different in other- 
 latitudes. The method of late years, pro- 
 posed by the French, is that of measuring a 
 degree on the earth’s surface, at the lati- 
 tude of 45 degrees, and from this to deduce 
 an universal measure of lengths, which would 
 be easily applicable to weights also. 
 
 WEIGHTS and MEASURES, in law. 
 The standard of measures was originally 
 kept at Winchester, which measure was, by 
 the law of King Edgar, ordained to be ob. 
 served throughout the kingdom. By statute 
 35 George III. c. 102, the justices in quar-’ 
 ter sessions, in every county, are required 
 
 WHA 
 
 to appoint persons to examine the weight* 
 and balances within their respective juris- 
 dictions. These inspectors may seize and 
 examine weights in shops, &c. and seize 
 false w'eights and balances ; and the of- 
 fender, being convicted before one justice, 
 shall be fined from five shillings to twenty- 
 shillings. Persons obstructing the inspec- 
 tors, to forfeit from five shillings to forty 
 shillings. Inspectors to be recompensed 
 out of the county rate. Standard weights 
 to be purchased by the sessions out of the 
 county rate, and produced to all persons 
 paying for the production thereof. Infor- 
 mations to be within one month. 
 
 WEINMANNIA, in botany, so named 
 in honour of Joh. Wilh. Weinmann ; a ge- 
 nus of the Octandria Digynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Saxifragae, Jussieu. 
 Essential character : calyx four-leaved ; co- 
 rolla four petalled ; capsule two-celled, two- 
 beaked. There are six species. 
 
 WELDING. Welding is that intimate 
 union produced between the surfaces of 
 two pieces of malleable metal, when heat- 
 ed almost to fusion, and hammered. This 
 union is so strong, thqt when two bars of 
 metal are properly welded, the place of 
 junction is as strong, relatively to its thick- 
 ness, as any other part of the bar. Only 
 two of the old metals are capable of firm 
 union by welding, namely platina and iron ; 
 the same properly belongs to the newly dis- 
 covered metals, potassium and sodaum. 
 
 WERNERITE, in mineralogy, is of a 
 colour between yellow and green ; it oc- 
 curs crystallized ; specific gravity is about 
 3.6. It intumesces before the blow'-pipe, 
 and melts into a whitish enamel. It is 
 found in the iron mines in Sweden and Nor- 
 way. 
 
 WESTRINGIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of John Peter Westring; a genus of 
 tlie Didynamia Gymnospermia class and 
 order. Natural order of Verticillatae. La- 
 biatse, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 half, five-cleft, five-sided ; corolla reversed, 
 with four segments, the longest erect, 
 cloven ; stamens distant, the two shorter, or 
 lowest, abortive. There is only one spe- 
 cies, viz. W. rosmariniformis, a native of 
 New South Wales, near Port Jackson. 
 WHALE. See Bal^na. , 
 
 Whale fishery. See Fishery. 
 
 WHARF, a space on the banks of a 
 haven, creek, or hithe, provided for the 
 convenient loading and unloading of vessels 
 upon. The fee paid for the landing of 
 goods on a wharf, or for shipping tlieiu off, 
 
WHEEL. 
 
 is called wharfage, and the person who has 
 the direction and oversight of the wharf, 
 receives wharfage, &c. is called the w^r- 
 linger. 
 
 WHEAT. See Triticum. 
 
 WHEEL. This is one of the six powers 
 of mechanism; and without doubt, contri- 
 butes more than any of the other five to the 
 general conveipence of mankind ; by the 
 wonderful variety of purposes, from a mill 
 to a watch, wherein it is employed. It is 
 our intention, however, in this place, to 
 confine ourselves to the wheel as apper- 
 taining to vehicles in general, referring the 
 readers to the articles Mill rmfe. Watch 
 work, Clock work, &c. tor the application 
 of such wheels as come within those 
 branches of the arts. 
 
 Of carriage wheels, in general, we shall 
 then treat ; observing, that any attempt to 
 prove that a carriage is more easily drawn 
 upon wheels than upon sledges, would be 
 an aft’ront to the understanding of the 
 reader. But whether high, or low, wheels 
 are fitted for the purpose, has been a sub- 
 ject of dispute, even among persons of 
 skill. Reason and experience, however, 
 seem perfectly to agree in this, tliat wheels, 
 whose centres are on a level with the 
 moving power, will be easiest drawn along 
 a level plane ; and that the higher a wheel 
 is the more easily will it get over the ob- 
 stacles it may meet with, provided the 
 moving power be not below the centre. It 
 seems to follow, therefore, that carriages 
 drawn by honses, or oxen, should have 
 wheels whose centres have the height of the 
 draft line ; that is, of the shoulders of the 
 horses, or the yokes of the oxen. This is 
 true, however, only in the case of a horizon- 
 tal road ; in going up hill the distance of the 
 line of draught from the road is somewhat 
 less ; because, when a man, or any other 
 animat, is standing upon the side of a slope, 
 his height is inclined to that slope ; or ra- 
 ther the slope is inclined towards him, where 
 he stands perfectly perpendicular. This- 
 being the situation in which cattle labour 
 most, it is necessary to proportion the draft, 
 so as to render it as light as pos'sihle while 
 drawing up hill ; therefore, it is usual, and 
 highly proper so to proportion the height of 
 the axle, especially in carts with two 
 wheels, to the point of draught, that the line 
 drawTi from the centre of the wheel to that 
 point, should rise at an angle of about 
 twelve or fourteen degrees ; thus, when 
 the horse is lal>oui*ing up hill he will come 
 nearly to a level with the wheel’s centre, 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 and draw to the greatest advantage. This 
 may serve as a general rule ; but where 
 local circumstances prevail of a different 
 tendency, and also in particular cases, the 
 height of ihe wheels must be suited to meet 
 such. We reckon that in ordinary work, 
 and where the horses do not exceed the 
 height of fifteen hands and a half, the 
 wheels should be from four feet eight inches 
 to five feet two. Yet the immense loads 
 drawn in the coal caits at Glasgow, on 
 wheels more than six feet high, and other 
 instances of a like kind, prove that very 
 great powers are gained by using high 
 wheels ; under due construction and appli- 
 cation the difference of the wheel’s weight 
 will not prove any material drawback. In 
 ascending, high wheels will be found to fa- 
 cilitate the draught in exact ratio witfi the 
 squares of their diameters ; but in descend- 
 ing they are liable to press in the same 
 proportion. An admirable device was pro- 
 duced by Lord Somerville, for throwing the 
 weight behind the centre in going down 
 hill, by cocking the fore part of the body of 
 a cart ; so that while the shaft may incline 
 downwards, in proportion to the line of de- 
 clivity, the bottom of the cart’s body should 
 remain horizontal ; this construction is now 
 common in Devonshire, Somerset.shire, &c. 
 
 Wheels are commonly made with wliat is 
 called a dish ; that is, the spokes are set at 
 an angle into the nave, or centre-piece ; so 
 that, when the interior end of the nave is 
 placed on the ground, the wheel may ap- 
 pear to be dished, or hollow, in the centre. 
 Experience has shown, that when wheels 
 have been made cylindrical, and not with 
 the conical hollow just described, so that 
 the spokes stood at right angles with the 
 centre of the axle, numberless inconve- 
 niences arose; the dirt taken up by the 
 wheel used to fall in between the nave and 
 the axle, so as to choak and Wear it consi- 
 derably. Such wheels also required to 
 stand wider apart, and demanded greater 
 road way ; besides they were very apt to be 
 wrenched when pressed by any exterior re- 
 sistance, and the spokes were forced back 
 in the mortices. According to the present 
 plan of dishing wheels, usually to about four 
 inches in five feet of diameter, the exteriof 
 resistances are avoided; the axle being so 
 turned down at its ends, as to cause the 
 lower spoke, which bears up the load, to 
 stand perpendicularly under the centre ; 
 thus occasioning the upper parts of the 
 two wheels on the same angle to spread 
 from each other ; while the lower parts con- 
 O 0 
 
WHEEL. 
 
 verge in tlie same proportion. Cylindrical 
 wheels, that is, such as are not dished, 
 would answer, provided the carriage were 
 always on a perfectly horizontal plane ; 
 but they would subject the nave to be 
 loaded with mud, and pinch the load when 
 consisting of light articles rising above the 
 body of the carriage. 
 
 The spokes should be set so far from the 
 outer end of the nave, that a perpendicular 
 from the sole to the under side of the axle 
 may fall, between an inch, and two inches, 
 betrveen the bushes. By this, the pressure 
 will be somewhat greater on the outer than 
 on the inward bush, when the wheels are on 
 a level. This ought to be so ; for the inner 
 part of the axle arm being much bigger 
 than the outer, it has more friction ; there- 
 fore should have less pressure ; besides, 
 every sinking of the wheel, more than the 
 other, causes it to pinch the inner bush. The 
 best mode of placing spokes in the naves, is 
 to mortice them in two rows, alternately ; 
 this does not weaken the centre so much as 
 when all the spokes are in one row, or 
 band, and gives a greater degree of re- 
 sistance outwards. The tire, or iron bind- 
 ing of a wheel must be so laid on, whether 
 in one or more bands, as to form the fi n.s- 
 truni of a cone ; but in heavy waggons it is 
 usual to make the middle of tlie tire rise 
 considerably, so as to bear the whole 
 weight on hard roads, whereby the carriage 
 will move lighter than if the frustrum were 
 rectilinear ; this form likewise causes stones, 
 &c. to slip aside ; but in soft soils it is apt 
 to occasion much sinking. The axle arm 
 should be taper, in order that it may give 
 the wheel ratlier a disposition to slide off ; 
 otherwise it w'ould be apt to close in- 
 wardly, and create excessive friction ; 
 hence the necessity for good iron wasters 
 exteriorly, and substantial linch-pins. There 
 is a common practice of setthig the wheels 
 forward ; that is, giving them a slight in- 
 clination towards each other, whereby they 
 are perhaps an inch nearer at their front 
 than at their backs ; this is done to make 
 the wheel run more even on its sole, or 
 bearing part, and to prevent its gaping for- 
 ward ; but it is evidently a distortion which 
 prevents the wheel from running exactly at 
 right angles with the transverse section of 
 the carriage. The nave of a heavy wheel, 
 that is for our ordinary cart for field pur- 
 poses, need not be more than twelve or 
 fourteen inches in length ; if too short, the 
 wheel will wabble, unless fitted very tight 
 on the axle ; while too long a nave is apt to 
 
 catch the dirt from the upper part, and to 
 project too much beyond the outer face of 
 tlie fellies ; the above length is exclusive 
 of the pan at the outer end. 
 
 The proportions of wheels must be esti- 
 mated according to tlie purposes to which 
 they are to be applied ; thus waggons 
 have in genera! large hind-wheels, while in 
 timber carriages the four are usually of the 
 same height, or nearly so; the London 
 common stage carts have large wheels, 
 while the drays used by brewers have very 
 low ones. The reason is obvious ; waggons 
 and carts load behind ; but timber car- 
 riages and drays load at the sides, there- 
 fore, in such, large wheels, however much 
 they might favour the draught, would be 
 extremely inconvenient ; indeed incom- 
 patible. Wheels, whatever their size, should 
 be made of well seasoned tough wood, pei- 
 fectly free from blemish ; the naves are 
 generally of elm, the spokes of oak, and the 
 fellies of elm, or of ash ; such are found to 
 answer best for all carriages attached to 
 the ordnance department ; in which the 
 following are considered as the regular 
 standard heights. 
 
 All the horse-artillery carriages, limbers, 
 and waggons ; the heavy six-pounders, and 
 long tUree^pounders, and their limbers ; 
 the carriage of a six-pounder battalion 
 gun ; of a light hve and a half inch howitzer ; 
 and the hind wheels of an ammunition wag- 
 gon, five feet. The limber to a light six- 
 pounder, and five and a half inch howitzer ; 
 the carriage of a medium twelve; pounder, 
 four feet eight inches. The limber of the 
 latter four feet six inches. A sling-cart, 
 five feet eight inches. The fore-wheels of 
 an ammunition waggon, four feet. A pon- 
 toon carriage has the fore-wheels three 
 feet, and the hind ones five feet six inches. 
 The carriage of an eight inch howitzer, five 
 feet the limber, four feet. A ball ammu-1 
 nition cart, five feet. 
 
 We are disposed to recommend these 
 proportions to the consideration of readers 
 concerned in the construction, or in the use 
 of wheel carriages ; they being the result of 
 innumerable experiments, submitted to une- 
 quivocal proof under every variety of locality 
 and of burthen. We think it necessary, at 
 the same time to observe, that a correspon- 
 dent of the Agricultural Magazine, formerly 
 published by Longman, Hurst, Rees, and 
 Orme, of Paternoster-row, has, in the ele- 
 venth number of that work, given, what 
 appears to be, an excellent rule for the 
 proportions of wheels in waggons. It would 
 
WHEEL WORK. 
 
 not be admissible for us to give the whole of 
 the reasonings of that correspondent as 
 contained ii;i various numbers ; but from 
 that vvliich we have particularized we have 
 the pleasure to furnish the following extract ; 
 or, at least, the sense of it. 
 
 “ If the fore-wheel be four feet four 
 inches in height, and the line of traction 
 (draught) be drawn at an elevation of 
 twelve degrees from the centre of its axle, 
 
 ' the point where that line cuts the circum- 
 ference of the wheel in its front, gives that 
 height from the plane on which the carriage 
 stands, that will determine the radius of the 
 hinder w'heel. In this instance the hind- 
 wheel would have a radius of two feet nine 
 inches, giving of course live feet six inches 
 for its diameter.” 
 
 A view of the plate given in that work, 
 not only will illustrate the above explana- 
 tion, hut will satisfy a person respecting 
 the justness of the proportions above de- 
 tailed ; when tempered by the following 
 cautions, we consider the instruction given 
 to be admirable. “ The fore-wheel ought 
 to be as nearly level witli the point of 
 draught, that is, where the shaft is suspend- 
 ed by the gear, as may be convenient ; ob- 
 serving, that an angle of twelve degrees is 
 to be given on account of the dilference be- 
 tween the horse’s height as he stands at rest, 
 and the real-altitude of the point of draught 
 from the ground, when he is in a state of 
 exertion. During great efforts, horses lose 
 very considerably of their standard, and 
 thus bring the shaft to nearly a parallel 
 with the plane on which they move. Atten- 
 tion must be paid to keeping the wheel 
 within such limits as may not trespass on 
 other matters, often of more consequence 
 even than ease of draught; loading, turn- 
 ing, weight, expense, &c. must always form 
 a part of the calculation.” 
 
 \V HEEL work. Of all the modes of com- 
 municating motion, the most extensively 
 useful is the employment of wheel-work, 
 which is capable of varying its direction and 
 its velocity without any limit. 
 
 Wheels are sometimes turned by simple 
 contact with each other ; sometimes by the 
 intervention of cords, straps, or chains, 
 passing over them ; and in these cases the 
 minute protuberance of the surfaces, or 
 whatever else may be the cause of friction, 
 prevents their sliding on each other. Where 
 a broad strap runs on a wheel, it is usually 
 confined to its situation, not by causing the 
 margin of tlie wheel to project, but, on the 
 contrary, by making the middle prominent ; 
 
 the reason of this may be understood by 
 exarnining the manner in which a tight strap 
 running on a cone would tend to run to- 
 wards its thickest part. Sometimes also 
 pins are fixed in the wheels, and admitted 
 into perforations in the straps ; a mode only 
 practicable where the motion is slow and 
 steady. As raooth motion may also be ob- 
 tained, with considerable force, by forming 
 the surfaces of the wheels into brushes of 
 hair. More commonly, however, the cir- 
 cumferences of the contiguous wheels are 
 formed into teeth, impelling each other, as 
 W'ith the extremities of so many levers, ci- 
 ther exactly or nearly in the common direc- 
 tion of the circumferences ; and sometimes 
 an endless screw is substituted for one of 
 the H’heels. In forming the teeth of wheels, 
 it is of consequence to determine the curva- 
 ture which will procure an equable commu- 
 nication of motion, with the least possible 
 friction. For the equable communication 
 of motion, two methods have been recom- 
 mended ; one, that the lower part of the 
 face of each tooth should be a straight line 
 in the direction of the radius, and the upper 
 a portion of an epicycloid, that is, of a curve 
 described by a point of a circle rolling on 
 the wheel, of which the diameter must be 
 half that of the opposite wheel ; and in 
 this case it is demonstrable that the plane 
 surface of each tooth will act on the curved 
 surface of the opposite tooth so as to pro- 
 duce an equable angular motion in both 
 wheels ; the other method is, to form all the 
 surfaces into portions of the involutes of cir- 
 cles, or the curves described by a point of a 
 thread which has been wound round the 
 wheel, while it is uncoiled ; and this method 
 appears to answer the purpose in an easier 
 and simpler manner than the former. It 
 may be experimentally demonstrated, that 
 an equable motion is produced by the 
 action of these curves on each other ; if 
 we cut two boards into forms terminated 
 by them, divide the surfaces by lines into 
 equal or proportional angular portions, and 
 fix them on any two centres, we shall find 
 that as they revolve, whatever parts of the 
 surfaces may be in contact, the correspond- 
 ing lines will always meet each other. 
 
 Both these methods may be derived 
 from the general principle, that the teeth of 
 the one wheel must be of such a form, that ^ 
 their outline may bd desciibed by the re- 
 volution of a curve upon a given circle, 
 while the outline of the teeth of the other 
 wheel is described by the same curve re- 
 volving within the circle. It has been sup- , 
 
 O 0 2 
 
WHEEL 
 
 posed by some of the best authors that the 
 epicycloidal tooth has also the advantage of 
 completely avoiding friction ; this is how- 
 ever by no means true> and it is even im- 
 pi acticable to invent any form for the teeth 
 of a wheel, which will enable them to act 
 on other teeth without friction. In order 
 to diminish it as much as possible, the teeth 
 must be as small and as numerous as is con- 
 sistent with strength and durability ; for the 
 effect of friction always increases, with the 
 distance of the point of contact from the 
 •line joining the centres of the wheels. In 
 calculating the quantity of the friction, the 
 velocity with which the parts slide over 
 each other has generally been taken for 
 its measure ; this is a sliclit inaecuracy 
 of conception fir it is certain that, the 
 actual resistance is not at all increased by 
 increasing the relative velocity ; but the 
 effect of that resistance, in retarding the 
 motion of the wheels, mayvbe shown, from 
 the general laws of mechanics, to be propor- 
 tional to the relative velocity thus ascer- 
 tained. When it is possible to make one 
 wheel act on teeth fixed in the concave sur- 
 face of another, the friction may be thus di- 
 minished in the proportion of the dif- 
 ference of the diameters to their sum. It 
 the face of the teeth, where they are in con- 
 tact, is too much inclined to the radius, 
 their mutual friction is not much affecteel, 
 but a great pressure on their axis is pro- 
 duced ; and this occasions a strain on the 
 machinery, as well as an increase of the 
 friction on the axis. If it is desired to pro- 
 duce a great angular velocity witli the 
 smallest possible quantity of wheel-work, 
 the diameter of each wheel must be be- 
 tween three and four times as great as that 
 of the pinion on which it acts. Where the 
 pinion impels the wheel, it is sometimes 
 made with three or four teeth only ; but it 
 is much better in general to have at least 
 six or eight ; and considering the addi- 
 tional labour of increasing the number of 
 wheels, it may be advisable to allot more 
 teeth to each of them than the number re- 
 sulting from the calculation ; so that we 
 may allow thirty or forty teeth to a wheel 
 acting on a pinion of six or eight. In 
 works which do not require a great degree 
 of strength, the wheels have sometimes a 
 much greater number of teeth than this ; 
 and on the other hand, an endless screw or a 
 spiral acts as a pinion of one tooth, since it 
 propels the wheel through the breadth of 
 one tooth only in each revolution. For a 
 pinion of six teeth, it would be better to 
 have a wheel of thirty-five or thirty-seven 
 
 WORK. 
 
 than thirty-six ; for each tooth of the wlieel 
 would thus act in turn upon each tootli of 
 the pinion, and the work would be more 
 equally worn than if the same teeth conti- 
 nued to meet in each revolution. The teeth 
 of the pinion should also be somewhat 
 stronger than those of the wheel, in order to 
 support the more frequent recurrence of 
 friction. It has been proposed, for the 
 coarser kinds of wheel-work, to divide the 
 distance between the middle points of two 
 adjoining teeth into thirty parts, and to 
 allot sixteen to the tooth of the pinion, and 
 thirteen to that of the wheel, allowing one, 
 for freedom of motion. 
 
 The wheel and pinion may either he si- 
 tuated in the same plane, both being com- 
 monly of the kind denominated spur- 
 wheels, or their planes may form an angle ; 
 in this case one of them may be a crown or 
 contrate wheel ; or both of them may be 
 bevelled, the teeth being cut obliquely. 
 According to the relative magnitude of the 
 wheels, the angle of the bevel must be dif- 
 ferent, so that the velocities of the wheels 
 may be in the same proportion at botli ends 
 of their oblique faces ; for this purpose, the 
 faces of all the teeth must be directed to the 
 point where the axes would meet. In 
 cases where a motion not quite equable is 
 required, as it sometimes happens in the 
 construction of clocks, hut more frequently 
 in orreries, the wheels may either be di- ^ 
 vided a little unequally, or the axis may be 
 placed a little out of the centre ; and these 
 eccentric wheels may either act on other 
 eccentric wheels, or if they are made as 
 ' contrate wheels, upon a lengthened pinion. 
 An arrangement is sometimes made for se- 
 parating wheels which are intended to turn 
 each other, and for replacing them at plea- 
 sure ; tlie wheels are said to be thrown by 
 these operations out of gear and into gear 
 again. When a wheel revolves round 
 another, and is so fixed as to remain nearly 
 in a parallel direction, and to cause the 
 central wheel to turn round its axis, the ap- 
 paratus is called a snn and planet wheel. In 
 this case, the circumference of the central 
 wheel moves as fast as that of the revolving 
 wheel, each point of which describes a 
 circle equal in diameter to the distance of 
 the centres of the two wheels; conse- 
 quently, when the wheels are equal, the 
 central wheel makes two revolutions, every 
 time that the exterior wheel travels round 
 it. If the central wheel be fixed, and the 
 exterior wheel be caused to turn on its own 
 centre during its revolution, by the effect of 
 the contact, of the teeth, it will make in 
 
WHE 
 
 every revolution one turn more with re- 
 spect to the surrounding objects, than it 
 would make, if its centre were at rest, 
 during one turn of the w’heel which is fixed; 
 and this circumstance must he recollected 
 when such wheels are employed in planeta- 
 riums. 
 
 Wheels are usually made of wood, of 
 iron, either cast or wrought, of steel, or of 
 brass. The teeth of wheels of metal are 
 generally cut by means of a machine ; the 
 wheel is fixed on an axis, which also carries 
 a plate furnished with a variety of circles, 
 divided into different numbers of equal 
 parts, marked by small excavations ; these 
 are brought in succession under the point of 
 a spring, which holds the axis firm, while the 
 intervals between the teeth are expediti- 
 ously cut out by a revolving saw of steel. 
 The teeth are afterwards finished Iry a file ; 
 and a machine has also been invented for 
 holding and working the file. It is fre- 
 quently necessary in machinery to protract 
 the time of application of a given force, or 
 to reserve a part of it for future use. This 
 is generally effected by suffering a weight to 
 descend, which has been previously raised, 
 or a spring to unbend itself from a state of 
 forcible, flexure, as is exemplified in the 
 weights and springs of clocks and watches. 
 The commop kitchen jack is also employed 
 for protracting and equalizing the operation 
 of a weight ; in the patent jack the same 
 effect is produced by an alternate motion, 
 tiie axis being impelled backwards and for- 
 wards, as in clocks and w'atches, by means 
 of an escapement, and the place of a 
 balance spring being supplied by the twist- 
 ing and untwisting of a cord. 
 
 In these machines, as well as in many 
 others of greater magnitude, the fly wheel is 
 a very important part, its velocity being in- 
 creased by the operation of any part of the 
 force which happens to be superfluous, and 
 its rotatory power serving to continue tiie 
 motion when the force is diminished or 
 withdrawn. Thus, xthen a man turns a 
 winch, he can exert twice as much force in 
 some positions as in others, and a fly enables 
 him in some cases to do nearly one-third 
 more w’ork. In the pile engine, also, with- 
 out the help of the fly, the horses would fall 
 for want of a counterpoise, as soon as the 
 weight is disengaged. Such a fly ought to 
 be heavy, and its motion must not be too 
 rapid, otherwise the resistance of the air 
 will destroy too much of the motion ; but 
 iu the kitchen jack, as well as in the 
 striking part of a clock, where tlie super- 
 
 WHI 
 
 fluous force is purposely destroyed, the fly 
 is made light, and strikes the air with a 
 broad surface. An effect similar to that of 
 a fly and a spring is sometimes produced iu 
 hydraulic machines by the introduction of 
 an air vessel, the air contained in which is 
 compressed more or less according to the 
 intensity of the force, and exerts a more 
 uniform pressure in expelling the fluid 
 which is forced irregularly into it. See 
 Young’s Lectures. 
 
 Wheel, in the military art, is the word 
 of command when a battalion or squadron 
 is to alter its front either one way or the 
 other. To wheel to the right, directs the 
 man in the right angle to turn very slowly, 
 and every one to wheel from the left to the 
 right, regarding him as their centre ; and 
 vice versa when they are to wheel to the 
 left. When a division of men are on the 
 nrarch, if the word be to wheel to the right 
 or to the left, then the right or left hand 
 man keeps his ground, only turning on his 
 heel, and the rest of the rank move about 
 quick till they make an even line with the 
 said right or left hand man. 
 
 Wheels, water. See Mill. 
 
 WHIRLWIND, a wind that rises sud- 
 denly, is exceedingly rapid and impetuous, 
 in a whirling direction, and often progres- 
 sively also; but it is commonly soon spent. 
 Dr. Franklin, in his Physical and Meteoro- 
 logical Observations, read to the Royal 
 Society in 1766, supposes a whirlwind and a 
 water-spout to proceed from the same cause ; 
 their only difference being, that the latter 
 passes over the water, and the former over 
 the land. This opinion is corroborated by 
 the observations of many others, who have 
 remarked the appearances and effects of 
 both to be the same. They have both a 
 progressive as W'ell as a circular motion; 
 they usually rise after calms and great heats, 
 and mostly happen in the warmer latitudes : 
 the wind blows every way from a large sur- 
 rounding space, both to the water-spout and 
 whirlwind ; and a water-spout has, by its 
 progressive motion, passed from the sea to 
 the land, and produced all the phenomena 
 and effects of a whirlwind ; so that there is 
 no reason to doubt that they are meteors 
 arising from the same geneial cause, and 
 explicable upon the same princi|)les, fur- 
 nished by electrical experiments and dis- 
 coveries. 
 
 WHISPERING places, are place.? where 
 a whisper, or other small noise, may be 
 heard from one part to another, to a great 
 distance. 'I'hey depend on a principle, tliat 
 
WHISTON. 
 
 the voice, &c. being applied to one end of 
 an arch, easily passes by repeated reflec- 
 tions to the other. 
 
 Hence sotuid is conveyed from one side 
 of a whispering-gallery to the opposite one, 
 without being perceived by those who stand 
 in the middle. The form of a whispering- 
 gallery is that of a segment of a sphere, or 
 tlie like arched figure ; and the progress of 
 the sound througli it may be illustrated in 
 the following nnmner : Let ABC (Plate 
 XVI. Misoel. fig. 12.) represent the seg- 
 ment of a sphere ; and suppose a low voice 
 uttered at A, the vibrations extending them- 
 selves every way, some of them will im- 
 pinge upon the points E, E, &c. ; and 
 thence be reflected to the points F, F, &c.; 
 thence to G, G, &c. ; till at last they meet 
 in C; where by their union they cause a 
 much stronger sound than in any part of 
 the segment whatever, even at A, the point 
 from whence they came. Accordingly, all 
 the contrivance in whispering-places is, that 
 near the person who whispers there may be 
 a smooth wall, arched either cylindrically 
 or elliptically. A circular arch will do, but 
 not so well. 
 
 The most considerable whispering-places 
 in England are, the whispering-gallery in 
 the dome of St. Paul’s, London, where the 
 ticking of a watch may be heard from side 
 to side, and a very easy whisper be sent all 
 round the dome. The famous whispering 
 place in Gloucester Cathedral, is no other 
 than a gallery above the east end of the 
 choir, leading from one side thereof to the 
 other. It consists of five angles and six 
 sides, the middlemost of which is a naked 
 window, yet two whisperers hear each other 
 at the distance of twenty-five yards, 
 
 WHISTON, (William), an English di- 
 vine, philosopher, and mathematician, of 
 uncommon parts, learning, and extraordi- 
 nary character, was born the 9th of Decem- 
 ber 1C67, at Norton in the county of 
 Leicester, where his father was rector. He 
 was educated under his father till he was 
 seventeen years of age, when he was sent 
 to Tamworth school, and two years after 
 admitted of Clare-hall, Cambridge, where 
 he pursued his studies, and particularly the 
 mathematics, with great diligence. 
 
 In 1693, he was made Master of Arts, 
 and Fellow of the College, and soon after 
 commenced one of the tutors ; but his ill 
 state of health soon after obliged him to re- 
 linquish this profession. Having entered 
 into orders, in 1694, he became chap- 
 lain to Dr. More, Bishop of Norwich ; 
 
 and while in this station he published hi* 
 first work, entitled, “ A New Theory of 
 the Earth, &c.” in which he undertook 
 to prove that the Mosaic doctrine of the 
 earth was perfectly agreeable to reason 
 and philosophy : which work, having much 
 ingenuity, brought considerable reputation 
 to the author. 
 
 In the year 1698, Bishop More gave him 
 the living of Lowestotf in Suflblk, where he 
 immediately went to reside, and devoted 
 himself with great diligence to the discharge 
 of that trust. In the begining of the last cen- 
 tury he was made Sir Isaac Newton’s de- 
 puty, and afterwards his successor in the 
 Lucasian professorship of mathematics, 
 when he resigned his living at LowestolF, 
 and went to reside at Cambridge. From 
 this time his publications became very fre- 
 quent, both in theology and mathematics. 
 By his researches into the writings of the 
 Fathers, he was led to embrace the Arian 
 hypothesis respecting the person of Christ ; 
 on account of which he was, in October 
 1710, deprived of his professorship, and ex- 
 pelled the University of Cambridge, after 
 he had been formally convened and inter- 
 rogated for some days together. At the 
 conclusion of this year he wrote his “Histo- 
 rical Preface,” afterwards prefixed to his 
 “ Primitive Christianity Revived,” contain- 
 ing the reasons for his dissent from the com- 
 monly received notions of the Trinity, which 
 work he published the next year, in 4 vols. 
 8vo. for which the Convocation fell upon 
 him most vehemently. 
 
 In 1713, he and Mr. Ditton composed 
 their scheme for finding the longitude, 
 which they published the year following, a 
 method which consisted in measuring dis- 
 tances by means of the velocity of sound. 
 
 On Mr. Whiston’s expulsion from Cam- 
 bridge, he went to London, where he con- 
 ferred with Doctors Clarke, Hoadly, and 
 other learned men, who endeavoured to 
 moderate his zeal, but he was not to be in- 
 timidated, he continued to write, and to 
 propagate his opinions with as much ardour 
 as if he had been in the most flourishing 
 circumstances; which, however, were so 
 bad that, in 1721, a subscription was made 
 for the support of his family, which amount- 
 ed to 470Z. For though he drew some pro- 
 fits from reading astronomical and philoso- 
 phical lectures, and also from his publica- 
 tions, which were very numerous, yet these 
 of themselves were very insufficient: nor, 
 when joined with the benevolence and cha- 
 rity of those who loved and esteemed him 
 
w in 
 
 for liis learning, integritj', and piety, did 
 they prevent his being frequently in great 
 distress. 
 
 In 1739, Mr. Whiston put in his claim to 
 the mathematical professorship at Cam- 
 bridge, then vacant by the death of Dr. 
 Saunderson, in a letter to Dr. Ashton, the 
 Master of Jesus College ; but no regard was 
 paid to it. Among a variety of works, he 
 published Memoirs of his . own Life and 
 Writings, which are very curious. 
 
 Whiston continued many years a member 
 of the established Church ; but at length 
 forsook it on account of the reading of the 
 Athahasian Creed, and went over to the 
 Baptists ; whkh happened while he was at 
 the house of Samuel Barker, Esq. at Lin- 
 don in Rutlandshire, who had mari ied his 
 daughter; wdiere he died, after a week’s ill- 
 ness, the 22d of August 1752, at upw'ards 
 of 84 years of age. 
 
 The' character of this conscientious and 
 worthy man has been attempted by two 
 very able personages, who were well ac- 
 quainted with him, namely. Bishop Hare 
 and Mr. Cdllins, who unite in giving him 
 the highest applauses for his integrity, 
 piety, &c. Mr. Whiston left some children 
 behind him ; among them, Mr. John Whis- 
 ton, who was for many years a very con- 
 siderable bookseller in Londdn. 
 
 WHITE, one of the colours of bodies. 
 Though white cannot properly be said to 
 be one colour, but rather a composition of 
 all the colours togetlier; for Newton has 
 demonstrated that bodies only appear white 
 by reflecting all the kinds of coloured lays 
 alike ; and that even the light of the sun is 
 only white because it consists of all colours 
 mixed together. 
 
 This may be showm mechanically in the 
 following manner: Take seven parcels of 
 coloured fine powders, the same as the 
 primary colours of the rainbow, taking such 
 quantities of these as shall be proportional 
 to thg respective breadths of these colours 
 in the rainbow which are of red 45 parts, 
 orange 27, yellow 48, green 60, blue 60, 
 indigo 40, and of violet 80 ; then mix in- 
 timately together these seven parcels of 
 powders, and the mixture will be a whitish 
 dolour : and this is only similar to the unit- 
 ing the prismatic colours together again, to 
 form a white ray or pencil of light of the 
 whole of them. The same thing is done 
 conveniently thus : Let the flat upper sur- 
 face of a top be divided into 360 equal 
 parts, all arbund its edge; then divide the 
 same surface into seven sectors, in the pro- 
 
 WHI 
 
 portion of the numbere above, by seven 
 radii or lines drawn from the centre ; next 
 let the respective colours be painted in a 
 lively manner on these spaces, but so as the 
 edge of each colour may be made nearly like 
 the colour next adjoining, that the separation 
 may not be well distinguished by the eye; 
 then if the top be made to spin, the colours 
 will thus seem to be mixed all together, and 
 the whole surface will appear of a uniform 
 whiteness: and if a large round black spot 
 be painted in the middle, so as there may 
 be only a broad flat ring of colours around 
 it, ^ the experiment will succeed the bet- 
 ter. 
 
 White bodies are found to take heat 
 slower than black ones : because the latter 
 absorb or imbibe rays of all kinds and co- 
 lours, and the former reflect them. Hence 
 it is that black paper is sooner inflamed, 
 by a burning-glass, than white ; and hence 
 also black clothes, hung up in the sun by 
 the dyers, dry sooner than white ones. 
 
 WHITEHURST, (John), in biography, 
 an ingenious English philosopher, was born 
 at Congleton in the county of Cheshire, the 
 10th of April 1713, being the son of a clock 
 and watch-maker there. On his quitting 
 school, where it seems the education he re- 
 ceived was very defective, he was bred by 
 his falher to his own profession, in which he 
 soon gave hopes of his future eminence. 
 
 At about the age of tw’enty-one, his 
 eagerness after new ideas carried him to 
 Dublin, having heard of an ingenious piece 
 of mechanism in that city, being a clock 
 with certain curious appendages, which he 
 yvas very desirous of seeing, and no less so 
 of conversing with the maker. On his ar- 
 rival, however, he could neitlier procure a 
 sight of the former, nor draw the least hint 
 from the latter concerning it. Tims dis- 
 appointed, he fell upon an expedient for 
 accomplishing ids design ; and accordingly 
 took lip his residence in the house of the 
 mechanic, paying the more liberally for his 
 hoard, as he had hopes from thence of more 
 readily obtaining the indulgence wished for. 
 He was accommodated with a room directly 
 over that in which the favourite piece was 
 kept carefully locked up ; and he had not 
 long to wait for his gratification : for the 
 artist, while one day employed in examin- 
 ing his machine, was suddenly called down 
 stairs; which the young enquirer happening 
 to overhear, softly slipped into the room, 
 inspected the machine, and, presently satis- 
 fying liimself as to the secret, escaped un- 
 discovered to his own apartment. His epd 
 
WHITEHURST. 
 
 thus compassed, he shortly after bid the 
 artist farewell, and returned to his father in 
 England. 
 
 About two or three years after his return 
 from Ireland, he left Congleton and entered 
 into business for himself at Derby, where 
 he soon got into great employment, and 
 distinguished himself very much by several 
 ingenious pieces of mechanism, both in his 
 own regular line of business, and in various 
 other respects, as in the construction of 
 curious thermometers, barometers, and 
 other philosophical instruments, as well as 
 in ingenious contrivances for water-works, 
 and the erection of various larger machines : 
 being consulted in almost all the under- 
 takings in Derbyshire, and in the neighbour- 
 ing counties, where the aid of superior skill, 
 in mechanics, pneumatics, and hydraulics, 
 was requisite. 
 
 In this manner his time was fully and use- 
 fully employed in the country, till, in 1775, 
 when the act being passed for the better re- 
 gulation of the gold coin, he was appointed 
 stamper Of the money-weights; an ofEce 
 conferred upon him, altogether unexpect- 
 edly, and without solicitation. Upon this 
 occasion he removed to London, where Itg 
 spent the remainder of his days, in the con- 
 stant habits of cultivating some useful parts 
 of philosophy and mechanism. 
 
 In 1778, Mr. Whitehurst published his 
 Inquiry into the Original State and Forma- 
 tion of the Earth; of which a second edition 
 appeared in 1786, considerably enlarged 
 and improved ; and a third in 1792. This 
 was the labour of many years; and the nu- 
 merous investigations necessary to its com- 
 pletion, were in themselves also of so unto- 
 ward a nature as at times, though he was 
 naturally of a strong constitution, not a 
 little to prejudice his health. When he first 
 entered upon this species of research, it was 
 not altogether with a view to investigate 
 the formation of the earth, but in part to 
 obtain such a competent knowledge of sub- 
 terraneous geography as might become sub- 
 servient to the purposes of human life, by 
 leading mankind to the discovery of many 
 valuable substances which lie concealed in 
 the lower regions of the earth. 
 
 May the 13th, 1779, he was elected and 
 admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society. 
 Before he was admitted a member, three 
 several papers of his had been inserted in 
 the Philosophical Transactions, viz. Ther- 
 mometrical Observations at Derby, in vol. 
 67 ; An Account of a Machine for raising 
 Water, at Oulton, in Cheshire, in vol. 65 ; 
 
 and Experiments on Ignited Substances, 
 vol. 66 : which three papers were printed 
 afterwards in the . collection of his works 
 in 1792. 
 
 In 1783, he made a second visit to Ire- 
 land, with_ a view to examine the Giant’s 
 Causeway, and other northern parts of that 
 island, which he found to be chiefly com- 
 posed of volcanic matter : an account and 
 representation of which are inserted in the 
 latter editions of his Inquiry. During this 
 excursion he erected an engine for raising 
 water from a well, to the summit of a hill, 
 in a bleaching-ground at Tullidoi, in the 
 county of Tyrone, which is worked by a 
 current of water. 
 
 In 1787, he published An Attempt to- 
 ward obtaining Invariable Measures of 
 Length, Capacity, and Weight, from the 
 Mensuration of Time. His plan is to ob- 
 tain a measure of the greatest length that 
 cbnveniency will permit, from two pendu- 
 lums whose vibrations are in the ratio of 2 
 to 1, and whose lengths ’ coincide nearly 
 with the English standard in whole numbers. 
 The numbers which he has chosen show 
 much ingenuity. On a supposition that the 
 length of a second’s pendulum, in the lati- 
 tude of London, is 39J inches, the length of 
 one vibrating 42 times in a minute, must be 
 80 inches ; and of another vibrating 84 times 
 in a minute, must be 20 inches ; and their 
 difference 60 inches, or five feet, is his 
 standard measure. By the experiments, 
 however, the difference between the lengths 
 of the two pendulum rods, was found to be 
 only 59.892 inches, instead of 60, owing to 
 the error in the assumed length of the 
 second’s pendulum, 39t inches being greater 
 than the truth, which ought to be 39 a very 
 nearly. By this experiment, Mr. White- 
 hurst obtained a fact, as accurately as may 
 be in a thing of this nature, viz. the diffe- 
 rence between the lengths of two pendulum 
 rods whose vibrations are known : a datum 
 from whence may be obtained, by calcula- 
 tion, the true lengths of pendulums, the 
 spaces through which heavy bodies fall in a 
 given time, and many other particulars re- 
 lating to the doctrine of gravitation, the 
 figure of the earth, &c. 
 
 Mr. Whitehurst had been at times sub- 
 ject to slight attacks of the gout, and he 
 had for several years felt himself gradually 
 declining. By an attack of that disease in 
 his stomach, after a struggle of two or three 
 months, it put an end to his laborious and 
 useful life, on the 18th of February, 1788, 
 in the 75th year of ids age, at his'house in 
 
WIL 
 
 Bolt Court, Fleet Street, being the same 
 house where another eminent self-taught 
 philosopher, Mr. James Ferguson, had im- 
 mediately before liiin lived and died. 
 
 AFILKINS (Dr. John), in biography, a 
 very ingenious and learned English bishop 
 and mathematician, was the son of a gold- 
 smith at Oxford, and born in 1614. After 
 being educated in Greek and Latin, in 
 which he made a very quick progress, he 
 was entered a student of New Inn in that 
 university, when he was but thirteen 
 years of age ; but after a short stay there, 
 he was removed to Magdalen Hall, where 
 he took his degrees. Having entered into 
 holy orders, he first became chaplain to 
 William Lord Say, and afterwards to Charles 
 Count Palatine of the Rhine, with whom 
 he continued for some time. Adhering to 
 the Parliament during the civil wars, they 
 made him warden of Wadham College 
 about the year 1648. In 1656 he married 
 the sister of Oliver Cromwell, then lord 
 protector of Ei\gland, who granted him a 
 dispensation to hold his wardenship, not- 
 withs, landing his marriage. In 1659, he was 
 by Richard Cromwell made master of Tri- 
 nity College in Cambridge ; but ejected the 
 year following, upon the restoration. He 
 was then chosen preacher to the society of 
 Gray’s Inn, and rector of St. Lawrence 
 Jewry, London, upon the promotion of Dr. 
 Seth Ward to the bishoprick of Exeter. 
 About this time he became a member of 
 the Royal Society, was chosen of their 
 council, and proved one of their most emi- 
 nent members. He was afterwards made 
 dean of Rippon, and in 1668 bishop of 
 Chester ; but died of the stone in 1672, at 
 fifty-eight years of age. 
 
 Burnet writes, that “ he was a man of as 
 great a mind, as true a judgment, as emi- 
 nent virtues, and of as good a soul, as any 
 he ever knew; that though he married 
 Cromwell’s sister, yet he made no other 
 use of that alliance, but to do good offices, 
 and to cover the university of Oxford from 
 the sourness of Owen and Goodwin. At 
 Cambridge, he joined with those who stu- 
 died to propagate better thoughts, to take 
 men off from being in parties, or from nar- 
 row notions, from superstitious conceits, and 
 fierceness about opinions. He was also a 
 great observer and promoter of experi- 
 mental philosophy, which was then a new 
 thing, and much looked after. He was na- 
 turally ambitious, but was the wisest clergy- 
 man I ever knew. He was a lover of man- 
 kind, and had a delight in doing good." 
 
 WIL 
 
 Of his publications, which are all of them 
 very ingenious and learned, and many of 
 tfiem particularly curious and entertaining ; 
 the first was in 1638, .when he was only 
 twenty-four years of age, lYz. “The Disco- 
 very of a New World ; or, a Discourse to 
 prove, that it is probable there may be 
 another Habitable World in the Moon ; 
 with a Discourse concerning the Possibility 
 of a Passage thither.” In 1640, “ A Dis- 
 course concerning a New Planet, tending 
 to prove that it is probable our Earth is 
 one of the Pljnets.” In 1641, “Mercury; 
 or, the secret and swift Messenger ; show- 
 ing how a man may with privady and speed 
 communicate his thoughts to a friend at 
 any distance 8vo. In 1648, “ Mathema- 
 tical Magic ; or, the Wonders that may 
 be performed by Mathematical Geometry 
 8vo. All these pieces weie published en- 
 tire in one volume, 8vo. in 1708, under the 
 title of, “ The Mathematical and Philo- 
 sophical Works of the Right Rev. John 
 Wilkins,” &c. To tliis collection is also 
 subjoined an abstract of a larger work, 
 printed in 1668, folio, entitled, “ An Essay 
 towards a real Character and a philosoplib 
 cal Language.” 
 
 WILL. In the Hartleyan acceptation 
 of the term, the will is that state of mind 
 which is immediately previous to, and 
 causes, those express acts of memory, ima- 
 gination, reasoning, or bodily motion, which 
 we term voluntary ; corresponding to the 
 common acceptation of the term volition. 
 In the more customary use of the term, it 
 comprehends ^the whole class of feelings by 
 which volition is produced, (for an account 
 of which, See Mental Philosophy, 
 63—99). 
 
 . It would be an interesting and very im- 
 portant inquiry, how far volition may be- 
 come connected wfith, and regulate, the 
 trains of thought and feeling, and the state 
 of mind which we call attention ; but this 
 would lead us into a field which neither' 
 our limits of time, nor of space, would allow 
 ns to survey even cursorily^ That such 
 Connection can be formed in various in- 
 stances, there is no room for doubt; and 
 were it otherwise, man would be merely 
 the creature of external circumstances: 
 that, on the other hand, there are limits to 
 such establishment, is also indisputable ; 
 and were it not so, man might become the 
 creator of his ovvv mind, and all the benefits 
 arising from the intellectual and social 
 powers depend upon caprice. But we 
 must content ourselves with laying before 
 
WILL. 
 
 6iir readers some of Hartley’s valuable 
 practical remarks respecting the yvill. 
 
 “ The will appears to be nothing but a 
 desire or aversion sufficiently strong to pro- 
 duce an action that is not automatic, pri- 
 marily or secondarily (§. 101). The will is 
 therefore that desire or aversion which is 
 strongest for the present time ; for if any 
 other desire were stronger, the muscular 
 motion connected with it by association 
 would take place, and not that which pro- 
 ceeds from the wall, or the voluntary one. 
 
 “ Since the things which we pursue do, 
 when obtained, generally afford pleasure, 
 and those which we fly from affect us with 
 pain, ii' they overtake us, it follows that 
 the gratification of the will is generally as- 
 sociated with pleasure, the disappointment 
 of it with pain. Hence a mere associated 
 pleasure is transferred upon the gratifica- 
 tion of the will ; a mere associated pain, 
 upon the disappointment of it : and if the 
 will were always gratified, this mere asso- 
 ciated pleasure would, according to the pre- 
 sent frame of our natures, absorb, as it were, 
 all our other pleasures; and thus, by dry- 
 ing lip the source from whence it sprung, be 
 itself di'ied up at last ; and the first disap- 
 pointments, after a long course of gratifica- 
 tion, wbiild be intolerable. Both which 
 circumstances are sufficiently observable, 
 in an inferior degree, in children that are 
 much indulged, and in adults, after a long 
 series of successful events. Gratifications 
 of the will without the consequent expected 
 pleasure, and disappointments of it with- 
 out the consequent expected pain, are par- 
 ticularly useful to us here : and it is by this, 
 amongst other means, that the human will 
 is brought to a confoi’inity wdth the divine ; 
 which is the only radical cure for all our evils 
 and disappointments, and the only earnest 
 and .medium for obtaining lasting happiness. 
 
 “ We often desire and pursue things which 
 give pain rather than pleasure. Here it 
 must be supposed that at first they afforded 
 pleasure, and that they now give pain on 
 account of the change in our nature and 
 circumstances. Now, as the continuance 
 to desire and pursue such objects, notwith- 
 standing the pain arising from them, is the 
 effect of the power of association ; so the 
 same powder will at last reverse its own 
 steps, and free ns from such hurtful desires 
 and pursuits. Tlie recurrency of pain will 
 at last render the object undesirable and 
 hateful ; and the experience of this painful 
 process, in a few particular instances, will 
 at last, as in other cases of the same kind, 
 
 beget a habit of ceasing to pursue things, 
 which we perceive by a few trials, or by 
 rational arguments, to be hurtful to us on 
 the whole. 
 
 “ A state of desire ought to be pleasant 
 at first, from the near relation of desire to 
 love (§. 71 ), and of love, to pleasure and 
 happiness ; but in the course of a long pur- 
 suit, there intervene so many fears and dis- 
 appointments, apparent or real, with respect 
 to the subordinate means, and so many 
 strong agitations of mind passing the limits 
 of pleasure, as greatly to chequer a state of 
 desire with misery. For a similar reason, 
 states of aversion are chequered with hope 
 and comfort.” 
 
 AV ILL, freedom of. There are, perhaps, few 
 topics of inquiry which have more than this 
 perplexed the understandings and irritated 
 the passions of mankind. From tiie conti- 
 nued conflict of opinion which lias existed 
 on the subject, in every age since the ope- 
 rations of the mind of map became a tfe- 
 qnent subject of investigation, it might be 
 almost presumed to belong to those ques- 
 tions which furnish abundant matter for 
 discussion, bnt none for conviction; which 
 sharpen ingenuity without resulting in cer- 
 tainty, and serve to display the human inr 
 tellect in all its strength and weakness, in 
 all its pride and humiliation. 
 
 Philosophical free-will, it must ever be 
 remembered, is something totally different 
 from external liberty. The latter is pos- 
 sessed by every man who has the power of 
 doing as he pleases ; that is, of carrying his 
 volitions into execution. But whether voli- 
 tions be free or necessitated ; whether, in 
 forming these, the mind exert a self-deter- 
 mining power, or be uniformly and irre- 
 sistibly influenced by motives, is a question 
 perfectly nnconnected with the circum- 
 stances of freedom or control relating to 
 their execution. The will may be bound, 
 though the consequent act be unimpeded ; 
 and, on the other hand, the exercise of the 
 self-determining power, in volition, may be 
 prevented, by numberless restraints, from 
 being ftllowed up in act. The point in 
 discussion between the advocates of philo- 
 sophical free-will and their opponents is, 
 whether man be invariably and necessarily 
 influenced by motives ; or, whether he 
 possess a self-governing, self-determining 
 power, which he may exert by acting 
 either according to motives, in opposition 
 to motives, or without any motives at all. 
 And though some of the defenders of liberty 
 differ from others in the extent of the exer< 
 
WILL. 
 
 cise of tills power, many limiting it to acts 
 of mere delilieration, and othere connecting 
 it with every actual and possible instance 
 of volition, the controversy between them 
 and the necessarians has no reference to 
 these differences, but is c.iicmnscribed by 
 the single question, wlietlier, in any case 
 whatever, a volition can originate indepen- 
 dently of motive ; or, in other words, whe- 
 ther the mind be capable of acting dif- 
 ferently, previous circmnslaiices continuing 
 in every respect the same. In support of 
 philosophical liberty, its supporters make 
 their first appeal to consciousness. With 
 respect to various volitions, it is observed, 
 we are not only insensible to an overpower- 
 ing and resistless influence of motives, but 
 are positively conscious of choosing without 
 any motive, and often, even in opposition 
 to the strongest. And were it not that the 
 mind possessed this paramount and inde- 
 pendent faculty — this liberty of determin- 
 ing dift’erently in tlie same circumstances, 
 whence could arise those feelings of appro- 
 bation or blame, which ever attach to voli- 
 tions of high importance and moral conse- 
 quence? Could censure reasonably be ap- 
 plied to any act that was inevitable ? oris 
 there any adequate ground of applause for 
 what could not possibly have been unper- 
 formed? Are not the feelings of indivi- 
 duals, and the consent of nations, on this 
 subject, perfectly decided and coincident ? 
 The repentant sinner is overwhelmed with 
 remorse for that delinquency which he feels 
 it was no less within his power than his 
 duty to have avoided : the abandoned cri- 
 minal, who has lifted his murderous arm 
 against his neighbour, falls an unpitied vic- 
 tim to the laws of his country. Upon what 
 principle is remorse felt in the one case, 
 and execution inflicted in the other, but on 
 that which naturally presses conviction on 
 every human bosom, that the offender, in- 
 stead of being hurried on to guilt by irre- 
 sistible destiny, was merely the ready tool 
 of appetites which he might have con- 
 trouled ; the willing slave of passions which 
 he might have corrected. The lunatic in- 
 cendiary is regarded as no proper object 
 of puuisinuent, frenzy having usurped the 
 throne of reason, and the exercise of ra- 
 tional free-will being precluded by the pa- 
 roxysm of disease. And, on similar grounds, 
 the destroyer of life by mere accident, is 
 exempt from the vengeance of human laws, 
 which point their thunder only against those 
 who are both capable of distinguishing right 
 from w'rong, and of avoiding the crimes into 
 
 wliich they vohmtari'y plunge themselves. 
 If, therefore, any conclusion wliatever can 
 he justly inferred from the almost instinc- 
 tive feelings of mankind, which even those 
 uniformly act upon who systematically con- 
 trovert and ridicule them, how powerful 
 must the argument, hence derived, be con- 
 sidered in favour of that liberty of will, 
 without which the agonies of remorse ap- 
 pear only the gratuitous self-inflictions of 
 folly ; and the most essential acts of legis- 
 lation, seem the most execrable operations 
 of tyranny ? The moral and religious con- 
 sequences, considered as arising from the 
 system of necessity, are regarded by the 
 advocates for free-will as of a nature so re- 
 pulsive to the interests of virtue, so incom- 
 patible with moral discipline, so full of pal- 
 pable absurdity and extreme impiety, that 
 these alone are deemed sufficient to justify 
 the rejection of a doctrine, from wliich they 
 appear essentially and decidedly to flow. 
 Can tliat system, it is asked, be true, which 
 saps the foundations of virtue, by ascribing 
 every act and thought, every feeling and 
 wish, connected with moral character, to 
 imperious and resistless impulse ? which con- 
 stitutes man a mere machine, guiltless even 
 in the extreme of wickedness, and worthless 
 in the maturity of benevolence ; because in 
 both cases, equally compelled by circum- 
 stances to good or evil, and equally desti- 
 tute of moral quality with tlie quickening 
 sun or the devouring tempest ? If every 
 sentiment and deed of every human indi- 
 vidual be the result of preceding situations, 
 which situations themselves are only links 
 in an interminable series of processes, 
 equally compelled and necessitating, how 
 vain are all the popular and presumed 
 means of operating upon the mind, to re- 
 claim from vice, or guide to virtue ? Can 
 there be any stimulus to exertions decidedly 
 fruitless ? or can there be any penitence for 
 inevitable crime? or can tlrere be any jus- 
 tice, human or divine, in the punishment of 
 offences committed, indeed, by choice, yet 
 committed through necessity ? With what 
 disgust will be viewed the imputation thrown 
 by this system on the Supreme Being (who 
 is considered by it to be not only the sove- 
 reign, but the sole agent, in the universe), 
 as the origin of all existing evil ! Under 
 what character is the Divine Being repre- 
 sented by this doctrine, but under that of 
 a baffling tyrant, and a deriding fiend ; 
 exhorting men to what they cannot accom- 
 plish, and torturing them for what they 
 cannot avoid, and, under the designation of 
 
WILL. 
 
 the God of tnith, uttering a tissue of the 
 most malignant falsehoods ? With what hor- 
 ror must we contemplate a Deity, who is 
 exhibited as the very author of what he pro- 
 fesses to hate, the. performer of what he 
 punishes, and the source of every polluted 
 thought, every tormenting passion, and 
 every evil work ; whose chosen instruraents 
 and objects appear to be, hatred and uncha- 
 ritableness, guilt and terror, confusion, pain, 
 and death ; who is displayed, in short, as 
 the introducer of all moral evil, and the 
 scourge of all moral nature ? 
 
 It is by no means surprising that observa- 
 tions, or arguments, such as these, should 
 have operated strongly on the majority 
 even of persons in some degree habituated 
 to reflection. The moral man has trembled 
 for the interests of virtue; the pious man 
 has recoiled from the dreaded charge of 
 blasphemy; and so coincident is the mis- 
 apprehended system of liberty w’ith the 
 feelings pf indiscriminating and unreflect- 
 ing minds, that it would be truly extraordi- 
 nary if the opposite doctrine had not to 
 encounter from such, prejudices the most 
 viplent and hostile. General consent, how- 
 ever, and presumed consciousness, are no 
 more sufficient to establish the doctrine of 
 philosophical free-will, than the appearance 
 exhibited by the sun and stars of revolving 
 round this terraqueous globe, and the uni- 
 versal conviction once entertained of the 
 reality of this appearance, can be corsi- 
 dered to have been irrefragable evidence 
 of this popular philosophy. And with re- 
 gard to the interests of virtue, and even the 
 honour of the Deity, the man who refrains 
 from the discussion of important topics, 
 from a trembling apprehension lest these 
 should be injuriously involved in the result 
 of his investigation, displays inexpressibly 
 more of fastidious sensibility than of vigo- 
 rous intellect. If discussion can possibly 
 evince that virtue is detrimental or worth- 
 less, instead of being extolled as the best 
 source of hope, and the only guide to hap- 
 piness, let it be instantly exposed to the 
 aversion and avoidance of mankind. And 
 if the most acute and profound speculation 
 can possibly disconnect from the Supreme 
 Being those qualities of wisdom and good- 
 ne.ss, of power and perfection, which have 
 hitherto only appeared the more cle.a) ly to 
 belong to him the more his attributes have 
 been investigated, let the veil be, at once, 
 rent from the imagined sanctuary, and let 
 detestation or contempt be substituted for 
 joyful dOvotion and humble imitation.' 
 
 These delicate scruples, and fearful doubt,*, 
 and awful hesitations, have too long re- 
 tarded the march of the human, mind in its 
 pursuit of the ends and means most worthy 
 of its researches. They have been in every 
 age supports, as, indeed, they are results, of 
 superstition: they have anied the views of 
 civil tyranny^ and inquisitorial bigotry ; and 
 until the operations of thought be unim- 
 peded by these morbid tremors, any rapid 
 advance to the maturity of social institu- 
 tions can be expected only in vain. In 
 opposition, tlien, to the doctrine office-will, 
 so tenaciously maintained and so ardently 
 advocated, it may be observed, that upon 
 the only sound principles of philosophy, 
 upom the very basis of all human specula- 
 tion and conclusion, the imagined liberty 
 of man will appear equally unsupportable, 
 as any change in the arrangemeuts of 
 material nature without a 'corresponding 
 change of pre-existing circumstancfes. If 
 volitions, in any case, start up in the mind 
 uncaused, as well may it be presumed, that 
 the universal system of nature sprang into 
 existence without any previous and opera- 
 tive energy. All inquiry into causes is vain ; 
 all reference to circumstances is absurd : 
 conclusions the most • opposite may with 
 equal propriety be inferred from the same 
 premises ; or rather, the only conclusion to 
 be formed is, that of one immense and uni- 
 versal chaos, in which processes, both of 
 mind and matter, are incipient without 
 cause, and operative without effect. If, 
 on the other hand, man be uniformly and 
 imperiously influenced by motives, volitions 
 are as definitive, in definite circumstances, 
 as the movements of palpable mechanism ; 
 and the determinations of the mind are 
 equally decided and inevitable, as the in- 
 clinations of the balance. The most ani- 
 mated display of evib, imagined to result 
 from the system of necessity, will scarcely 
 induce any vigorous and unprejudiced mind 
 to surrender the only basis on which in- 
 ference can be formed and inquiry insti- 
 tuted. But the principles of religion are 
 equally adverse to free-will with the axioms 
 of philosophy; and it is curious to observe, 
 that the doctrine of liberty, under consi- 
 deration, meets with its destruction in what 
 may be regarded, possibly, as the very 
 source of its existence. Sentiments of reli- 
 gion, unquestionably, suggested the expe-' 
 diency of human freedom, to screen the 
 character of Deity from imputation on the 
 ground of natural and moral evil ; and fnan 
 was thus invested with a paramount and 
 
WIl 
 
 niysterioiis Realty, by vUiicli, in nrciiin- 
 strtn.-(>s precisely the same, he is capable ot 
 peifonnini; any action, or its opposite. l>y 
 a fallacy, more reverential than iniiemons ; 
 bv a sophism, such as in ordinary life would 
 expose its employers to instant detection 
 and ridicule, this pre-eminent power, thoug^h 
 admitted to be communicated, is considered 
 as the efficient cause of all that evil which 
 it was resarded indecorous and blasphe- 
 mous to asciibe to Deity. The respons^ibi- 
 litv on this subject, which was conceived ^ 
 reflect severely on the character of God, 
 by this acconimodatina: invention, was ima- 
 gined to be easily and happily removed. 
 But if piety has, upon this curious groimd, 
 contributed to establish the belief in human 
 free-will, it has no less decidedly main- 
 tained the doctrine of divine omniscience : 
 yet to unite these articles in the same creed, 
 must be regarded by the unbiassed en- 
 quirer as absolutely and eternally impossi- 
 ble. How can it be within the power of 
 man to avoid doing what God foresees he 
 will perform? or how ean that remain un- 
 done winch is foreknown, and unquestion- 
 ably, therefore, certainty will he accom- 
 plished? A^diat becomes of that boasted 
 liberty, which is incapable of being exerted, 
 and the exercise of which, though strangely 
 denied to be precluded by necessity, it 
 must be at least admitted, has to encomiter 
 the most indubitable and decided certainty? 
 And how is the difficulty which, on every 
 other system, presses from the considera- 
 tion of existing evil, at all mitigated by 
 an hypothesis, which merely transfers the 
 charge frnm the principal to the agent ; 
 from the Creator to the creature ; from the 
 hestiiwer of the faculty of freedom, who 
 must be aware of all its possible applica- 
 tions and consequences, and who therefore, 
 in the eye of reason, intends all the effect, 
 of the principle he thus comnmnicates, to 
 the frail possessor and foreseen abuser ot it? 
 With respect, moreover, to moral disci- 
 pline, how can any system, which has this 
 object in view, be at all applicable to be- 
 ings, whose merit and perfection are sup- 
 posed to consist in a total superiority to 
 motive ; who can resist the strongest appli- 
 cations of menace or conciliation, of remu- 
 neration or penalty ; with whom caprice 
 alone is principle, and chance direction ; 
 and an indefinable, jinintelligible power of 
 sidfdctermination, without the aid of mo- 
 tive, or even in diametrical opposition to 
 the strongest, is the siihstitiite toy all steady 
 object and rational inducement ? With re- 
 gard to virtue, in this system, its maturity 
 
 .L. 
 
 consists not in useful tendencies and affec- 
 tions, so confirmed by habit as to have ac- 
 quired almost an incapability of effectual 
 counteraction, a definition founded on the 
 only correct theory of the human mind, and 
 which presents the most admirable and im- 
 pressive lessons of morality, but in an ima- 
 gined principle or faculty which has no per- 
 ceivable connection with character, habit, 
 or affection ; and in proportion to the de- 
 gree in which any intelligent agent can be 
 supposed to act from this unmotived fa- 
 culty, in that proportion must he be pre- 
 sumed less capable of forming those fixed 
 and almost indestructible associations which 
 are the sole security of moral excellence. 
 Free-will, then, thus appeals to be in irre- 
 concileable hostility with the fundamental 
 principle of human discussion and investi- 
 gation, on every subject moral or material, 
 that every thing which begins to be must 
 have a cause ; its complete operation ex- 
 cludes man from tlie possibility of virtuous 
 habits, as these can result solely from his 
 definite impressibility by definite circum- 
 stances : it prevents any consistent appli- 
 cation of threats or exhortation, of reward 
 or punishment ; because, to a mind un- 
 giiided and ungovernable by motive, these 
 arc equally useless as expostulation with a 
 storm, or advice to a conflagration. Fi- 
 iially, from the character of God it snatches 
 that attribute, without which Providence 
 must be supposed to be any thing rather 
 than what the term naturally implies. In- 
 stead of a superintending Deity, foreseeing 
 every event, affected by no surprize, and 
 subject to no disappointment, we are pre- 
 sented wdth a governor at the helm of Na- 
 ture, who, in the impressive language of 
 scripture, knows not what a day may bring 
 forth ; his arrangements may be frustrated 
 by liuman folly ; his happiness may b6 im- 
 paired by human hostility i man, that is a 
 worm, may baffle the views of Divine in- 
 telligence, and counteract the energies of 
 Almighty power ! 
 
 Will and Testament, is that disposi- 
 tion of property which is made by a person, 
 to take place after his decease. Every 
 person capable of binding himself by con- 
 tract, is capable of making a will. 
 
 A'so a male infant of the age of fourteen 
 veals and upwards, and female of twelve 
 years or upwards, are capable of making a 
 will respecting personal estates only. But 
 a married woman cannot make a will, un- 
 less a power be reserved in a marriage set- 
 tlement ; but wherever personal property, 
 however, is given to a married woman, for 
 
WIL 
 
 Jier sole and separate use, she may dispose 
 of it by will. 
 
 If a feme sole make her will, and after- 
 wards marry, such marriage is a legal revo- 
 cation of the will. Wills are of two kinds, 
 written and verbal ■, the former is most usual 
 and secure. 
 
 It is not absolutely necessary that a will 
 should be witnessed ; and a testament of 
 chattels, written in the testator’s own hand, 
 thoush it have neither the testator’s name 
 nor seal to it, nor witnesses present at his 
 publication, will be good, provided suffi- 
 cient proof can be had that it is his hand 
 writing. By statute 29 Charles II. c. 3, all 
 devises of lands and tenements shall not 
 only be in writing, but shall also be signed 
 by the party so devising the same, or by some 
 other person in his presence, and by his ex- 
 press direction, and sliall be witnessed and 
 subscribed in the presence of the person 
 devising, by three or four credible wit- 
 nesses, or else the devise will be entirely 
 void, and the land will descend to the heir 
 at law. 
 
 A will, even if made beyond sea, be- 
 queathing land in England, must be attest- 
 ed by three witnesses. 
 
 A. will, however, devising copyhold land, 
 does not require to be witnessed" ; it is suf- 
 ficient to declare the uses of a surrender of 
 such copyhold land made to the use of the 
 will. Tile party to w hom tiie land is given 
 becomes entitled to it by means of the sur- 
 render, and not by the will. 
 
 A codicil is a supplement to a will, or an 
 addition made by the person making the 
 same, annexed to, and to be taken as part 
 of the will itself, being for its explanation 
 or alteration, to add something to, or take 
 something from, the former disposition, and 
 which may also be either written or verbal, 
 under the same restrictions as regard wills. 
 
 If two wills are found, and it does not 
 appear which was the former or latter, both 
 will be void ; but if two codicils are found, 
 and it cannot be ascertained which was the 
 first, but the same thing is 'devised to two 
 persons, botli ought to divide ; but where 
 either wills or codicils have dates, the lat- 
 ter is considered as valid, and revokes the 
 former. See Administrator, Execu- 
 tor, Legacy- 
 
 WILLICHIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Christ. Lud. Willich, a genus of 
 the Triandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character: calyx four-cleft; co- 
 rolla four-cleft; capsule two-celled, many- 
 seeded. There is only one species. ; viz. 
 repens, found by Mutis iu Mexico,’ 
 
 WIN 
 
 WILLUGHBEIA, in botany, so named 
 in memory of Francis Willughby, F. R. S. a 
 genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Contort®. 
 Apocine®, Jussieu. Essential character; 
 contoited; corolla salver-shaped; stigma- 
 headed ; fruit a one or two-celled berry or 
 pumpkin. There are two species ; viz. W. 
 acida and W. scaiidens, both natives of 
 Guiana. 
 
 Wind. See Meteorology. 
 
 Wind g-ng-e, in pneumatics, an instru- 
 ment serving to determine the velocity and 
 force of the wind. See Anemometer, 
 Anemoscope. ’ 
 
 Hales had various contrivances for 
 this purpose. He found, that the air rush- 
 ed out of a sniilh’s bellows at the rate of 
 685 feet :n a second of time, when com- 
 pressed with a force of half a pound upoa 
 every square inch lying on the whole up- 
 per surface of the bellows. The velocity 
 of the air, as it passed out of tjie trunk of 
 his ventilators, was found to be at the rate 
 <^f 3,000 feet in a minute, which is at tlie 
 rate of 34 miles an hour. The same author 
 says, that the velocity with which impelled 
 air passes out at any orifice, may be deter- 
 mined by banging a light valve over the 
 nose of a bellows, by pliant leathern hinges, 
 which will he much agitated and lifted”up’ 
 from a perpendicular, to a more than hori- 
 zontal position, by the force of the rushino 
 air. “ 
 
 M. Bouguer contrived a simple instru- 
 ment, by which may be immediately disco- 
 vered the force which the wind exerts on a 
 given surface. This is a hollow tube 
 AA.BB, (Plate XVI. Miscel. fig. 13 ) i„’ 
 which a spiral spring, C D, is fixed, that 
 may be more or less compressed by a rod 
 1' S D, passing through a hole within the 
 tube at A A. Then having observed to 
 what degree different forces or given 
 weights are capable of compressing the spi- 
 ral, mark divisions on the rod in such a 
 manner, that the mark at S may indicate 
 the weight requisite to force the spring into 
 the situation, CD : afterwards join at right 
 angles to this rod at E, a plane surface, 
 CFE, of any given area at pleasure ; then 
 let this instrument be opposed to the wind, 
 so that it may strike the surface perpendi- 
 cularly, or parallel to the rod ; then will the 
 mark at & show tiie weight to which the 
 torce of the wind is equivalent. 
 
 The following Table will give the differ- 
 ent velocities and forces of the wind, ac- 
 cording to their common appellations. 
 
WIN 
 
 Velocity of the 
 wind. 
 
 Perpendi- 
 -nlar force 
 on one sq. 
 
 foot, in 
 rtverdupoi? 
 pounas. 
 
 Wiles 
 
 ill one 
 hour. 
 
 = feet 
 in one 
 second. 
 
 1 , 
 
 1.47 
 
 .005 
 
 2 
 
 2.93 
 
 .020 
 
 3 
 
 4.40 
 
 .044 
 
 4 
 
 5.87 
 
 .079 
 
 5 
 
 7.33 
 
 .123 
 
 10 
 
 14.67 
 
 .492 
 
 15 
 
 22.00 
 
 1.107 
 
 20 
 
 29.34 
 
 1.968 
 
 25 
 
 36.67 
 
 3.075 
 
 30 
 
 44.01 
 
 4.429 
 
 35 
 
 51.34 
 
 6.027 
 
 40 
 
 58.68 
 
 7.873 
 
 45 
 
 66.01 
 
 9.963 
 
 50 
 
 73.35 
 
 12.300 
 
 60 
 
 88.02 
 
 17.715 
 
 80 
 
 117.36 
 
 31.490 
 
 100 
 
 146.70 
 
 49.200 
 
 Common appellations of 
 the wind. 
 
 Hardly percepti- 
 ble. 
 
 ^ Just perceptible. 
 
 ? Gentle pleasant 
 ^ wind. 
 
 ? Pleasant brisk 
 
 S gale- 
 
 ^ Very brisk. 
 
 ^ High winds. 
 
 ^ Very liigli. 
 
 A storm or tem- 
 pest. 
 
 A great storm. 
 
 A imrricaBe. 
 f A hurricane that 
 I tears up trees, 
 
 < and carries 
 
 buildings, &c. 
 L before it. 
 
 The force of the wind is nearly as the 
 square of the velocity, or but little above 
 it, in these velocities. But the force is 
 much more than in the simple ratio of the 
 surfaces, with the same velocity, and this 
 increase of the ratio is the more, as the ve- 
 locity is the more. By accurate experi- 
 ments with two planes, the one of I7a 
 square inches, the other of 32, which are 
 nearly in the ratio of 5 to 9. Dr. Hutton 
 found their resistances, with a velocity of 
 20 feet per second, to be the one, 1.196 
 ounces, and the other, 2.542 ounces ; which 
 are in the ratio of 8 to 17, being an increase 
 of between one-flfth and one-sixth parts 
 more than the ratio of the surfaces. 
 
 WINDLASS, a machine used to raise 
 heavy weights withal, as guns, stones, an- 
 chors, &c. It is very simple, consisting 
 only of an axis, or roller, supported hori- 
 zontally at the two ends, by two pieces of 
 wood and a pulley : the trvo pieces of wood 
 meet at top, being placed diagonally, so as 
 to prop each other ; the axis, or roller, goes 
 through the two pieces, and turns in them. 
 The pully is fastened at top where tlie 
 pieces join. Lastly, there are two sfaves 
 or handspikes go through the roller, where- 
 by it is turned, and the rope which comes 
 over the pulley is wound off and on the 
 same. 
 
 WIN 
 
 Windlass, in a ship, is an instrument in 
 small ships, placed upon the deck, just abaft 
 the foremast. It is made of a piece of tim- 
 ber six or eight feet square, in form of an 
 axle-tree, whose length is placed horizon- 
 tally upon two pieces of wood at tlie ends 
 thereof, and upon which it is turned about 
 by the help of handspikes put into holes 
 made for that purpose. This instrument 
 serves for weighing anchors, or hoisting of 
 any weight, in or out of the ship, and will 
 purchase much more than any capstan, and 
 tliat williout any danger to those that 
 heave; for if in heaving the windlass about, 
 auy of the hamlspikes should happen to 
 break, the windlass would pall of itself. 
 
 AVINDMILL, a kind of mill, the inter- 
 nal pai ts of which are much the same with 
 those of a water-mill ; from Which, however, 
 it differs, in being moved by the impulse of 
 the wind upon its vanes or sails, which are to 
 be considered as a wheel on the axle. Plate, 
 Windmill, is a vertical section of a windmill 
 of that kind, which is called a smock-mill, 
 j. e. when the building, the mill, and niaclit- 
 nerv are fixed, and the head of the mill sup- 
 portii g the axis of the sails turns round upon 
 it. A A are the walls of the mill-house, which 
 is longer one .way than the other, and the 
 section is through the shortest side ; in this 
 direction it will but just contain the machi- 
 nery, and leave a passage; in the other 
 direction the house is longer, and is used as 
 a warehouse to stow the corn and flour. 
 The roof of the house is framed of large 
 beams, a flooring is laid on these beams, 
 and then the whole is covered with sheet 
 lead. Eight long upright beams, B B, are 
 framed into the roof of the house, and dis- 
 posed round in a circle; at the upper angle 
 they support a circular kirb, D D ; the 
 eight uprights, B B, are braced by cross 
 pieces framed between them, so as to ren- 
 der the whole building very staunch ; the 
 outside is covered with weather-board, just 
 to shoot off tlie rain, but open enough to 
 admit the wind to pass freely through the 
 house. Upon the upper fixed kirb, D D, 
 thirty-six rollers are placed (two of them are 
 seen in the section) ; these rollers turn in mor- 
 tices, cut through a circular ring of wood, 
 which keeps the thirty-six rollers in their 
 places, and at their proper distances fi om 
 one another. The rollers support another 
 circular w’ooden ring, a a, on which the 
 head of the mill is framed. This framing 
 consists of two beams, b, halved into the 
 ring, parallel to the main axis of the sails, 
 and including the great cog wheel between 
 
WIN 
 
 them, only one of them is shown in the figure, 
 the -other being taken away in the section. 
 Two cross beams, d and e, bolted upon b b, 
 supports the bearings for the main axis, and 
 another cross beam,/, bolted to the under- 
 side of b, to sustain the upper bearing for 
 the vertical axis. 
 
 We now come to speak of the machinery : 
 H H, are two of the four sails seen edge- 
 ways ; the broad part of the sails, which- is 
 covered with cloth, is set oblique to the 
 plane of the sails motion, and the axis of 
 the sails is set in the direction of the wind ; 
 it is by the action of the wind upon the 
 oblique sail, that it is made to revolve on 
 its axis ; the wind acts constantly as a 
 wedge upon the sails, and thus drives them 
 round. The four sails are firmly bolted to 
 an iron^ cross, e, cast in one piece with the 
 main : abed efg is a wooden pole fixed 
 on at the intersection of the four sails, and 
 forming a continuation of the axis ; four 
 ropes are extended from the end of the 
 pole to the etid of the sails, and hauled 
 tight by a block of pulleys, by these the 
 sails are stiffened, and prevented from bend- 
 ing by the action of the wind upon them : 
 h is the main cog wheel, fixed upon the 
 iron axis, and turning round with it ; it has 
 a flexible ring of wood, composed of five 
 segments, and jointed together by iron 
 hinges and compassing it ; one end of this 
 ring of wood, called the brake, is fastened 
 by a joint to the under side of the beam, b ; 
 the other end comes round nearly to the 
 same point, and is fastened to a long le- 
 ver, i, called the brake lever. When this 
 lever is lifted up, the brake is lifted off 
 from the wheel, and does not touch it on 
 any part, and the wheel and sails can turn ; 
 but when the lever is suffered to fall down, 
 the brake closes round the wheel, and pre- 
 vents the wheel and sails from turning. 
 The brake lever is lifted up by a rope, k, 
 which hangs down in reach of the miller 
 when standing on the stage, 1 1, built round 
 the mill for the purpose, as also for cloth- 
 ing or unclothing the sails. When the 
 brake is to be held up for any length of 
 time, while the mill is at work, the brake 
 rope is hooked on a hook driven into one of 
 the uprights, B B. The head of the mill 
 can be turned round upon the thirty six 
 rollers, to set the sail round in the proper 
 direction to meet the wind. The fixed 
 kirb, D D, has a ring of cogs all round its 
 outside, which work with a pinion on a 
 spindle, I, turning in a socket fixed by iron 
 braces. To the moveable head of the mill, 
 
 WIN 
 
 on the upper end of the spindle, I, a crown 
 wheel is fixed, which is turned by a small 
 pinion on the same spindle, with a wheel, 
 m, round which an endless rope runs, and 
 which hangs down in reach of the miller 
 when on the stage, I. By pulling down 
 one side of the endless rope he turns the 
 wheel, m, and by the pinion the crown 
 wheel, and its pinion, which acting against 
 the teeth in the kirb, D, turns the head 
 round upon the thirty-six rollers, and puts 
 the sails in any position according to the 
 wind ; 0 is a roller turning upon an iron 
 pin tastened to the under side of the beam, 
 b, and acting against the inside of the kirb ; 
 another similar roller is fixed to the other 
 beam, which is parallel to 6 ; their use is to 
 keep the head steady upon the rollers, 
 otherwise the head might be thrown back- 
 wards by the action of the wind upon the 
 sails. The upper part of the head is light 
 framing and thin boards, covered with cop- 
 per just to exclude the rain. The main 
 cog-wheel, h, turns a trundle, K, on the up- 
 per end of a long vertical shaft, L L, which 
 comes down to the ground, and turns in a 
 socket supported on masonry at M : p is a 
 crown wheel of fifty-six teeth turning ano- 
 ther wheel of seventeen teeth on horizontal, 
 which has riggers, g, on it to turn bolting 
 mills and dressing machines in the upper 
 room. In the lower room a large spur- 
 wheel, t, of seventy-two teeth, is fixed, 
 and turns a nut on each side of it, one of 
 twenty-eight, the other of twenty-six teeth, 
 on the spindles of their respective mill- 
 stones, r and s. 
 
 The construction of the mill for grinding 
 flour is well explained in the article Mill, 
 to which we refer our readers. 
 
 Wind sails, in a ship, are made of the 
 common sail cloth, and are usually between 
 twenty-five and thirty feet long, according 
 to the size of the ship, and are of the form 
 of a cone ending pbtusely : when they are 
 made use of, they are hoisted by ropes to 
 about two-thirds or more of their height, 
 with their bases distended circularly hoops, 
 and their apex hanging downwards in the 
 hatchways of the ship ; above each of these 
 one of the common sails is so disposed, that 
 the greatest part of the air rushing against 
 it, is directed into the wind-sail, and con- 
 vey.ed, as through a funnel, into the upper 
 parts of the body of the ship. ' 
 
 WINDAGE of a gun, the diflerence be- 
 tween the diameter of the bore, and the 
 diameter of the ball. 
 
 WINE. See Fermentation, &c. 'All 
 
J/Otulatt , .Rihh^^l h)' J^m^nuat, <C* (kyne. jf^oS, 
 
Vfliiii^S cohtaiii an acid, alcohol, tartar, ex- 
 tract, aroma, and a colouring matter. The 
 presence and nature of each of these prin- 
 ciples may be ascertained in the followmg 
 way. 1. Acid. All wines, even the softest 
 and mildest, redden litmus, and therefore 
 fcontain an acid. This abounds however 
 chiefly in the thin wines of wet and cold 
 climates, where the grape juice or must 
 contains but a small portion of sugar. 
 When wine has been boiled to extract the 
 brandy, the liquor that remains in the still, 
 and is thrown away aS useleSs, is a soiir nau- 
 seous fluid vi’ith an acrid and burnt flavour. 
 When filtered and allowed to remain at rest 
 for a time, it deposits a good deal of ex- 
 tractive matter, becomes covered with 
 mouldy and then contains a notable quan- 
 tity Of acetous acid, which may be sepa- 
 rated by distillation; The aCid is however 
 not entirely acetous; at least not till after 
 standing a considerable time; for it precipi- 
 tates and forms an insoluble salt with lime 
 water, and with the soluble salts of silver, 
 lead, and mercury, and appears to be the 
 malic acid mixed with a little citric, both 
 of which are converted into vinegar by 
 spontaneous decomposition. The wines 
 that contain the greatest quantity of these 
 acids yield the worst brandy, nor is there 
 any method yet known of separating or 
 fieutralizing the acid without materially in- 
 juring the quality, or lessening the quantity 
 of the ardent spirit. 2. Alcohol. The 
 existence of this principle and mode of ex- 
 traction by distillation has been fully de- 
 scribed under the article brandy. The 
 quantity of alcohol varies prodigiously; 
 The strong, rich, full-bodied wines of the 
 Warmer vine countries will yield as much 
 as a third of ardent spirit ; whilst the, thin 
 light wines will often give no more than 
 about one-sixteenth of the same strength. 
 3; Tartar. This substance has also been 
 fully described in its proper place; Tartar 
 is not altogether a producf of the fermen- 
 tation of wine; since it is contained in must, 
 though in small quantity. 4. Extract. 
 Must contains an abundance of extractive 
 nlatter, which materially assists the fermen- 
 tation, and is afterWardS found, in part at 
 least, in the lees, but another portion may 
 be obtained from the wine by evaporation. 
 It is also extract that mixes With and Co; 
 lours the tartar. By age the quantity of 
 extractive matter diminishes. 5; ArOma. 
 All wineS possess a peculiar and grateful 
 Smell, whicli Would indicate a distinct aro- 
 matic principle; but it has never been ex- 
 VOL. IT. 
 
 hibited in the form of e.ssential oil, or cdii; 
 dcnsed in any smaller quantity by distilla; 
 tion or any other mode. To give wine all 
 its aroma it should be fermented very 
 slowly. 6. Colouring matter. Tlie husk 
 of the red grape contains a good deal of 
 colour, which is extracted when the entire 
 fruit is pressed, and betomes dissolved in 
 the wine when the fermentation is com- 
 plete. Many substances will separate the 
 colour. If lime-water is added to high-co- 
 loured wine a precipitate is formed of ma- 
 lat of lime that carries down with it all the 
 colouring matter, whipll cannot again he 
 separated either by water or alcohol. But 
 if wine alone is evaporated gently tO dry- 
 ness, and tlie residue treated with alfiohol, 
 the colouring matter dissolves therein; W e 
 may add too; that the natural Colour of 
 wine is entirely and speedily destroyed by 
 the addition of hot Well burnt charcoal in 
 pretty fine powder. The colour of red 
 wine in tlie state in which we receive it is 
 not entirely that of the grape, but is given 
 by other colouring substances, which how- 
 ever are quite innoxious. 
 
 WINGED, in botany, a term applied to 
 siicli stems of plants aS are furnished all 
 their length with a sort of membranaceous 
 leaves, as the thistle, &c. Winged leaves, 
 are such -as consist of divCrs little leaves, 
 ranged in the same direction. So aS to ap- 
 pear only as the Same leaf. Such are the 
 leaves of agrimony, acacia, ash, &c; Wing- 
 ed Seeds; are Such aS have down or hairs on 
 them, which; by the help of the Wind, are 
 carried to a distahce; 
 
 WINGS, in heraldry, are bOrne some 
 times single, sometimes in pairs ; in which 
 case they are called conjoined. When the 
 points are downward, they are said to be 
 inverted ; when up, elevated. 
 
 Wings, in military affairs, are the two 
 flanks or extremes of an army, ranged ill 
 form of a battle ; being the right and lei t 
 sides thereof. 
 
 Wings, in fortification, denote the 
 longer sides of horn-works, crown-works, 
 teuailles, and the like out-works ; including 
 the ramparts and parapets, with which they 
 are bounded on the right and left from 
 their gorge to their front. 
 
 WINTERA, in botany, so nartefl fi oiii 
 Captain William Winter, Who brongiit the 
 bark of this tree from the Straits Of Magel- 
 lan, a genus of the Polyandria Tetragyiiia 
 class and order. Natural order of Magno- 
 liae, Jussieu. Essential Character: calyX, 
 tbree-lobed ; petals six or twelve, gert«.< 
 
 PP 
 
WIR 
 
 club-shaped; styles none; berries four or 
 eight, obovate. There are three species. 
 
 WIRE dramng, the art of drawing out 
 long bars of nfietal, by pulling it through 
 holes in a plate of steel, or other fit metallic 
 compound. In order that a wire may be 
 drawn, it is requisite that the metal should 
 have considerable tenacity. Gold, silver, 
 iron, steel, copper, and their compounds, 
 are most commonly used in the arts. The 
 process is of considerable simplicity. A 
 number of holes, progressively smaller and 
 smaller, are made in a plate of steel, and 
 the pointed end of a bar of metal being 
 passed through, one of them is forcibly 
 drawn by strong pinchers, so as to elon- 
 gate it by the pressure arising from the 
 j'e-action of the ^greased hole: this is the 
 wire ; and it is again passed in like manner 
 through another bole a little smaller; and, 
 by continuing the process, the wire has its 
 length increased, and its diameter diminish- 
 ed, to a very great degree. The largest 
 wire may be nearly an inch in diameter, and 
 the smallest we have seen was about one- 
 thouSandtli part of an inch ; but we are 
 assured, that silver wire has been made one- 
 fifteen-hundredth of an inch in diameter. 
 The size of these small wires may be ascer- 
 tained from the weight of a known measure 
 of length, and the specific gravity of the 
 metfll. Or, less correctlj', the wire may be 
 wound round a pin, and the number of 
 turns counted which make a given length. 
 
 Wires are drawn square, and of other 
 figures in their sector. In particular they 
 are drawn grooved, so that any small part 
 will form the pinion of a clock or watch 
 work. 
 
 As the violent action of the drawing plate 
 renders the wire hard and brittle, it is ne- 
 cessary to anneal it several times during 
 the course of drawing. Very small holes 
 are made by hammering up the larger, and 
 the point, in very thin wire, is made by roll- 
 ing or crushing the end by a smooth bur- 
 nishing tool upon a polished plate. 
 
 It is said that soft steel is as good for the 
 wire-drawer’s plate as that which is hard, 
 or as the compound material which comes 
 from France in wire plates, and is highly 
 esteemed. This has not been yet chemi- 
 cally examined. 
 
 Wire of Lapland. The inhabitants of 
 Lapland have a sort of shining slender sub- 
 stance in use among them on several occa- 
 sions, which is much of the thickness and 
 appearance of our silver wire, and is there- 
 fore called, by those who do not examine 
 
 WIT 
 
 its structure or substance, Lapland wire. 
 It is made of the sinews of the rein-deer, 
 which being carefully separated in the eat- 
 ing, are by the women, after soaking in wa- 
 ter, and beating, spun into a sort of thread, 
 of admirable fineness, and strength, when 
 wrought to the smallest filaments ; but when 
 larger, is very strong, and fit Lor the pur- 
 poses of strength and force. Their wire, 
 as it IS called, is made of the finest of these 
 threads, covered with tin. The women do 
 tliis business, and the way they take is to 
 melt a piece of tin, and placing at llie edge 
 of it a horn with a hole through it, they 
 draw these sinewy threads, covered with 
 the tin, through the hole, which prevents 
 their coming out too thick covered. This 
 drawing is performed with their teeth : and 
 there is a small piece of bone placed at the 
 top of the hole, where the wire is made 
 flat, so that we always find it rounded ob 
 all sides t»ut one, where it is flat. This 
 wire they use in embroidering their clothes 
 as we do gold and silver; they often sell it 
 to strangers, under the notion of its having 
 certain magical virtues. 
 
 WIT, a faculty of the mind, consisting, 
 according to Mr. Locke, in the assembling 
 and putting together of those ideas, with 
 quickness and variety, in whicli any resem- 
 blance or congruity can be found, in order 
 to form pleasant pictures and agreeable vi- 
 sions to the fancy. This faculty, the same 
 author observes, is just the contrary of 
 judgment, which consists in the separating 
 carefully from one another, such ideas 
 wherein can be found the least difference, 
 thereby to avoid being misled by similitude 
 and affinity, to take one thing for anotlier. 
 It is tlie metaphor and allusion, wherein, 
 for the most part, lies the entertainment 
 and pleasantry of wit, which strikes so 
 lively on the fancy, and is therefore so ac- 
 ceptable to all people, because its beauty 
 appears at first sight, and there is required 
 no labour of thought to examine what truth 
 or reason there is in it. The mind without 
 looking any farther, rests satisfied witli the 
 agreeableness of the picture, and the gaiety 
 of the imagination ; and it is a kind of af- 
 fi ont to go about do examine it by the se- 
 vere rules of truth or reason. Wit is also 
 an appellation given to the person possess- 
 ed of this faculty; and here the true wit 
 must have a quick succession of pertinent 
 ideas, and the ability of arranging and ex- 
 pressing them in a lively and entertaining 
 manner ; be must at the same time have a 
 great deal of energy and delicacy in his sea- 
 
WIT 
 
 timents; his imagination must be sprightly 
 and agreeable, without any thing of parade 
 or vanity in his discourse: but it is not, 
 however, essential to the character of a wit, 
 to be ever hunting after the brilliant, study- 
 ing sprightly turns, and affecting to say no- 
 thing but what may strike and surprise. 
 
 WITENA-wof, or WiTENA g-mof, among 
 our Saxon ancestors, was a term which 
 literally signified the assembly of the wise 
 men, and was applied to the great council 
 of the nation, of latter days called the par- 
 liament. 
 
 WITHERTNGIA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of William Withering, M.D. F. R. S. 
 a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class 
 and order. Natural order of Luridae. So- 
 laneae, Jussieu. Essential character : corolla 
 subcampanulate, with four bumps in the 
 tube; calyx very small, indistinctly four- 
 toothed; pericarpium two-celled. There 
 is only one species ; viz. AF. solanacea, a 
 native of South America. 
 
 AVITHERITF-, in mineralogy, a species 
 of the genus Barytes: it is commonly of a 
 light yellowish grey colour, usually massive, 
 but sometimes crystallized : specific gravity 
 about 4.3. It melts without addition be- 
 fore the blow pipe into a white enamel. It 
 dissolves with effervescence in- acids: it 
 consists, according to Klaproth, of 
 
 Carbonate of barytes... 
 
 . 98,246 
 
 Carbonate of strontian . 
 
 . 1.703 
 
 Alumina with iron 
 
 .. 0.043 
 
 Carbonate of copper... 
 
 . 0.008 
 
 
 100.000 
 
 But, according to other cliemists, it con- 
 sists of 
 
 Barytes 74.5 
 
 Carbonic acid 25.5 
 
 100.0 
 
 It occurs in veins, heavy spar, lead glance, 
 blende, and calamine, and is foun(J in Lan- 
 cashire. It is a very active poison ; but com- 
 bined with muriatic acid it may be used 
 with great caution iii cases of scropluila. 
 
 WITNESS, in law, one who is sworn to 
 give evidence in a cause. If a man be sub- 
 poenaed as a witness upon a trial, he must 
 appear in court on pain of 1001. to be for- 
 feited to the king, and 101. together witli 
 damages equivalent to the loss sustained by 
 the want of his evidence to the party ag- 
 grieved. But witnesses ought to have a 
 reasonable time, that their attendance upon 
 
 WOO 
 
 the court maybe of as little prejudice to them- 
 selves as possible; and the Court of King’s 
 Bench held, that notice at two in the after- 
 noon to attend the sitting that evening at 
 Westminster was too .short a time. 
 
 AVhere a witness cannot be present at a 
 trial, he may, by consent of the plaintiff and 
 defendant, or by rule of court, be examined 
 upon interrogatories at the judge’s cham- 
 bers. No witness is bound to appear to 
 give evidence in a cause unless his reason- 
 able expense be tendered him ; and if he 
 appear, till such charge is actually paid him, 
 except he both resides and is summoned to 
 give evidence within the bills of mortality. 
 See Arrest, Evidence, Privilege. 
 
 AFITSENIA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Triandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Ensatac. .Irides, Jussieu. 
 Essential character: corolla one-petalled, 
 cylindrical, six-parted ; stigma emarginate ; 
 capsule superior. There is only one spe- 
 cies ; viz. W. maura, a native of the Cap* 
 of Good Hope. 
 
 WOAD. See Isatis. 
 
 AVOLF. See Cams. 
 
 AVOLFRAM, in mineralogy, is a species 
 of stone of an intermediate colour between 
 dark-greyish black and brownish black, 
 sometimes inclining to velvet black. It 
 occurs massive and also crystallized : specific 
 gravity somewhere between 6 and 7. It 
 decrepitates before the blow-pipe, and is 
 infusible even with borax. Specimens have 
 been analyzed by several chemists : accord- 
 ing to Klaproth and Vauquelin it consists of 
 
 Molybdic acid 
 
 Oxide of iron 
 
 Klaproth. 
 
 .... 21.9 
 
 
 100.0 
 
 
 Vauquelin. 
 
 Molybdic acid 
 
 . 67.00 
 
 Oxide of maneanese.. 
 
 . 6.25 
 
 Oxide of iron 
 
 . 18.00 
 
 
 . 1..50 
 
 
 . 7.2.5 
 
 100.00 
 
 It oecursin primitive mountains, and in the 
 oldest formations.' It is usually accompa- 
 nied with tin, and distinguisjied from tin- 
 stone by its streak, which is reddish brown, 
 whereas that of tin stone is grey. See Tin. 
 
 AFOOD. See Timber. The wood «f 
 P p 2 
 
woo 
 
 vegetables consists of fibres, impregnated 
 with a variety of the natural juices of the 
 plant, as mucilage, resin, colouring matter, 
 extract, essential oil, sugar, &c. All of 
 these may be obtained from one or other 
 kind of wood, by applying those menstrua 
 which dissolve' these substances in their 
 natural state. If a piece of wood be boiled 
 in a great quantity of water, till it no longer 
 gives out taste or smell, and if it be after- 
 wards digested in alcohol, the substance 
 which remains is the woody fibre. It is 
 either in a fibrous, lamellated, or pulveru- 
 lent form. This substance, which is more 
 or less coloured, has neither taste nor smell ; 
 is not altered by exposure to the air; and is 
 insoluble in water and alcohol. When it is 
 heated in contact with air, it blackens, ex- 
 hales dense, acrid, pungent fumes, and leaves 
 behind a coaly matter, which does not 
 change its form, fiy reducing it to ashes, 
 it is found to Contain a little potash, sulphate 
 of potash and lime, and phosphate of lime. 
 When it is distilled in a tetort it yields wa- 
 ter, acetic acid contaminated with oil, a 
 thick oily matter, carbonated hydrogen, 
 and carbonic acid gases, and a portion of 
 ammonia, combined with acetic acid. The 
 pure ligneous fibre is decomposed by being 
 heated with strong nitric acid, and yields a 
 very considerable quantity of oxalic and 
 malic acid. The surface of wood is readily 
 stained by a variety of substances ; and if 
 these are allowed to remain in contact with 
 it, they sink into the substance of the wood, 
 which often produces a very agreeable ef- 
 fect in cabinet work. 
 
 Wood, cutting in, is used for various pur- 
 poses; as for initial and figured letters, 
 head and tail-pieces of books ; and even for 
 schemes, mathematical and other figures, 
 to save the expense of engraving on cop- 
 per : and for prints, and stamps for papers, 
 calicoes, linens, &c. The invention of cutt- 
 ing in wood, as well as that in copper, is 
 ascribed to a goldsmith of Florence ; but 
 Albert Durer and Lucas bfoUght both 
 these arts to perfection. About two hun- 
 dred years ago, the art of cutting in wood 
 was carried to a very great pitch, and 
 might , even vie, for beauty and justness, 
 with that of engraving on copper : at pre- 
 sent it is much neglected, the application of 
 artists being wholly employed on copper, 
 as the more easy and promising province ; 
 not but that wooden cuts have the advan- 
 tage of those in copper in many respects; 
 chiefly for figures and devices in books ; as 
 being printed at the same time and in the 
 
 WOO 
 
 same press With the letters: wherCaS, fof 
 the other, there is required a particular and 
 separate impression. The cutters in wood 
 begin with preparing a plank or block of 
 the size and thickness required, and very 
 even and smooth on the side to be cut ,: for 
 this they usually take pear-tree, or box; 
 but the latter is best, as being closest, and 
 least liable to be worm eaten. On this 
 block they draw their design with a pen or 
 pencil, exactly as they would have it print- 
 ed; or they fasten the design drawn on pa- 
 per upon the block with paste and a little 
 vinegar, the strokes or lines turned towards 
 the wood. When the paper is dry, they 
 wash it gently witli a sponge dipped in wa- 
 ter, and then take it off by little and little, 
 rubbing it first with the tip of the finger, 
 till notliing is left on the block but the 
 strokes of ink that form the design, which 
 mark out what part of the block is to be 
 spared or left standing. The rest they cut 
 off very carefully with the points of very 
 sharp knives, chissels, or gravers, according 
 to the bigness or delicacy of the work. 
 
 Wood pecker. See Picus. 
 
 WOODSTONE, in mineralogy. See 
 Hornstone. 
 
 WOODTIN, in mineralogy. See Tin 
 ore. 
 
 WOOF, among manufacturers, the threads 
 which the weavers shoot across with an in- 
 strument called the shuttle. 
 
 WOOL, the covering of sheep. Each 
 fleece consists of wool of several qualities 
 and degrees of fineness, which the dealers 
 therein take care to separate. 
 
 The fineness and plenty of our wool is 
 owing, in a great measure, to the short sweet 
 grass in many of our pastures and downs ; 
 though the advantage of our sheep feeding 
 on this grass all the year, without being ob- 
 liged to be shut up under cover during the 
 winter, or to secure them from wolves at 
 other times, contributes not a little to it. 
 
 This substance, the material of such im- 
 portant manufactures, possesses some cu- 
 lioiis chemical properties, none of which 
 however are much illustrated by the va- 
 rious operations performed on it in manu- 
 facture, almost all (tliat of dying excepted) 
 being purely mechanical processes. Some 
 of the simple chemical properties of wool 
 have been examined by M. Achard, and 
 compared with the corresponding proper- 
 ties of the hair of different animals. The 
 copious generation of oxalic acid by treat- 
 ment of Wool with nitric acid, has been 
 particularly described and explained by M 
 
WOOL. 
 
 Berthollet in his beautiful researches on 
 animal matter; and the great solvent 
 power of the caustic fixed alkalies, has 
 been happily applied to some use by M. 
 Chaptal as a saponaceous compound. 
 
 Wool in the state in which it is taken 
 from the sheep is always mixed with a great 
 deal of dirt and foulness of different kinds, 
 and in particular is strongly imbued with a 
 natural strong smelling grease. These im- 
 purities are got rid of by washing, fulling, 
 and con)bing, by which the wool is render- 
 ed remarkably white, soft, clean, light, and 
 springy under the hand. Wlien boiled in 
 water for several hours in a common ves- 
 sel, wool is not in any way altered in 
 weight or texture, nor does the water ac- 
 quire any sensible impregnation. 
 
 The action of the nitric acid on wool is 
 very curious. When cold, this acid only 
 disengages a large quantity of azotic gas, 
 but when warmed, much nitrous gas is 
 given out, and at least two new acids are 
 formed, viz. the malic and the oxalic, the 
 latter is in greater abundance than even 
 from sugar and nitrdus acid, or any other 
 hydro-carhonous basis. A small scum of a 
 peculiar oil always arises during the ac- 
 tion of nitrous acid on thesp animal sub- 
 stances. 
 
 The carbonated alkalies have little ac- 
 tion on wool, but the caustic fixed alkalies 
 when digested with it speedily weaken its 
 fibre, reduce it to a soft gelatinous pulp, 
 and finally make a perfect solution. The 
 alkali at the same time loses its alkaline pro- 
 perties as it does in common soap. This 
 saponaceous solution of wool is made for 
 experiment in a few minutes by boiling bits 
 of wool or flannel in a caustic alkaline so- 
 lution, and it has been recommended by 
 Chaptal to be employed instead of common 
 soap in cleansing cotton and other goods in 
 manufactures, as by this means a number of 
 refuse bits and clippings of wool and wool- 
 len cloth which are now thrown away n»ay 
 be put to^some use. This soapy solution 
 does not lather well when agitated with wa- 
 ter, nevertheless it acts very powerfully in 
 cleaning cloth. It has a strong and some- 
 what ofiensive smell, which is left at first 
 in the cloth, but goes off by short exposure 
 to the air. 
 
 Wool, either in a raw or manufactured 
 state, has always been the principal of the 
 staple articles of this country. The price 
 of wool was, in very early times, much 
 higher, in proportion to the wages of labour, 
 the rent of land, and the price of butchers’ 
 
 meat, than at present. It was, before the 
 time of Edward III., always exported raw, 
 the art of working it into cloth and dying 
 being so imperfectly known, that no per- 
 sons above the degree of working people 
 could go dressed in cloth of English manu- 
 facture. I 
 
 The first steps taken to encourage the 
 manufacture of woollen cloths was by Ed- 
 ward III., who procured some good work- 
 men from the Netherlands, by means of 
 protection and encouragement. The value 
 of wool was considered as so essentially so- 
 lid, that taxes were vested in that commo- 
 dity, reckoning by the number of sacks ; 
 and in proportion to the price of the neces- 
 saries of life, and value of silver, wool was 
 at least three times dearer then, than it is 
 now. The manufacturing of cloth being 
 once introduced into the country, the po- 
 licy of preventing the exportation of the 
 raw material was soon evident ; and the 
 first act was that of Henry IV. c. 2, by 
 which the exportation of sheep. Iambs, or 
 rams is forbidden, under very heavy penal- 
 ties. 
 
 By statute 28 George III. all former sta- 
 tutes respecting the exportation of wool 
 and sheep are repealed, and numerous re- 
 strictions are consolidated in that statute. 
 By this act, if any person shall send or re- 
 ceive any sheep on board any vessel, to be 
 carried out of the kingdom, such vessel 
 shall be forfeited, and the person so of- 
 fending shall forfeit Si. for every sheep, 
 and suffer solitary imprisonment for three 
 months. But wether sheep, by a licence 
 from the collector of the customs, may be 
 taken on board, for the use of the ship’s 
 company ; and every person who shall ex- 
 port any wool, or woollen articles .slightly 
 made up, so as easily to be reduced again 
 to wool, or any fuller’s earth, or tobacco- 
 pipe clay ; and every carrier, ship own6'‘> 
 commander, mariner, or other person, who 
 ' shall knowingly assist in ervporting, or at- 
 tempting to export, these articles, shall 
 forfeit 3s. for every pound weight, or the 
 sum of 501. in the whole, at the election of 
 the prosecutor, and shall also suffer soli- 
 tary imprisonment for three months. But 
 w ool may be carried coastwise, upon being 
 duly entered, and security being given, ac- 
 cording to the. directions of the statute, to 
 the officer of the port from whence the 
 same shall be conveyed ; and the owners of 
 sheep, within five miles of the.sea, and ten 
 miles in Kent and Sussex, cannot remove 
 the wool, without giving notice to the of- 
 
WOR 
 
 finer of the nearest port, as directed by tl»e 
 statute. 
 
 Wool combers. By 35 George III., 
 c. 124, all those who have served an ap- 
 prenticeship to the trade of a wool coiriber, 
 or who are by law entitled to exercise the 
 same, and also their wives and children, 
 may set up and exercise such trade, or any 
 other trade or business they are apt and 
 able for, in any town or place within this 
 kingdom, without any molestation ; nor 
 shall such wool combers, their wives or 
 children, while they exeicise such trades, 
 be removeable from such place to their last 
 legal settlement, till they shall actually be- 
 come chargeable to such parish. 
 
 WORD, or Watch word, in an army or 
 garrison, is some pectiliar word or sentence, 
 by which the soldiers know and distinguish 
 one another in the night, &c. and by which 
 spies and designing persons are discovered. 
 It is used also to prevent surprises. The 
 word is given out, in an hrmy, every night 
 to the lieutenant, or major-general of the 
 day, who gives it to the majors of the bri- 
 gades, and they to the adjutants, who give 
 it first to the field officers, and afterwards 
 to a Serjeant of each company, who carry 
 it to the subalterns. In garrisons, it is given, 
 after the gate is shut, to the town major, 
 who gives it to the adjutants, and they to 
 the Serjeants. 
 
 WORDS. As we proposed, in Philoso- 
 phy, mental, § 104, we shall lay before our 
 readers a view of Hartley’s very important 
 principles, respecting some of the leading 
 phenomena of the understanding ; and we 
 beg to refer our readers to Understand- 
 ing, for another branch of those phenome- 
 na. These principles illustrate and apply 
 the doctrine of association ; and we deem 
 it certain, that the philosophy of language 
 can be pursued with complete success, only 
 by those who have closely attended, prac- 
 tically, if not theoretically, to the influence 
 of that ever active principle. 
 
 Words may be considered in four lights : 
 first, as impressions upon the ear; secondly, 
 as the actions of the organs of speech ; 
 thirdly, as impressions made upon the eye 
 by characters ; fourthly, as the actions of 
 the hand in writing. We learn the use of 
 them in this order ; for children first get an 
 imperfect knowledge of the meaning of 
 the words of others ; then learn to speak 
 themselves ; then to read ; and, lastly, to 
 write. Now it is evident, that in the first 
 of these ways many sensible impressions, 
 smd exterhal feelings, are associated with 
 
 WOR 
 
 particular words and phrases, so as to give 
 these the power of raising the correspond- 
 ing ideas; and that the three following ways 
 increase and improve this power, with some 
 additions to the ideas and variations of 
 them. The second is the reverse of the. 
 first, the fourth of the third. The first as- 
 certains the ideas belonging to words and 
 phrases in a gross manner, according to 
 their usage in common life. The second 
 fixes this, and makes it ready and accurate. 
 The third has the same effect as the second ; 
 and also extends the ideas and significations 
 ot words and phrases, by new associations, 
 and in particular, by associations with other 
 words, as in definitions, descriptions, &c. 
 The fourth, by converting the reader into a 
 writer, helps him to be expert in distin- 
 guishing, quick in recollecting, and faithful 
 in retaining, these ' new significations of 
 words. The action of the hand is not, in- 
 deed, an essential in this fourth method ; 
 composition by persons born blind having 
 nearly the same effect; it is, however, a 
 common attendant on composition, and has 
 a considerable use deducible from associa- 
 tion, at the same time making the analogy 
 between the four metliods more conspi- 
 cuous and complete. 
 
 Hence it appears, that words and phrases 
 must excite ideas in us by association ; and 
 it further appears, that they can do it by no 
 other means, since all the ideas which any 
 word excites are deducible from some of 
 the sources above tnentioned, most usually 
 from the first or third : and because words 
 of unknown languages, terms of art not yet 
 explained, barbarous words, &c. have either 
 no ideas connected with them, or only such 
 as some fancied resemblance, or prior asso-, 
 ciation suggests. It deserves to be remark- 
 ed, that articulate sounds are, by their va- 
 riety, number, and ready use, peculiarly fit- 
 ted to signify and suggest, by association, 
 both our simple ideas, and our complex 
 ones formed from them. 
 
 We now proceed to describe the manner 
 in which ideas are associated with words, 
 beginning with childhood. 
 
 First, then, the association of the names 
 of visible objects, with the impressions 
 which these objects make upon the eye, 
 seems to take place more early than any 
 other, and to be effected in the following 
 manner. The name of the visible object, 
 the mother, for instance, is pronounced and 
 repeated by the attendants to the child, 
 more frequently when his eye is fixed upon 
 his mother, than when upon any other ob- 
 
WORDS, 
 
 i-ects, and mucli more so than when upon 
 any particular one. The word mamma is 
 also sounded in an emphatical manner, 
 when the child’s eye is directed to Ins mo- 
 Iher with earnestness and desire. The as- 
 sociation, therefore, of the sound, mamma, 
 with the visible impression of the mother 
 <m the retina, will be far stronger than that 
 with any other visible impression, and thus 
 oveipower all the other accidental associa- 
 tions ; arid these will also themselves con- 
 tribute to the same end, by opposing one 
 another. And when the child has acquired 
 so much voluntary power over his motions, 
 as to direct his head and eyes towards the 
 nurse, upon hearing her name, this process 
 will go on with accelerated velocity : and 
 thus, at last, the word will excite the visi- 
 ble idea readily and certainly. The same 
 association of the visible impression of the 
 mother with the sound, mamma, will, by 
 degrees, overpower all the accidental asso- 
 ciations of this visible impression with other 
 words ; and, at last, be so closely confirm- 
 ed, that the visible impression will excite 
 the audible idea of the word. This, how- 
 ever, is not to our present purpose, but it 
 is a process which takes place at the same 
 time with the other, and contributes to il- 
 lustrate and confirm it. Both together fur- 
 nish a complete instance of one of tire 
 classes of counections. (§21). 
 
 Secondly, this association of words with 
 visible appearances, being made under 
 many particular circumstances, must affect 
 the visible ideas with a like partictilarity. 
 Thus the mother’s dress, and the situation 
 of the fire in the child’s nursery, make part 
 of the child’s ideas of his motlicr and fire. 
 But then, as his mother often changes her 
 dress, and the child often sees a fire in a 
 different place, and surrounded by differ- 
 ent visible objects, these opposite associa- 
 tions must be less strong than the part 
 which is common to them all ; and conse- 
 quently we may suppose, that while his idea 
 of tliat part which is common, and which 
 we may call essential, continues the same, 
 that of the particularities, circumstances, 
 and adjuncts, varies. 
 
 Thirdly, when the visible objects impress 
 other vivid sensations besides those of sight, 
 such as pleasant or unpleasant tastes, smells, 
 warmth, or coldness, &c. with sufficient 
 frequency, these must have relicts or ideas, 
 (§ 7), which will be associated with the vi- 
 sible ideas of the objects, and with the 
 names of the objects, so as to depend upon 
 them. Thus, an idea of the taste of the 
 
 mother’s milk will rise up in the mind of the 
 child, on his hearing her name ; and hence 
 the whole idea belonging to the word mam- 
 ma now begins to be complex, consisting 
 of two sets of ideas derived from different 
 senses ; and tliese ideas wijl be associated 
 together, not only because the same word 
 raises both, but also because the original 
 sensations, were often received together. 
 
 Tlie stronger idea will therefore assist the 
 weaker. Now, in common cases, visible 
 ideas are the strongest ; or, at least, occim 
 the most readily ; but in this case it ap- 
 pears to be otherwise. It would be easy 
 to proceed to various other and more com- 
 plex cases, in which the component ideas 
 are united, and all made to depend on the 
 respective names of visible objects ; but 
 what has been said is sufficient to show 
 what ideas the names of visible objects, 
 proper and appellative, raise in us. 
 
 Fourthly, we must, however, observe, re- 
 specting appellatives, that sometimes the 
 idea is the common compound result of all 
 the sensible impressions received from se- 
 veral of the objects comprised under the 
 general appellation ; sometimes, in a great 
 measure at least, the particular idea of some 
 one of these, namely, when the impres- 
 sions arising from some one of the class are 
 more frequent and vivid than those of the 
 rest. 
 
 Fifthly, the names denoting sensible qua- 
 lities, whether substantive or adjective, such 
 as whiteness, white, &c. get their ideas in a 
 manner which will be easily understood 
 from what has been already stated. That 
 visible impression which is common to all 
 objects which have been frequently seen 
 having the name, white, applied to them, 
 becomes the leading feature of the ideas 
 belonging to them ; and the word excites 
 that most vividly and universally, while it 
 excites only faintly, or at least with great 
 variation, the ideas’ of the peculiarities, cir- 
 cumstances, and adjuncts: and so of the 
 other sensible qualities. 
 
 Sixthly, the names of visible actions, as 
 walking, &c. raise the proper visible ideas 
 by a like process. Other ideas may like- 
 wise adhere in certain cases, as in those of 
 tasting, feeling, speaking, &c. Sensible 
 impressions, in wbich no visible action is 
 concerned, may also have ideas dependant 
 upon words. However some visible ideas 
 generally intermix themselves here. These 
 actions and perceptions are generally de- 
 noted by verbs, though sometimes by sub- 
 stantives. 
 
WORDS. 
 
 Seventhly, as children may learn to read 
 words, not only in an elementary way, viz. 
 by learning the letters and syllables of 
 which they are composed, but also in a sum- 
 mary one, viz, by associating the sound of 
 entire words with their visible representa- 
 tions ; and must, in some cases, be taught 
 in this latter method, that is, while the 
 sound of the word deviates from that of its 
 elements; so both children and adults often 
 learn the ideas belonging to whole sen- 
 tences, in a summary way, and not by ad- 
 ding together the ideas of the several words 
 in the sentence. And wherever words oc- 
 cur, which, separately taken, have no dis- 
 tinct proper ideas, their use can be learned 
 in no other way than this ; and this will be 
 the case where the words are extremely 
 general, applying to a vast variety of visible 
 objects, and to circumstances and relations 
 which are not obvious to the uncultivated 
 mind. Now, pronouns, and particles, and 
 many other words, are of this sort. Thus, 
 
 I walk, is associated at different times with 
 the same visible impressions with, mamma 
 walks, brother walks, &c. and therefore 
 can for a long time suggest nothing permar 
 nently but the action of walking. How- 
 ever, the pronoun, /, in this and innumera- 
 ble other short sentences, being always as- 
 sociated with the person speaking, (as thou 
 with the person spoken to, and he with the 
 person spoken of), the frequent recurrency 
 of this teaches the child the use of the pro- 
 nouns ; that is, teaches him what difference 
 he is to expect in his sensible impressions, 
 according as this or that pronoun is used ; 
 the vast number of instances making up for 
 the very small quantity of information which 
 each, singly token, conveys. In like man- 
 ner differeht particles, (that is, adverbs, 
 conjunctions, and prepositions), bejng used 
 in sentences' where the substantives, ad- 
 jectives, and verbs are the same ; and the 
 same particles, when these are different, in 
 an endless recurrency, teach children the 
 use of the particles in a gross general way. 
 
 For it may be observed, that children are 
 mnclt at a loss fpr the true use of the pro- 
 nouns and particles for some years; and 
 that they often repeat the proper name of 
 the person instead of the pronoun ; which 
 confirms the forgoing reasoning. 
 
 Eighthly, the attempts which children 
 make to express thejr own wants, percep- 
 tions, pains, &c. ip words, and the correc- 
 tions and suggestions of the attendants, are 
 of the p-eatest use jn all the steps that we 
 jigve hitherto considered, and especially in 
 
 the last, respecting the particles and pro, 
 nouns. 
 
 Ninthly, learning to read helps children 
 much in the same respects ; especially as it 
 teaches them to separate sentences into the 
 several words which compose them ; which 
 those who cannot read are scarcely able to 
 do even when they arrive at adult age. 
 
 Thus we may see how children and 
 others are enabled to understand a conti, 
 nued discourse, relating to sensible impres- 
 sions only ; and how the words, in passing 
 over the ear, must raise up trains of visible 
 and other ideas, by the power of associa- 
 tion. Our next enquiry must be concern- 
 ing the words which denote either intel- 
 lectual things, or collections of other 
 words. 
 
 Tenthly, the words which relate to the 
 several passions of love, hatred, hope, fear, 
 anger, &c. being applied to the child when 
 he is under the influence of these passions, 
 get the power of raising up the ideas of 
 those passions, and also the usual assoeiated 
 circumstances. The application of tlie 
 same words to others helps also to annex 
 the ideas of the associated circumstances to 
 them, and even of the passions themselves, 
 both fl ora the infectiousness of our natures, 
 and from the power of associated circum- 
 stances to raise the passions. The words, 
 however, denoting the passions, do not, for 
 the most part, raise up in us any degree of 
 the passions themselves, but only the ideas 
 of the associated circumstances. We are 
 supposed sufficiently to understand the con- 
 tinued discourses into which these words 
 enter, when we form true notions of the ac- 
 tions, particularly the visible ones, attend- 
 ing the feelings denoted. 
 
 Eleventhly, the names of intellectual and 
 moral qualities and operations, stand for a 
 description of these qualities and opera- 
 tions ; and therefore, if dwelt upon, excite 
 such ideas as these descriptions in all their 
 particular circumstances do. But the com- 
 mon sentences into which these words en- 
 ter, pass over the mind too quick for the 
 roost part, to allow of such delay. They 
 are acknowledged as familiar and correct ; 
 and suggest certain associated visible ideas, 
 and nascent internal feelings, taken from 
 the description of these names, or from the 
 words which aye usually joined with them 
 in discourses, and writings. 
 
 Twelfthly, there are many terms of art 
 in all the branches of learning, which ar^ 
 defined by other words, and which, there? 
 fore, are only compendious substitute^ fp{i 
 
WORDS. 
 
 them. The same holds in common life in 
 numberless instances. Such words some- 
 times suggest the words of their definitions, 
 sometimes the ideas of these words, some- 
 times a particular species comprehended 
 under the general term, &c. But whatever 
 they suggest, it may be easily seen, that 
 they derive the- power of doing it from assor 
 elation. 
 
 Lastly, there are words used in abstract 
 sciences' which can scarcely be defined or 
 described by other words, such as identity, 
 existence, he. The use of these must there- 
 fore be learned, as that of the particles 
 is. Indeed children learn their first imper- 
 fect notions of all the words considered in 
 this and the last three paragraphs, chiefly 
 in this way ; and come to more precise and 
 explicit ones only by means of books, as 
 they advance to adult age, or by endeavour- 
 ing to use them properly in their own deli- 
 berate compositions. 
 
 From the foregoing train of reasoning the 
 following inferences may be drawn. 
 
 I . Including under the head of definition, 
 description, or any way of explaining a 
 VPord by other words, excepting that by a 
 piere synonymous term ; and excluding from 
 the head of ideas the visible idea of the cha- 
 racter pf a word, and the audible pne of its 
 sound, and also all ideas which are either 
 extremely faint or extremely variable ; 
 words may be distinguished into the four 
 following classes : 1. Such as have ideas 
 pnly; 2. Such as have both ideas and defi- 
 nitions; 3. Such as have definitions only; 
 4. Such as have neither ideas nor defini- 
 tions. 
 
 It is difficult to fix precise limits to these 
 four classes, so as to determine accurately 
 where each ends and the next begins ; and 
 if we consider these things in the most 
 general way, there is perhaps no word which 
 has not both an idea and a definition ; that 
 is, which is not occasionally attended with 
 some one or more internal feelings, and 
 which may not be explained, in some im- 
 perfect manner at least, by other words. 
 However the following are some instances 
 pf words which have the fairest right to 
 each class. Tlie names of simple sensible 
 objects are of the first class. Thus white, 
 sweet, &c. excite ideas, but cannot be der 
 fined. Words of this class stand only for 
 the stable parts of the respective ideas, not 
 for the several variable particularities, cir- 
 cumstances, and adjuncts, which here interr 
 piix themselves. 
 
 The names of natural bodies, animal, ve- 
 getable, or mineral, are of the second class ; 
 for they excite agpegates of sensible ideas, 
 and at the same time may be defined by an 
 enumeration of their properties and charac- 
 teristics. Thus likewise geometrical figures 
 have both ideas and definitions. The defi- 
 nitions, in both cases, are so contrived as to 
 leave out all the variable particularities of 
 the ideas, and also to be more full and pre- 
 cise than the ideas generally are in the parts 
 which are of a permanent nature. 
 
 Algebraic quantities, such as roots, 
 powers, surds, &c. belong to the third class ; 
 and have definitions only. The same may 
 be said, of scientifical terms of art, and of 
 most abstract general terms, moral, meta- 
 physical, and vulgar. However, mental 
 emotions are apt to attend some of these 
 even in passing slightly over the ear, and 
 these emotions may be considered as ideas 
 belonging to the respective terms. Thus 
 the very words, gratitude, mercy, cruelty, 
 treachery, &c. separately taken, affect the 
 mind; and yet, since all reasoning upon 
 them is to be founded on their definitions, 
 it seems best to refer them tp this third 
 class. 
 
 Lastly, the particles, the, of, to, for, but, 
 &c. have neither definition nor ideas, as we 
 have limited those terms, 
 
 2. It will easily appear from the obser, 
 vations here made upon words, and the as- 
 sociations which adhere to them, that the 
 languages of different ages and nations 
 must bear a great general resemblance to 
 each other, and yet have considerable par- 
 ticular differences ; whence any one may be 
 translated into any other, so as to convey 
 the same ideas in general, and yet not with 
 perfect precision and exactness. Tliey 
 must resemble one another, because the 
 phenomena of nature which they are all in- 
 tended to express, and the uses and exi- 
 gences of human life to which they minis- 
 ter, have a general resemblance. But 
 then, as the bodily make and genius of each 
 people, the air, soil, and climate, commerce, 
 arts, sciences, religion, &c. make consider- 
 able differences in different ages and na- 
 tions, it is natural to expect that the lan- 
 guages should have proportionable diffe- 
 rences in respect of each other. 
 
 In learning a new language the words of 
 it are at first substitutes for those of our 
 native language ; that is, they are associat- 
 ed, by means of these, with the proper ob- 
 jects and ideas. AFhen this association is 
 sufficiently strong, the middle bond is drop- 
 
WOKDS. 
 
 ped, and the words of the new language be- 
 come substitutes for, and suggest directly 
 and immediately objects and ideas; also 
 clusters of other words in the same lan- 
 guage. 
 
 In learning a new language it is nuicii 
 easier to translate from it into the native 
 one, than back again ; just as young chil- 
 dren are much better able to understand 
 the expressions of others, than to express 
 their own conceptions. And the reason is 
 the same in both cases. Young children 
 learn at first to go from the words of others, 
 and those who learn a new language from 
 the words of that language, to the tilings 
 signified. And the reverse of this, viz. to go 
 from the things signified to the words, must 
 be difficult for a time from the nature of 
 successive associations. It is to be added 
 here, that the nature and connections of 
 the things signified, often determine the 
 import of sentences though their gramma- 
 tical analysis is not understood ; and that 
 we suppose the person who attempts to 
 translate from a new language is sufficiently 
 expert in passing from ffie things signified 
 to the corresponding words of his own lan- 
 guage. The power of association is every 
 where conspicuous in these remarks. 
 
 3. It follows also from the foregoing 
 reasoning, that persons who speak the same 
 language cannot always mean the same 
 things by the same words, but must some- 
 times mistake each others meaning. This 
 confusion and uncertainty arises from the 
 different associations transferred upon the 
 same words by the difference in the acci- 
 dents and events of our lives. It is, how- 
 ever, much more common in discourses con- 
 cerning abstract matters, where the terms 
 stand for collections of other terms, some- 
 times at the pleasure of the speaker or 
 writer, than in the common and necessary 
 affairs of life; for here frequent use, and 
 the constancy of the phenomena of nature, 
 intended to be expressed by words, have 
 rendered their sense determinate and cer- 
 tain. Howev’er, it seems possible, and 
 even not very difficult, for two truly can- 
 did and intelligent persons to understand 
 each other upon any subject. 
 
 That we may enter more particularly 
 into the causes of this confusion, and con- 
 *equeiitly be the better enabled to prevent 
 it, let us consider words according to the 
 four classes above mentioned. 
 
 Now, mistakes will happen in words of 
 the first class, viz. such as have ideas only, 
 where the persons have associated these 
 
 words with different impressions. And 
 the , method to rectify any mistake of this 
 kind, is for each person to show with wliat 
 actual impressions he lias associated the 
 word in question. But mistakes here are 
 not conmioD. ' 
 
 In words of the second class, viz. such as 
 have both ideas and definitions, it often 
 happens that one person’s knowledge is 
 much more full than another’s, and conse- 
 quently his idea and definition much more 
 extensive. This must cause a misapprehen- 
 sion on one side, which yet may be easily 
 rectified by recuriing to the definition. It 
 happens also sometimes in words of this 
 class, that a man’s ideas are not always suit- 
 able to his definition ; that is, are not the 
 same with those which the words of the 
 definition would excite. If then this (>cr- 
 son should pretend, or even design, to rea- 
 son from his definition, and yet reason from 
 his idea, misapprehension will arise in the 
 hearer wlio supposes him to reason from his 
 definition merely. 
 
 In words of the third class, which have 
 definitions only and no immediate ideas, 
 mistakes generally arise through want of 
 fixed definitions being mutually acknow- 
 ledged and kept to. However, as imper- 
 fect fluctuating, ideas that have little rela- 
 tion to the definitions, are often apt to ad- 
 here to tlie words of this class, mistakes 
 must arise from this cause also. 
 
 As to the words of the fourth class, or 
 those which have neither ideas nor defini- 
 tions, it is easy to ascertain their use by 
 inserting them in sentences where import is 
 known and acknowledged ; this being the 
 method in which children learn to decypher 
 them; so that mistakes could notarise in 
 the words of this class did we use moderate 
 care and cgndour. And, indeed, since chil- 
 dren learn the uses of words most evidently 
 without having any data, any fixed point at 
 all, it is to be hoped tliat philosophers and 
 candid persons may learn at least to under- 
 staudone another with facility and certainty; 
 and get to the very bottom of the connec- 
 tion between words and ideas. 
 
 4. When words have acquired any con- 
 siderable power of exciting pleasant or pain- 
 ful feelings, by being often associated with 
 such things as do this, they m-ay transfer a 
 part of their pleasures and pains upon indif- 
 ferent tilings, by being at other times often 
 associated with such. This is one of the 
 principal sources of the several factitious 
 pleasures and pains of human life. Tims, to 
 give an instance from childhood; the word* 
 
won 
 
 siceef, good, pretty, fine, &c. en the one 
 hand; and the words bad, ugly, frightful, 
 &c. on the other, being applied by the 
 nurse and attendants in tlie child’s hearing, 
 almost promiscuously, and without these 
 restrictions that are observed in correct 
 speaking ; the one set to all the pleasures, 
 the other to all the pains of the several 
 senses, must by association raise up general 
 pleasant and painful feelings, in which no 
 one part. can be distinguished above tire 
 rest; and when applied by further associa- 
 tions to objects of a neutral kind, they must 
 transfer a general pleasure or pain upon 
 them. 
 
 5. Since words thus collect ideas from 
 various quarters, unite them together, and 
 transfer them both upon other words, and 
 upon foreign objects, it is evident that the 
 use of words adds much to the number and 
 complexity of our ideas, and is the principal 
 means by which we make mental and moral 
 improvement. This is. verified abundantly 
 by the observations which are made upon 
 persons born deaf, and continuing so. It is 
 probable, however, that these persons make 
 use of some symbols to assist the memory, 
 and fix the imagination; and they must 
 have a great variety of pleasures and pains 
 transferred upon visible objects from their 
 associations with one another, and with sen- 
 sible pleasures of all kinds ; but they are 
 very deficient in this, upon the whole, 
 through the want of the associations of visi- 
 ble objects and states of mind, &c. with 
 words. Learning to read must add greatly 
 to their mental improvement ; yet still their 
 intellectual capacities cannot but remain 
 very narrow. 
 
 Persons blind from birth must proceed 
 in a manner different from that before de- 
 scribed, in the first ideas which they affix 
 to words. As the visible ones are wanting, 
 the others, particularly the tangible and 
 audible ones, must compose the aggregates 
 which are annexed to words. However as 
 they are capable of learning and retaining 
 as great a variety of words as others, and 
 can associate with them pleasures and pains 
 from the four remaining senses, they fall 
 little or nothing short of others in intellec- 
 tual accomplishments, and may arrive even 
 at a greater degree of spirituality and ab- 
 straction in their complex ideas. 
 
 6. Hence it follows that when children, 
 or ethers, first learn to read, the view of 
 the words excites ideas, only by the me- 
 diation of their sounds, with which alone 
 their ideas liave hitherto been, associated. 
 
 WRE 
 
 And thus it is that children and illiterate 
 persons best understand what they read by 
 reading aloud. By degrees the interme- 
 diate links being left out, the written or 
 printed characters suggest the ideas di- 
 rectly and instantaneously ; so that per- 
 sons who are much in the habit of reading, 
 understand more readily by passing over 
 the words with the eye only ; since this me- 
 thod, by being more expeditious, brings the 
 ideas closer together. However all are 
 peculiarly affected by words pronounced in 
 a manner suitable to their sense and design ; 
 which is still an associated influence. 
 
 WORKING, in fatrmf. A person may 
 go abroad to work in harvest, carrying witli 
 him a certificate from the minister, and one 
 churchwarden, or overseer, that he hath a 
 dwelling-house or place, in which he inha- 
 bits, and hath left wife and children, or 
 some of them, there, (or otherwise as his 
 condition shall require) and declaring him 
 an inhabitant there. 
 
 WORMS. See Veumes. 
 
 Worm, in gunnery, a screw of iron, to 
 be fixed on the end of a rammer, to pull 
 out the wad of a firelock, carabine, or pis- 
 tol, being the same with the wad-hook, only 
 the one is more proper for small arms, and 
 the other for cannon. 
 
 Worm, in chemistry, is a long, winding, 
 pewter pipe, placed in a tub of water, to 
 cool and condense the vapours in the distil- 
 lation of spirits. 
 
 W'oRM, a cable or haw'ser, in the sea 
 language, is to strengthen it by winding a 
 small line, or rope, all along between the 
 strands. 
 
 WORSTED, a kind of woollen thread, 
 which, in the spinning, is twisted harder 
 than ordinary. It is chiefly used either 
 wove or knit into stockings, caps, gloves, or 
 the like. 
 
 WREATH, in heraldry, a roll of fine 
 linen or silk (like that of a Turkish turban) 
 consisting of the colours borne in the es- 
 cutcheon, placed in an atchievement be- 
 tween the helmet and the crest, and imme- 
 diately supporting the crest. 
 
 WRECK, such goods as, after a ship- 
 wreck, are cast upon the land by the sea, 
 and left there within some couqty, for they 
 are not wrecks so long as they remain at 
 sea, being within the jurisdiction of the 
 Admiralty. 
 
 Various statutes have been made relative 
 to wreck, which was formerly a perquisite 
 belonging to the King, or by special grant 
 
WREN. 
 
 fo the lord of the manor. It is now, how- 
 ever, held, that if proof can be made of the 
 property of any of the yoods oi ladin" which 
 come to shore, tliey shall, not be forfeited as 
 wreck. 
 
 By tlie 3 Edward, c. 4, the sheriff of the 
 county shall be bound to keep the goods 
 a year and a day ; that if any man can 
 prove a property in them, either in his 
 own right, or by righ.t of representation, 
 they shall be restored to him without de- 
 lay. 
 
 By statnte 26 George II. c. 19, plunder- 
 ing any vessel, either in distress or wrecked, 
 and whether any living creature be on 
 board or not, or preventing the escape of 
 any person that endeavour^ to save bis- life, 
 or putting out false lights to bring any ves- 
 sel into danger, are all deolaretl to be capi- 
 tal felonies ; and by this statute pilfering 
 any goods cast ashore, is declared to be 
 petty larceny. See Insurance salvage. 
 
 WREN (Sir Christopher), in biogra- 
 phy, a great philosopher and mathematician, 
 and one of the most learned and eminent ar- 
 chitects of his age, was the son of the Rev. 
 Christopher Wren, Dean of Windsor, and was 
 born at Knoyle, in Wiltshire, in 1632. He 
 studied at Wadham College, Oxford, where 
 he took the degree of Master of Arts, in 
 1653, and was chosen fellow of All Souls 
 College there. Soon after he became one 
 of that ingenious and learned society, who 
 then met at Oxford for the improvement of 
 natural and experimental philosophy, and 
 which at length produced the Royal So.? 
 ciety. 
 
 When very young he discovered a sur- 
 prising genius for the mathematics, in 
 which science he made great advances be- 
 fore he was sixteen years of age. In 1657 
 he was made professor of astronomy in 
 Gresham College, London ; and his lectures, 
 which were much frequented, tended great- 
 ly to the promotion of real knowledge. 
 He proposed several methods by which to 
 account for the shadows returning back- 
 W'ard ten degrees on the dial of King Ahaz, 
 by the laws of nature. One subject of his lec- 
 tures was npop telescopes, to the imprpve- 
 ment of which he had greatly contributed : 
 another was on certain properties of the 
 ajr, and the barometer, In the year 1658 
 he read a description of the body and dif- 
 ferent pliases of the planet Saturn; which 
 siibject he proposed to investigate, while 
 his colleague, Mr. Ropke, then professor of 
 gpometry, was carrying on his observations 
 ppon the satellites' of Jupiter. , Tiie same 
 
 year he communicated some demonstrations 
 concerning cycloids to Dr. Wallis, which 
 were afterwards published by the Doctor 
 at the end of his treatise upon that subject. 
 About that time also, he resolved the pro- 
 blem proposed by Pascal, under the feigned 
 name of John de Montford, to all the Eng- 
 lish mathematicians ; and returned anotiter 
 to the mathematicians in France, formerly 
 proposed by Kepler, and then resolved like- 
 wise by himself, to which they never gave 
 any solution. In 1660, he invented a me- 
 thod for the construction of solar eclipses; 
 and in the latter part of die same year, he, 
 with ten other gentlemen, formed them- 
 selves into a society, to meet weekly, for 
 the improvement of natural and experimen- 
 tal philosophy ; being the foundation of the 
 Royal Society. In the beginning of 1661, 
 he was chosen Savilian professor of astro- 
 nomy at Oxford, in tlie room of Dr. Seth 
 Ward; where he was the same year created 
 Doctor of Laws. 
 
 Among his other accomplishments, Dr. 
 Wren had gained so considerable a skill in 
 architecture, that he was sent for the same 
 year from Oxford, by order of King Charles 
 the Second, to assist Sir John Denham, 
 surveyor-general of the works. In 1663 
 he was chosen fellow of the Royal Society, 
 being one of those who were first appointed 
 by the council after the grant of their 
 charter. Not long after, it being expected 
 that the King would make the Society a 
 visit, the Lord Brounker, then president, 
 by a letter, requested the advice of Dr. 
 "Wren, concerning the experiments which 
 might be most proper on that occasion ; to 
 vvhom the Doctor recommended principally 
 the Torricellian experiment, and the wea- 
 ther needle, as being not mere amuse- 
 ments, but useful, and also neat in their 
 operation. 
 
 In 1665 he travelled into France, to exa- 
 mine the most beautiful edifices and, curious 
 mechanical works there, when he made 
 many useful observations. Upon his re- 
 turn home, he was appointed architect, 
 and one of the commissioners for repairing 
 St. Paul’s cathedral. Within a few days 
 after the fire of London, 1666, he drew a 
 plan for a new city, apd presented it to the 
 King ; but it was not approved by the Par- 
 liament, In this model the chief streets 
 vvere to cross each other at right angles, 
 with lesser streets between them; the 
 churches, public buildings, &c. so disposed 
 as not to interfere with the streets, and 
 four piazzas placed at proper distances. 
 
WRl 
 
 tjpon the death of Sir John Denham, in 
 1668, he succeeded him in the office of 
 surveyor-general of the King’s works, and 
 from this time he had the direction of a 
 great many public edifices, by which he 
 acquired the highest reputation. He built 
 the magnificent theatre at Oxford, St. 
 Paul’s cathedral, the Monument^ the mo- 
 dern part of Hampton Court, Chelsea 
 College, one of the wings of Greenwich 
 Hospitalj the churches of St. Stephen 
 Walbrook and St. Mary-le-Bow, with Up- 
 wards of sixty other churches and public 
 works, which that dreadful fire made ne- 
 cessary. In the management of which 
 business he was assisted in the measure- 
 ments, and laying out Of private property, 
 by the ingenious Dr. Robert Hook. The 
 variety of business in which he was by this 
 means engaged, requiring his constant at- 
 tendance and concern^ he resigned his Savi- 
 lian professorship at Oxford in 1673, and 
 the year following he received from the 
 King the honour of knighthood. He was 
 one of the commissioners who, on the mo- 
 tion of Sir Jonas Moore, surveyor-general 
 of the ordnance, had been appointed to 
 find out a proper place for erecting an 
 observatory, and he proposed Greenwich, 
 which was approved of; the foundation 
 stone of which was laid the tenth of August, 
 1675, and the building was presently finish- 
 ed, under the direction of Sir Jonas, with 
 the advice and assistance of Sir Christo- 
 pher. 
 
 In 1680 he was chosen president of the 
 Royal Society ; afterwards appointed archi- 
 tect and commissioner of Chelsea College; 
 and in 1684, principal officer or comp- 
 troller of the works in Windsor castle. Sir 
 Christopher sat. twice in Parliament, as a 
 representative for two different boroughs. 
 While he continued surveyor-general, his 
 residence was in Scotland-yard ; but after 
 his removal from that office, in 1718, he 
 lived in St. James’s-street, Westminster. 
 He died the twenty-fifth of February, 1723, 
 at ninety-one years of age ; and he was in- 
 terred with great solemnity in St. Paul’s 
 Cathedral, in the vault under the south 
 wing of the choir, near the east end. 
 
 WRIGHT (Edward), in biography, a 
 noted English mathematician,who flourished 
 in the latter part of the sixteenth century, 
 and beginning of the seventeenth. He was 
 contemporary with Mr. Briggs, and much 
 concerned with him in the business of the 
 logarithms, the short time they were pub- 
 lished before bis death. He also contributed 
 
 WRI 
 
 greatly to the improvement of navigatlori 
 and astronomy. He was the first under- 
 taker of that difficnlt but useful work, by 
 which a little river is brought from the town 
 of Ware in a new canal, to supply the city 
 of London with water ; but by the maneeu- 
 vres of others he was hindered from com- 
 pleting the work he had begun. For the 
 improvement of the art of navigation he 
 was appointed mathematical lecturer by 
 the East India Company, and read lectures 
 in the house of that worthy knight, Sir Tho- 
 mas Smith, for which he had a yearly salary 
 of fifty pounds. 'Fliis office he discharged 
 with great reputation, and much to the 
 satisfaction of his hearers. He published 
 in English a book on the Doctrine of the 
 Sphere, which is very scarce and dear, and 
 another concerning the construction of sun- 
 dials. He also prefixed an ingenious preface 
 to the learned Gilbert’s book on the load- 
 stone. He published other works, and died 
 in the year 1615. 
 
 WRIT is the King’s precept, whereby 
 any thing is commanded touching a suit or 
 action ; as the defendant or tenant to be 
 summoned, a distress to be taken, a dis- 
 seisin to be redressed, &c. And these writs 
 are diversely divided; some in respect of 
 their order or manner of granting, are 
 termed original, and some judicial. Origi- 
 nal writs are those that are sent out for the 
 summoning of the defendant in a personal, 
 or the tenant in a real action,. before the 
 suit begins, or rather to begin tlie suit. 
 
 The j udicial writs are those which are sent 
 out by order pf tlie court, where the cause 
 depends, upon occasion, after the suit be- 
 gins. 
 
 Original writs are issued out of the Court 
 of Chancery, for the summoning a defend- 
 ant to appear, and are granted before the 
 suit is begun, to begin the same: and judi- 
 cial writs issue out of the court where the 
 original is returned, after the suit is begun. 
 The originals bear date in the name of the 
 King, but the judicial writs bear teste in 
 the name of the chief justice. 
 
 Writ of inquiry of damages, a judicial 
 writ that issues out to the sheriff, upon a 
 judgment by default, in action of the case, 
 covenant, trespass, trover, &c. commanding 
 him to summon a jury to inquire what da- 
 mages the plaintiff hath sustained occasi- 
 one pramissorum ; and when this is re- 
 turned with the inquisition, the rule for 
 judgment is given upon it, and if nothing 
 be said to the contrary ; judgment is there- 
 upon entered. 
 
will 
 
 A writ of inquiry of damages is a mere 
 inquest of office, to inform the conscience 
 of the court; who, if they please, may them- 
 selves assess the damages. And it is accord- 
 ingly the practice in actions upon promis- 
 soiy notes and bills of exchange, instead 
 of executing a writ of inquiry, to apply to 
 the court for a rule to show cause why it 
 should not be referred to the master to see 
 what is due for principal and interest, and 
 why final judgment should not be signed 
 for that sum, without executing a writ of 
 inquiry ; which rule is made absolute on an 
 affidavit of service, unless good cause be 
 shown to the contrary. 
 
 WRITER of the tallies, an officer of the 
 Exchequer, being clerk to the auditor of 
 the receipt, who writes, upon the tallies, 
 the whole letters of the teller’s bill. See 
 the articles Tally, Exchequer, &c. 
 
 WRITING, origin of alphabetical. The 
 history of the origin and progress of written 
 languages, is, in most of its stages, less 
 enveloped in obscurity than that of oral 
 language. Difficulties attend it in common 
 with every inquiry into antiquity ; but the 
 data are more numerous and progressive 
 than the fleeting nature of audible signs 
 would admit. The rudiments of the art of 
 writing are very simple ; its advances to- 
 wards the present state of improvement, 
 slow and gradual. Visible language, first 
 used marks as the signs of things ; and we 
 can trace it through all its stages, from the 
 simple picture, to the arbitrary mark for 
 the elements of sound. 
 
 The rudest species of visible communica- 
 tion was, the variously-coloured knotted 
 cords of the Peruvians, called the qiiipos. 
 They have been represented by some au- 
 thors as regular annals of the empire; but 
 though they might have some significancy 
 by agreement, it is probable that with- 
 out ora! interpretation they would denote 
 nothing more than that something was to 
 be remembered, like the twelve stones 
 in Joshua, iv. 21 , 22. Robertson, with 
 more probability, supposes that they w'ere 
 a device for rendering calculation more 
 expeditious and accurate ; that by the va- 
 rious colours, different objects were de- 
 noted ; and by each knot, a distinct num- 
 ber. This is rendered still more probable 
 by the circumstance, that picture-writing 
 was used by the Peruvians ; and, as the 
 names of numbers must be denoted by 
 arbitrary signs to render calculation at all 
 extensive, this species of arbitrary sign 
 
 WRI 
 
 might be more convenient for their rude 
 arithmetic than any other. 
 
 Picture-writing, such as was adopted by 
 the Mexicans, is the first step of the pro- 
 gress towards letter-writing. The simplest 
 species was a mere delineation of the ob- 
 ject to be denoted. Thus the North-Ame- 
 rican Indians, when they went to war, 
 painted some trees with the figures of war- 
 riors, often of the exact number of the 
 party ; and if they went by water, they 
 delineated a canoe. Thus, loo, the Mexi- 
 cans, at the arrival of the Spaniards, sent 
 large paintings on cloth as dispatches to 
 Montezuma. The Mexicans had made some 
 progress beyond simple delineations; but 
 of tliese their paintings are principally com- 
 posed, and by a proper disposition of their 
 figures, they could exhibit a more complex 
 series of events in historical order. Some 
 very curious specimens of this picture- 
 writing are preserved: the most valuable 
 one has been published, and may be found 
 in Purchas’s “ Pilgrim,” or in Thevenot’s 
 “ Collection of Voyages.” It is divided into 
 three parts : the first is a history of the 
 Mexican Empire ; the second is a tribute- 
 roll ; and the third, a code of their insti- 
 tutions. 
 
 The defects of this mode of communica- 
 tion must have been early felt. Where ap- 
 plicable, it was tedious ; and was confined 
 to objects of sense. The human intellect, 
 stimulated by the necessity of improvement, 
 would have proceeded through the same 
 course in the New World as in the Old ; 
 but a stop was put to this progre.ss by the 
 destruction of the most cultivated empires. 
 Picture-writing, then the simple hierogly- 
 phic, then the symbolical hieroglyphic, then 
 the arbitrary character for words, and, last- 
 ly, for letters, was the evident progress of 
 the mind. The Mexicans had actually, in 
 some instances, passed througli all the in- 
 termediate stages ; though the short dura- 
 tion of their empire prevented them from 
 extending these rmliments to a regular 
 system. In the simple hieroglyphic, the 
 principal part or circumstance of a subject 
 is placed for the whole. In the historical 
 painting before mentioned, towns are uni- 
 formly denoted by the rude delineation of 
 a house, to which was added some distin- 
 guishing emblem : these emblems were de- 
 notements of their names, which were ge- 
 nerally significant compounds. Kings and 
 generals were in like manner denoted by 
 heads of men, with similar emblematic 
 
WRITING. 
 
 marks conjoined. They also used the sym- 
 bolical hieroglyphic to denote a conqueror: 
 they placed a target, with darts between 
 the characters, for the king, and the cities 
 which he had subdued. Their marks for 
 months and other portions of time, for the 
 air, the earth, &c. were symbolical; and 
 their cyphers are arbitrary characters : they 
 painted as many small circles as there were 
 units to 20, which had its proper mark ; by 
 the successive addition of these marks they 
 denoted numbers to 20 times 20, or 400, 
 which again had its proper mark; then, by 
 the successive addition of these, they de- 
 noted as far as 20 times 400, or 8000, which 
 had a new character. Whatever their ad- 
 vances, however, annals so conveyed must 
 have been very imperfect ; and accordingly 
 they look great pains to instruct the young 
 to supply the deficiencies, and to remove 
 the ambiguities, by \ means of traditionary 
 explanations. See Robertson’s “ Ameiica,” 
 vol. iii. p. 173 — 180 ; fron) whom, and Cla- 
 vigeio, this account is derived. 
 
 Picture-writing and its contraction, which 
 is denominated the simple hieroglyphic, 
 must he very inadequate for the purposes 
 of communication. The figurative hiero- 
 glyphic would soon be adopted ; for oral 
 language must have made some progress, 
 before the use of permanent visible commu- 
 nication would be found necessary, and, 
 consequently, must have given metapiiori- 
 cal meanings to the names of sensible ob- 
 jects. We here speak of hieroglyphics as 
 intended for the purposes of communicating, 
 not of concealing- knowledge. It was long 
 thought that the latter was the first and 
 only purpose. Warbnrton has proved tliat 
 tins was not their first use, but that which 
 was made of them in a later period, parti- 
 cularly when the invention of letters had 
 rendered the former purpose unnecessary. 
 The simple hieroglyphic was, where the 
 delineation of part of the object or action 
 represented the whole. Thus the ancient 
 Egyptians painted a man’s two feet in water 
 to denote a fuller ; smoke ascending, to de- 
 note fire ; two hands, one holding a buck- 
 ler, the other a bow, to denote a battle. — 
 The figurative hieroglyphic was of two 
 kinds; one, where the insirument, real or 
 supposed, was used to denote the performer, 
 or the thing performed ; the other, where 
 one object was used to represent another, 
 which' liad some real or supposed resem- 
 blance to it. Egyptian examples of the 
 first kind are, an eye and a sceptre, to 
 signify a king; a sword, a bloody tyrant; 
 
 the mouth, to denote speech or voice; the 
 sun and moon, as a symbol for succession 
 of time ; an eye placed in an eminent posi- 
 tion, for tlie omniscience of God. Examples 
 of the' second are, a dog’s head (as among 
 the Cliinese, a dog’s voice), to denote sor- 
 row ; dew falling from heaven, to denote 
 science. To these may be added, as a 
 mixed example, the inscription on the tem- 
 ple of Minerva at Sais ; where are found, 
 engraved on the vestibule, the figures of an 
 infant, an old man, a hawk and ‘a fish, and 
 a river horse : the hawk and fish were the 
 symbol for hatred, and the river liorse for 
 impudence; so that the literal translation 
 would be “ young and old hate impudence,” 
 or, still more literally, “ old man, infant 
 hatred, impudence.” Tlie Scythian King 
 sent to Daritgs a mouse, a frog, a bird, a 
 dart, and a plough: if be had sent their 
 delineations, it would have formed a similar 
 specimen of the hieroglipliic. 
 
 Hieroglypliics would frequently be found- 
 ed on the figures to whicli use had given 
 currency in oral language. The procedure 
 of the mind is the same in both ; and they 
 would mutually influence each other. With 
 respect to the simple hieroglyphic, as that 
 was a mere contraction of the full delinea- 
 tion in picture-writing, the only similarity 
 we must expect to find in language is the 
 contraction of words. Both were intended 
 for the purpose of facilitating communica- 
 tion, by increasing its rapidity. 
 
 The first nse of hieroglyphics was, to 
 preserve the memory of events and institu- 
 tions; such symbols, therefore, would first 
 be adopted as were of obvious inteipreta- 
 tion ; viz. those which were founded on 
 prevailing opinions ; as, the hyena, for a 
 man bearing his distiesses with fortitude, 
 and rising superior to them, because the 
 skin of that animal was supposed to render 
 the wearer dauntless and invulnerable ; on 
 those founded on oral hmgnage, which 
 would be intelligible when the analogies 
 which gave rise to them were forgotten. 
 By degrees they were emjiloyed for the 
 more refined purposes of philosophy ; and 
 the analogies on which they were founded, 
 would require an acquaintance with the 
 sciences from which they were deduced. 
 Still nothing'w'as done for concealment: at 
 last superstition appropriated their use ; and 
 after the invention of letters, tliey were 
 employed to keep the mysteries of the 
 priesthood from the ej'es of the profane 
 vulgar. Tfieir symbols were now formed 
 of far fetched resemblances : a cat was used 
 
Writing. 
 
 to denote tlie moon, from the supposed 
 contraction or dilatation of the pupil of her 
 eye, at ditferent parts of the lunation. In 
 common hieroglyphics, Egypt was denoted 
 by a crocodile ; in the sacred, by a heart 
 on a burning censor. One animal, or other 
 sensible object, was used to denote a va- 
 riety of qualities ; and tiie same idea was 
 denoted by various hieroglyphics. This has 
 attached to the whole hieroglyphical system 
 the character of mystery : when we trace 
 the progress of the Chinese language, we 
 shall have additional proofs of the injustice 
 of this opinion; 
 
 The exact manner of delineation would 
 be tedious and voluminous. The more use 
 was made of visible communication, the 
 more we may expect to find the character, 
 originally significant, become a mere arbi- 
 trary mark. In the early stages of the 
 Egyptian hieroglyphics, considerable atten- 
 tion was paid to the outline and filling-up 
 of their figures. Afterwards a rude outline 
 was sufficient; and this was changed, for 
 the convenience of the writer, till it lost 
 every resemblance to the object it origi- 
 nally represented. Many changes in our 
 own written character might be adduced, 
 illustrative of this change from the delinea- 
 tion to the cursive hieroglyphic. The mark 
 for and, for instance, was once the correct 
 picture of et : some forms show its origin^ 
 as ; at present, in writing at least, it 
 bears no features of resemblance to its 
 original. The use of the cursive hierogly- 
 phic would take off the attention from the 
 Symbol, and fix it upon the thing signified ; 
 a progress which we equally Observe in oral 
 language, where words, originally denote- 
 ments of sensible objects, became the 
 names for mental qualities bearing some 
 resemblance to what they before signified; 
 and in many instances have been appro- 
 priated to the mental quality without any 
 reference to the original meaning. 
 
 Visible characters having become arbi- 
 trary marks fbr ideas or words, two pro- 
 cesses were pursued by different districts 
 of Asia and Africa : the one was to consider 
 these characters as signs for sounds, and, by 
 their intervention, of ideas ; the other, as 
 signs for ideas without any reference to 
 sounds. The latter was the procedure of 
 the Chinese ; the former, of all nations who 
 used alphabetical characters. 
 
 On the Chinese Language. 
 
 We come now to the consideration of a 
 language singular in all its parts, and pos- 
 
 sessed of such peculiar featdres that it vvell 
 deserves our attention. The written lan- 
 guage of the Chinese has passed through all 
 the gradations which we have described ; 
 and from their pictures, characters have be- 
 come mere arbitrary marks : these are em- 
 ployed, not as signs for sounds, but for 
 ideas ; and their combinations and, changes 
 have no corresponding combinations and 
 changes in the spoken language of China. 
 Before the time of their first emperor, 
 Fohi, the Chinese are supposed to have em- 
 ployed knotted cords, like the Peruvians. 
 Fohi introduced in their place horizontal 
 lines (see Plate Miscel. fig. 14); some 
 whole, others divided ; and by their com- 
 bination in threes, formed the text of the 
 most ancient Chinese ’ work, called “Ye 
 King.” On these trigrams numerous com- 
 mentaries have been written, some as eaiiy 
 as 1100 years before Christ: they are sup- 
 posed to contain, in a few lines, the most 
 sublime truths, and are employed in divina- 
 tion ; blit they are still unintelligible. By 
 Xin-nung, the successor of Fohi, sixty-four 
 hexagrams (like those in fig. 15), were in- 
 vented; which are supposed to contain the 
 whole circle of human knowledge. It is 
 thought that these characters were taken 
 from the knotted cords, and it seems to uS 
 probable that they expressed no more. The 
 time of their invention (which is carried 
 back to the age of Noah), and their appa- 
 rent inadequacy to represent more than 
 numbers, render it highly improbable that 
 they were intended to denote the mysteries 
 of philosophy. The present numerals of the 
 Chinese have an equal right to be esteemed 
 the mysterious denotements of science. 
 Whatever be the justness of this idea, it is 
 certain that these trigrams and hexagrams 
 are not the origin of the present Chinese 
 character. In numerous instances, the pro- 
 gress can be traced from pictures or sym- 
 bols to the present form ; in some the con- 
 necting steps are lost, but the general in- 
 ference is still a just one. The present form 
 seldom presents any traces of its original. 
 Tien (fig. 16), heaven, has ho longer a na- 
 tural or symbolical resemblance to the ob- 
 ject ; but it was first represented by three 
 curved lines (as in fig. 17), and, through 
 the various changes in fig. 18, it has arrived 
 at its present form. Several other exam- 
 ples are given in the Phil. Trans, vol. lix. 
 
 BefOrO vve advance further respecting tire 
 written language of the Chinese, it will be 
 proper to attend a little to their oral lan- 
 guage. This, as was observed in Language, 
 
WRITING. 
 
 n entirely nionosylliibic ; and all the words 
 may be expressed by an European conso- 
 nant and a vowel, with the exception of 
 about one-third, which end with n either 
 simple or nasal. A monosyllabic language 
 cannot be copious ; and we expect to find 
 it less so when the number of simple sounds 
 are small. Tlie Chinese have not the b, d, 
 and r, of the Europeans ; and the number 
 of their words is only 330. The capabilities 
 of their oral language are, however, much 
 extended by the variation their words un- 
 dergo, by means of tone and other inflexions 
 of the voice. These changes require a very 
 discriminating ear to perceive, and very 
 flexible organs to express them; but we 
 know the power of habit, and can readily 
 admit that thus the meaning of their words 
 may be extended, without confusion, even 
 to things very opposite in their nature. 
 When, however, w-e find (as Hager informs 
 us), that the same word often answers to 
 six hundred difierent significations, accord- 
 ing to the tone with which it is pronounced, 
 the place which it occupies, or the cha- 
 racter by which it is expressed, we must 
 suppose it impossible to avoid frequent 
 ambiguity. 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, all their 
 changes in tone, Ac. they have not more 
 than 1,500 distinct sounds. Most nations 
 have improved their oral languages; the 
 Chinese have directed all their attention 
 to the improvement of their written lan- 
 guage, and they have formed combinations 
 ill their characters without any correspond- 
 ing combinations in their sounds. Their 
 changes are totally independent of each 
 other; and the former are understood 
 where the sounds corresponding to them 
 are different from those of the Chinese. In 
 tliis respect they may be compared to the 
 arithmetical cyphers, &c. The character 
 for tsai, calamity, is an example of this in- 
 dependent combination. It is composed 
 of mierij a house, and io, fire. Our pi oce.ss 
 is to join the oral words expressing the 
 ideas we wish to combine ; and we should 
 use mknbo. We cannot easily and fully 
 enter into this independency of character 
 or sound, because all our words are more or 
 less pictures of sound, and are so strongly 
 associated with sound that it is difficult to 
 separate them completely, even in imagina- 
 tion. The Chinese on the other hand have 
 no immediate connection between their 
 words and their cliaracters, so that it cannot 
 e necessary in using their characters to 
 “se the sounds at all. 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 AH the Chinese characters are composed 
 o 214 clefs or keys. These represent the 
 mo,st obvious and simple ideas; and by 
 their combinations are produced expressions 
 tor the more refined and complex ideas. All 
 these clefs were probably simple paintings 
 or symbols, and hence the whole written 
 language may be fairly considered as de- 
 ducible from the more obvious writing of 
 tlie Mexicans and Egyptians. Indeed the 
 resemblance between the ancient Chinese 
 cliaracters and the Egyptian hieroglyphics is 
 so striking, and this in cases where the ana- 
 logy on which both w ere founded, is not an 
 obvious one that De Guignes considers 
 them as certainly derived from the same 
 source. Tiiese keys are at present formed 
 tfom six simple strokes ; a horizontal line, 
 two perpendicular (the one pointed, the 
 other blunt at bottom) a point, a line 
 curved to the right, and another to the left. 
 The greater part of the keys have from two 
 to seven strokes ; six only of one, and 
 some have sixteen or seventeen. We are 
 not however to suppose tliat the inventors 
 of the Chinese characters fixed upon these 
 six elements and composed from them me- 
 thodically. As the cliaracters lost their 
 correctness of delineation, the object was to 
 facilitate the labour of writing. Art by, 
 degrees reduced all the characters to tlie 
 simple strokes we have mentioned. 
 
 These keys are either employed alone as 
 a character serving to express an idea ; or 
 differently combined in a group, forming 
 a phrase expressive of the idea it is intended 
 to communicate. Tlius the character tor 
 night is composed of three characters ; one 
 signifying darkness, another the action of 
 covering, the third signifying man, which, 
 rendered literally, signifies darkness cover- 
 ing man ; a phrase perfectly expressive, 
 and similar to the language of poetry. Both 
 in fact issued “ from the cradle of the hu- 
 man race.” Figurative language of this 
 kind is much employed in the scriptures ; 
 we admire it ; for it “ comes home to our 
 business and onr bosoms.” It paints to our 
 minds, and calls up their conceptions forci- 
 bly and correctly. Hence, though the 
 offspring of necessity, it is justly esteemed 
 a beauty ; and wherever the language of 
 feeling is employed will generally be found 
 a prevailing trait. 
 
 We might suppose that all the characters 
 being thus composed nothing more would 
 be necessary, in order to understand tliem, 
 than to know the elementary characters ; 
 but the analogy on which the composition 
 
 Q q 
 
WRITING. 
 
 is formed is often extremely obscure, and 
 often erroneous. Their ancient principles of 
 pliilosopliy furnished wide scope for combi- 
 nation ; but these were generally ill found- 
 ed. Other combinations acquire a know- 
 ledge of their ancient customs and popular 
 superstitions. Hence the ease which we 
 shoidd in theory expect in iinderstauding a 
 language so regularly formed vanishes ; and 
 an acquaintance with their whole round of 
 physical and religious dogmata, with the 
 fleeting customs and opinions of preceding 
 ages, is necessary for a tliorough acquaint- 
 ance with the Chinese characters. This 
 is not, however, entirely peetdiar to the 
 Chinese language. In order to trace the 
 origin of words, the same references are 
 often necessary ; but we have more fre- 
 quetrtly the requisite data. Candidate sig- 
 nifies a person who offers himself to fill a 
 lucrative or honottrable situation ; the ori- 
 ginal meaning of the Latin candidatus is a 
 person dressed in white. The two ideas 
 seem to have no connection. The difficulty 
 vanishes, however, when we learn that 
 among the Romans all candidates wore 
 white robes. In a similar manner we see 
 no connection between running, and 
 wrapping up the feet ; but pao, the Chinese 
 ctiaracter for run, is composed of two, one 
 for the act of wrapping, the other for feet. 
 The probable connection is ascertained 
 by the circumstance that the savages of 
 Louisiana, when about to undertake long 
 marches wrap up their feet to prevent their 
 being torn. 
 
 In the Chinese dictionaries the keys are 
 placed in an invariable order which soon 
 becomes familiar to the student. The dif- 
 ferent compounds each follow one another 
 according to the number of strokes of 
 which each consists. The meaning and 
 pronunciation are given by means of two 
 words in common use. When no one com- 
 mon word expresses the exact sound it is 
 communicated by two connected, with 
 marks to show that the consonant of the 
 first word and the vowel of the second 
 joined together form the precise sound 
 wanting. Thus, to express the sound pien, 
 pa and tnien, would be joined with marks 
 to denote the elision of the a and the m. 
 
 If the spoken language be scanty, this is 
 not the defect of the written language. 
 Their characters amount to 80,0C0. A 
 considerable part of them however may be 
 considered as synoriima ; thus age may be 
 expressed by a hundred different charac- 
 ters, and happiness may be traced into as 
 
 many forms in expressing the general wish 
 for it. Different sects have their own cha- 
 racters ; so that when a proper allowance 
 is made, abont 10,000 are sufficient for 
 reading the best books of each literary pe- 
 riod of their language. In alphabetical 
 writing words may be read without the 
 least knowledge of their meaning ; in the 
 hieroglyphical the sound is less intimately 
 connected with the visible sign, and the cha- 
 racter is studied and best learned by be- 
 coming acquainted with the ideas attached 
 to it. But the terms of philosophy have 
 been formed on that philosophy, so that a 
 knowledge of the latter is necessary to a 
 complete acquaintance with the former. 
 These ideas we must call to mind when we 
 hear that their most learned men are not 
 acquainted with more than half of them. 
 The knowledge of the whole round of Chi- 
 nese science and literature must surely be 
 sufficient to occupy the life of the longest 
 liver. 
 
 Transition to Letters. ^ 
 
 Upon the principle that we ought not to 
 suppose divine interposition merely from 
 the difficulty of accounting for a phenome- 
 non, we should argue d priori that no divine 
 interposition took place in the origin of al- 
 phabetical writing. As however some pre- 
 sumptive arguments in favour of the affirma- 
 tive side of the question have been advanced 
 by men of the first eminence; we shall state 
 the most important of them, and after en- 
 deavohring to lessen the dhfficulty they may 
 present to our admission of the human origin 
 of letters. We shall point out what appears 
 to be the most probable account of their in- 
 vention. 
 
 1. It is urged that in order to give any 
 plausibility to the hypothesis of the human 
 invention of letters, it must be shown to be 
 simple. Now if it were simple and obvious, 
 it is highly probable that we should find in- 
 stances of independent invention. But the 
 tact is, that alphabetical writing may be 
 traced to one source. 
 
 Two answers may be given to this argu- 
 ment. First. There is such a great dissimi- 
 larity among the Asiatic alphabets, that 
 they cannot be proved to have issued from 
 the same source. It must how'ever be re- 
 marked, that the variations which we know 
 to have taken place in numerous instances 
 would destroy the force of any objection 
 that might occur from this decided dissimi- 
 larity, if positive arguments were adduced 
 
WRITING. 
 
 to establish their identity of origin. But 
 tlioiigh these are apparently sufficient to 
 render it probable, yet this probability is 
 not great enough to give much weight to 
 the argument in question. But even ad- 
 mitting its certainty, we may observe, se- 
 condly, that this can prove no more than 
 the high antiquity of the invention. That 
 it originated before mankind were much 
 separated from each other; and that the 
 ground-work, laid by those who had made 
 the greatest advances in cultivation, was 
 built upon in different ways by those who 
 afterwards penetrated to the remoter parts 
 of the Continent. But it is urged, 
 
 2. That we not only have no instance of 
 independent discovery, but have even the 
 example of a nation which had no commu- 
 nication with those among whom it was 
 first known, remaining in total ignorance of 
 it, and employing a procedure which now 
 incapacitates them for the adoption of 
 alphabetical writing. And the force of this 
 objection is materially increased by the 
 circumstance that their writing equally with 
 the alphabetical, originated in the hierogly- 
 phics, and actually went through the same 
 stages, viz. from the simple picture to the 
 arbitrary mark. The grand weight of the 
 controversy appears to rest here. The 
 difficulty this argument presents may pro- 
 bably be obviated by the following consi- 
 derations : 
 
 First, The written language of China 
 was cultivated more for the purposes of 
 literature and philosophy than for those of 
 common life ; the combinations were form- 
 ed by the literati, and if probably would 
 not have been in their power to have car- 
 ried these combinations into the oral lan- 
 guage of the vulgar. They might indeed 
 have invented an oral language correspond- 
 ing to their characters ; but the genius of 
 the Chinese seems rather to direct them to 
 ■study than to conversation. In order to 
 render probable a transition from hierogly- 
 phics to letters, we must suppose the spoken 
 and the written language to have been con- 
 nected with each other, and to have had 
 similar combinations. Now we may ob- 
 serve. 
 
 Secondly, That the spoken language of 
 China did not at all favour the plan of 
 making their characters representative of 
 sound, for being all monosyllables, and not 
 very numerous, there would not be the 
 same call for attention to the elementary 
 sounds ; and what would still more pievent 
 this direction of tlie attention, they did not 
 
 vary the articulation but the tone, in order 
 to express a variation of meaning. Add to 
 this. 
 
 Thirdly, The great extent of the empire 
 of China and its dependencies, would cause 
 a great variety in the dialect. This would 
 contribute to increase the attention of their 
 literati to their written language, since this 
 (as we have seen it actually is) might b« 
 understood independently of their words. 
 
 Fourthly, If we admit the very probable 
 hypothesis of De Guignes, that the Chi- 
 nese characters were brought from Egypt, 
 and that they had originally no connection 
 with the spoken language of the country 
 into which they were imported ; — that, in 
 fact, they were applied to denote names 
 different from those with which they had 
 been before connected ; — we shall perceive 
 at once the reason why the combinations of 
 the characters were originally unaccompa- 
 nied with corresponding combinations of 
 sounds. After this there is no difficulty in 
 admitting that the written must continue 
 independent of the spoken language, espe- 
 cially among people so little addicted to 
 innovation as the Chinese. 
 
 3. It is urged that the invention of letters 
 is ascribed to the gods by several of th« 
 ancients ; that Pliny asserts the use of let- 
 ters to have been eternal ; and that the 
 Jewish doctors maintain that God created 
 alphabetical writing. 
 
 We say, in reply, that the Jews had no 
 other records than our own. The ancients 
 were accustomed to ascribe to a divine 
 origin every thing for which they could not 
 account. As for Pliny he expressly says 
 that the Phenicians were famed as the in- 
 ventors of letters. 
 
 It must be remarked that these facts are 
 adduced to prove that no records of the 
 invention remain ; indirectly therefore they 
 favour the hypothesis of the divine origin 
 of letters. If, however, the transition were 
 .simple and gradual, perhaps the era of 
 invention could not have been fixed even 
 by the nation in which it occurred. We 
 have no more reason to expect records ot 
 the invention of letters than of the Egyp- 
 tian hieroglyphics, or of the Chinese cha- 
 racters. 
 
 The arguments d priori for the divine ori- 
 gin of letters, remain to be considered. 
 These are, the difficulty of the invention 
 in any stage of human progress, and its 
 antiquity, which very much increases the 
 improbability of its human origin. 
 
 1. As to the difficulty of the invention, 
 Q q 2 
 
WRITING 
 
 it is urged that we are to suppose that the 
 inventors of letters decomposed the sounds 
 of words not only into syllables, but into 
 letters ; that observing the component parts 
 of syllables, and denoting them by appro- 
 priate marks, they used these marks for 
 those elementary sounds in the visible re- 
 presentation of other words into which 
 those sounds entered. This dissection of 
 the articulate sounds of man, tracing them 
 through alt their various combinations, and 
 denoting them by a few simple marks, 
 whose combinations might express every 
 possible combination of sound, supposes a 
 habit of patient experimenting, of discri- 
 minating examination, and of exact classifi- 
 cation, whicli ill accord with the unculti- 
 vated state of human intellect in the early 
 period of society. But, 
 
 2. When we consider the antiquity of 
 the use of letters, and find them in a state 
 of perfection so early as the time of Moses, 
 this difficulty appears insuperable. We 
 must admit that men in the earliest ages 
 stepped at once from a tedious and awk- 
 ward, and frequently unintelligible mode of 
 communication to one which answers every 
 purpose in the shortest way, and that un- 
 like all other inventions it. was brought at 
 once to such a state of perfection that no 
 succeeding alphabet has any real superiority 
 over the ancient Hebrew. 
 
 With respect to tlie difficulty of the in- 
 vention, the objection lose.s all its force 
 w'hen a simple and easy procedure, probable 
 in the given circumstances, can be pointed 
 ottt. To obviate the difficulty arising from 
 the apparent perfection of the most ancient 
 alphabets, we may observe. 
 
 First, That in a perfect alphabet every 
 letter sltould represent only one definite 
 sound, and every known sound in the given 
 language should have a corresponding let- 
 ter. Now we have no instance of a per- 
 fect alphabet among modern languages, 
 and have therefore no reason to suppose 
 that the first alphabet was perfect. But 
 even admitting that some, of the ancient 
 alphabets which have been transmitted to 
 us were perfect, yet it must be observed, 
 Sfccondly, That no known alpliabet, 
 however ancient, is in the state of its ori- 
 ginal invention. Cadmns, who was born in 
 tire east, carried with him into Greece six- 
 teen letters only ; the least copious alpha- 
 bet we are acquainted witli has twenty -two. 
 It is not probable that Cadmus introduced 
 fewer than he possessed ; it is more pro- 
 bable that he invented new ones to express 
 
 sounds which he found among the abori- 
 gines. 
 
 It has generally been supposed of late, 
 that alphabetical writing was formed from 
 hieroglyphics ; but we liave met with no 
 one, except F)e Guignes,, who has stated 
 the steps of the transition in a satisfactory 
 manner. “ Perliaps,” says this writer, 
 
 “ we have done too much honour to the 
 inventor of letters, whoever he were, in 
 supposing that he dissected the voice into 
 two parts, and invented marks of two 
 kinds, some to represent consonants, and 
 otliers vowels.” 
 
 The following is, with some variations, 
 the hypothesis of this writer. Hierogly- 
 phics, with their exactness of delineation, 
 lost their original significaiicy. This must 
 first be the case with words of most fre- 
 quent recurrence, and which entered most 
 into combinations with other words; be- 
 come simple denotements of sound they 
 were employed to express their respective 
 sounds in combinations of other monosylla- 
 bic words, which, in like manner had lost 
 their original significancy. Hence, by de- 
 grees, they became representative of the 
 component parts of all words into which 
 their respective sounds entered. They 
 were always words, but very simple, con- 
 sisting only of a consonant and a vowel. 
 Variation in the pronunciation of Uie vowel 
 would occur in difierent dialects, and hence 
 these marks would be regarded as con.so- 
 nants capable of being differently modified 
 by simple vocal sounds. Letters, at first 
 monosyllabic words, then became marks 
 for the component parts of dissyllabic 
 or polysyllabic words; and then for the nn- 
 changeable part of those syllables, that is, 
 for consonants, In the most ancient state 
 of the oriental laffguages vowel sounds had 
 no distinct marks. In the latter marks 
 were joined to the consonant to express 
 the different sounds with which the radical 
 consonant was invested. Among the west- 
 ern nations a different procedure was adopt- 
 ed. In some cases they used the mark 
 which they had received from the oriental 
 nations for an aspirate and vowel, for the 
 vowel itself ; and having once commenced 
 tiie use of distinct marks for vowels, the 
 procedure was continued, and new marks 
 adopted to express noticed variations of 
 vocal sounds. 
 
 In support of this statement may be ad- 
 duced the following observations : 
 
 1. We have seen that hieroglypliics did 
 becomesignificaat of sounds ; and (see Lan- 
 
CEL LAX IE S 
 
 E/ut,- AVI. 
 
WRITING. 
 
 130AGE) tliat words, originally significant of 
 one class of ideas, being applied to a se- 
 cond, lost their connection with the for- 
 mer, and became directly significant of the 
 latter. 
 
 2. We have reason to believe that words 
 were originally monosyllabic in tliose na- 
 tions where alphabetical writing was in- 
 vented, and tliat the combinatiop of old 
 sounds, or the use of them, uncompounded 
 to express new ideas, was the mode em- 
 ployed to extend the capabilities of their 
 language. Hence tiie same word would 
 frequently occur in combination, and though 
 its different significations must originally 
 have been represented by different hiero- 
 glyphics, yet as these lost their significancy, 
 they would easily become as extensive in 
 their meaning as the sounds themselves. 
 And it is obvious that the most simple of 
 those hieroglyphics which were used for the 
 same sound, would be employed to repre- 
 sent the sound. 
 
 3. It has been shown to be highly proba- 
 ble that originally every consonant had its 
 vowel sound. Hence all syllables might be 
 represented by two, or at most three Euro- 
 pean letters. This circumstance would 
 materially diminish the varieties of syllabic 
 sounds. 
 
 4. The probability of the theory ad- 
 vanced depends greatly upon the hypo- 
 thesis, that originally letters were syllabic. 
 The following facts appear to prove this; 
 The ancient oriental alphabets had no de- 
 notements for vowels, and even if this be 
 disputed, it must be admitted that they 
 had many words into which none of the 
 supposed vowel marks entered. The Ethi- 
 opian alphabet is intirely syllabic. The 
 simple letters denote a consonant and a 
 short a, and marks w'cre added to them to 
 denote other vowels where used. AVhat is 
 doubly singular, they have in many cases 
 added marks to these syllabic characters, 
 to denote they have no vowel belonging to 
 them. In the Coptic and Arabic there are 
 syllabic characters. The alphabets of the 
 eastern Asiatics are principally syllabic, 
 some with o, others with a, joined to a con- 
 sonant. These circumstances render pro- 
 bable the account here given of the transi- 
 tion from hieroglyphics to letters. The 
 following observations more completely as- 
 certain its high probability. 
 
 5. The letters of some of the ancient 
 alphabets have so great a resemblance to 
 the hieroglyphical characters ; indeed are 
 ?uch exact transcripts of them, that a sim- 
 
 ple inspection is sufficient to convince us 
 that hieroglyphics were the origin 6f letters. 
 Ttiis, however, proves little as to the inven- 
 tion of alphabetical writing, except that it 
 was subsequent to the use of hieroglyphics. 
 But, 
 
 6. These characters, in many instances, 
 retained their original significancy, which 
 proves them to have been, as De Guignes 
 supposes, denotements for words. We must 
 not expect to find this significancy in all 
 words of which they form component parts ; 
 but in such only in whose visible representa- 
 tion the original hieroglyphic formed a com- 
 ponent part. Now we must observe first, 
 that the names of several of the oriental 
 letters are still by themselves significant, 
 and that some of these letters are similar 
 to the Chinese clefs, which have the same 
 signification. Thus the ' yod signifies the 
 hand. Its form, in some alphabets, lesem- 
 bles the Chinese character for hand. The 
 T dalcth of the Hebrews, Pheniciaus, and 
 Ethiopians, signifies o gate, and the ac- 
 tion of opening. The hieroglyphic which 
 among tlie ancient Chinese represented 
 a gate, is exactly similar to this letter. 
 The S phi of the Hebrews and af of the 
 Ethiopians signifies the mouth. The Chi- 
 nese characters for the mouth all resem- 
 ble it. The u ain signifies the eye. The 
 Phenicians and the Chinese employed the 
 outline of the eye as a denotement of the 
 object. The lu shin in Hebrew signifies the 
 teeth, and its figure is still found among the 
 Chinese with the same signification. The 
 n mim signifies water. The corresponding 
 Samaritan and Ethiopian characters have a 
 strong vesemblance to the Cliinese hiero- 
 glyphic for water. Lastly, the n aleph 
 (originally perhaps signifying ox) signifies 
 unity, the action af conducting, pre eminence. 
 The Phenician form of this exactly repre- 
 sents the Chinese character for one, and 
 every ac(ion by which we gre at the head of 
 others. But these letters are not only signi- 
 ficant by themselves, but secondly in com- 
 binations. Thus ' was expressed by the 
 monosyllable ya, ye, or you ; to tliis ano- 
 ther monosyllable, which had equally a 
 signification relative to the figure being 
 added, formed a word of two syllables. 
 For instance, instead of the present deno- 
 mination of T daleth, we may reasonably 
 suppose its original sound to have been da. 
 The word yada, hieroglyphically repre- 
 sented by a gate and a hand, is found in tlie 
 Hebrew with a signification derived frona 
 that of the letters composing it ; to east 
 
WRO 
 
 out (as we might say, hand him to the door), 
 to extend. Add to this the word V ain (ori- 
 ginally probably sounded ho), which signi- 
 fies the eye, and we have yadaho, w'hich 
 should signify to open the eyes, to extend the 
 view, he. and metaphorically, to know, to 
 understand -, and, in fact, this is the signifi- 
 cation of jn' in Hebrew. But this is not 
 all, for exactly the same procedure has 
 been adopted by the Chinese. Ki, which 
 signifies to examine, is composed of three 
 radical characters, of which the first signi- 
 fies the hand, the second a gate, the third 
 the exje. So also kia is composed of three 
 characters, one signifying the teeth, the 
 other two, gate or opening, which signifies to 
 break through, to make a great opening. In 
 Hebrew Ttw is similarly composed. It 
 signifies to plunder, to lay waste. Tchi is a 
 targe collection of water. It was compos- 
 ed of the characters for hand and water. 
 The same compound was formed among the 
 Hebrews, and 0’ yam signifies u great col-' 
 lection of water, or the sea. In Arabic the 
 letters thet or earth, and mim or water, 
 from the word tham, and signify a flood. 
 The Hebrew thin is composed of the thet 
 or earth, and the min, which signifies man, 
 i. e. man of the earth, and further, to form. 
 to create. In both these instances the Chi- 
 nese correspond in their combinations with 
 the\lphabetical writing. Many other in- 
 stances might be brought. We will adduce 
 one to which there is no corresponding 
 combination in the Chinese language. Ab 
 or Haba, ix, signifies father. The compo- 
 nent parts of it signify principal of the 
 house. 
 
 The papers of De Guignes, to which we 
 are very greatly indebted on this subject, 
 are to be found in Memoires de I’Academie 
 des Inscriptions bt des Belles Lettres, vol. 
 34, &c. 
 
 WRONG stamp. By 37 George III, 
 c. 136. any instrument (except bills of ex- 
 change, promissory notes, or other notes, 
 drafts, or orders) liable to stamp-duty, 
 whereon shall be impressed any stamp of a 
 different denomination, but of an equal or 
 greater value than the stamp required, may 
 be stamped with the proper stamp after 
 
 WYT 
 
 the execution, on payment of duty and five 
 pounds penalty, but without any allowance 
 for the wrong stamp. 
 
 Likewise any such instrument (except as 
 aforesaid) being ingrossed without having 
 been first stamped, or having a stamp there- 
 on of less value than required, the same may 
 be stamped after the execution, on payment 
 of the duty and ten pounds penalty only, 
 for each skin thereof : but in case it shall 
 be satisfactorily proved to the Commis- 
 sioners of Stamps, that the same hath been 
 so ingrossed either by accident or inadver- 
 tency, or from urgent necessity, or unavoid- 
 able circumstances, and without any inten- 
 tion of fraud, the Commissioners are autho- 
 rized to stamp the same within sixty days 
 after the execution, to remit the penalty in 
 part, or in all, and to indemnify persons so 
 iiigrossing the same. 
 
 WULFENIA, in botany, so named from 
 the Rev. Francis Xavier Wulfen, a genus of 
 the Diandria Mouogynia class and order. 
 Essential character: corolla tubular, rin- 
 gent, with the upper lip short, entire, the 
 lower three-parted, with the aperture beard- 
 ed; calyx five-parted; capsule two celled, 
 fonr-valved. There is only one species, viz. 
 W. carinthiaca, a native of Carinthia, on 
 the highest Alps. 
 
 WURMBEA, in botany, so named in 
 honour of Frederick Baron Van Wurmb, a 
 genus of the Hexandria Trigynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Coronari®. Junci, 
 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx none ; 
 corolla six-parted, with a hexangular tube ; 
 filaments inserted into the throat. There 
 are three species. 
 
 WYTE, or WiTE, in our ancient cus- 
 toms, a pecuniary penalty or mulct. The 
 Saxons had two kinds of punishments, tcere 
 and wyte ; the first for the more grievous 
 offences. The wyte was tor the less heinous 
 ones. It was not fixed to any certain sum, 
 but left at liberty to be varied according to 
 the nature of the case. Hence also wyte, 
 or wittree, one of the terms of privilege 
 granted to our sportsmen, signifying a free- 
 dom or immunity from fines or amercia- 
 ments. 
 
XAN 
 
 XIP 
 
 X. 
 
 X or X, is the twenty-second letter of 
 ’ our alphabet, and a double conso- 
 nant. It was not used by the Hebrews 
 or ancient Greeks j for as it is a com- 
 pound letter, the ancients, who used great 
 simplicity in their writings, made use of, 
 and expressed this letter by its component 
 letters cs. Neither have the Italians this 
 letter, but express it by ss. X begins no 
 word in our language but such as are of 
 Greek original, and is in few others but 
 What are of Latin derivation, as perplex, re- 
 flexion, deflxixion, &c. We often express 
 this sound by single letters, as cks in backs, 
 necks; by ks in books, breaks; by ec in ac- 
 cess, accident ; bycfin action, unction, &c. 
 In numerals it expresseth 10, whence in old 
 Roman manuscripts it is used for denarius ; 
 and as such seems to be made of two V’s 
 placed one over the other. When a dash 
 is added over it, thus Y, it signifies ten 
 thousand. 
 
 XANTHE, in botany, a genus of the 
 Dioecia Syngenesia class and order. Essen- 
 tial character; flowers dioecious; calyx 
 five, six-parted, permanent ; corolla five, 
 six-petalled : males with one filament, 
 bearing five anthers, collected into a shield- 
 shaped head ; females with five bairen an- 
 thers ; capsule globose, crowned with the 
 stigma, five-striated, five-valved; seeds very 
 many,- involved in the pulp. There are two 
 species, viz. X. quapoya, and X. panari. 
 
 XANTHIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monoecia Pentaudria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Composite Nucamentaceae. 
 Corymbiferae, Jussieu. Essential character: 
 male, calyx common, imbricate; corolla 
 one-petalled, five-cleft, funnel-form ; recep- 
 tacle chaffy : female, calyx involucre, two- 
 leaved, two-flowered ; corolla none; drupe 
 dry, muricated, two-cleft ; nucleus two- 
 celled. There are five species. 
 
 XANTHORHIZA, in botany, a genus 
 of the Pentandria Polygynia class and or- 
 der. Natural order of Ranunculacea;, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx none ; 
 petals five ; nectary five, pedicelled ; cap- 
 sule five, one-seeded. There is only one 
 species, viz, X. apiitolia, a native of North 
 America. 
 
 XANTHOXYLUM, in botany, a genu 
 of the Dioecia Pentandria class and order. 
 Natural order of Hederaceae. Terebinta- 
 ceae, Jussieu. Essential character; calyx 
 five-parted; corolla none: female, pistil 
 five ; capsule five, one-seeded. There is 
 but one species, viz. X. clava herculis, 
 tooth-ache tree, it grows naturally in Penn- 
 sylvania and Maryland. 
 
 XERANTHEMUM, in botany, a genus 
 of the Syngenesia Polygamia Snperflnh class 
 and order. Natural order of Compositas 
 Discoide®. Corymbifer®, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character: calyx imbricate, rayed, with 
 the ray coloured; down bristle-shaped; re- 
 ceptacle chaffy. There are twenty-seveii 
 species. 
 
 XIMENIA, in botany, so named in ho- 
 nour of the Rev. Father Francis Ximenes, 
 a Spaniard, a genus of the Octandria Mono- 
 gynia class and order. Natural order of 
 Aurantia, Jussieu. Essential character; 
 calyx four- cleft ; petals four, hairy, rolled 
 back ; drupe one-seeded. There are three 
 species. 
 
 XIPHIAS, the sword-fish, in natural his- 
 tory, a genus of fishes of the order Apodes. 
 Generic character: head with the ypper 
 jaw ending in a sword-shaped snout; mouth 
 without teeth; gill-membrane eight- rayed; 
 body roundish, without scales. There are 
 three species ; X. gladeus, or the common 
 sword-fish, is of the length of twenty feet, 
 and is particularly distinguished by its upper 
 jaw being stretched to a considerable dis- 
 tance beyond the lower, flat above and be- 
 neath, bnt edges at the sides, and of a bony 
 substance, covered by a strong epidermis. 
 It is a fish extremely rapacious, and finds in 
 the above instrument a weapon of attack 
 and destruction, able to procure it tiie 
 most ample supplies. It first transfixes its 
 prey with this snout, and then devours it. 
 It is found in the Mediterranean, chiefly 
 about Sicily, and is used as food by the 
 Sicilians, who preserve it for a long time by 
 salting it in small pieces. See Pisces, Plate 
 VI. fig. 5. 
 
 X. platypterns, or the broad-finned sword- 
 fish, is found in the Northern, Atlantic, and 
 Indian Seas, and is considered as one of the 
 
Y 
 
 most fetal enemies of the whale tribe. Its 
 strength is so great that it is said to have 
 pervaded with its snout, or sword, the plank 
 of an East Indiainan ; and a plank and snout 
 in attestation of this circumstance, the lat- 
 ter closely driven into the former, are to be 
 seen in the British Mtiscum, having been 
 communicated to Sir Joseph Banks by an 
 East India Captain, of honour and veracity. 
 When young this fish is used for food, but 
 after it exceeds four or five teet in length. 
 
 XIPHIDIUM, in botany, a genus of the 
 Triandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Ensatas. prides, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential chai'acter: corollasix-petalled, equal ; 
 capsule superior, three-celled, many-seeded. 
 There are two species, viz. X. album and 
 X. creruleuin. 
 
 XYLOCARPUS, in botany, a genus of 
 the Octandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Essential character: calyx four-toothed; 
 corolla fonr-petalled ; nectary eight-cleft; 
 filaments inserted into the nectary ; drupe 
 jniceless, large, four or five-grooved ; nuts 
 eight or ten, difform. There is but one 
 species, viz. X. granatuin, a native of the 
 East Indies. 
 
 XYLOMELUM, in botany, a genus of 
 the Tetraudiia Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Proteae, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : ament with a simple scale ; 
 petals four, staminiferons; stigma club- 
 shaped, obtuse. This is one of twenty 
 new genera from the South Seas; the cha- 
 racters of which are given by Dr. Smith. 
 
 YAR 
 
 XYLON. See Gossypium. 
 
 XYLOPHYLLA, in botany, seaside 
 laurel, a genus of thfe Pentandria Trigynia 
 class and order. Natui al order of Tricoc- 
 c®. Euphorlii®, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter: calyx five-parted, coloured; co- 
 rolla none ; stigmas jagged ; capsule three- 
 celled; seeds two. There are seven spe- 
 cies. 
 
 XYLOPIA, in botany, hitter-wood, a 
 genus of the Polyandria Polygynia class and 
 order. Natural order of Coadunat®. Ano- 
 n®, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
 three-leaved ; petals six ; capsule one or two- 
 seeded, four-cornered, two-valved ; seeds 
 arilled. There are. three species. 
 
 XYLOSMA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Dioecia Polyandria class and order. Es- 
 sential character : calyx four or five-part- 
 ed ; corolla none, but a small annular cre- 
 nulate nectary surrounding the stamens : ' 
 male, stamens twenty to fifty : female, style 
 scarcely any ; stigma trifid ; berry dry, sub- 
 bilocular; seeds two, three-sided. Ibere 
 are two species, viz, X. suaveolens and X. 
 orbiculatum. 
 
 XYRIS, in botany, a genus of the Tri- 
 andria -Monogynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Ensat®. Juiici, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character : corolla three-petalled, equal, 
 crenate ; glumes two-valved in a head cap- 
 sule superior. There are four species. 
 
 Y. 
 
 ■y Or y, the twenty-third letter of our 
 ’ alphabet : its sound is formed by ex- 
 pressing the breath vyith a sudden expansion 
 of the lips from tliat cqnfiguration by which 
 we express the vowel u. It is a consonant 
 in the beginning of words, and placed be- 
 fore all vowels, as in yard, yield, young, Sic. 
 but before no consonant. At the end of 
 words it is a vowel, and is substituted for 
 the sound of i, as in try, descry, &c. In 
 the middle of worjds it is not used so fre- 
 quently as i is, unless in words derived from 
 the Greek, as in chyle, empyreal, &c. though 
 
 it is admitted into the middle of some pure 
 English words, as in dying, flying, &c. Y is 
 also a numeral, signifying 150, or, accord- 
 ing to Iforonius, 159; and with a dash a- 
 top, as Y, it signified 1.50,000. 
 
 YACHT, or Yatch, a vessel with one 
 deck, carrying from four to twelve guns. 
 
 YARD, a measure of length used in Eng- 
 Spain, chiefly to measure cloth, 
 stuffs, &c, See Measure. 
 
 Yard land is taken to signify a certain 
 quantity of land, in some counties being fif- 
 teen acres, and in others twenty; in some 
 
YEA 
 
 twenty-four, and in others tiiirfy and forty 
 acres. 
 
 Yards of a ship, are those long pieces of 
 timber which are made a little tapering at 
 each end, and are fitted each athwart its 
 proper mast, with the sails made fast to 
 them, so as to be hoisted up, or lowered 
 down, as occasion serves. They have their 
 names from the masts to which they be- 
 long. 
 
 There are several sea-terms relating to 
 the management of the yards; as, square 
 the yards; that is, see tliat they hang right 
 across the ship, and no yard arm traversed 
 more than another : top the yards, that is, 
 make them stand even, To top thfe main 
 arid fore-yards, the clew-lines are the most 
 proper; but wlien the top-sails are stowed, 
 then the top-sail-sheets will top them. 
 
 Yard arm is that half of the yard that 
 is on either side of the mast, when it lies 
 athwart the ship. 
 
 Yards also denotes places belonging to 
 the navy, where the ships of war, &c. are 
 laid up in harbour. There are, belonging 
 to his Majesty’s navy, six great yards, viz. 
 Chatham, Deptford, Woolwich, Ports- 
 mouth, Sheerness, and Plymouth; these 
 yards are fitted with several docks, wharfs, 
 launches, and graving places, for the build- 
 ing, repairing, and cleaning of his Majesty’s 
 ships; and therein are lodged great quan- 
 tities of timber, masts, planks, anchors, and 
 other materials : there are also convenient 
 store-houses in each yard, in which are laid 
 up vast quantifies of cables, rigging, sails, 
 blocks, and all other sorts of stores, needful 
 for the royal navy. 
 
 YARE, among sailors, implies ready or 
 quick; as, be yare at the helm; that is, be 
 quick, ready, and expeditious at the helm. 
 It is sometimes also used for bright by sea- 
 men : as, to keep his arms yare ; that is, to 
 keep them clean and bright. 
 
 YARN, wool or flax spun into thread, 
 of which they weave cloth. 
 
 YEAR, the time that the sun takes to go 
 through the twelve signs of the zodiac. See 
 Chronology. 
 
 Year and Day, is a time that deter- 
 mines a right in many cases ; and, in some, 
 works an usurpation, and in others a pre- 
 scription; as in case of an estray, if the 
 owner, proclamation being made, chaliengp 
 it not within the time, it is forfeited. 
 
 So is the year and day, given in case of 
 appeal ; in case of descent after entry or 
 claim ; if no claim upon a fine or writ of 
 fight at the common law ; so if a villain re- 
 
 YEA 
 
 maining in ancient demesne ; of a man sore 
 bruised or wounded ; of protections ; es- 
 soigns in respect of the King’s service ; of a 
 wreck, and divers other cases. 
 
 A'ears, estate for. Tenant for term of 
 years is, where a man lettelh lands or tene- 
 ments to another, for a certain term of 
 years agreed upon between the lessor and 
 lessee; and when the lessee entereth by 
 force of the lease, then he is tenant for 
 term of years. 
 
 If tenements be let to a man for term of 
 half a year, or for a quarter of a year, or 
 any less time, this lessee is respected as te- 
 nant for years, and is styled so in some le- 
 gal proceedings, a year being the shortest 
 term which the law in this case takes no- 
 tice of. 
 
 Generally, every estate which must ex- 
 pire at a period certain and prefixed, by 
 whatever words created, is an estate for 
 years, and therefore this estate is frequently 
 called a term, because its duration or con- 
 tinuance is bounded, limited, and deter- 
 mined. For every such estate must have a 
 certain beginning and certain end. If no 
 day of commencement be named in the 
 creation of this estate, it begins from the 
 making or delivery of the lease. A lease 
 for so many years as such an one shall live, 
 is void from the beginning, for it is neither 
 certain, nor can it ever be reduced to a 
 certainty, during the continuance of the 
 lease. And the same doctrine holds, if a 
 parson make a lease of his glebe for so 
 many years as he shall continue parson of 
 such a church, for this is still more uncertain. 
 But a lease for twenty or more years, if the 
 parson shall so long live, or if he shall so 
 long continue parson, is good ; for there is a 
 certain period fixed, beyond which it can- 
 not last, though it may determine sooner, 
 on the parson’s death, or his ceasing to be 
 parson there. 
 
 An estate for years, though never so 
 many, is inferior to an estate for life. For 
 as estate for life, though it be only for .the 
 life of another person, is a freehold ; but an 
 estate, though it be for a thousand years, 
 is only a chattel, and reckoned part of the 
 personal estate. For no estate of freehold 
 can commence infuturo, because it cannot 
 be created at common law without livery of 
 seisin, or corporal possession of the land ; 
 and corporal possession cannot be given of 
 an estate now, which is not to commence 
 now, but hereafter. And because no livery 
 of seisin is necessary for a lease for years, 
 inch a lessee is not said to be seised, or to 
 
YES 
 
 have true legal seisin of the lands. Nor, 
 indeed, doth the bare lease vest any estate 
 in the lessee, but only gives him a right of 
 entry on the tenement, which right is called 
 his interest in the term ; but when he has 
 actually so entered, and thereby accepted 
 the grant, the estate is then, and not be- 
 fore, vested in him, and he is possessed 
 not properly of the land, but of the term 
 of years, the possession or seisin of the land 
 remaining still in him who has the freehold. 
 
 YELLOW earth, named by Werner, gel- 
 berde, is of a yellow ochre colour of va- 
 rious degrees of intensity. It is massive, 
 soft and friable : it adheres strongly to the 
 tongue and feels greasy. It occurs in beds 
 with iron-stone in Upper Saxony, and is em- 
 ployed as a yellow pigment. 
 
 Yellow, Naples, a fine pigment so call- 
 ed from the city in which it was long pre- 
 pared. It has the appearance of ah earth, 
 is very friable, heavy, porous, and not al- 
 tered by exposure to the air. The prepa- 
 ration is kept a secret, but by analysis it is 
 found to be a metallic oxide. A similar 
 pigment may be produced by mixing 
 twelve parts of ceruss : three of diaphoretic 
 antimony, and of alum and sal-ammoniac 
 one part each : heat them for some time to 
 a temperature below redness, and after- 
 wards in a red heat for three hours longer, 
 after wftich the mass will have acquired a 
 beautiful yellow colour. 
 
 YEOMAN, is defined to be one that hath 
 fee land of 40s. a year ; who was thereby, 
 heretofore, qualified to serve on juries, and 
 can yet vote for knights of the shire, and 
 do any other act where the law requires one 
 that is probus et legalis homo. Below yeo- 
 men are ranked tradesmen, artificers, and 
 labourers. 
 
 YE.S'i', Yeast, or Barm, a head, or 
 scum rising upon beer or ale, while wor king 
 or ferrnenting in the vat. See Brewing, 
 Fermentation, &c. 
 
 It is used for a leaven or ferment in the 
 baking of bread, as serving to swell or putF 
 it up very considerably in a little time, and 
 to make it much lighter, softer, and more 
 delicate. When there is too much of it, it 
 renders the bread bitter. See Baking and 
 Bread. 
 
 YUN 
 
 Yeast consists of gluten, sugar, and rno- 
 cilage, with some alcohol, and a portion of 
 nralic, acetic, and carbonic acids ; birt the 
 essential parts of yeast are gluteri nrixed 
 with a vegetable arid, and therefore dried 
 yeast, which must have lost some of its 
 component parts, is fit for fermentation 
 equally with that which is fresh and new. 
 
 YEW. See Taxes. 
 
 YTTRIA. See Ittria. 
 
 YUCCA, in botany, Adam’s needle, a ge- 
 nus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and 
 order. Natural order of CoronariaB. Lilia, 
 Jussieu. Essential character: corolla bell- 
 shaped, spreading; style none; capsule 
 three-celled. There are four species. 
 
 YUNX, the wry-neclc, in natural history, 
 a genus of birds of the order Pica;. Ge- 
 netic character ; bill soniewhat round, 
 slightly incurvated and weak ; nostrils bare 
 and rather concave ; tongue long, slender, 
 and armed at the point; tail, of ten flexible 
 feathers ; feet formed for climbing ; toes 
 two before and two behind. There is only 
 one species. 
 
 Y. torquilla, or the wry-neck, is allied in 
 some respects to the woodpecker, and in 
 others to the cuckow. It is about the size 
 of a lark, and its colours, though not glaring, 
 are mingled with extreme neatness, and 
 even elegance. It makes no nest, but lays 
 eight or ten eggs on the bare wood in hol- 
 low trees. In England it is a bird of 
 passage, generally appearing about ten days 
 before the clxckow. Its food consists 
 chiefly of ants, which during incubation the 
 male may be observed carrying to the fe- 
 male. The young on experiencing any an- 
 noyance utter a hissing noise, which excites 
 the idea of some venomous reptile, and has 
 frequently proved their security from de- 
 struction. At the end of summer the wry- 
 neck is extremely plump and fat ; and is 
 considered by some as little inferior to the 
 ortolan for the table. It is never seen in 
 flocks, and in pairs Only during the spring 
 and summer, after which each individual 
 has its solitary haunt in this country, and 
 withdraws unaccompanied in its flight in its 
 winter migration. 
 
) 
 
 ZAN 
 
 z. 
 
 ZEN 
 
 Z Or z, the twenty-fourth and last let- 
 ’ ter, and the nineteenth consonant of 
 oiir alphabet ; the sound of which is formed 
 by a motion of the tongue from the palate 
 downwards and upwards to it again, with a 
 shutting and opening of the teeth at the 
 same time. This letter has been reputed a 
 double consonant, having the sound ds ; 
 but some think with very little reason ; and, 
 as if we thought otherwise, we often dou- 
 ble it, as in puzzle, muzzle, &c. Among the 
 ancients, Z was a numeral letter, signifying 
 two thousand, and with a dash added a-top, 
 Z signified two thousand times two thou- 
 sand, or four millions. In abbreviations 
 this letter formerly stood as a mark for se- 
 veral sorts of weights : sometimes it sign!- - 
 tied an ounce and a half, and very fre- 
 quently it stood for half an ounce ; some- 
 times for the eighth part of an ounce, ora 
 dram troy weight ; and it has, in earlier 
 times, been used to express the third part 
 of one ounce, or eight scruples.' ZZ were 
 used by some of the ancient physicians to 
 express myrrh, and at present they are of- 
 ten used to signify zinziber, or ginger. 
 ZAFFER. See Cobalt. 
 
 ZAMIA, in botany, a genus of the Ap- 
 pendix Palmae class and order. Natural 
 order of Palmae. Filices, Jussieu. Essen- 
 tial character ; male, ament strobile-shaped ; 
 scales covered with pollen underneath : fe- 
 male, ament strobile-shaped, with scales at 
 each margin; berry solitary. There are 
 five species. 
 
 ZANNICHELLIA, in botany, so named 
 in honour of Giov. Jeronymo Zannichelli, 
 a genus of the Monoecia Monandria class 
 and order. Natural order of Inundat®. 
 Naiades, Jussieu. Essential character: male, 
 calyx none ; corolla none : female, calyx one- 
 leafed; corolla none; germs four or more ; 
 seeds as many, pedicelled ; stigmas peltate. 
 There is only one species, viz. Z. palustris, 
 horned pondweed, a native of Europe. 
 
 ZANONIA, in botany, so named in me- 
 mory of Giacomo Zanoni, prefect of the bota- 
 nic garden at Bologna, a genus of theDioecia 
 Pentandria class and order. Natural order 
 of Cucurbitaceae, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter : calyx three-leaved ; corolla five- 
 parted : female, styles three ; berry three- 
 celled, inferior; seeds two in each cell. 
 
 There is but one species, viz. Z. indica, a 
 native of Blalabar. 
 
 ZEA, in botany, a genus of the Monoe- 
 cia Triandria class and order. Natural 
 order of Gramina or Grasses. Essential 
 character : males in distinct spikes ; ca- 
 lyx glume two-flowered, awnless ; corolla 
 glume two-flowered, awnless : female, ca- 
 lyx glume one flowered, two-valved ; corol- 
 la glume four-valved ; style one, filiform, 
 pendulous ; seeds solitary, immersed in an 
 oblong l eceptacle. There is but one spe- 
 cies, viz. Z. mays, Indian corn, or maize, 
 and several varieties. The Indians in New 
 England, and many other parts of America, 
 had no other vegetable but maize, or In- 
 dian corn, for making their bread. They 
 call it weachin, and in the United States of 
 America there is much of the bread of the 
 country made of this grain, not of the Eu- 
 ropean corn. In Italy, Germany, Spain, 
 and Portugal, maize constitutes a great part 
 of the food of the poor inhabitants. The ear 
 of the maize yields a much greater quantity 
 of grain than any of our corn ears. There 
 are commonly about eight rows of grain in 
 the ear, often more, if the ground is good. 
 Each of these rows contains at least thirty 
 grains, and each of these gives much more 
 flour than a grain of any of our corn. The 
 grains are usually either white or yellowish ; 
 but sometimes they are red, blueish, green- 
 ish, or olive-coloured, and sometimes striped 
 and variegated. This sort of grain, though 
 so essentially necessary to the natives of 
 the place, is yet liable to many accidents. 
 It does not ripen till the end of September; 
 so that the rains often fall heavy upon it 
 while on the stalk, and birds in general 
 peck it when it is soft and unripe. Nature 
 has, to defend it from these accidents, co- 
 vered it with a thick husk, which keeps off 
 slight rains very well; but the birds, if not 
 frightened away, often eat through it, and 
 devour a great quantity of the grain. 
 
 ZEBRA. See Equus. 
 
 ZENITH, in astronomy, the vertical 
 point ; or a point in the heavens directly 
 over our heads. The zenith is called the 
 pole of the horizon, because it is ninety 
 degrees distant from every point of that 
 circle. See Pole and Horizon. 
 
 Zesitu distance is the complement of 
 
 » 
 
ZEN 
 
 the mericiian altitude of any heavenly ob- 
 ject ; or it is the remainder, when the me- 
 ridian altitude is subtracted from ninety 
 degrees. 
 
 ZENO, in biography, a Greek philoso- 
 pher of considerable eminence, was born in 
 the isle of Cyprus. He was founder of the 
 Stoics, a sect which had its name from that 
 of a portico at Athens, where Zeno was ac- 
 customed to deliver his discourses. The fe- 
 ther of our philosopher was a merchant, but 
 readily seconded his son’s inclinations, and 
 devoted him to the pursuits of literature. 
 In the way of business he had frequent oc- 
 casion to visit Athens, w'here he purchased 
 for his son several of the most renowned 
 works of the celebrated Socratic philoso- 
 phers. These Zeno read with avidity, aad 
 determined to visit the city where so much 
 wisdom was found. Upon his fiist arrival 
 in Athens, going accidentally into the shop 
 of a bookseller, he took up the commenta- 
 ries of Xenophon, with the perusal of which 
 he was so much delighted, that he asked 
 the bookseller where he might meet with 
 such men. Crates, the cynic philosopher, 
 was at that moment passing by ; the book- 
 seller pointed to him, and said, follow, that 
 man. He immediately became his disciple, 
 but was soon dissatisfied with his doctrine, 
 and joined himself to other philosophers, 
 whose instructions were more accordant to 
 bis way of thinking. Zeno staid long with no 
 master ; he studied under all the most cele- 
 brated teachers, with a view of collecting 
 materials from various quarters for a new 
 system of his own. I'o this Polerao alluded 
 , when he saw Zeno coming into his school ; 
 “ I hm no stranger,” said he, “ to your Phe- 
 nician arts, I perceive that your design is to 
 creep slily into my garden, and steal away 
 the fruit.” From this period Zeno avowed 
 his intention of becoming the founder of a 
 new sect. The place which he chose for 
 bis school was the painted porch, the most 
 famous in Athens. Zeno excelled in that 
 kind of subtle reasoning which was in his 
 time very popular. Hence his followers 
 were very numerous, and from the highest 
 ranks in society. Among these was Anti- 
 gonus Gouates, king of Macedon, who ear- 
 nestly solicited him to go to his court. He 
 possessed so large a share of esteem among 
 the Athenians, that on account of his inte- 
 grity, they deposited the keys of their cita- 
 del iri his hands : they also honoured him 
 with a golden crown and a statue of brass. 
 He lived to the age of 98, and at last, in 
 ponsequence of an accident, voluntarily put 
 
 „ZEU 
 
 an end to his life. As he was walking is 
 his school, he fell down and broke his 
 finger, by which, it is said, he was so much 
 affected, that, striking the earth, he ex- 
 claimed, “ Why am I thus importuned ? I 
 obey thy summons,” and immediately went 
 and strangled himself. In morals, the prin- 
 cipal difference betw'een the cynics and the 
 stoics was, that the former disdained the 
 cultivation of nature, the latter affected to 
 rise above it. In physics, Zeno received his 
 doctrine from Pythagoras and Heraclitus, 
 through the channel of the Platonic scliool. 
 See Academies, Cynics, &c. 
 
 ZEOLITE, in mineralogy, a species of 
 the flint genus, divided into five subspecies, 
 viz. the mealy, fibrous, radiated, foliated, 
 and cubic zeolite, distinguished from each 
 other by fracture, hardness, and lustre. 
 The mealy is yellow, or reddish-white, is 
 found in Iceland, Ferro islands, Sweden, 
 and in some parts of Scotland, particularly 
 in the isle of Skye ; it consists of 
 
 Silica 50 
 
 Alumina 20 
 
 Lime 8 
 
 Water 22 
 
 too 
 
 The other sub-species vary iu their pro- 
 portions of the same substances. The cu- 
 bic intumesces like borax before the blow- 
 pipe, and melts readily into cellular glass, 
 and during fusion emits a phosphoric light. 
 With acid it forms a jelly. It occurs in 
 rocks of the newest floetz trap, (See Rock) 
 as amygdaloid, basalt, wacce, porphyry, 
 slate, and greenstone. All the different 
 sub-spe<ues of zeolite are found in Scotland, 
 and in the neighbouring islands. They are 
 also met w’ith in great perfection and beauty 
 in Iceland, the Ferro islands, and in several 
 parts of Sweden : and in many parts of Ger- 
 many, and in the East Indies. 
 
 ZEUS, the dory, in natural history, a ge- 
 nus of fishes of the order Thoracici. Gene- 
 ric character ; head compressed, sloping 
 down ; upper lip arched by a transverse 
 membrane; tongue in most species sub- 
 ulate : body compressed, broad, somewhat 
 rhomboid, thin, and of a bright colour, gill- 
 membrane with seven perpendicular raj's, 
 the lowest transverse ; rays of the first dor- 
 sal fin filamentous. There are eight spe- 
 cies, of wliich the following are the prin- 
 cipal. 
 
 Z. faber, or the common dory, has ^ 
 large oval dusky spot on each side of the 
 
ZIN 
 
 body, and is generally about thirteen inches 
 tong, tiiough often far longer, and even 
 weighing ten or twelve pounds. It is found 
 in the Northern, Mediterranean, and Atlan- 
 tic Seas, is extremely voracious, and subsists 
 on insects, smaller fishes, and ova. It is in 
 the highest estimation for the table in this 
 country, but was little used before the mid- 
 dle of the last century, See Pisces, Plate 
 VI. fig. 6. 
 
 Z. iusidiator, or the insidious dory, inha- 
 bits the fresh waters of India, and is distin- 
 guished by its mouth being more lengthened 
 than that of any other species. The lower 
 lip is said to be at pleasure contracted into 
 a tube, through which this fish darts the 
 fluid it takes in at the gills at various in- 
 sects near the surface, thus embarrassing 
 their wings, and suspending their flight, 
 under which circumstances they easily be- 
 come its prey. 
 
 ZIERIA, in botany, so named in me- 
 mory of John Zier, a genus of the Tetran- 
 dria Monogynia class and order. Natural 
 order of Rutaceae, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter ; calyx four-parted ; petals four ; sta- 
 mina smooth, placed on glands; styles sim- 
 ple , stigma four-lobed ; capsule four, unit- 
 ed ; seeds arilled. This is one of the twenty 
 new genera from the South Seas, the cha- 
 racters of which are given by Dr. J. E. 
 Smith. It is distinguished by having each 
 of tlie stamens inserted into a large gland, 
 and consists of shrubs with opposite, ter- 
 nate leaves, and white flowers. 
 
 ZINC, in chemistry and mineralogy, a 
 metal unknown to the ancients, though they 
 were acquainted with calamine, one of its 
 ores, and the effect which this liad in con- 
 verting copper into brass. Zinc has usual- 
 ly been ranked among those metals, which, 
 from their imperfect ductility and malleabi- 
 lltj', were long denominated serai-metals. 
 It was known, that by uniform pressure 
 zinc might be extended into thin plates, 
 and more lately, it lias been discovered, 
 that, at a certain temperature, it has so 
 much malleability and ductility, that it can 
 be lamellated, and drawn into wire. For 
 this iuvention a patent has been obtained 
 by Messrs. Hobson and Sylvester, to the 
 latter of whom this work has been in- 
 debted for certain articles. See the Pre- 
 face, 
 
 The temperature at which zinc possesses 
 these properties is between 210° and 300° 
 of Fahrenheit, and by keeping it in an oven 
 at this heat, it may readily be extended. 
 By annealing, it retains tliis tenacity a» to 
 
 ZIN 
 
 be easily bent. At a higher temperature 
 it is brittle, so as to fall to pieces under the 
 hammer. Zinc is of a while colour, with a 
 shade of blue, in a fresh fracture it is pos- 
 sessed of considerable lustre, it is hard, 
 and not easily cut with a knife. The spe- 
 cific gravity is nearly 7.2. The ores of 
 zinc are calamine and blende. See Cala- 
 MiNARis. Calamine is an oxide, frequently 
 with a portion of carbonic acid ; blende is 
 a sulpliiiret, containing also some iron, and 
 other extraneous matters. The ores of 
 zinc are found in many countries, and in 
 a number of mines in this country. The 
 metal is obtained from the ore by distilla- 
 tion. 
 
 Zinc is melted by a moderate heat, and 
 the fused mass, on cooling, forms regular 
 crystals. Though scarcely altered by ex- 
 posure to the air at a low temperature, yet 
 it is rapidly oxydized by one amounting to 
 ignition. When kept in a degree of heat 
 barely sufficient for its fusion, zinc becomes 
 covered with a grey oxide. But when 
 throw'n into a crucible, or deep earthen 
 pot, heated to whiteness, it suddenly in- 
 flames, burns with a beautiful white flame, 
 and a white and light oxide sublimes, hav- 
 ing a considerable resemblance to carded 
 wool. This oxide, however, when once de- 
 posited, is no longer volatile ; but, if ex- 
 posed to a violent heat, runs into glass. 
 Zinc readily dissolves in sulphuric, nitric, 
 and muriatic acids. With nitric acid, it 
 yields nitrous gas, if the acid be concen- 
 trated ; or nitrous oxide, if diluted. Snl- 
 phiiric and muriatic acids, diluted with wa- 
 ter, evolve, during their action on this me- 
 tal, hydrogen gas; and the gas, when ob- 
 tained, holds ill combination a portion of 
 the metal. A stream of it has been found, 
 if recently prepared, to occasion the fusion 
 of the platina wire, though the pure gas is 
 destitute of this property. This hydrogen 
 gas, holding zinc, in solution, may also be 
 obtained by a process of Vauquelin. A 
 mixture of the ore of zinc, called blende, 
 or calamine, with charcoal, is to be put 
 into a porcelain tube, which is to be placed 
 horizontally in a furnace, and, when red- 
 hot, the vapour of water is to be driven 
 over it. The gas that is produced, how- 
 ever, is a mixture of carbonic acid, carbu- 
 retfed hydrogen, and hydro zincic gas. The 
 zinc is deposited on the surface of the wa- 
 ter, by which this gas is confined ; but, if 
 burned when recently prepared, the gas 
 exhibits, in consequence of this impregna- 
 tion, a blue flame. The solution of zinc in 
 
I 
 
 ZIN 
 
 ZIR 
 
 aiilphnric acid shoots into regular crystals. 
 Tills salt is readily soluble, and its solution 
 is not precipitated by any other metal. 
 The muriate of zinc yields, when evapo- 
 rated, an extract of thick consistence, hav- 
 ing the viscidity of bird-lime. Zinc is oxy- 
 dized also, when boiled with solutions of 
 pure alkalies ; and a portion of the oxide is 
 retained in solution. It is oxydized when 
 mixed with nitre, and projected into a red- 
 hot crucible. In this case a violent detona- 
 tion ensues. 
 
 Zinc combines with almost all the metals, 
 and some of its alloys are of great import- 
 ance. It may be united to gold in any pro- 
 portion by fusion. The alloy is the whiter 
 and the more brittle, the greater quantity 
 of zinc it contains. An alloy, consisting of 
 equal parts of these metals, is very hard 
 and white, receives a fine polish, and does 
 not tarnish readily. It has therefore been 
 proposed as very proper for the specula of 
 telescopes. One part of zinc is said to de- 
 stroy the ductility of one hundred parts of 
 gold. Platinum combines very readily with 
 zinc. The alloy is brittle, pretty hard, ve- 
 ry fusible, of a blueish-white colour, and 
 not so clear as that of zinc. The alloy of 
 silver and zinc is easily produced by fusion. 
 It is brittle, and has not been applied to 
 any use. Zinc may be combined with 
 mercury, either by triturating the two me- 
 tals together, or by dropping mercury into 
 melted zinc. This amalgam is solid. It 
 crystallizes when melted, and cooled slowly 
 into lamellated hexagonal figures, with ca- 
 vities between them. They are composed 
 of one part of zinc, and two and a half of 
 mercury. It is used to rub on electrical 
 machines, in order to excite electricity. 
 
 Zinc combines readily with copper, and 
 forms one of the most useful of all the me- 
 tallic alloys. The metals are usually com- 
 bined together by stratifying plates of cop- 
 per, and a native oxide of zinc combined 
 with carbonic acid, called calamine, and 
 applying heat. AVhen the zinc does not 
 exceed a fourth part of the copper, the 
 alloy is known by the name of brass. It is 
 of a beautiful yellow colour, more fusible 
 than copper, and not so apt to tarnish. It 
 is malleable, and so ductile, that it may be 
 drawn out into wire. Its density is greater 
 than the mean. It ought to be by calcu- 
 lation 7.6, but it actually is 8.4 nearly, 
 so that its density is increased by about one 
 tenth. When the alloy contains three parts 
 of zinc and four of copper, it assumes a co- 
 lour nearly the same with gold, but it is 
 
 not so malleable as brass. It is then called 
 pinchbeck, prince’s metal, or Prince Ru- 
 pert’s metal. Brass was known, and very much 
 valued, by the ancients. They used an ore 
 of zinc to form it, which they called cadmia. 
 Dr. AVatson has proved that it was to brass 
 that they gave the name of orichalcum. 
 Their aes was copper, or rather bronze. 
 
 It is very difficult to form an alloy of iron 
 and zinc. Malouin has shown that zinc may 
 be used instead of tin to cover iron plates, 
 a proof that tliere is an affinity between the 
 two metals. Tin and zinc may be easily 
 combined by fusion. The alloy is much 
 harder than zinc, and scarcely less ductile. 
 This alloy is often the principal ingredient 
 in the compound called pewter. 
 
 ZINNIA, in botany, so named in honour 
 of John Godofr. Zinn, a genus of the Syn- 
 genesia Polygamia Superflua class and or- 
 der. Natural order of CompositEe Oppo- 
 sitifoliae. Corymbiferae, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx ovate, cylindrical, imbri- 
 cate ; florets of the ray five, permanent, 
 entire; seed down, with two erect awns; 
 receptacle chaffy. There are five species. 
 
 ZIRCON, in mineralogy, the name of a 
 genus, containing two species, viz. hyacintli 
 and zircon : the former will be found in the 
 alphabetical anangement ; we therefore 
 proceed to the .species zircon, the chief 
 colour of which is grey; but it occurs 
 through all the varieties of green, blue, red, 
 yellow, and brown. It is found commonly 
 in roundisli angular pieces, which have al- 
 most always rounded angles and edges. It 
 is likewise crystallized. Specific gravity 
 about 4.6. The constituent parts are, ac- 
 cording to Klaproth, 
 
 Zirconia 
 
 
 Silica 
 
 
 Oxide of iron 
 
 
 Loss 
 
 
 100.0 
 
 It is infusible without addition by tlie 
 blow pipe; with borax it forms a colourless 
 glass. It is found in Ceylon, in the sand of 
 a river, accompanied by crystals of spinelle, 
 tourmaline, ceylanite. It is frequently cut 
 as a precious stone, and employed for va- 
 rious purposes, pui ticularly as an ornament 
 in mourning dress. AVhen it is cut it exhi- 
 bits, though in a very feint degree, the play 
 of colours of the diamond. Some of the 
 varieties are frequently used by watch- 
 makers in jewelling watches. 
 
Z 01 
 
 ZIZANIA, in botany, a genns of the 
 Monoecia Hexandria class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Gramina. Gramine®, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character: male, calyx 
 none; corolla glume two-valved, awnless, 
 mixed with the females : female, - calyx 
 none ; corolla glume two-valved, cowled, 
 awned ; style two-parted ; seed one, clothed 
 w'ith the plaited corolla. There are two 
 species ; viz, Z. aquatica and ,Z. terrestris. 
 
 ZIZIPHORA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Diandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Verticillatae. Labiatae, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : calyx filiform ; 
 corolla ringent, with the upper lip bent 
 back and entire; seeds four. There are 
 four species. 
 
 ZODIAC, in astronomy, a broad circle, 
 whose middle is the ecliptic, and its ex- 
 tremes two circles, parallel thereto, at such 
 a distance from it, as to bound or compre- 
 hend the excursions of the sun and planets. 
 
 The sun never deviates from the middle 
 of the zodiac, i. e. from the ecliptic, but 
 the planets all do more or less. Their 
 greatest deviations, called latitudes, are the 
 measure of the breadth of the zodiac, which 
 is broader or narrower, as the greatest lati- 
 tude of the planets is made more or less ; 
 accordingly some make it sixteen, some 
 eighteen, and some twenty degrees broad. 
 The zodiac, cutting the equator obliquely, 
 makes an angle therewith of about 23^“, 
 which is what we call the obliquity of the 
 zodiac, and is the sun’s greatest declina- 
 tion. 
 
 Tile zodiac is divided into twelve por- 
 tions, called signs, and those divisions or 
 signs are denominated from the constella- 
 tions which anciently possessed each part; 
 but the zodiac being immoveable, and the 
 stars liaving a motion from west to east, 
 those constellations no longer correspond 
 to their proper signs, whence arises what 
 we call the precession of the equinoxes. 
 
 ZOEGEA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Syngenesia Polygamia Frustranea class and 
 Older. Natural order of Compositae Cap'- 
 tat£B. Cinarocephalae, Jussieu. Essential 
 character : calyx imbricate ; corolla of the 
 ray ligulate ; down bristle-shaped ; recep- 
 tacle bristly. There is but one species, viz. 
 Z. leptaurea, a native of the Levant. 
 
 ZOISITE, in mineralogy, is of a greyish 
 colour. It occurs massive, and in crystals, 
 which are imbedded^ It occurs in primitive 
 mountains, principally in quartz with mica. 
 This fossil is placed between the axinite 
 and pistazite, and connects both species 
 together. 
 
 ZOO 
 
 ZONE, in geography and astronomy, 
 a division of the terraqueous globe, with 
 respect to the different degrees of heat 
 found in the different parts thereof. A 
 zone is the fifth part of the surface of the 
 earth, contained between two parallels. 
 The zones are denominated torrid, frigid, 
 and temperate. The torrid zone is a band 
 surrounding the terraqueous globe, and ter- 
 minated by the two tropics. Its breadth 
 is 46° 58'. The equator, running through 
 the middle of it, divides it into two equal 
 parts, each containing 23“ 29'. Tlie an- 
 cients imagined the torrid zone uninhabi- 
 table. The temperate zones are two bands, 
 environing the globe, and contained be- 
 tween the tropics and the polar circles : 
 the breadth of each is 43° S'. The frigid 
 zones are segments of the surface of the 
 earth, terminated, one by the antarctic, and 
 the other by the arctic circle. The breadth 
 of each is 46° 68'. 
 
 ZONITES, in natural history, a genus 
 of insects of the order Coleoptera : an- 
 tenna5 testaceous ; four feelers filiform ; 
 jaw entire, longer than the feelers ; lip 
 emarginate. There are eight species, found 
 chiefly in warm countries. 
 
 ZOOLOGY, constitutes that branch of 
 natural history which relates to animals. 
 Various methods of arrangement have, by 
 different naturalists, been devised to render 
 this branch, of study easy of comprehen- 
 sion, and familiar to the minds of those 
 who wish for a general view of animated 
 nature. We shall, in this article, give an 
 outline of the Linnsean system, which has, 
 in the various departments of the British 
 Encyclopedia, been adopted, as most gene- 
 rally approved by our own countrymen, 
 and by many philosophers of all countries. 
 
 Linneeus divides tiie whole animal king- 
 dom into six classes, the characters of w hich 
 are taken from the internal structure of the 
 being treated of. It may be observed, that 
 a considerable portion of the bulk of ani- 
 mals is composed of tubular vessels, which 
 originate in a heai't : the heart propels 
 through the arteries, with the assistance of 
 tlieir own muscular powders, either a colour- 
 less transparent fluid, or a red blood, into 
 the extremities of the veins; through which 
 it again returns to the origin of motion. 
 Insects and worms have their circulating 
 fluids a little w.rrmer than the surrounding 
 medium, and in general it is colourless ; 
 but insects have legs furnished with joints, 
 and worms have nothing but simple tenta- 
 cuia at most, in place of legs. Fishes have 
 cold red blood, which is exposed to the air 
 
ZOOLOGY. 
 
 contained in water hy means of their gills. 
 Amphibia receive the air into their lungs, 
 but their blood is likewise cold, and in both 
 fishes and amphibia the heart has only two 
 regidar cavities, while that of animals with 
 warm blood has four. Of the latter, the 
 oviparous are birds, and are generally co- 
 vered with feathers, the viviparous are ei- 
 ther quadrupeds or cetaceous animals, and 
 are furnished with organs for suckling their 
 young. See Physiology. 
 
 Each of the classes of animals is subdi- 
 vided by Linnaeus into different orders: for 
 a scientific account of these orders, and 
 also of the classes from whence they spring, 
 the reader is referred to the several heads 
 of the Dictionary in the alphabetical order ; 
 and here we shall take a cursory view of 
 the subject, in order to give, in a short 
 compass, a sort of outline of the science. 
 
 The fimt cla.ss, denominated Mammalia, 
 from the female’s suckling its young, com- 
 prehends all viviparous animals with warm 
 blood. These, with very few exceptions, 
 have teeth fixed in their jaw bones ; and 
 from the form and number of these teeth, 
 the orders are distinguished, except that of 
 cetaceous fishes, which is known by the fins 
 that are found in the place of feet. The 
 distinctions of the teeth are somewhat mi- 
 nute, but they appear to be connected with 
 the mode of life of the animal, and they 
 are tolerably natural. The first order. Pri- 
 mates, contains man, monkeys, and bats : 
 tlje second, Bruta; among others, the ele- 
 phant, the rhinoceros, the ant-eater, and 
 the ornithorhynchus, an extraordinay qua- 
 druped, lately discovered in New Holland, 
 with a bill like a duck, and sometimes teeth 
 inserted behind it; but there are some sus- 
 picions that the animal is oviparous. The 
 order Ferae contains the seal, the dog, the 
 cat, the lion, the tiger, the weasel, and the 
 mole, most of them beasts of i>rey ; the 
 opossum and the kangaroo also belong to 
 this order, and the kangaroo feeds on vege- 
 tables, although its teeth are like those of 
 carnivorous animals. The fourth order, 
 Glires, comprehends beavers, mice, squir- 
 rels, and hares : the fifth, Pecora, camels, 
 goats, sheep, and horned cattle. The sixth 
 order, Belluae, contains the horse, the hip- 
 popotamus, and the hog. The cetaceous 
 fishes, or whales, form the seventh and last 
 order; they reside in the water, enveloped 
 in a thick clothing of fat, that is, of oily 
 matter, deposited in cells, which enables 
 their blood to retain its temperature, not- 
 withstanding the external contact of a dense 
 medium considerably colder. 
 
 Birds are distinguished from quadrupeds 
 by their laying eggs ; they are also gene- 
 rally feathered, although some few' are ra- 
 ther hairy, and instead of hands, or fore- 
 legs, tliey have wings. Their eggs are co- 
 vered by a calcareous shell ; and they con- 
 sist of a white, or albumen, which nou- 
 rishes the chick during incubation, and a 
 yolk, which is so suspended within it, as to 
 preserve the side on which the little rudi- 
 ment of a chicken is situated, continually 
 uppermost, and next to the mother that is 
 sitting on it. The yolk is, in great mea- 
 sure, received into the abdomen of the 
 chicken a little before the time of its being 
 hatched, and serves for its support, like the 
 milk of a quadruped, and like the cotyle- 
 dons of young plants, until the system is 
 become sufficiently strong for extracting its 
 own food out of the ordinary nutriment of 
 the species. 
 
 Birds are divided, according to the form 
 of their bills, into six orders: Accipitres; 
 as eagles, vultures, and hawks. Pic* ; as 
 crows, jackdaws, humming birds, and par- 
 rots. Anseres ; as ducks, swanii, and gulls, 
 Grallas; as herons, woodcocks, and os- 
 triches. Gallinae ; as peacocks, pheasants, 
 turkies, and common fowls. And, lastly, 
 Passeres; compiehending sparrows, larks, 
 swallows, thrushes, and doves. The Am- 
 phibia are in some respects very nearly al- 
 lied to birds: but their blood is little 
 warmer than the surrounding medium. 
 Their respiration is not necessarily per- 
 formed in a continual succession of alter- 
 nations since t,he whole of their blood does 
 not pass through the lungs, and the circula- 
 tion may continue without interruption in 
 other parts, although it may be impeded in 
 these organs, for w'ant of the motion of re- 
 spiration. They are very tenacious of life ; 
 it has been asserted on good authority, that 
 some of Ihem have lived many years with- 
 out food, inclosed in hollow trees, and even 
 in the middle of stones : and they often re- 
 tain vestiges of life some days after the loss 
 of their hearts. Their eggs are generally 
 covered with a membrane only. They 
 have sometimes an intermediate stage of 
 existence in which all their parts are not 
 yet developed, as we observe in the tad- 
 pole ; and in this respect they resemble the 
 class ot insects. They are now universally 
 considered as dividerl into two orders only ; 
 Reptilia: as the tortoise, the dragon, or 
 flying lizard, the frog, and the toad; all 
 these have four feet : but the animals which 
 belong to the order Serpentes are without 
 feet. Most of the serpentes are perfectly 
 
ZOOLOGY, 
 
 innocent, but otliers have fangs, by which 
 ttiey instil a poisonous fluid into the wounds 
 that they make. In England the viper is 
 the only venomous serpent; it is known by 
 its dark brown colour, and by a stripe of 
 whitish spots running along its back; but 
 to mankind its bite is seldom, if ever fatal. 
 
 The first tfiree classes of animals have 
 lungs, as we have rfready seen, for respira- 
 tion, and receive air by the mouth; those 
 which have gills, and red blood, are fishes, 
 residing either in fresh or in salt water, or 
 indifferently in both: their eggs are involv- 
 ed in a membrane, and have no albumen. 
 
 Of the six orders of fishes, four have re- 
 gular gills, supported by little bones; and 
 they are distinguished, according to the 
 place of their ventral fins, into Apodes, as 
 the eel and lamprey : Jugulares, as the cod : 
 Thoracici, as the sole and perch : and Ab- 
 dominales, as the salmon and pike; dis- 
 tinctions which appear to be perfectly arti- 
 ficial, although useful in a systematic ar- 
 rangement. The two remaining orders are 
 without bones in the gills, those of the one 
 being soft, and of the other cartilaginous or 
 gristly. These are the Branchiostegi and 
 Chondropterygii of Artedi, which Linnaeus, 
 from a mistake, classed among the Amphi- 
 bia. The sun fish, the lump fish, the fish- 
 ing frog, and the sea-horse, are of the for- 
 mer, and the sturgeon, the skate, and the 
 shark, of the latter order. 
 
 Insects derive their name from being al- 
 most always divided, into a head, thorax, 
 and abdomen, with very slender intervening 
 portions : although these divisions do not 
 ^ist in all insects. They are usually ovi- 
 parous ; they respire, bat not by the mouth ; 
 they have a number of little orifices on 
 each side of the abdomen, by which the 
 air is received into their ramified trachea; 
 and if these are stopped with oil, they are 
 suffocated. Instead of bones, they have a 
 hard integument or shell. Their mouths 
 are formed on constructions extremely va- 
 rious, but generally very complicated : Fa- 
 bricius has made these parts the basis of his 
 classification ; but from their minuteness in 
 most species, the method is, in practice, in- 
 superably Inconvenient : and the only way, 
 in which such characters can be rendered 
 really useful, is when they are employed in 
 the subdivision of the genera, as determined 
 from more conspicuous distinctions. In- 
 sects have most frequently jaws, and often 
 several pairs, but they are always so placed 
 as to open laterally or horizontally. Some- 
 times, instead of jaws, they have a trunk, 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 or proboscis. In general, they pass through 
 four stages of existence, the egg, the larva, 
 or stage of growth, the pupa, of chrysalis, 
 which is usually in a state of torpor or com- 
 plete inactivity, and the imago, or perfect 
 insect, in its nuptial capacity. After the 
 last change, the insect most frequently 
 takes no food till its death. 
 
 The Linnaean orders of insects are the 
 Coleoptera, with hard sheaths to their 
 wings, generally called beetles; the Hem ip- 
 tera, of which the sheaths are of a softer 
 nature, and cross each other, as grasshop- 
 pers, bugs, and plant lice: tlie Lepidop- 
 tera, with dusty scales on their wings, aS 
 butterflies and moths; the Neuroptera, as 
 the libellula, or dragon-fly, the may-fly, and 
 other insects with four transparent wdngs, 
 but without stings; the Hyraenoptera, 
 which have stings, either poisonous or not, 
 as bees, wasps, and ichneumons ; the Dip- 
 tera, with two wings, as common flies and 
 gnats, which have halteres, or balancing 
 rods, instead of the second pair of wings ; 
 and, lastly, the Aptera, without any wings, 
 which form the seventh order, comprdiend- 
 ing crabs, lobsters, shrimps and prawns, for 
 these are properly insects; spiders, scor- 
 pions, millepedes, centipedes, mites, and mo- 
 noculi. The Monoculus is a genus includ- 
 ing the little active insect.s found in pond- 
 water, which are scarcely visible to the 
 naked eye, as well as the Molucca crab, 
 which is the largest of all insects, being 
 sometimes six feet, long. Besides these 
 there are several genera of apterous insects 
 which are parasitical and infest the human 
 race as well as other animals. 
 
 The Vermes are the last and lowest of 
 animated beings, yet some of them are not 
 deficient either in magnitude or in bdauty. 
 The most natural division of vermes is into 
 five orders ; the Intestina, as earth-worms 
 and ascarides, which are distinguished by 
 the want of moveable appendages, or ten- 
 tacnla, from the Mollusca, such as tire dew- 
 snail, the cuttle fish, the sea anemone, and 
 the hydra, or fresh water polype. The 
 Testacea have shells of one or more pieces, 
 and most of them inhabit the sea, and are 
 called shell fish, as the limpet, the periwin- 
 kle, the snail, the muscle, the oyster, and 
 the barnacle. The order Zoophyta con- 
 tains corallines, sponges, and other com- 
 pound animals, united by a common habita- 
 tion, which has the general appearance of a 
 vegetable although of animal origin; each 
 of the little inhabitants, resembling a hy- 
 dra, or polype, imitating by its extended 
 Rr 
 
zoo 
 
 Z YG 
 
 arms the appearance of an imperfect flower. 
 The last order, Infusoria, is scarcely distin- 
 guished from the Intestina and Mollusca by 
 any other character than the minuteness of 
 the individuals belonging to it, and their 
 spontaneous appearance in animal and ve- 
 getable infusions, where we can discover no 
 traces of the manner in which they are pro- 
 duced. The process, by which their num- 
 bers are somethnes increased, . is no less as- 
 tonishing than their first production ; for 
 several of the genera often appear to di- 
 vide spontaneously, into two or more parts, 
 which become new and distinct animals, so 
 that in such a case the question respecting 
 the identity of an individual would be very 
 difficult to determine. The volvox, and 
 some of the vorticell® are remarkable for 
 their continual rotatory motion, probably 
 intended for the purpose of straining their 
 food out of the water: while some other 
 species of the vorticellae resemble fungi or 
 corallines in miniature. 
 
 ZOOPHYTA, in natural histor3', an 
 order of the class Vermes. Zoophyta are 
 composite animals, holding a medium be- 
 tween animals and vegetables. Most of 
 them take root and grow up into stems, 
 multiplying life in their branches and deci- 
 duous buds, and in the transformation of 
 their animated blossoms or polypes, which 
 are endowed with spontaneous motion. 
 Plants, therefore, resemble zoophyta, but 
 are destitute of animation and the power 
 of loco-motion ; and zoophyta are, as it 
 were, plants, but furnished with sensation 
 and the organs of spontaneous motion. 
 Of these some are soft and naked, and 
 ethers are covered with a hard shell : the 
 former are by some naturalists called zoo- 
 phytes, and the latter are denominated 
 lithophytes. There are fifteen genera, viz. 
 
 Alcyoniura 
 
 Antiputhes 
 
 Cellepora 
 
 Corallina 
 
 Fiustra 
 
 Gorgonia 
 
 Hydra 
 
 Isis 
 
 Madrepora 
 
 Millepora 
 
 Pennatula 
 
 Sertularia 
 
 Spongia 
 
 Tubipora 
 
 Tubularia. 
 
 The coral reefs that surround many 
 islands, particularly those in the Indian 
 Archipelago, and round New Holland, are 
 formed by various tribes of these animals 
 particularly by the Cellepora, Isis, Madre- 
 pora, Millepora, and Tubipora. The ani- 
 mals form these corals with such rapidity, 
 that enormous masses of them very speedily 
 
 appear where there were scarcely any marks 
 of such reefs before. 
 
 ZOSTERA, in botany, a genus of the 
 Monandria Monogynia class and order. 
 Natural order of Inundafre. Aroidese, Jus- 
 sieu. Essential character : spadix, linear, 
 within the sheath of the leaves, flower bear- 
 ing on one side ; calyx none ; corolla none ; 
 anther sessile, opposite to the germ stig- 
 mas two, linear; capsule one-seeded. There 
 is but one species, viz, Z. marina, grass- 
 wrack, and many varieties. 
 
 ZWINGERA, in botany, so named from 
 Theodoras Zwinger, Professor of Anatomy 
 and Botany at Basil, a genus of the De- 
 candria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
 tural order of Terebintaceae, Jussieu. Es- 
 sential character : calyx five-parted ; petals 
 five; filaments widened at the base, hairy; 
 capsule five, coriaceous, one-seeded, in- 
 serted into a fleshy receptacle. There is 
 but one species, viz. Z. amara, a native of 
 the woods of Guiana. 
 
 ZYGIA, in natural history, a genus ^of 
 insects of the order Coleoptera : anten- 
 naj raoniliforra ; feelers equal, filiform ; lip 
 elongated, membranaceous ; jaw one-tdoth- 
 ed. There is only one species, viz. Z. ob- 
 longa, which is found in the East. 
 
 ZYGOPHYLLUM, in botany, lean, 
 caper, a genus of the Decandria Monogynia 
 class and order. Natural order of Grui- 
 nales. Rutaceae, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
 racter: calyx five-leaved ; pfetalsfive; nec- 
 tary ten-leaved, covering the germ, and 
 bearing the stamens; capsule five-celled. 
 There are fourteen species; of these the 
 following may be noticed : Z. fostidum, fetid 
 bean-caper : the leaves of this plant stand 
 on long footstalks, and diffuse widely a 
 strong foxy smell : it flowers from July to 
 September. The fruiting peduncle turns 
 back, whence its trivial name retrofractum. 
 It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope. 
 Z. morgsana, four-leaved bean-caper : has 
 a shrubby stem, divided into many irre- 
 gular-jointed branches, rising four or six 
 feet high ; leaves t.hick and succulent, and 
 placed by fours at each joint, two on each 
 side the stalk opposite ; the fruit has four 
 membranaceous wings, resembling the sails 
 of a mill. Z. arboreum, tree bean-caper, 
 is a very handsome tree, forty feet high, 
 with a very large, thick, elegant head ; 
 trunk upright, dividing into numerous op- 
 posite branches ; flowers inodorous, large, 
 handsome, which give the tree a most beau- 
 tiful appearance when in bloom. 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS 
 
 A dhesion, second paragraph : for 
 about the same time, read, about the year 
 1713. 
 
 ARIANS. For defence of low Arianism, 
 read, defence Of Arianism. 
 
 astronomy. In tlie fourteenth page 
 of this article, near the top of the first 
 column, read, instead of what is there 
 found, “ Tlie diameter at the poles is 7,893 
 English miles j at the equator it is 7,928 
 miles.” 
 
 CAULIS is referred to from AcAUtosK ; 
 the reference should have been made to the 
 article Botany. 
 
 CONCHA. ' Instead of this, the refer- 
 ence should have been to SHEfn. 
 
 Corn laws is referred to from the article 
 Bounty ; the reference should have been 
 to the-article Corn trade. 
 
 COUTCHOUC. Read Caoutchouc. 
 CYCLE is referred to from Calendar, 
 but the reference should have been made to 
 Chronology, where an account of the ser 
 veral cycles will be found. 
 
 EQU ATONAL. Read Equatorial. 
 FISHING fies have been referred to 
 from the article Angling, and being omit- 
 ted in the alphabetical ordef, we add in this 
 place, that a fishing fly is a bait used in 
 angling for various kinds of fish. The fly 
 is either natural or artificial. The chief of 
 the natural flies are the “ stone fly,” found 
 under hollow stones at the sides of rivers, 
 between April and July ; it is brown with 
 yellow streaks, and has large wings : the 
 “ green drake,” found among stones by ri- 
 ver sides ; it has a yellow body ribbed with 
 green, it is long and slender, with wings 
 like a butterfly, and is common in the 
 spring : “ the oak fly,” found in the body of 
 an oak or ash, is of a brown colour, and 
 common during the summer months: the 
 “ palmer fly,” or worm, found on the leaves 
 of plants, when it assumes the fly state 
 from that of the caterpillar ; it is much used 
 in trout fishing : the “ ant fly,” found in ant 
 hills from June to September : the “ May 
 fly” is to be found playing at the river 
 side, especially before rain : and the “ black 
 fly,” which is to be found upon every haw- 
 thorn after the buds are off. There are 
 
 two ways to fish with natural flies, either 
 on the surface of the water, or a little un- 
 demeath it. In angling for roach, dace, 
 &c. the fly should be allowed to glide down 
 the stream to the fish, but in very still wa- 
 ter. the bait may be drawn by the tisli, 
 which will make him eagerly pursue it. 
 
 There are many sorts of artificial flies to 
 be had at the shops ; they are made in imi- 
 tation of natural flies, and the rules for 
 using them are as follow. Keep as far from 
 the water’s edge as may be, aud fish down 
 the stream with the sun at your back, tlie 
 line must not touch the water. In clear ri- 
 vers the angler must use small flies with 
 slender wings, but in muddy waters a larger 
 fly may be used. After rain, when the wa- 
 ters are muddy, an orange coloured fly may 
 be used with advantage ; in a clear day, 
 the fly must be light coloured, and in dark 
 waters the fly must be dark. The line 
 should in general be twice as long as the' 
 rod : but, after all, much will depend on a 
 quick eye and active hand. Flies made 
 for catching salmon must have their wings 
 standing one behind the other. This fish is 
 said to be attracted by the gaudiest colours 
 that can be obtained ; the wings and tail 
 should be long and spreading. 
 
 FRANKS, or franking letter's, which 
 ought to have been included in the article 
 Post-Office, is a privilege that has been 
 enjoyed by members of parliament fiom the 
 first institution of the post-office. The ori- 
 ginal design of this exemption was that they 
 might correspond freely with their consti- 
 tuents on the business of the nation. For 
 many years it was sufficient to frank a let- 
 ter or packet, that any member of parlia- 
 ment subscribed his name at the bottom of 
 the cover. By degrees, however, this pri- 
 vilege was so much abused, that it was 
 enacted that no letter should pass free, un- 
 less the whole direction was in the hand 
 writing of the member, and his subscription 
 annexed: a subsequent act obliges the 
 member to write not only the full direc- 
 tion, but to note the town at which the 
 office is where the letter is sent from. 
 A member of parliament can frank only tea 
 letters on each day, and receive fifteen 
 R r S 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 free of postage : each of which must weigh 
 less than one ounce. 
 
 GAURS. This word having been re- 
 ferred to, it is necessary to mention that 
 the Gaiirs are an ancient sect of magicians 
 in Persia, where they are employed in the 
 meanest offices, and vilest drudgery. They 
 are said to be harmless in their manners, 
 zealous in their opinions, rigorous in their 
 moi’als, and exact in their dealings. They 
 profess the tutorship of one God alone, the 
 belief of a resurrection, and a future judg- 
 ment, and utterly detest all idolatry. They 
 perform their acts of worship in the pre- 
 sence of fire, for which they have much 
 veneration, regarding it as the most perfect 
 emblem of the living an'd invisible God. 
 They exhibit the same marks of respect for 
 Zoroaster that the Jews have for Moses, 
 esteeming him as a prophet sent from God. 
 
 GUIAC. Read Guaiacum. 
 
 HOWITZ, or Howitzer, in military 
 affairs, a kind of mortar mounted upon a 
 field carriage like a gun. The difference 
 between a mortar and a howitzer is, that 
 the trunnions of the first are at the end, 
 and of the other in the middle. The inven- 
 tion of howitzers is of much later date than 
 that of mortars. The construction is va- 
 rious, but the chamber is always cylindri- 
 cal. They are distinguished by the diame- 
 ter of the bore. A battery of howitzers is 
 formed in the same way as a gun-battery, 
 only the embrasures are at least a foot wi- 
 der, on account of the shortness of the 
 howitzer. 
 
 JESUITS. In this article, for Loyoly 
 and 173fJ, read Loyola and 1538. 
 
 LINARIA has been referred to from 
 Linnet, which is a species of Fringilla, 
 and under that article the description will 
 be found. 
 
 MUSTELA has been referred to from 
 Ferret, &c. but the reference should have 
 been to Viverra, where the principal spe- 
 cies are described. 
 
 NAZARENES, in church history, has 
 been referred to from the article Ebio- 
 NiTEs; and being omitted in its proper 
 place, we may observe here, that it was a 
 name originally applied to Christians in ge- 
 neral, as followers of Jesus of Nazareth ; 
 but was afterwards restrained to that sect 
 who endeavoured to blend the institutions 
 of the Mosaic law with those which are 
 peculiar to the gospel. 
 
 NECROMANCY being referred to, we 
 
 define the term as a species of pretended 
 
 divination, performed by raising the dead, 
 and extorting answers from them. 
 
 PERSICA was referred to from Necta- 
 rine, but the reference should have been 
 to Amygd'alus, of which genus the per- 
 sica, or nectarine, is only a species. 
 
 PRINTING, stereotype. In the second 
 paragraph, for by the Jesuits, read say the 
 Jesuits. See Stereotype. 
 
 STAMP duties, a branch of the public 
 revenue, raised by requiring, that all deeds 
 or documents, in order to be valid, shall be 
 written on paper or parchment bearing a 
 public seal for which a tax is paid. This 
 mode of taxation was introduced into Eng- 
 land in 1671, by “ an act for laying an im- 
 position on proceedings at law;” but the 
 act in 1694 for imposing several duties upon 
 vellum, parchment and paper, may be con- 
 sidered as the commencement of the pre- 
 sent Stamp Office, as a particular set of 
 commissioners was then appointed for ma- 
 naging the duties. These duties at first 
 were to continue only for a limited period, 
 but about the year 1698 several new ones 
 were granted to continue for ever, to which, 
 additions, almost without end, have, at 
 different times, been since made, as will ap- 
 pear from the following statement. The 
 total gross produce of the stamp duties, in 
 the year 1713, was 107,7791., the charges 
 of management of which amounted to 
 14,2961., leaving a nett produce of only 
 93,4831. In 1723, tlie nett produce had 
 increased to 130,4091. ; and it seldom ex- 
 ceeded this amount till 1757, when some 
 new stamp duties were imposed, by which 
 the total nett amount of this revenue was 
 increased to 267,7251. : in 1766 it amount- 
 ed to 285,2661. ; and no material additions 
 were made till towards the conclusion of 
 the American war. In 1782, a duty was 
 imposed on fire-insurances, which, though 
 not actually collected by means of stamps, 
 was classed with the stamp duties. In 
 1784, additional duties were laid on gold 
 and silver plate. In 1785, duties were 
 laid on post-horses, quacjc medicines, game- 
 licenses, attorneys’ licenses, and pawn- 
 brokers ; all of which were deemed stamp 
 duties, and considerably augmented the an- 
 nual amount. But a far greater increase 
 took place in the course of the war whieh 
 began in 1793, during whieh new stamps 
 duties were imposed on receipts, bills of 
 exchange, attorneys’ articles, sea-insur- 
 ances, licenses to wear hair-powder, horse- 
 dealers’ licenses, legacies, hats, stage- 
 coaches, deeds^ armorial bearings,, small 
 

 -rtf** 
 
 CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 notes, medicines, and several other articles, 
 which soon increased this branch of the re- 
 venue to more than double its former 
 airioimt; and it is a mode of taxation which 
 it is in general so difficult to evade, and is 
 attended with such a comparatively small 
 expense in collecting, that there can be lit- 
 tle doubt that it will be extended as far as 
 possible. 
 
 The total produce of stamp duties of 
 Great Britain the year ending in January, 
 1806, was 4,194,2851. 12s. 10\d. This sum 
 was subject to some deductions, but when 
 tliese were made, the produce was little less 
 than four millions sterling. The expense 
 of collection amounts to S\ per cent on the 
 gross revenue. The following are some of 
 the principal stamp duties in which the pub- 
 lic are most interested, payable after the 
 10th of October, 1808. 
 
 RECEIPTS, BILLS OF EXCHANGE, &C. 
 
 1. S. d. 
 
 Receipt for the payment of mo- 
 iieyamountingto 21. and under 101. 0 0 2 
 
 To 101. and under 201. 0 0 4 
 
 To 201. and under 501 0 0 8 
 
 To 501. and under 1001 0 1 0 
 
 To 1001. and under 2001 0 2 0 
 
 To 2001. and under 5001 0 3 0 
 
 To 5001. or upwards 0 5 0 
 
 In full of all demands 0 5 0 
 
 N. B. Any general acknowledgment of 
 thesettlemfent of any account ordebt,w'here 
 the amount is not specified, is liable to the 
 duty of 5s. 
 
 Inland Bill of Exchange, draft, or order 
 fpr payment to bearer, or order, on de- 
 mand, or otherwise ; 
 
 1. s. d. 
 
 Amounting to 40s. and not ex- 
 ceeding 51. 6s 0 1 0 
 
 AboveSl. 5s. toSOl. ....' 0 16 
 
 Above 301. to 501 0 2 0 
 
 Above 601. to 1001 0 3 0 
 
 Above 1001. to 2001 0 4 0 
 
 Above 2001. to 5001 0 6 o 
 
 Above 6001. to 1,0001 0 7 6 
 
 Above 1,0001. to 3,0001 0 10 0 
 
 Above 3,0001 1 0 0 
 
 N. B. Every species of order, or receipt, 
 which, being given as a consideration for 
 money, enables the payee to receive the 
 sum expressed therein from a third person, 
 is considered as a bill of exchange; except- 
 ing drafts to bearer nn demand drawn on any 
 banker residing within 10 miles of the place 
 
 where the same is drawn, provided the place 
 be specified thereon. Bank bills and bank 
 post bills, and bills drawn for wages, &c. 
 of navy and army, are exempted from the 
 duty. 
 
 Foreign Bill of Exchange, if drawn sin- 
 gly, the same duty as the inland bill. Drawn 
 in sets : for every bill of each set not 
 
 1. s. d. 
 
 Exceeding 1001 0 10 
 
 Above 1001. to 2001 0 2 0 
 
 Above 2001. to 5001 0 3 0 
 
 Above 5001. to 1,0001 0 4 0 
 
 Above 1,0001. to 3,0001 0 5 0 
 
 Above 3,0001 0 10 0 
 
 Promissory Note to bearer on demand, 
 (intended to be re-issued) ; 
 
 1. s. d. 
 
 Not exceeding 11. Is 0 0 4 
 
 Above 11. Is. to 21. 2 s 0 0 8 
 
 Above 21. 21. to 51. 5s 0 10 
 
 Above 51. 51. to 201 o 1 6 
 
 Above 201. to 301. o 3 0 
 
 Above 301. to 501 0 4 6 
 
 Above 501. to 1001 0 7 6 
 
 Promissory Note in any other manner than 
 to bearer on demand, (not re-issugble) : 
 
 1. s. d. 
 
 Amounting from 40s. to 51. 5s. 0 1 o 
 
 Above 51. 5s. to 301 o 1 6 
 
 Above 301. to 501 o 2 0 
 
 Above 501. to 1001 0 3 0 
 
 Promissory Note, either to bearer on de- 
 mand, or in any other manner, (not re-issu- 
 abie) : 
 
 1. 
 
 Above 1001. to 2001. 0 
 
 Above 2001. to 5001 o 
 
 Above .5001. to 1,0001 o 
 
 Above 1,0001. to 3,0001 o 10 
 
 Above 3,0001 i o 
 
 PROBATES OF WipLS, OR LETTERS OF 
 ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 1. S 
 
 • Above the value of 201. and un- 
 der 1001. 0 
 
 Of 
 
 10 
 
 
 'i>| 
 
 1001. and under 2001. ... 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 200 
 
 300 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 \ 
 
 300 
 
 450 
 
 
 0 
 
 li 
 
 
 450 
 
 600 .... 
 
 
 0 
 
 ii 
 
 
 600 
 
 800 .... 
 
 .... 15 
 
 0 
 
 i 
 
 
 800 ... 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 - ■4' 
 
 1,000 
 
 ... 1,500 .... 
 
 .... 30 
 
 0 
 
 ji’ 
 
 
 1,500 
 
 ... 2,000 .... 
 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 
 2,000 .. 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 3,500 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 
 5,000 .. 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 I l. s. under said act, 44 George III. c. 98, (nsn« 
 
 7,5001. and underl0,000l — 
 
 
 0 
 
 10,000 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 12,500 
 
 
 .... 135 
 
 0 
 
 15,000 
 
 17,500 .. 
 
 
 0 
 
 17,500 
 
 
 .... 185 
 
 0 
 
 20,000 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 25,000 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 ,30,000 
 
 
 .... 310 
 
 0 
 
 35,000 
 
 40,000" .. 
 
 
 0 
 
 40,000 
 
 45j000 
 
 .... 410 
 
 0 
 
 45,000 
 
 50,000 .. 
 
 460 
 
 0 
 
 50,000 
 
 60,000 .. 
 
 550 
 
 0 
 
 60,000 
 
 70,000 
 
 
 0 
 
 70,000 
 
 
 750 
 
 0 
 
 80,000 
 
 90,000 . 
 
 
 0 
 
 90,000 
 
 ... 100,000 . 
 
 
 0 
 
 100,000 
 
 ... 125,000 . 
 
 .. 1,200 
 
 0 
 
 125,000 
 
 ... 150,000 . 
 
 ... 1,400 
 
 0 
 
 150,000 
 
 ... 175,000 
 
 ... 1,600 
 
 0 
 
 175,000 
 
 ... 200,000 , 
 
 ... 2,000 
 
 0 
 
 200,000 
 
 ... 250,000 
 
 ... 2,500 
 
 0 
 
 250,000 
 
 ... 300,000 
 
 ... 3,000 
 
 0 
 
 300,000 
 
 ... 350,000 
 
 ... 3,500 
 
 0 
 
 350,000 
 
 ... 400,000 
 
 ... 4,000 
 
 0 
 
 400,000 
 
 ... 500,000 
 
 ... .5,000 
 
 0 
 
 500,000 
 
 or upwards 
 
 
 0 
 
 Probates, &c. of seamen, marines, or sol- 
 diers; exempted. 
 
 LEGACIES. 
 
 All legacies, pecuniary or specific, out of 
 personal estate, or charged on real estate ; 
 and all residues of personal estate, whe- 
 ther devised by will or accruing by succes- 
 sion, and all shares and residues arising from 
 the sale of real estate under a will. If the 
 value amounts to or exceeds 201. a duty per 
 cent as follows : 
 
 To children of the deceased, or their de- 
 scendants, ll. 
 
 To a brother or sister of the deceased, 
 or their descendants, 21. 10s. 
 
 To a brother or sister of the deceased’s 
 father or mother, or their descendants, 41. 
 
 To a brother or sister of the deceased’s 
 grandfather or grandmother, or their de- 
 scendants, 51. 
 
 To any collateral relation, or to a stran- 
 ger in blood, 101. 
 
 The husband or wife of the deceased is 
 exempt from the above duties. 
 
 ANNUAL LICENCES. 
 
 Licence to appraiser (not a licensed auc- 
 tioneer) annual, 6s. 
 
 Tq any banker, &c. who shall issue any 
 promissory note payable on demand, and be 
 re-issuable, 201. 
 
 for selling medicines, dec. liable to duty 
 
 ally called quack medicines) : 
 
 In London or Westminster, (or within the 
 two-penny post), and in Edinburgh, 2l. 
 
 In any other city, borough, or town cor- 
 porate, or in Manchester, Birmingham or 
 Sheffield, 10s. In any other place, 5s. 
 
 For exercising the trade of a pawnbroker : 
 
 In London or Westminster, or two penny 
 post district, 101. In any other place, 51. 
 
 By postmasters or persons letting to hire 
 horses for travelling post, by the mite, or 
 from stage to stage, or for a day, or for any 
 less period than 28 days, for drawing car- 
 riages used in travelling post, 5s. 
 
 By persons keeping public stage coaches 
 or carriages, for each carriage so kept ; 
 
 If carrying 4 inside passengers, 5s. 
 
 More than 4 and not more than 6, 6s. 
 
 More than 6 and not more than 8, 7s. 
 
 More than 8 and not more than 10, 8s. 
 
 More than 10, 9s. 
 
 Children in lap are excepted from the se- 
 veral numbers. 
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN THE COURTS, 
 
 Duties on Law Proceedings, in the courts, 
 to be paid in respect of every skin, sheet, 
 &c. except where they are imposed accord- 
 ing to the number of words, or otherwise 
 expressly charged. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 As fellow of the College of Physicians, 
 in England or Scotland, 201. 
 
 By license from the College of Physi- 
 cians to practise within seven miles of the 
 metropolis, 101. 
 
 Matriculation in any university in Great 
 Britain, I0s> 
 
 To the degree of batchelor of arts in or- 
 dinary course, 31. 
 
 By special grace, royal mandate, or no- 
 bility, or otherwise out of ordinary course, 
 51. 
 
 Any other degree in the ordinary course 
 of the university, 61. Out of the ordinary 
 course, 101. 
 
 To the degree of M. D. in either of the 
 universities in Scotland, 101. 
 
 Advertisements in the London Gazette op 
 any public newspaper, 3s. 
 
 Agreement, or Meram. of Agreement, 
 made in England under hand only, or in 
 Scotland without any clause of registration, 
 and not otherwise charged nor expressly 
 exempted in the schedule; the matter 
 thereof being of the “value of 201. or up- 
 wards, and containing not more than 1,080 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 words, including any schedule, &c. 16s. 
 Containing more tlian 1,080 words, 11. 10s. 
 And further for every 1,080 words beyond 
 the first 1,080, H. 
 
 Almanack or Calendar for the year, or 
 less, I'S. If for more years, then for each 
 year for which it shall serve, Is. Perpe- 
 tual Almanack, 10s. 
 
 Calendars or perpetual almanacks, in bi- 
 bles or prayer books, excepted. 
 
 Appraisemenl of estate, real or personal, 
 in any case whatsoever, except appraisement 
 by order of an admiralty court, amount 
 not exceeding .'501., 2s. 6d.— Exceeding 501. 
 to 1001., 5s. — Exceeding lOOl. to 2001., 10s. 
 —Exceeding 2001. to 5001., I5s.— Exceed- 
 ing .5001., 11. 
 
 Articles of Apprenticeship and Clerkship. 
 Any profession or trade, &c. except attor- 
 nies and others specifically charged, where 
 t]te premium does not amount to 
 
 1. s. d. 
 
 sol 0 15 0 
 
 301. and under 
 
 501. ... 
 
 .... 1 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 501 
 
 1001. .. 
 
 .... 2 
 
 10 
 
 0 
 
 1001 
 
 2001. ’.. 
 
 .... 5 
 
 0 ' 
 
 0 
 
 2001 
 
 3001. .. 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 3001 
 
 4001. ... 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 4001 
 
 5001. .. 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 5001. 
 
 6001. .. 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 6001 
 
 8001. .. 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 8001 
 
 1,0001. .. 
 
 ....40 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 1,0001. or upwards 50 0 0 
 
 Bond in England, and personal bond in 
 Scotland, as security for a defitiite sum 
 
 1. s. 
 
 Not exceeding 1001 1 0 
 
 Exceeding 1001. to 3001.... 1 10 
 
 ' 3001 5001. ... 2 0 
 
 5001. ... 1,0001. ... 3 0 
 
 1.0001. ... 2,0001. ... 4 0 
 
 2,0001. ... 3,0001. ... a,' 0 
 
 3,0001. ... 4,0001. ... 6 0 
 
 4,0001. ... 5,0001. ... r 0 
 
 5.0001. ...10,0001. ... 9 0 
 
 10,0001. ...15,0001. ...12 0 
 
 15,0001. ...20,0001. ...15 0 
 
 20,0001 20 0 
 
 Where the total amount of the money 
 secured, or to be ultimately recoverable, 
 shall be uncertain, being for money to be 
 hereafter advanced, or to become due on 
 account current, 201. 
 
 Certificate to be taken out yearly, by at- 
 tornies, solicitors, or proctors, in England ; 
 and by writers to the signet, solicitors, 
 agents, attornies, or procurators, in any of 
 the courts in Scotland ; notaries public in 
 
 England and Scotland ; and also by every 
 sworn clerk, clerk in court, and other ofi.- 
 cer, who shall act in any of the above ca- 
 pacities for any other emolument than the 
 regular emolument of the office : w'heu re- 
 siding within the limits of the two-penity 
 post in England, or within the city or shirh 
 of Edinburgh, and if he shall have been ad- 
 mitted 3 years or upwards, 101. Or if not 
 so long admitted, 51. When residing else- 
 where; and admitted for three years, or 
 upwards, 6l. Or if not sq long admit- 
 ted, 3.1. 
 
 Conveyance (whether grant, assignment, 
 transfer, renunciation, or of any other de- 
 scription whatever) on the sale of any 
 lands, rents, or other property, real or per- 
 sonal, heritable or moveable, or of any 
 right, title, interest, &c. in the same ; for 
 the principal or only deed whereby such 
 property shall be granted or conveyed to 
 or vested in the purchaser, &c. 
 
 Where the purchase-money (which shall 
 be truly expressed therein) shall not amount 
 to 501., 15s, 
 
 1. s. 
 
 501. 
 
 and not to 1501. . 
 
 .. 1 
 
 0 
 
 1501. 
 
 
 .. 1 
 
 10 
 
 3001. 
 
 5001. . 
 
 .. 2 
 
 10 
 
 5001. 
 
 
 .. 5 
 
 0 
 
 7501. 
 
 
 .. 7 
 
 10 
 
 1,0001. 
 
 
 .. 10 
 
 0 
 
 2,0001. 
 
 3,0001. . 
 
 '.. 20 
 
 0 
 
 3,0001. 
 
 
 . oO 
 
 0 
 
 4,0001. 
 
 
 .. 40 
 
 0 
 
 5,0001. 
 
 
 .. 50 
 
 0 
 
 7,5001. 
 
 
 .. 75 
 
 0 
 
 10,0001. 
 
 
 ..100 
 
 0 
 
 15,0001. 
 
 20,0001.. 
 
 ..150 
 
 0 
 
 20,0001. 
 
 
 ..200 
 
 0 
 
 30,0001. 
 
 
 ..300 
 
 0 
 
 40,0001. 
 
 
 ..400 
 
 0 
 
 60,0001. 
 
 or upwards 
 
 
 0 
 
 Grant of the dignity of a Duke, 2001. ; 
 Marquis, 2001. ; Earl, 2001. ; Viscount,150l. ; 
 Baron, 1001.; and Baronet, 501. Of a 
 cong6 d’elire, 201. Of the royal assent to 
 the election of Archbishop or Bishop, 201. 
 
 Grant under the great or privy seal 
 from the civil list, &c, (not part of annual 
 supplies or voted by Parliament) ; 
 
 1. s. 
 
 Under 1001 '. 1 10 
 
 1001. and not 2501. ... 4 0 
 
 2501 5001. ... 10 0 
 
 5001 7501. ... 20 0 
 
 7501 ; 1,0001. ... 30 0 
 
 1,0001. or upwards, for 
 every 1001. thereof 5 0 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS, 
 
 Of any annuity or pension, 
 
 1. 
 
 Sa 
 
 Under 1001. 
 
 per annum 
 
 .... 1 
 
 10 
 
 1001. and not 2001. . 
 
 .. 4 
 
 0 
 
 
 4001. . 
 
 .. 10 
 
 0 
 
 
 6001. . 
 
 .. 20 
 
 0 
 
 6001. 
 
 8001. . 
 
 >• 30 
 
 0 
 
 8001. 
 
 
 .. 40 
 
 0 
 
 1,0001. 
 
 dr upwards 
 
 .. 50 
 
 0 
 
 But in cases of renewal only, tl. 10s. 
 
 Grant, of any office or employment, by 
 letters patent, deed, or other writing, the 
 salary, fees, &c. not amounting to 
 
 501. per annum 
 
 
 10 
 
 501. and not 
 
 1001 
 
 
 0 
 
 1001 
 
 . 2001 
 
 .. 5 
 
 0 
 
 2001 
 
 . 3001 
 
 .. 10 
 
 0 
 
 3001 
 
 . 5001 
 
 .. 20 
 
 0 
 
 5001 
 
 . 7501 
 
 .. 30 
 
 0 
 
 7501 
 
 . 1,0001 
 
 .. 40 
 
 0 
 
 1,0001 
 
 . 1,5001 
 
 .. 50' 
 
 0 
 
 1,5001 :... 
 
 . 2,0001 
 
 .. 75 
 
 0 
 
 2,0001 
 
 . .3,0001. 
 
 '.. 100 
 
 0 
 
 3,0001. per ann. 
 
 or upwards . 
 
 .. 150 
 
 p 
 
 Mortgage, conditional surrender by way 
 of mortgage, &c. wadset, conveyance in 
 trust, defeasance, or other deed, intended 
 as a security by way of mortgage, where 
 the same shall be made, as a security for 
 the payment of any definite sum of money, 
 advanced or lent at the time, or pievioiisly 
 due and owing, or forbotne to be paid, be- 
 ing payable. 
 
 1. s '. 
 
 Not exceeding 501. 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 Exceeding 501. 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 O 
 
 .. 1 
 
 0 
 
 
 ... 1501. 
 
 .. 1 
 
 10 
 
 1.501. 
 
 ... 3001. 
 
 .. 2 
 
 0 
 
 
 ... 5001. 
 
 *. 3 
 
 0 
 
 
 ... 1,0001. 
 
 .. 4 
 
 0 
 
 1,0001. 
 
 ... 2,0001. 
 
 ... 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 ... 3,0001. 
 
 .. 6 
 
 0 
 
 
 ... 4,0001. 
 
 .. 7 
 
 0 
 
 
 ... 5,0001. 
 
 ... 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 ...10,0001. 
 
 ..10 
 
 0 
 
 
 ...15,0001. 
 
 ..12 
 
 0 
 
 15,0001. 
 
 ...20,0001. 
 
 ..15 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 This ad valorem duty is chargeable only 
 on one •part, of the mortgage deed, the 
 other being liable as a common deed. It 
 is not chargeable on mortgages made 
 merely for further assurance, in cases where 
 the ad valorem duty has been paid on other 
 deeds. ■ 
 
 Newspapers, (for every half sheet double 
 demy, or sheet of single demy) S{d. 
 
 Pamphlets, of half a slieet or less, id, not 
 exceeding a sheet, Id. 
 
 Pamphlets exceeding 1 sheet and not ex- 
 ceeding 6 sheets in octavo, (or on a lesser 
 page) 12 sheets quarto, or 20 sheets folio. 
 For every sheet contained in one copy, 2.s-. 
 
 Acts of parliament, proclamations, orders 
 of council, form of prayer, and acts of 
 state, ordered to be printed by the King ; 
 printed votes of parliament, school books, 
 and books of devotion, are exempted. 
 
 Passport, Ss. 
 
 Plate of Gold, wrought in Great Britain, 
 per oz. and in proportion, 16s. Gold 
 watch cases excepted. 
 
 Plate of Silver, wrought in Great Britain, 
 per oz, and so in proportion. Is. 3d. Ex- 
 cept watch cases' chains, and several small 
 articles. 
 
 Playing Cards, per pack, 2s. 6d. 
 
 Policy of Assurance, on any life or lives, 
 or on any event depending on life or lives, 
 sum insured not amounting to 5001., los. 
 Amounting to 5001. or upwards, ll. 10s. 
 
 Specification, of a patent, 51. And far- 
 ther for 1,080 words, above the first 1,080, 
 11 . ' 
 
 Stage Coaches and Carriages, carrying pas- 
 sengers for hire, for every mile such car- 
 riage shall travel : 
 
 If carrying not more than 4 inside pas- 
 sengers, 2(1. 
 
 If 4 and not exceeding 6, 2id. 
 
 If 6 8, gid. 
 
 If 8 10, 4d. 
 
 More than 10 ... Sd. 
 
 Transfer of Bank or South Sea stock. 
 7s. 94.' ■ 
 
 Of East India stock, 11. 10.s. 
 
 Of stock of any other corporation, not 
 otherwise charged under the head of mort- 
 gage or conveyance, 11. 10s. 
 
 STRAW hat manufactwre, is of very mo- 
 dern invention; it has, however, of late 
 years afforded the means of support to a 
 large class of our industrious poor, and 
 of not a few in the middle -ranks of life. 
 The manufacture requires but little capital, 
 and the art is quickly acquired. Thirty or 
 forty shillings are said to be sufficient for 
 the purchase of the machines and materials 
 for employing one hundred persons some 
 length of time. The straw used is readily 
 obtained!, and when properly sorted it is 
 cut at the joints, and the outer covering 
 being removed^ it is then ranged according 
 to the different sizes, and made up into 
 bundles of eight or ten inches in lengtli, 
 and about a foot in circumference. The 
 bundles are then dipped in water, and shaken 
 a little, so as not to retain much moisture j 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 and then they are to he placed on tiieir 
 edges in a box, which is suffaciently close 
 to prevent the evaporation of the smoke. 
 
 In die middle of the box is an earthen ves- 
 sel containing sulphur, which is set on fire, 
 and the box covered over for several hours. 
 
 The straws are next to be split, which ope- 
 ration is performed by a small machine 
 made chiefly of wood. When split, the 
 straws are denominated splints, and of these 
 each braider has ,a certain quantity, which 
 they hold under the arm, and draw them 
 out as wanted. The rules laid down are 
 these : platters should be taught to use their 
 second fingers and thumbs, instead of the 
 fore fingers, which are often required to as- 
 sist in turning the splints, and very iiiuch 
 facilitate the platting ; and they should take 
 caie not to wet the splints too much. Each 
 platter should have a small linen bag, and 
 a piece of pasteboard to roll the plat round. 
 When five yards are worked up, it is wound 
 about a piece of board, fastened at the top 
 Tvith yarn, and kept there several days to 
 form it in a proper shape. Four of these 
 parcels, or a score, is the measurement by 
 which tlie plat is sold. When the straw is 
 platted it comes into the hand of the per- 
 son who sews it together into the form of 
 hats, bonnets, &c. of various shapes and 
 sizes. These are then put on wooden blocks 
 for the purpose of hot pressing : and, to 
 render them of a more delicate white, they 
 are again exposed to the fumes of sulphur. 
 
 STURGEON, a species of the Acipenser 
 genus, is referred to, and being omitted in 
 its place, we may briefly observe, that it is 
 a very large fish, of eighteen or twenty feet 
 long, an inhabitant of the northern seas, mb 
 grating during the early summer months 
 into the larger rivers and lakes, and return- 
 ing to the sea again in autumn after having 
 deposited its spawn. It is a fish of slow 
 motion, and is easily taken ; it is admii ed 
 for the delicacy and firmness of the flesh. 
 From the roe is prepared the substance 
 called caviar. In this country the sturgeon 
 annually ascends rivers, but in no great 
 quantities, and is occasionally taken in sal- 
 mon nets. In its manner of breeding the 
 sturgeon forms an exception among carti- 
 laginous fishes, it being oviparous. The 
 sturgeon was a fish in high repute among 
 the ancients, and was brought to table with 
 much pomp, and ornamented with flowers, 
 tlie slaves who carried it being likewise 
 adorned with garlands, and accompanied 
 with music. The flavour of the sturgeon 
 is said to vary with the food on which it is 
 
 chiefly fed ; hence it is distinguished in the 
 North of Europe into mackrel-sturgeon, 
 herring-sturgeon, &c. See Shaw’s “ Zoo- 
 logy.” 
 
 SUBSTANCES, simple. To this article 
 references have been made, and it having 
 been omitted in the alphabetical order, we 
 must not pass it by here. In other cases 
 we are grieved that haste or negligence 
 should have required these additions and 
 corrections, in this w-e have reason for dif- 
 ferent emotions, having by the omision an 
 opportunity of stating some facts, and some 
 results, which have not been made public 
 more than two or three days. 
 
 In the language of modern chemistry, 
 the term simple substances has a different 
 signification from that attached to it in an- 
 cient philosophy. By elements, or simple 
 substances, was formerly understood prima- 
 ry principles, which were essentially simple 
 and indestructible, whicli, by modification 
 of form, or by mutual combination, formed 
 the different substances which compose the 
 material world. Modern philosophy pur- 
 sues a different mode of investigation : it 
 analyses substances, and endeavours to de- 
 compose them, or separate them into their 
 constituent parts, and when it arrives at 
 any which it cannot decompose, and be- 
 yond which analysis cannot be carried, and 
 whose properties can only be changed by 
 causing them to combine with otheis, then 
 such substances are denominated simple. 
 This term does not imply their absolute 
 simplicity, because new experiments, or 
 new agents, may be able to reduce certain 
 bodies that at present have not been de- 
 composed into others that are more sim- 
 ple. Till very lately the fixed alkalies, the 
 
 boracic, fluoric, and muriatic acids were 
 reckoned among the simple substances : to 
 these may be added the metals, the several 
 earths, sulphur, phosphorus, and the dia- 
 
 mond. .... 
 
 By the Voltaic battery, m the hands 
 of Mr. Davy, Professor of Chemistry at 
 the Royal Institution, many of these sub- 
 stances, which- where deemed simple a tew 
 months since, have been decomposed. For 
 his experiments on tlie alkalies, we re- 
 fer to the articles Alkali and Potas- 
 sium : and on Saturday last, Dec. 17th, 
 he announced in his public lectuie, that 
 he had decomposed sulphur and phospho- 
 rus, the component parts of whicli are 
 oxygen and hydrogen, and a metallic base ; 
 that charcoal he had found to consi.st of 
 hydrogen and the carbonaceous principle. 
 
CORRECTIONS i 
 
 and that diamond was a compound of the 
 carbonaceous principle and oxygen; that 
 he had succeeded in obtaining tlie metallic 
 base of ammonia, which, when combined . 
 with mercury, in the proportion of only 
 TzcriKith part, rendered the mercury solid, 
 and reduced the specific gravity from 13 to 
 S. The professor likewise informed his au- 
 dience, that he had decomposed the boracic 
 and fluoric acids, and had en joyed a glimpse 
 of their metallic bases ; and that be had fully 
 ascertained, that lime, magnesia, stron- 
 tites, and barytes, are compound bodies, 
 each having a metallic substance as a base. 
 Hence the number of simple substances, 
 which, but a year ago, was estimated by 
 Dr. Thomson at 38, is in a very short space 
 of time considerably reduced. Chemistry, 
 indeed, as a science, will probably undergo 
 a complete renovation: the discoveries of 
 Mr. Davy promise a total overthrow to the 
 beautiful, and as it was formerly deemed, 
 simple and almost perfect system of Lavoi- 
 sier. The English professor assumes elec- 
 tricity as a general agent of decomposition ; 
 that dififerent bodies are naturally in dif- 
 ferent electrical states; that by altering 
 these states their affinities are altered. In 
 justification of this theory, he has ascer- 
 tained that oxygen, and all bodies contain- 
 ing an excess of oxygen, are naturally ne- 
 gative, and that all bodies containing an 
 excess of inflammable pfiuciple are natu- 
 rally positive. Should subsequent facts con- 
 firm this theory, it is highly probable, that 
 many other of the bodies, hitherto regarded 
 as simple, will yield to the powers of his 
 apparatus. 
 
 Substances, imponderable, in chemistry, 
 are caloric, light, electricity, and galva- 
 nism : perhaps the identity of the two for- 
 mer may hereafter be discovered : and like- 
 wise that of the two latter more complete- 
 ly demonstrated. The common character 
 that they all possess is, that of not being 
 subject to the attraction of gravitation ; at 
 least their gravity has hitherto been inca- 
 pable of appreciation, hence the term “ im- 
 ponderable.” They possess the greatest 
 subtilty, or tenuity ; they cannot easily be 
 obtained in a separate state of existence • 
 they are observed only in states of combi- 
 nation, or in their rapid transition from one 
 body to another. We can scarcely discover 
 their specific affinities, or measure their 
 force, and we are unable to trace their par- 
 ticular combinations, or consider them as 
 essential constituent principles of any com- 
 pound. They are moreover diffused over 
 
 .ND ADDITIONS. 
 
 every kind of matter ; at least caloric exists 
 in all bodies, and probably also the electric 
 and galvanic agents. See Murray’s Chemistry, 
 TELESIE, in mineralogy, a gem so 
 named by Haiiy, which answers to the per- 
 fect Corundum and the Sapphire ; to 
 these articles the reader might be referred 
 without further addition, but having di- 
 rected him already IoTelesie from the ar- 
 ticle Gem, we shall, in this place, give Mr. 
 Murray’s description. It occurs in frag- 
 ments, and is crystallized ; the form of its 
 crystals being the double three-sided pyra- 
 mid,^ the single six-sided pyramid, and 
 the six-sided prism, variously modified by 
 truncations and acuminations, Its colours 
 are numerous; blue, green, red, of nu- 
 merous shades, and yellow or yellowish 
 white, and sometimes more than one colour 
 is present even in the same crystal. It is 
 more or lass transparent; its lustre is re- 
 splendent and vitreous ; and it often pre- 
 sents a beautiful reflection of light, in the 
 form of a star: the fracture is conchoidal, 
 or imperfectly foliated ; the hardness is in- 
 ferior to that of the diamond, but superior 
 to that of every other fossil, and not yield- 
 ing to the file: the specific gravity is from 
 3.9 to 4.1. 
 
 TIME, equation of, the most usual and 
 best measure of time that we have is a 
 clock regulated by the vibration of a pen- 
 dulum. But with whatever accuracy a 
 clock may be made, it must be subject to 
 irregularities, as well from the imperfection 
 of the workmanship, as from the expansion 
 and contraction of the materials by heat 
 and cold, by which the length of the pen- 
 dulum, and consequently the time of vibra- 
 tion, will vary. As no clock, therefore, can 
 be depended upon for keeping time accu- 
 rately, it is necessary that we should be 
 able at any time to ascertain how much it 
 is too fast or too slow, and at what rate it 
 gains or loses. For this purpose it must be 
 compared with some motion which is uni- 
 form, or of which, if it be not uniform, one 
 can find the variation. The motions of the 
 heavenly bodies have therefore been consi- 
 dered as most proper for the purpose. Now 
 as the earth revolves uniformly about its 
 axis, the apparent diurnal motion of the 
 heavenly bodies about the axis must be uni- 
 form. It a clock, therefore, be adjusted to 
 go 24 hours froiti the passage of any fixed 
 star over the merjdian till it returns to it 
 again, its rate of going may be determined 
 by comparing it with the transit of any fix- 
 ed star, and observing whether the interval 
 
CORRECTIONS A 
 
 continues to be 24 hours ; if not, the dif- 
 ference siiows how much it gains or loses 
 in that time. A clock thus adjusted is said 
 to be adjusted to sidereal time, and all the- 
 sidereal days are equal. But all the solar 
 days are not equal, that is, the intervals 
 from the sun’s leaving the meridian till it 
 returns to it again, are not all equal, so that 
 if a clock be adjusted to go 24 hours in one 
 interval, another interval will be perform- 
 ed in more or less than 24 hours, and thus 
 the sun and the clock will not agree ; that 
 is, the clock will not continue to show 12 
 when the sun comes to the meridian. It is 
 found that the length of the solar day is 
 equal to the time of the earth’s rotation 
 about its axis, together with the time of de- 
 scribing an angle equal to the increase of 
 the sun’s right ascension in a true solar day. 
 Now if the sun moved, or appeared to 
 move, uniformly, and in the equator, this 
 increase would be always the same in the 
 same time, and therefore the solar days 
 would be all equal ; but the sun moves, or 
 appears to move, in the ecliptic, and there- 
 fore, if its motion were uniform, equal arcs 
 upon the ecliptic would not give equal arcs 
 upon the equator. But the apparent mo- 
 tion of the sun in the ecliptic is not uni- 
 form, and hence also any arc upon the 
 ecliptic, described in a given time, is sub- 
 ject to a variation, and consequently that 
 on, the equator is subject to a variation. 
 The increase then of the sun’s right ascen- 
 sion in a true solar day, varies from two 
 causes : first, because the ecliptic, in which 
 the sun appears to move, is inclined to the 
 equator ; secondly, because his motion in 
 the ecliptic is not uniforni, therefore the 
 length of a true solar day is subject to a 
 continual variation: consequently a clock 
 which is adjusted to go 24 hours for any 
 one true solar day, will not continue to 
 show 12 when the sun comes to the meri- 
 dian, because the intervals by the clock 
 will continue equal, if the clock be sup- 
 posed accurate, but the intervals of the 
 sun’s apparent passage over the meridian 
 are not equal. 
 
 As the sun appears to move through 360'^ 
 of right ascension in about 365j days, there- 
 fore 363.25 ; 1 day :: 360“ : .59' 8" 2", the in- 
 crease of' right ascension in one day, if tlie 
 increase were uniform, or it would be the 
 i ncrease in a mean solar day, that is, if the 
 solar days were all equal ; for they would 
 be all equal, if the sun’s right ascension in- 
 creased uniformly. As the earth describes 
 qn angle of 360“ 39' 8" 2' " about its axis in a 
 
 SID ADDITIONS. 
 
 mean solar day of 24 hours, and an angle 
 of 360“ in a sidereal day, we say, as 
 360“ .39' 8''2"' : 360“ 24>' : 23'' 56' 4'' the 
 
 length of a sidereal day in mean solar time, 
 or the time from the passage of a fixed 
 star over the meridian till it returns to it 
 attain. From these considerations it will 
 be evident, that if a clock be adjusted to 
 go 24 hours in a mean solar day, it will not 
 continue to coincide with the sun, that is, 
 to show twelve when the sun comes to the 
 meridian, because the true solar days diifer 
 in length from a mean solar day, but the 
 sun will pass the meridian, sometimes be- 
 fore 12, and sometimes after 12, and this 
 difference is called the equation. A clock 
 thus adjusted, is said to be adjusted to 
 mean solar time. The time shown by the 
 clock is called true or mean time ; and that 
 shown by the sun is called apparent time ; 
 thus, when the sun comes to the meridian, 
 it is said to be 12 o’clock apparent time. 
 Hence the time shown by the sun-dial is 
 apparent time, and therefore a dial will dif- 
 fer from a clock by how much the equation 
 of time is on that dily. When, therefore, 
 we, set a clock or watch by the dial, we 
 must attend to what the equation of time 
 is upon that day by a table, such as that 
 given below, and allow for it : thus, if the 
 equation be 4 minutes, as it is on new year’s 
 day, and the watch or clock be faster than 
 the srin ; then the watch or clock must be 
 made to show 4 minutes past 12 when the 
 dial shows 12 precisely. On the 30th of 
 April, when the dial shows 12, the clock of 
 watch, to be accurate, must want 3 minutes 
 of that hour, and so of the rest. In calcu- 
 lating tables of the equation of time, for 
 every day in the year, the sun and clock 
 are set together, when the sun is in his apo- 
 gee, and then they investigate the differ- 
 ence between the sun and the clock, for 
 every day at noon, and insert them in a ta- 
 ble, stating, by means of the signs and 
 
 how much the clock is before or after 
 
 the sun. The inclination of the equator to 
 the ecliptic, upon which the equation of 
 time partly depends, and the place of the 
 sun’s apogee, when the clock and sun set 
 off together, being both subject to vary, the 
 equation of time ;or the same days of the 
 year, will every year vary, and therefore it 
 must, where great accuracy is required, be 
 calculated for every year. Besides the 
 time when the sun is in his apogee, there 
 are three other times of the year when the 
 clock and sun agree, or when mean and 
 apparent time is the same, as will be seen 
 
 i 
 
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. 
 
 in the followiog table, which is adapted to 
 the second year after Bissextile, and will 
 always be found within a few seconds of 
 
 the truth, and therefore sntRciently accu- 
 rate tor all common purposes. 
 
 TABLE FOR THE EQUATION OP TIME. 
 
 Jan. 1 
 
 4-f- 
 
 - 
 
 April 1 
 
 4-f- 
 
 O 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 3 - 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 2 ' 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 12 
 
 ■9 
 
 * 
 
 
 15 
 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 1 — 
 
 18 
 
 11 
 
 24 
 
 2 
 
 21 
 
 12 
 
 30 
 
 3 
 
 25 
 
 13 
 
 May 13 
 
 4 
 
 31 
 
 14 
 
 29 
 
 3 
 
 Feb. 10 
 
 15 
 
 June 5 
 
 2 
 
 21 
 
 14 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
 27 
 
 13 
 
 15 
 
 0 
 
 Mar. 4 
 
 12 
 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 11 
 
 20 ' 
 
 l-f- 
 
 12 
 
 10 
 
 25 
 
 2 
 
 15 
 
 9 
 
 29 
 
 3 
 
 19 
 
 8 
 
 July 5 
 
 4 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 25 
 
 6 
 
 28 
 
 6 
 
 28 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 TRIGONOMETRY. Some of the re- 
 ferences to the figures are not quite correct, 
 but the figures speaking so plainly for them- 
 selves, a more particular correction is 
 deemed unnecessary. 
 
 UNITARIANS. In the third page of 
 this article, for Polones Fratres, read Fratres 
 
 Aug. 9 
 
 5 -f- 
 
 Oct. 27 
 
 16 — 
 
 15 
 
 4 
 
 Nov/15 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 3 
 
 20 
 
 14 
 
 ■ 24 
 
 2 
 
 24 
 
 13 
 
 28 
 
 1 
 
 27 
 
 12 
 
 31 
 
 0 
 
 30 
 
 11 
 
 » 
 
 
 Dec. 2 
 
 10 
 
 Sep. 3 
 
 1 — 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 7 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 6 
 
 15 
 
 5 
 
 13 
 
 5 
 
 18 
 
 6 
 
 16 
 
 4 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 
 18 
 
 3 
 
 24 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 2 
 
 27 
 
 9 
 
 22 
 
 1 
 
 30 
 
 10 
 
 24 
 
 0 
 
 Oct. 3 
 
 11 
 
 lit 
 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 26 
 
 1 -f. 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 28 
 
 2 ~ 
 
 14 
 
 14 
 
 30 
 
 
 19 
 
 15 
 
 
 
 Poloni. In the fifth page, for similar, read 
 nearly similar. 
 
 Such, it is believed, are the chief errors 
 and omissions t others of less importance the 
 candid and liberal reader will excuse, and 
 will readily correct for himself. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 C. WHITTIKGHAM, Printer 
 103, Goswell Street. ’ 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 The Binder is requested to place the Plates in the following order, 
 taking care, to make all the Plates face an even Page, unless 
 otherwise directed. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Acoustics, opposite the article Acquittal. 
 Aerostation, in tlie middle of Sheet D. 
 
 Anatomy I. to VI. at the end of Sheet P. 
 Architecture I. and II. at the end of Sheet Y. 
 Astronomy II. at the end of Sheet D d. 
 
 III. at the end of the article Astronomy. 
 
 Aves I. at the end of tlie article Ayes. 
 
 II. and III. at the end of the article Ardea. 
 
 Beer Engine, opposite to the article Begonia. 
 Biography at the end of the article Biography. 
 Botany I. middle of Sheet P p. 
 
 • II. at the end of Sheet P p. 
 
 — III. at the end of the article Botany. 
 
 Life Boat at the end of sheet N n. 
 
 f. 
 
 Mammalia, PI. 1. at the middle of Sheet R. 
 
 — II. at the end of the article Bos. 
 
 III. in the middle of Sheet R r. 
 
 MiscELLANtES I. at the end of the article Barometer. 
 
 * 
 
 Pisces I. middle of article Bal^na. 
 
 Solar Sy'STEM at the end of Sheet C c 
 
 VOL. 11. 
 
 Ayes IV. at the end of Sheet R. 
 
 V. in tlie middle of Sheet D d. 
 
 Cannon Boring, at the end of the article Cannon. 
 Circular Instrument, opposite the article Circle. , 
 Clock Work, opposite the article Clock Work. 
 
 Conic Sectio .'S I. at the end of Sheet Z. 
 
 II. III. and IV. middle of Sheet A a. 
 
 — ^ V, opposite to the article Conjugation. 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Ckanes, middle of Sheet D d. 
 
 Crystallography I. and II. end of article Crystallography. 
 
 Dialling, at the end of the article Dial. 
 
 Diving Bell, middle of Sheet M m. 
 
 Drawing I. 11. III. middle of Sheet N n. ‘ 
 
 Dynamics, middle of Sheet Q q 
 
 Entomology I. opposite the article Ceratonia. 
 
 — II. end of Vol. II. 
 
 Mammalia IV. opposite the article Camelopardalis. 
 
 V. end of the article Canis. ' 
 
 VI. end of Sheet F. 
 
 VII. opposite the article Datisi. 
 
 VIII. opposite the article Deer. ' 
 
 IX. opposite the article Dipus. 
 
 Miscellanies II. opposite the article Category. 
 
 ■ III. opposite the article Cycloid. 
 
 — IV. at the end of Sheet R r. 
 
 Pisces IL opposite the article Chevron. 
 
 III. end of Sheet H h. 
 
 Serpentes opposite the article Crotches. 
 
 VOL. III. 
 
 Aves VI. middle of Sheet Q. 
 
 .. VII. middle of Sheet E e. 
 
 FoUtificatioij, at the end of Sheet O. 
 
 Galvanism, opposite the article GamRoge. 
 Geometry, Opposite the article Georgic. 
 
 Glass Blowing, at the end of Sheet Y. 
 
 Gothic Architecture, opposite the article Gou an i A. 
 
 Heraldry I. and II. middle of Sheet G g. 
 
 Hoko logy, middle of Sheet I i. 
 
 Hydr aulics, at the end of Sheet K k. 
 
 Iron Foundry, at the end of Vol. III. 
 
 Mammalia' X. to face the first article Ellipsis. 
 
 XI. at the end of Sheet D. ^ 
 
 XII. at the end of Sheet G. 
 
 XIII. at the end of Sheet I. 
 
 — — r- XIV. at the end of Sheet L 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 Miscellanies V. at the end of Sheet M. 
 
 VI. at the middle of Sheet D d. 
 
 VII. at the middle of Sheet M m. 
 
 Pisces IV. opposite the article Gy-MNOTus. 
 
 Rowntree’s Fire Engine 
 
 double barrelled Pump Engine 
 
 Trevithick’s Pressure Engine 
 
 VOL. IV. 
 
 Amphibia I. at the end of Sheet D. 
 
 Ayes VIII. at the end of Sheet C c. 
 
 IX. opposite the article Meridian. 
 
 Compound Microscope, opposite the article Microtea. 
 Electricaj. Machinery, at the middle of Sheet N. 
 Irrigation, to face the First Page. 
 
 Laboratory, opposite the article Labour. 
 
 Lamp, at the middle of Sheet E. 
 
 Lathe, opposite the article^ Latitat. 
 
 Level, at the end of article Level. 
 
 Mammalia XV. opposite the article Manettia. 
 
 XVI. at the end of Sheet P p. 
 
 Maps, in the middle of Sheet E. 
 
 Mechanics I. at the end of Sheet X. 
 
 11. second leaf of Sheet Y. 
 
 Mill-work, in the middle of Sheet I i. 
 
 Miscellanies VIII. opposite the article Logarithms. 
 
 ■ IX. opposite the article Lu.yette. 
 
 X. in the middle of the article Mensu ration. 
 
 XL at the epd of the article Navigation. 
 
 Music, in the middle of Sheet O o. 
 
 Pisces V. in the middle of Slieet N n. 
 
 'Water Wheels, opposite article Mill wind. 
 
 VOL. V. 
 
 Aves X. opposite the article Pascal. 
 
 XL opposite the article Penguin. 
 
 XII. in the middle of Sheet M m. 
 
 Entomology III. at the end of Sheet H. 
 
 Machine for boring pipes, opposite the article Pirate, 
 Mammalia XVII. opposite the article Ounce. 
 
 • XVIIL in the middlej of Sheet P p. 
 
 1 
 
 opposite the article 
 Engineer. 
 
LIST OF plates. 
 
 Miscellanies XII. in the middle of Sheet E e. 
 XIII. at the end of Sheet M m. 
 
 Observatory, opposite the article Obsidian. 
 
 Optics I. and II. at the end of the article Optics. 
 
 Organ I. and II. at the end of Sheet E. 
 
 Oryctology I. in the middle of Sheet F. 
 
 '■ II. at the end of Sheet F. 
 
 Paper mill, at the end of the article Paper. 
 
 Parabola, in the middle of Sheet I. 
 
 PentAgraph, at the end of Sheet L. 
 
 Perambulator, second leaf of Sheet M. 
 
 Perspective, at the end of the article Perspective. 
 Planetarium, in the middle of Sheet C c. 
 
 Pneumatics, opposite the article Pneumora. 
 
 Presses, second leaf in H h. 
 
 Reflecting circle, opposite the article Reformation. 
 Rolling mill, opposite the article Roman Catholics. 
 
 % 
 
 VOL. VI. 
 
 Amphibia II. at the end of Sheet B b. 
 
 Aves XIII. opposite the article Sterna. 
 
 XIV. at the end of Sheet L 1. 
 
 Entomology IV. in the middle of Sheet H h. 
 
 Loom, opposite the article Weaving. 
 
 Mammalia XIX. end of Sheet L. 
 
 XX. end of Sheet Z. 
 
 XXI. end of Sheet L 1. 
 
 Miscellanies XIV. in the middle of Sheet A a. 
 
 XV. opposite the article Trinomial. 
 
 XVI. at the end'of the article Writing. 
 
 Pisces VI. in the middle of the Last Sheet. 
 
 Sawmill, opposite the article Saxifuaga. 
 
 Scotograph, opposite the article Scribing. 
 
 Short hand I. and II. at the end of the article Short hand. 
 Steam engine I. and 11. opposite the article Steatite. 
 
 Watch work, in the middle of Sheet M m. 
 
 Wind mill, at the end of Sheet O o. 
 
■s5-e)'mo^^ v.fc