LIBRARY OF TIIK UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. OK Mrs. SARAH P. WALS WORTH. Received October, ^Accessions No.Oo /^Q. Class No. ARTS & SCIENCES - Olnstratedby .i.i|-iinb o.l' li > cli-R,m PHIL ABELPHIA . Riixter. *} !ft TH1 if) \ ijni -> AMERICAN EDITION OF THE BRITISH ENCYCLOPEDIA. OR DICTIONARY OF ARTS 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. ILLUSTRATED WITH UPWARDS OF 180 ELEGANT ENGRAVINGS. VOLI >^^ THB BESIT7] : <::-:' - ; ' 7 " v PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHED BY MITCHELL, AMES, AND WHITE, ALSO, BY INGRAM AND LLOYD, NASHVILLE. W. Brown, Printer, Prune Street 18*9. A "5" v, / UFIVJIESIT? PREFACE. THK experience of more than a century lias eminently proved the advantages of such works as exhibit, under an alphabetical arrangement, the complete circle of human knowledge. Dictionaries of language, of general terms, and of particular branches of science and art, have been multiplied by the labours of men fully qualified to display the subjects they have undertaken to discuss ; and the first characters in the various nations of Europe have been proud to rank their names and unite their exertions in the production of immense works, containing every subject which can engage the intellectual research or ac- tive occupation of man. The order of the alphabet has been so skilfully combined with that order which is in- dicated by the natural relations of the materials, that works of this description have been received with the most striking approbation; and, notwithstanding the great labour and expense required to keep pace with the rapid improvements and discoveries of modern times, the num- ber of Dictionaries of all descriptions have been so great, that it would be difficult, and perhaps useless, even to name them, and point out their respective merits. From the great Encyclopedias, each of which may be said to constitute an entire library, to those smaller com- positions intended for mere reference : from the hurried compilations of book-makers to those elaborate and lu- minous works, in which men of the highest reputation IV PREFACE. have recorded their comprehensive views, and their most striking discoveries, it is not difficult to observe and de- duce the distinct and separate utilities of each, and the duties to be expected from the editors and proprietors of such undertakings. Among the most obvious of these, it is indispensable that a new work should be called for, by circumstances which point out advantages of size, plan, and materials, not before adopted, and that the means to be employed, in the actual performance, should be such as must determine its worth and authority with every de- scription of readers. We are already in possession of the large Cyclopedia of Dr. lti<;r;s, which has advanced to its twelfth volume, by a progress that insures its regular completion, and in a style of execution which is truly honourable to the skill and diligence of those who have undertaken it ; to the activity and enterprise of the proprietors, and to a nation which has ever taken the lead in science and the arts. On the smaller dictionaries it is needless to en- large. After various deliberate consultations between the Proprietors, the Editor, and the principal gentle- men engaged in the different departments, it was conclud- ed, that a new Dictionary, appropriated exclusively to the Jlrts and Sciences, and containing a dense, accurate and ample exhibition of our whole knowledge respecting them, might with the greatest advantage be comprehend- ed in the limits of six large octavo volumes. It was accordingly decided, that the undertaking should be en- tered upon with vigour and activity, at the same time that the utmost attention should be paid to the means by which alone it was possible to insure the value of the in- PREFACE. V tended work. The year preceding its appearance was employed in digesting the plan, establishing correspon- dences, investigating the various sources of information, and settling the order and disposition of the materials ; and it was not until after those materials were in conside- rable forwardness, and the whole arrangement was be- fore the Editor, that the Proprietors thought themselves enabled to disclose their views, and express their confi- dence in the public support. If the value of a composition of the magnitude and ex- tent of the British Encyclopedia could be seen at once by a cursory or even by a diligent examination : or if the variety of subjects it comprehends would admit of the supposition, that a decision on its merits could be made, in a reasonable time, by general readers, it might then be consistent with the .becoming reserve of men, speaking of their own labours, to submit them wholly to the ulti- mate voice of a discerning public. But when by compi- lation from the works of authors, standing high in cele- brity for knowledge and for talents ; by the occasional abridgment and elucidation of the products of these re- searches ; and by the insertion, in almost every sheet, of treatises or disquisitions composed expressly for the pur- pose, the whole composition of a Dictionary of Science shall bear the marks of originality, it becomes a duty in the Editor, with regard to himself and the other writers, that he should, to a certain extent, point out what has been done in this respect. It would be truly gratifying to the Editor, if he might attempt in this place to express his sentiments of the trea- tises which have passed under his view in the conduct VI PREFACE. and disposition of the present work, and declare his obli- gations individually to each of the writers who have honoured him with their assistance in the completion of the undertaking ; but he fears that the language of ap- probation which he would in justice feel himself compell- ed to use, might be misconstrued into an unbecoming en- deavour to enhance, beyond its merits, the value of the publication. Some of the authors of the British Ency- clopedia have chosen to reserve their names. The Edi- tor has written and composed upwards of two hundred articles on Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, and Mecha- nics, and practical subjects relating to them, besides seve- ral of the lives of great men. The Mathematical Arti- cles, including the mixed subjects of Astronomy, Optics, Phonics, Statics, and many others, were drawn up by a popular author, who is well known for his writings on those subjects. The article Conic Sections was written by JAMES IVORY, Esq. of the Royal Military College of Marlow. To the Rev. Dr. CARPENTER, of Exeter, our readers are indebted for the articles Grammar, Language, Mental and Moral Philosophy, Understanding, the Ori- gin of Writing, and many others connected with the phi- losophy of the mind. For the articles Criticism, History, Poetry, and Rhetoric, our obligations are due to the Rev. WM. SHEPHERD, author of the life of Poggio Bracciolini. To J. J. GRELLIEK, Esq. of the Royal Exchange Insu- rance Company, are to be ascribed many valuable articles on Political Economy, the Doctrine of Annuities, Rever- sions, Assurance, &c. In our Medical Department, the articles Dietetics, Diseases and Treatment of Infancy, Materia Medica, PREFACE. Vll Medicine, Midwifery, and Pharmacy, were written by J. M. GOOD, Esq. the learned translator of " Lucretius," and author of many works in medicine, and the sciences connected with it. Those on Anatomy, Comparative Anatomy, the Natural History of Man, Physiology, Sur- gery, &c. were drawn up by W. LAWRENCE, Esq. of St. Bartholomew's Hospital. To a very ingenious pupil of Dr. SMITH, the celebrat- ed President of the Linnean Society, we are indebted for the introductory treatise on Botany. Dynamics, Hy- draulics, Music, Fortification, Perspective, and many other articles in Mathematics, and Experimental Philo- sophy ; and also those on Farriery and Gardening; were composed by Capt. WILLIAMSON, a gentleman well known to the literary and philosophical world. The ar- ticles Distillery and Galvanism were written by Mr. SYL- VESTER of Derby, whose discoveries in the latter new and promising department of experimental research are well known to philosophers. To W. Y. OTTLEY, Esq. we acknowledge ourselves indebted for the article Painting. And to Mr. J. P. MALCOLM, author of " The Antiquities of London," are to be ascribed those on Heraldry, To- pography, and other articles connected with the Arts. JAMES PARKINSON, Esq. author of an elaborate and ex- extensive work on the " Organic Remains of a former World," composed the articles Geology, Oryctology, Rocks, and Shells, which appear in this Dictionary* Those on Dyeing, and on the Manufacture of Cotton, de- duced from actual observation, with several others relating to practical Mechanics, and subjects of a mixed nature, were furnished by W. BOSWELL, Esq. ; and those on Vlii PREFACE. Weaving and Short-hand by Mr. NIGHTINGALE. Mr. PETER NICHOLSON is the author of the treatises on Ar- chitecture and Building : and the processes of particular Arts and Manufactures were either communicated by pro- fessional men, or in various instances drawn up under their inspection. When the reader shall have directed his attention to the ample quantity of original and excellent matter con- tained in the articles here pointed out, besides others more concise, and interspersed through the work, he will be enabled to form some judgment of its utility and com- parative cheapness. It is now a year since the Proprietors and Conductors of this work solicited the public encouragement, with a full determination to spare no exertions in performing the duties required in their arduous undertaking. The event, they trust, has gratified their expectation. The British Encyclopedia was commenced, has been regularly con- tinued, and is now completed in six handsome volumes, agreeably to the Prospectus. In the typographical exe- cution of this Dictionary, and in the engravings with which it is illustrated, they feel confident they may claim a superiority over every other work of the same kind. An extensive sale has already given proof of the appro- bation they have laboured to deserve; and they trust, that as the British Encyclopedia continues to increase in cir- culation, it will maintain the reputation it has already acquired. U JU J V J5 XV a 1 A ^ THE BRITISH ENCYCLOPEDIA, ABA A The first letter of the alphabet, and 9 one of the five vowels, is pronounc- ed variously; sometimes open, as in the words talk, walk , and at others close, as in take, wake. A is also used, on many occasions, as a character, mark, or abbreviation. Thus, in the calender, it is the first of the domi- nical letters ; among logicians, it denotes an universal affirmative proposition ; as a numeral, A signified 1 among the Greeks; but among the Romans, it denoted 500, and with a dash over it, thus A~, 5000. A, a, or aa, among physicians, denote ana, or an equal weight or quantity, of several ingredients. AAM, or HAAM, a liquid measure used by the Dutch, equal to 288 pints English measure. ABACK, in sea language, signifies the situation of the sails when their surfaces are flatted against the mast. They may be brought aback, either by a sudden change of wind, or an alteration in the ship's course. They are laid aback, to effect an immediate retreat, without turn- ing either to the right or left, to avoid some immediate danger in a narrow channel, or when she has advanced be- yond her station in the line of battle. ABACUS, in architecture, the upper- most member of the capital of a column. In the Greek Doric, it is a plane square fillet. In the Ionic, and Corinthian, moulded and enriched. ABACUS, among ancient mathemati- cians., was a table strewed over with dust, or sand, on which they drew their figures or schemes. ABACUS, in arithmetic, an instrument for facilitating operations by means of counters. Its form is various ; but tbut VOL. I, ABA chiefly used in Europe is made by draw- ing parallel lines, distant from each other at least twice the diameter of a counter 5 which, placed on the lowermost line, sig- nifies 1 ; on the second, 10 ; on the third, 100 : on the fourth, 1000 ; and so on. A- gain, a counter, placed in the spaces be- tween the lines, signifies only the half of what it would do on the next superior line. ABACUS, pythagoricus, a multiplication- table, or a table of numbers ready cast up, to facilitate operations in arithmetic. ABACUS, logisticus, is also a kind of mul- tiplication-table, in form of a right-angled triangle. ABACUS, harmonious, among musicians, denotes the arrangement of the keys of a musical instrument. ABACUS, Grecian, an oblong frame, over which are stretched several brass wires,, strung with little ivory balls, by the vari- ous arrangements of which all kinds of computations are easily made. ABACUS, C%z'ne$e,orSchwanpan,consis{% of several series of beads strung on brass wires, stretched from the top to the bot- tom of the instrument, and divided in the middle by a cross piece from side to side. In the upper space every string has two beads, which are each counted for fivej and in the lowest space every string has five beads of different values, the first being counted as 1, the second as 10, the third as 100, and so on. ABAFT, in sea-language, a term appli- ed to any thing situated towards the stern of a vessel : thus a thing is said to be abaft the fore-mast, or main-mast, when placed between the fore-mast, or main-mast, and the stern. ABAFT the beam, denotes the relative situation of any object with the ship, when the obiect is placed in any part of that A ABE ABE arch of the horizon, which is contained between a line at right angles with the keel and that point of the compass which is directly opposite the ship's course. ABAS, a weight used in Persia for weighing pearls, being one eighth part lighter than the European carat. ABASED, in heraldry, is said of the wings of eagles, &c. when the tip looks downwards to the point of the shield, or when the wings are shut ; the natural way of bearing them being spread. ABATE, in law, signifies to break down or destroy, as to abate a nuisance, and to abate a castle. It means to defeat and overthrow, on account of some error or exception. ABATEMENT, in heraldry, something added to a coat of arms, in order to lessen its true dignity, and point out some imper- fection or stain in the character of the person who bears it. ABATEMENT, in law, signifies the re- jecting a suit, on account of some fault cither in the matteror proceeding. Hence, plea in abatement is some exception al- leged, and proved, against the plaintiff's writ, declaration, &c. and praying that the plaint may abate or cease; which being granted, all writs in the process must be- gin de novo. AB ATOR, in law, one who enters into a house or lands, void by the death of the last possessor, before the true heir ; and therefore keeps him out, till he brings the writ intrusione. ABDOMEN, in anatomy, the lower part of the trunk of the body, reaching from the thorax to the bottom of the pelvis. See ANATOMY. ABDOMINALES, in natural history, an order of fishes, having ventral fins placed behind the pectoral in the abdomen, and the branchia ossiculated. This order comprehends sixteen genera, viz. Amia Cobitis Atherina Clupea Esox Cyprinus Elops Loricaria Exocoetus Fistularia Salmo Mugil Polynemas Teuthis Silurus Argentina ABDUCTOR, or ABDUCENT, in anato- my, a name given to several muscles, on account of their serving to withdraw,open, or pull back the parts to which they are affixed. See ANATOMY. ABERRATION, in astronomy, an ap- parent motion of the heavenly bodies, pro- duced by the progressive motion of light and the earth's annual motion in her orbit. Since light proceeds always in right lines, when its motion is perfectly undisturbed, if a fine tube were placed so as to receive a ray of light passing exactly through its axis when at rest, and then, remaining in the same direction, were moved trans- versely with great velocity, it is evident that the side of the tube would strike against the ray of light in its passage; and that, in order to retain it in the axis, the tube must be inclined, in the same man- ner as if the light, instead of coming in its actual direction, had also a transverse motion, in a direction contrary to that of the tube. The axis of a telescope, or even of the eye, may be considered as resem- bling such a tube, the passage of the light through the refracting substances not al- tering the necessary inclination of the axis, In various parts of the earth's orbit, the aberration of any one star must be differ- ent in quantity and in direction ; it never exceeds 20" each way, and therefore in- sensible in common observations. If A B and AC (Plate Acoustics, &c. fig. 1) re- present the comparative velocity of light and of the earth, in their respective direc- tions, a telescope must be placed in the direction BC in order to see the star D, and the star will appear at E. This dis- covery was made by Dr. Bradley, in his observations to determine the annual pa- rallax of the fixed stars, or that which arises from the motion of the earth in its orbit round the sun. ABERRATION of the planets, is equal to the geocentric motion of the planet, the space which it appears to move, as seen from the earth, during the time that light employs in passing from the planet to the earth. Thus, with regard to the sun, the aberration in longitude is constantly 20", which is the space moved by the earth in the time 8' 7", which is the time that light takes to pass from the sun to the earth. Hence, the distance of the planet from the earth being known, it will be, as the dis- tance of the sun is to the distance of the planet, so is 8' 7" to the time of light pass- ing from the planet to the earth ; then computing the planet's geocentric motion in this time, will give the aberration of the planet, whether it be in longitude, lati- tude, right ascension, or declination. The aberration will be greatest in longitude, and but very small in latitude, because the planets deviate very little from the plane of the ecliptic. InjMercury it is only 4^" and much less in the other planets. The aberration in declination and right ascen- sion depends on the situation of the pla- net in the zodiac. The aberration in lon- gitude, being equal to the geocentric mo- tion, will be more or less, according as ABO ABR that motion may be. It will be least whea the planet is stationary ; and greatest in the superior planets, when they are in opposition ; but in the inferior planets, the aberration is greatest at the time of their superior conjunction. ABERRATION, in optics, a deviation of the rays of light, when reflected, whereby they are prevented from meeting in the same point. Aberrations are of two kinds; one arising from the figure of the reflect- ing body, the other from the different re- frangibility of the rays themselves : this last is called the Newtonian aberration, from the name of the discoverer. ABETTOR, or ABBETTOR, in law, the person who promotes or procures a crime to be committed : thus, an abettor of mur- der is one who commands or counsels an- other to commit it. An abettor, accord- ing as he is present or absent at the time of committing the fact, is punishable as a principal or accessary. See ACCESSARY. An abettor is the same with one who is deemed arta.ndpart,bythe. law of Scotland. ABEYANCE, in law, is that which is in expectation, remembrance, and intend- ment of law. By a principle of law, in every land there is a fee simple in some- body, or it is in abeyance; that is, though at present it be in no man, yet it is in ex- pectaacy, belonging to him that is next to enjoy the land. Where no person is seen or known, in whom the inheritance can rest, it may be in abeyance, as in limita- tion to several persons, and the survivor, and the heirs of such survivor, because it is uncertain who will be the survivor, yet the freehold cannot, because there must be a tenant to the pracipe always. ABJURATION, in law, is used for re- nouncing, disclaiming, and denying the Pretender to have any mannerof right to the throne of these kingdoms ; and that upon oath, which is required to be taken upon divers pains and penalties by many statutes, particularly 1 W. and M. 13 W. HI. 1 Anne, 1 Geo.I. ABOLITION, in law, denotes the re- pealing any law or statute, and prohibit- ing some custom, ceremony, &c. Some- times also it signifies leave granted by the king, or a judge, to a criminal accuser, to forbear any farther prosecution. Abolition is also used by ancient civi- lians and lawyers, for desisting from, or annulling, a legal prosecution; for remit- ting the punishment of a crime; and for cancelling or discharging a public debt. ABOMASUS, ABOMASUM, or ABOMASI- TTS, in comparative anatomy, names used for the fourth stomach of ruminating 1 leasts, or such as chew the cud. Thest have four stomachs, the first of which is called "venter / the second, reticulum , the third, omasus; and the fourth, a&omawg. This last is the place where the chyle is formed, and from which the food descends immediately into the intestines. ABORTION, in medicine, an untimely or premature birth of a foetus, otherwise called a miscarriage ; but if this happen before the second month of pregnancy, it is only called a false conception. See MEDICINE, MIDWIFERY, &c. ABORTION, in law, if caused by giving a potion to, or striking, a pregnant wo- man, was murder, but now is said to be a great misprision only, and not murder, unless the child be born alive, and die thereof. ABOUT, in military affairs, a word to express the movement, by which a body of troops changes its front, by facing ac- cording to any given word of command. ABRA, a silver coin of Poland, nearly equivalent to the English shilling 1 . See COIN. ABREAST, a sea term, expressing the situation of two or more ships, that lie with their sides parallel to each other, and their heads advanced. When the line of battle at sea is formed abreast, the whole squadron advances uniformly. Abreast within the ship, denotes on a line with the beam, or by the side of any object aboard. ABRIDGEMENT, in law, the shorten- ing a count, or declaration : thus, in as- size, a man is said to abridge his plaint, and a woman her demand in action of dower, if any land is put therein, which is not in the tenure of the defendant; for, on a plea of non-tenure, in abatement of the writ, the plaintiff may leave out those lands, and pray that the tenant may an- swer to the remainder. The reason is, that these writs run in general, and there- fore shall be good for the rest. ABROMA, in botany, a word signifying not fit for food, is used in opposition to Theobroma, is a genus of plants belong- ing to the natural order of Columniferx, and the eighteenth class of Polyadelphia Dodecandria. There are two species, viz. the maple-leaved abroma, which is a tree with astraighttrunk,yieldinga gum when cut, and filled with a white pith like the elder; it flowers from June to October, and its fruit ripens in September and Oc- tober ; it is a native of New South Wales and the Philippine islands,was introduced into Kew gardens about 1770, and is a hot-house plant, requiring great heat, and much water: and Wheler's Abroma, go ABS ACA tailed by Koenig, in compliment to Ed- ward Wheler, Esq. of the Supreme Coun- cil in Bengal ; this is a shrub with a brown bark, a native of the East Indies, and is not known in Europe. There is but one of the species known in Europe, which is propagated with us by cuttings. The plant requires a strong heat, and abun- dance of water. The seeds rarely arrive at a state fit for propagation. ABRUS, in botany, from a Greek word signifying soft or delicate, so called from the extreme tenderness of the leaves, is a genus of the natural order of Legumino- sx, and the seventeenth class of Diadel- phia Decandria. There is one species, viz. the Abrus precatorius. It grows na- turally in both Indies, Guinea, and Egypt. It is a perennial plant, rising to the height of eight or ten feet. Its leaflets have the taste of liquorice, whence it is called, in the West Indies, Jamaica ivild liquorice, and used for the same purpose. There are two varieties, one with a white, and the other with a yellow seed. The seeds are commonly strung, and worn as orna- ments in the countries where the plant grows wild; and they are frequently "brought to Europe from Guinea, and the "East and West Indies, and wrought into various forms with other hard seeds and shells. They are also used for weighing precious commodities, and strung asbeacls for rosaries, whence the epithet precato- rius. They are frequently thrown, with other West India seeds, on the coast, of Scotland. This plant was cultivated by Bishop Compton. at Fulham, before 1680. Jt is propagated by seeds, sown on a good hot-bed in spring, and previously soaked for twelve or fourteen hours in water. When the plants are two inches, each of them should be transplanted into a sepa- rate pot of light earth, and plunged into hot-beds of tanner's bark, and shaded from the sun. They will flower the se- cond year, and sometimes ripen their seeds in England. ABSCESS, in medicine and surgery, an inflammatory tumour, containing pu- rulent ma;ter. See SURGERY. ABSCISSE, in conic sections, the part of the diameter of a curve line intercept- ed between the vertex of that diameter am! the point where any ordinatf, or semi-ordinate, to that diameter falls. From this definition it is evident, that there are an .nfinite number of variable abscisses in the same curve, as well as an infinite number of ordinates. In the parabola, one ordmate has but one abscisse ; in an ellipsis, it has two ; in an hyperbola, consisting of two parts, it has also two ; and in curves of the second and third order, it may have three and four. See CONIC SECTIONS. ABSCISSION, in rhetoric, a figure of speech, whereby the speaker stops short in the middle of his discourse : e. g. one of her age and beauty, to be seen alone, at such an hour, with a man of his cha- racter. I need say no more. ABSINTHIUM. See ARTEMISIA. ABSORBENTS, in the materiamedica, such medicines as have the power of dry- ing up redundant humours, whether ap- plied to ulcers, or taken inwardly. See MATERIA MEDICA and PHARMACY. ABSORBENT vessels, in anatomy, are those which take up any fluid from the surface of the body, or of any cavity in it, and carry it into the blood. They are de- nominated according to the liquids which they convey, as Lacteah, or Lymphatics , the former conveying chyle, a milky fluid, from the intestines ; the latter a lymph, a thin pellucid liquor, from the places whence they take their origin. The lymphatics also take up any fluids that are extravasated, and likewise sub- stances rubbed on the skin, as mercury, and convey them into the circulation. ABSTRACT idea, among logicians, the idea of some general quality or property, considered simply in itself, without any respect to a particular subject: thus, mag- nitude, equity, &c. are abstract ideas, when we consider them as detached from any particular body or person. Various controversies have been maintained re- specting the existence of abstract ideas; but all these disputes seem to be merely verbal. It is certainly impossible to pos- sess an idea of an animal, which shall have no precise colour, figure, magnitude, or the like ; but it is an useful artifice of the understanding, to leave these out in our general reasonings. Thus it is that the a, b, c, &c. of the algebraists are usefully applied to denote numbers, though un- doubtedly they are only general signs. ABUCCO, ABOCCO, or AROCCIII, a weight used in the kingdom of Pegu. ABUNDAN T numbers, those whose parts added together make more than the whole number : thus, the aliquot parts of 20, viz. 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, make 22. ACACIA, in botany, a species of mi- mosa. .See MIMOSA. ACACIA, in the materia medica of the ancients, a gum made from the Egyptian acacia-tree, and thought to be the same with our gum arable. ACADEMICS, a sect of philosophers', ACA ACA who followed the doctrine of Socrates and Plato, as to the uncertainty of knowledge, and the incomprehensibility of truth. Academic, in this sense, amounts to much the same with Platonist ; the differ- ence between them being only in point of time. They who embraced the system of Plato, among the ancients, were called Academici; whereas those who have done the same, since the restoration of learn- ing, have assumed the denomination of Platonists. We usually reckon three sects of Academics ; though some make five. The ancient Academy was that which was founded by Plato, and consisted of those followers ofthis eminent philosopher, who taught the doctrine of their master with- out mixture or corruption. The first of these was Speusippus ; he was succeeded byXenocrates. After his death the direc- tion of the academy devolved upon Pole- mo, and then upon Crates, and terminated with Grantor. After the death of Crates, a new tribe of philosophers arose, who, on account of certain innovations in their manner of philosophising, which in some measure receded from the Platonic sys- tem, without entirely deserting it, have been distinguished by the appellation of the Second, or Middle Academy. The first preceptor who appears in this class, and who, in consequence of the innova- tions which he introduced into the Pla- tonic school, has been commonly consi- dered as the founder of this academy, is Arcesilaus. Before the time of Arcesi- laus, it was never denied, that useful opi- nions may be deduced from the senses. Two sects arose about this time, which threatened the destruction of the Platonic system ; one was founded by Pyrrho, which held the doctrine of universal scep- ticism; and the otherby Zeno,which main- tained the certainty of human knowledge, and taught with great confidence a doc- trine essentially different from that of Plato. In this situation, Arcesilaus thought it necessary to exercise a cautious reserve with regard to the doctrine of his master, and to conceal his opinions from the vul- gar, under the appearance of doubt and uncertainty. Professing to derive his doc- trine concerning the uncertainty of know- ledge from Socrates, Plato, and other philosophers, he maintained, that though there is a real certainty in the nature of things, every thing is uncertain to the hu- man understanding, and consequently that all confident assertions are unreasonable. He thought it disgraceful to assent to any proposition, the truth of which is not fully established; and maintained, that, in ail questions, opposite opinions may be sup- ported by arguments of equal weight. He disputed against the testimony of the senses, and the authority of reason ; ac- knowledging, at the same time, that they furnish probable opinions sufficient forthe conduct of life. However, his secret de- sign seems to have been to establish the doctrine of Plato, that the knowledge de- rived from sensible objects is uncertain, and that the only true science is that which is employed upon the immutable objects of intelligence, or ideas. After the death of Arcesilaus, the Pla- tonic school was successively under the care of Lacydes,who is said to have found- ed a new school, merely because he changed the place of instruction, and held it in the garden of Attalus, within the li- mits of the Academic grove, and of Evan- der and Egesinus. Arcesilaus, however, had opposed the Stoics, and other dogma- tical philosophcrs,with such violence, and extended his doctrine of uncertainty so far, as to alarm not only the general body of philosnphers,who treated him as a com- mon enemy to philosophy, but even the governors of the state, who apprehended that his opinions would dissolve all the bonds of social virtue and of religion. His successors, therefore, found it difficult to support the credit of the academy; and Carneades, one of the disciples of this school, relinquished, at least in words, some of the more obnoxious tenets of Arcesilaus. From this period the Platonic school assumed the appellation of the New Aca- demy, which may be reckoned the third in order from its first establishment. Tt was the doctrine ofthis academy, that the senses, the understanding, and the imagi- nation frequently deceive us, and there- fore cannot be infallible judges of truth ; but that, from the impressions produced on the mind, by means of the senses, call- ed by Carneades phantasies,orim3ges,we infer appearances of truth,or probabilities, These images do not always correspond to the real nature of things, and there is no infallible method of determining when they are true or false ; and consequently they afford no certain criterion of truth. But, with respect to the conduct of life, and the pursuit of happiness, probable appearances are a sufficient guide, be- cause it is unreasonable not to allow some degree of credit to those witnesses who commonly give a true report. ACADEMY, in Grecian antiquity, a largo \ U!a in one of the suburbs of Athens, where the sect of philosophers called Aca- ACA ACA demies held their assemblies. It took its name from one Academus, or Ecademus, a citizen of Athens ; as our modern acade- mies take theirs from it. This term was also used metaphorically, to denote the sect of Academic philosophers. See ACA- DEMICS. ACADEMT, in a modern sense, signifies a society of learned men, established for the improvement of arts or sciences. See SOCIETY. ACJENA, in botany, a genus of the Te- trandria Monogynia class and order of plants. There is but a single species, which is a Mexican plant. ACALYPHA, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the Monoecia Mono- delphia class, and the natural order of Tricoccae, called the Tick-fruit. There are fourteen species : the A. virginica, grows naturally in Virginia, and in Cey- lon: the A. virgata is a native of the warm- est countries, and grows plentifully in Ja- maica ; its leaves resemble those of the annual nettle, and sting as much. Most of the other species are natives of the West Indies. The plants have no beauty to recommend them, and are preserved in some botanic gardens merely on ac- count of variety. ACANTHA, among botanists, a name given to the prickles of thorny plants. ACANTHA is also used by zoologists for the spines of certain fishes, as those of the echinus marinus, &c. ACANTHACEOUS, among botanists, an epithet given to all the plants of the thistle kind, on account of the prickles with which they are beset. ACANTHONOTUS, in natural history, a genus of fishes of the order Abdomina- les: the generic character is, body elon- gated, without dorsal fin ; spines several, on the back and abdomen. There is but one species, the nasus, about 30 inches long, a native of the East Indies. Tlie eyes are large, and the nostrils conspicu- ous : the body, which is of a moderate width for about the third of its length, gradually decreases or tapers towards the extremity: both head and body are cover- ed with small scales, and are of a bluish tinge, with a silvery cast on the abdomen: the pectoral fins are brown, and of a mo- derate size : the ventral rather .small, and of a similar colour: the lateral line is straight, and situated nearer to the back than to the abdomen: along the lower part of the back are ten strong but short spines, and beneath the abdomen twelve or thir- teen others, which are followed by asmall anal fin. (See plate I. Ichthyology, fig. 1.) ACANTHURUS, in natural history, a genus of fishes, of the order Thoracici, of which the gen. character is, teeth small, in most species lobated: tail aculeated on each side : general habit and appearance like the genus Chaetodon, which see. This genus consists of such species of the Lin- naean genus Chaetodon, as, in contradiction to the principal character of that genus, have moderately broad and strong teeth, rather than slender and setaceous ones : they are also furnished on each side the tail with a strong spine. There are twelve species, of which the principal is A. uni- cornis ; this is the largest of the genus, growingto the length of three feetor more. It is a native of the Indian and Arabian seas, in the latter of which it is generally seen in large shoals of two or three hun- dred each, swimming with great strength, and feeding principally on different kinds of sea- weed. This fish was described by Grew, in his Museum of the Royal Socie- ty, under the name of the Lesser Unicorn fish. Fine specimens are to be found in the British and Leverian museums. ACANTHUS, BEAR'S BREECH, or BRANK-URSINE, in botany, a genus of the Didynamia Angiospermia class, and be- longing to the natural order of Personatac. There are ten species : 1. The smooth acanthus, with white flowers, proceeding from about the middle to the top of the stalk, is the species used in medicine un- der the name of Branca ursina, or Brank- ursine. It is a native of Italy, about Na- ples, of Sicily, Provence, and the islands of the Archipelago, and is cultivated in our gardens, and flowers in June and July. Turner (in his Herbal in Hort. Kew.) in- forms us, that it was cultivated in Sion gardens so long ago as the year 1551. The leaves, and particularly the roots, abound with a soft, insipid mucilage, which may be readily extracted, either by boiling or by infusion. Rectified spirit digested on the leaves, extracts from them a fine deep green tincture, which is more durable than that which is communicated to spirit by other herbs. Brank-ursine is seldom or ever used medicinally in this country. But where it is common it is employed for the same purposes to which the Althaea, or marsh-mallow, and other mucilaginous vegetables, are applied among us. In fo- reign countries the cow-parsnip is said to be substituted for it, though it possesses very different properties. The leaves of this species of acanthus accidentallygrow- ing round a basket covered with a tile, gave occasion to Callimachus to invent the Corinthian capital in architecture. 2, The ACA ACA thistle-leaved acanthus was found by Sparrman at the Cape of Good Hope, and has many leaves, proceeding immediately from the root, resembling those of the thistle. 3. The prickly acanthus grows wild in Italy and Provence, and flowers from July to September. Its leaves are divided into segments, terminated with a sharp spine, which renders this plant trou- blesome to those who handle it. 4. The acanthus of Dioscorides, as Linnaeus sup- poses it to be, grows naturally in the East, on Lebanon, Sic. 5. The holly-leaved acanthus is an evergreen shrub, about four feet high, and separating into many branches, with leaves resembling those of the common holly, and bearing white flowers, similar to those of the common acanthus, but smaller. 6, 7, 8, 9. These species, viz. the entire-leaved, procum- bent, forked, and Cape acanthi, are na- tives of the Cape of Good Hope. 10. The Madras acanthus is a native of the East Indies. The smooth and prickly acanthi are pe- rennial plants, and may be propagated ei- ther by seeds, which should be sown in a light dry soil towards the end of March, and left to grow, about six inches asunder, till autumn, when they should be trans- planted where they are to remain : or by roots, which may be planted either in spring or autumn for the third sort; but the others must only be removed in the spring, because, if they are transplanted in au- tumn, they may be in danger of being de- stroyed by a cold winter. These plants take deep roots, and when they are once established in a garden, they cannot be easily eradicated. The 5th and 10th spe- cies are too tender to thrive out of a stove in England, and cannot be propagated, except by seeds, which do not ripen in Europe. The other sorts must be treat- ed in the same manner with Cape plants. ACANTHUS, in architecture, an orna- ment representing the leaves of the herb acanthus, and used in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders. See ARCHITECTURE. ACARNA, in botany, a genus belong- ing to the Syngenesia JEqualis class and order: receptacle chaffy: down feathery: calyx imbricate, invested with scales, co- rol. floscular. There are seven species. ACARUS, the tick or mite, in natural history, so called, because it is deemed so small that it cannot be. cut, is a genus of insects belonging to the order of Aptera, in the Linnaean system. Gmelin, in the last edition of Linnseus's system, has eighty-two species ; of which, some are inhabitants of the earth, others of water ; some live on trees and plants, other* among stones, and others on the bodies of other animals, and even under their skin. The generic character is, legs eight; eyes two, situated on each side the head ; feelers two, jointed ; egg-shaped. The most familiar species are, 1. the A. siro, or common cheese-mite, which is a fa- vourite subject for microscopic observa- tions. This insect is covered with hairs or bristles, which resemble in their struc- ture the awns of barley, being barbed on each side with numerous sharp-pointed processes. The mite is oviparous : from the eggs proceed the young animals, re- sembling the parents in all respects, ex- cept in the number of legs, which at first amount only to six, the pair from the head not making their appearance till after casting the'ir first skin. The eggs in warm weather hatch in about a week, and the young animal may sometimes be seen for a day together struggling to get rid of its egg-shell. The mite is a very voracious animal, feasting equally upon animal and vegetable substances. It is also extremely tenacious of life ; for, upon the authority of Leewenhoek, though highly discredit- able to his sense of humanity, we are as- suredthat a mite lived eleven weeks glued to a pin, in order for him to make observa- tions on. 2. The A. exculcerans, or itch mite, is a species of considerable curiosity, on account of the structure of its limbs : it is slightly rounded, and of a flattened shape, with the thighs of the two upper pair of legs extremely thick and short : the two lower pair of legs have thick thighs, proceeding from a very slender base, and are extended into a long, stout, curved, and sharp-pointed bristle. Dr. Bononio, an Italian physician, was the first who contended that the itch was oc- casioned by this insect, an account of which may be found in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 283. Dr. Baker is in- clined to think that it constitutes the /wo- ra, a species of itch distinct from others confounded with it. 3. A. autumnalis, or harvest-bug, of a bright red colour, with the abdomen beset on its hind part with numerous white bristles. It attaches itself to the skin, and is with difficulty disen- gaged. On the part where it fixes, it causes a tumour, about the size of a small bead, accompanied by a severe itching. The tick is of this species, which is to be found on dogs and other animals. Many of the acari attach themselves to insect* of a larger kind, and hence they take their names, as A. coleopterous, found on the' ACC ACC black beetle. (See plate I. Entomology, %. Land 2.) These insects, which are often very troublesome on plants, and in hot-houses, may be effectually destroyed by the fol- lowing 1 mixture. Take two ounces of soft green soap, one ounce of common turpen- tine, and one ounce of flour of sulphur ; pour upon these ingredients a gallon of boiling water, work the whole together with a whisk, and let the mixture be used warm. This mixture may also be of use for preventing the mildew on the peach and apricot ; but it should never be used on fruit-trees near the time when their fruits are ripening. A strong ley made of wood-ashes will likewise destroy the aca- ri ; but plants are greatly injured by this, and by briny and spirituous compositions. ACAULOSE, or ACAULOUS, among bo- tanists, a term used for such plants as have no caulis or stem. See CATJLIS. ACCEDAS adatriam, in law, a writ ly- ing where a man hath received, or fears false judgment, in a hundred-court, or court baron. It is issued out of the Chan- cery, and directed to the sheriff", but re- turnable in the King's-bench or Common- pleas. It lies also for justice delayed, and is said to be a species of the writ Recor- dare. ACCELERATION, in mechanics, de- notes the augmentation or increase of mo- tion in accelerated bodies. The term acceleration is chiefly used in speaking of falling bodies, or the* tenden- cy of heavy bodies towards the centre of the earth produced by the power of gravi- ty ; which, acting constantly and uniform- ly upon them, they must necessarily ac- quire every instant a new increase of mo- tion. See GRAVITATION. ACCELERATOR. See ASTATOMY. ACCENT, among grammarians, is the raising or lowering of the voice in pro- nouncing certain syllables of words. We have three kinds of accents, viz. the acute, the grave, and circumflex. The acute accent, marked thus ('), shews that the voice is to be raised in pronouncing the syllables over which it is placed. The grave accent is marked thus ( v ), and points out when the voice ought to be lowered. The circumflex accent is com- pounded of the other two, and marked thus (-~ or *) : it denotes a quavering of the voice between high and low. Some call the long and short quantities of sylla- bles accents ; but erroneously. ACCENT, in music, a term applicable to every modulation of the voice, both in speaking and in singing. It is to the stu- dy of this that the composer and perform- er should unceasingly apply; since, with- out accent, there can be no music, because there can be no expression. ACCEPTANCE, in common law, the tacitly agreeing to some act before done by another, which might have been de- feated without such acceptance. Thus, if a husband and wife, seized of land in right of the wife, make a joint lease or feofF- ment, reserving rent, and the husband dies ; after which the widow receives, or accepts the rent ; such receipt is deemed an acceptance, confirms the lease of feoft- ment, and bars her from bringing the writ cniinvita. ACCEPTANCE, among merchants, is the signing or subscribing a bill of exchange, by which the acceptor obliges himself to pay the contents of the bill. Bills payable at sight are not accepted, because they must either be paid on being presented, or else protested for want of payment. The acceptance of bills payable at a fixed day, at usance, or double usance, &c. need not be dated : because the time is reckoned from the date of the bill ; but it is necessary to date the acceptance of bills payable at a certain number of days after sight, because the time does not be- gin to run till the next day after that ac- ceptance: this kind of acceptance is made thus, Accepted such a day and year y and signed. See EXCHANGE. ACCESSARY, or ACCESSORY, in com- mon law, is chiefly used for a person guilty of a felonious ofl'ence, not princi- pally, but by participation ; as, by advice, command, or concealment. There are two kinds of accessaries ; before the fact, and after it. The first is he who commands, or procures, another to commit felony, and is not present himself; for if he be pre- sent, he 'is a principal. The second is he who receives, assists, or comforts any man that has done mur- der, or felony, whereof he has knowledge. A man may also be accessary to an acces- sary, by aiding, receiving, Sec. an accessa- ry in felony. An accessary in felony shall have judgment of life and member, as well as the principal, who did the felony: but not till the principal be first attainted, and convicted, or outlawed thereon. Where the principal is pardoned without attainder, the accessary cannot be arraign- ed; it being a maxim in law, Ubi non est principalis, non potest esse accessorius. But if the principal be pardoned, or have his clergy after attainder, the accessary shall be arraigned. 4 and 5 W. and M. ACC ACE tap. 4 ; and by stat. 1 Anne, cap. 9, it is enacted, that where the principal is con- victed of felony, or stands mute, or chal- lenges above twenty of the jury, it shall be lawful to proceed agaist the accessa- ry in the same manner as if the principal had been attainted ; and notwithstanding such principal shall be admitted to his clergy, pardoned, or delivered, before attainder. In some cases, also, if the prin- cipal cannot be taken, then the accessary may be prosecuted for a misdemeanor, and punished by fine, imprisonment, &.c. stat. ib. see stat. 5 Anne> cap 31. In the lowest and highest offences there are no accessaries, but all are principals ; as in riots, routs, forcible entries, and other trespasses, which are the lowest offences. So also in the highest offence, which is, according to our law, high treason, there are no accessaries. Cok. Littlet. 71. ACCIDENT. See LOGIC. ACCIPITRES, or rapacious birds, in the Linnxan system of ornithology, the first order of birds; the characters of which are, that the bill bends downwards, that the upper mandible is dilated a little on both side stewards the point, or armed with a tooth-like process, and that the nostrils are wide ; the legs are short and strong ; the feet are of the perching kind, having three toes forwards and one back- wards; the toes are warty under the joints, with claws hooked, and sharp at the points. The body, head, and neck, are musculous, and the skin very tough. The birds of this order subsist by preying on other animals, and on dead carcases, and they are unfit for food. They live in pairs, and are monogamous; and build their nests in lofty situations. The female is generally larger and stronger than the male, and usually lays four eggs at a time. This order corresponds to that of Ferae, and comprehends four generas, viz. VUL- TUR, FALCO, STIUX, and LANIUS, which see. ACCOMPANIMENT, in heraldry, de- ndtes any thing added to a shield by way of ornament, as the belt, mantling, sup- porters, &c. Accompaniment is also used for several bearings about a principal one, as a saltier, bend fess, &c. ACCOMPLICE, in law, a person who was privy to, or aiding in, the perpetra- tion of some crime. See ACCESSARY. ACCORD, in law, a verbal agreement between two or more, where any one is injured by a trespass, or other offence committed, to make satisfaction to the in- jured party ; who, after the accprd is per- VOL.L formed, will be barred in law from brings ing any new action against the aggressor for the same trespass. It is safest, how- ever, in pleading, to allege satisfaction, and not accord alone ; because, in this last case, a precise execution in every part thereof must be alleged; whereas, in the former, the defendant needs only say, that he paid the plaintiff' such a sum in full satisfaction of the accord, which he received. ACCOUNTANT-^wiernJ, in the court of Chancery, an officer appointed by act of parliament to receive all monies lodged in court, and convey the same to the bank of England for better security. The sa- lary of this officer and his clerks is to be paid out of the interest made of part of the money, it not being allowable to take fees in this office. Counterfeiting the hand of the accountant-general is felony, with- out clergy, by 12 Geo. I. c. 32. ACCOUTREMENTS, in a military sense, signify the furniture of a soldier, such as puffs, belts, pouches, cartridge, boxes, &c. ACCROCHE 7 , in heraldry, denotes a thing's being hooked into another. ACER, maple, in botany, a genus of the Monoecia order and Polygamia class of plants, and belonging to the natural order of Trihilata. There are 25 species. See MAPLE. ACETATES, in chemistry, a genus of salts formed by the acetic acid. They may be distinguished by the following properties: they are decomposed by heat? the acid being partly driven off, partly destroyed : they are very soluble in wa- ter: when mixed with sulphuric acid, and distilled in a moderate heat, acetic acid is disengaged : when they are dis- solved in water, and exposed to the open air, their acid is gradually decomposed. ACETIC acid, in chemistry. This acid is employed in different states, which have. been distinguished from each other by pe- culiar names. When first prepared, it is called vinegar ; when purified by distilla- tion, it assumes the name of distilled vi- negar, usually called acetous acid : when concentrated as much as possible by cer- tain processes, it is called in the shops ra- dical vinegar; but by chemists it is deno- minated acetic acid. One hundred part* of acetic acid are composed of 50.19 oxygen 13.94 hydrogen 35. 87 carbon 10U.OO ACH ACH ACETITES, a genus of salts formed by the acetous acid. ACETOUS acid. See ACETIC ACID. AC HANI A, in botany, a genus of the Monadelphia Polyandria class, and the natural order of Columniferae. There are three species, viz. the A. malvaviscus, scarlet achania, or bastard hibiscus, which is a native of Mexico and Jamaica ; culti- vated here in 1714 by the Dutchess of Beaufort,and flowering through the great- est part of the year : the mollis, or woolly achania, a native of South America and the West India islands, found in Jamaica by Houstoun, in 1730, and introduced in 1780 by B. Bewick, Esq. and flowering in Au- gust and September : and the pilosa, or hairy achania, a native of Jamaica, intro- duced in 1780 by Mr. G. Alexander, and flowering in November. Achania is gene- rally propagated by cuttings, which are planted in pots of light earth, plunged in- to a gentle hot-bed, and kept from the air till they take root, when they should be gradually inured to the open air. They must be preserved in winter in a moderate stove ; and, kept warm in summer, they Will flower, and sometimes ripen fruit. ACHERNER, in astronomy, a star of the first magnitude in the southern extre- mity of the constellation Eridanus. See the article BRIDA^US. ACHILLEA, milfoil, in botany, so call- ed from Achilles, who is supposed to have acquired some knowledge of botany from his master Chiron, and to have used this plant for the cure of wounds and ulcers ; a genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Su- perflua class of plants, and of the natural order of Composite Discoidese. There are 27 species, of which the most remarkable are the ptarmica, or sneezewort, M. grow- ing wild in all the temperate parts of Eu- rope, found in Britain, not uncommonly in meadows, by the sides of ditches, on the balks of corn fields, in moist woods and shady' places. The shoots are put into salads, and the roots, being hot and biting, are used for the tooth-ache, whence the plant has been called bastard pelhtory, and, on account of the form of the leaf, goose-tongue : the powder of the dried leaves, used as snuff, provokes sneezing, whence the name : in Siberia, a decoction of the whole herb is said to be successfully used in internal hemorrhages ; of this plant there is a variety with double flowers, call- ed batchelor's buttons; it flowers in July and August, and makes a tolerable ap- pearance ; and the millet'ollum, common M. cr yarrow, abundant in pastures and fey the sides of roads, flowering from June to September: mixed instead of hop* by the inhabitants of Dalecarlia in their ale, in order to give it an inebriating quality : recommended by Anderson, in his Essays on Agriculture, for cultivation, though thought to be a noxious weed in pastures; the bruised herb, fresh, is recommended by Linnaeus as an excellent vulnerary and styptic, and by foreign physicians in he- morrhages, and thought by Dr. Hill to be excellent in dysenteries, 'when adminis- tered in the form of a strong decoction. An ointment is made of it for the piles, and for the scab in sheep ; and an essen- tial oil is extracted from the flowers ; but it is not used in the present practice. ACHRAS, or SAPOTA-PLUM, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogyniu class, and of the natural order of Dumo- sae. There are four species, viz. The mammosa, or mamme sapota, otherwise called nippled S. or American manne- lade ; growing in America to the height of thirty or forty feet, with leaves a foot long, and three inches broad in the mid- dle, cream-coloured flowers, and large oval fruit, containing a thick, lusciou* pulp, called natural marmelade. This tree is planted for the fruit in Jamaica, Barba- does, Cuba,and most of the WestJIndia isl- ands, and was cultivated here by Mr. Mil- ler in 1739. Of this there is a variety call- ed the bully, or nisberry bully-tree, be- cause it is the tallest of all the trees in the woods : it is esteemed one of the best timber trees in Jamaica. 2. The sapota^ which grows to the height of sixty or se- venty feet, without knots or branches, and bears a round, yellow fruit, bigger than a. quince, which smells well, and is of an a- greeable taste. It is common at Panama, and some other places in the Spanish West Indies, but not to be found in many of the English settlements. It was culti- vated here by Mr. Miller in 1739. 3. The dissecta, or cloven-flowered S. cultivated in Malabar for the fruit, which is of the form and size of an olive, having a pulp of a sweetish acid flavour. Its leaves are used for cataplasms to tumours, bruised and boiled with the root of curcuma and the leaves of ginger ; supposed to be a native of the Philippine islands, and pro- bably growing in China, and found by Forster flowering in September, in the island of Tongatabu. 4. The salicifolia, or white willow S. called in Jamaica the white-bully-tree, or galimeta wood, which supplies good Umber. The bark of che sapota and mamnosa is very astringent, and is called corner Jamaicensis. Th'-s was once supposed to be the true Jesuits barfc* ACI ACO but its effects on the negroes has been pernicious. These trees cannot be pre- served in England but with great care and much heat. ACHROMATIC, an epithet expressing a want of colour, introduced into astro- nomy by De la Lande. ACHROMATIC telescopes, are telescopes contrived to remedy the aberrations in colours. They were invented by Mr. John Dolland, optician. See OPTICS, TE- LESCOPE. ACHYRANTHES, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class of plants, belonging to the natural order of Miscellanese. There are eleven species, but they have but little beauty, and are only preserved in botanic gardens. ACHYRONIA,in botany, a genus of the Diadelphia Decandria class and order: ca- lyx five-toothed; the lower tooth elonga- ted and cloven; leg'ume compressed, ma- ny-seeded; one species, viz. A. villosa, a shrub found in New Holland, with long silky hairs : leaves lanceolate, acute, en- tire, with silky hair round the margin. ACIA, in botany, a genus of the Mono- delphia Dodecandria class and order : ca- lyx five-parted, five petals, drupe dry, co- riaceous, fibrous, one-seeded. Two spe- cies,trees sixty feet high, found in GuiaR-a. ACICARPHA, in botany, a genus of the Polygamia Necessaria class and order: receptacle chaffy, the chaff uniting with the seeds after flowering ; seeds naked ; florets tubular ; calyx five-parted. One species, found in Buenos Ayres. ACID, in chemistry, a term originally synonymous with sour, and applied only to bodies distinguished by that taste ; but it now comprehends under it all substan- ces possessed of the following properties. Acids, when applied to the tongue, excite the sensation of sour; they change the blue colours of vegetables to a red ; they unite with water in almost any proportion; they combine with all the alkalies, and most of the metallic oxides and earths, and form with them those compounds called in chemistry salts. Every acid does not possess all these properties, but they all possess a sufficient number to distin- guish them from other substances. See CHEMISTRY. ACID1FIABLE base, or RADICAL, any substance capable of uniting, without de- composition, with such a quantity of oxy- gen as to become possessed of acid pro- perties. Almost all the acids agree with each other in containing oxygen, but they differ in their bases, which determine the species of the acid. Sulphur combined with certain portions of oxygen forms sul- phurous or sulphuric acid, according to the quantity of oxygen absorbed. ACIDOTON, in botany, a genus of the Monoecia Polyandria class and order ; it has male and female flowers on the same, or a different tree. There is but one spe- cies, viz. A. urens, a native of Jamaica, which grows to the height of eight or nine feet. ACIPENSER, a genus of fishes of the order Cartilagenei : the characters are, that the head'is obtuse, the mouth is un- der the head,retractile, and without teeth; that the four cerri are below the front, and before the mouth ; the aperture of the gills is at the side, the body is elonga- ted, and angulated with many series of scuta, or scaly protuberances. These may be ranked among the larger fish ; are in- habitants of the sea, but ascend rivers an- nually; the flesh of all of them is delicious; from the roe is made caviar, and from the sounds and muscular parts is made isin- flass ; they feed on worms, and other shes ; the females are larger than the males. There are five species: A. sturio, or common sturgeon, inhabits European, Mediterranean, Red, Black, and Caspian seas, and annually ascends rivers in the spring. (See plate I. Ichthyology, fig. 2.) A. schypa, inhabits the Caspian sea, and large lakes of Siberia. A. ruthenus, and A. stellatus, both inhabit the Caspian sea. A. hufo, inhabits the Danube, WoJga, and other Russian rivers, and also the Caspian. The skin of this species is so hard and tough, as to be used for carriage traces. See STUHGEOX. ACNIDA, Virginia hemp, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Pentagynia class and order. There is but a single species, viz. A. cannabina, which is a native of Vir- ginia, and some other parts of America; it is seldom cultivated in Europe. ACONITUM, aconite, wolf's-bane, or monk's-hood, in botany, a genus of plants of the Trigynia order and Polyandria class, and pertaining to the natural order of Multisiliquje. In the last edition of Linnaeus, by Gmelin, this genus compre- hends fourteen species ; most of the spe- cies of aconite have been deemed poison- ous. The ancients were so surprised at their pernicious effects, that they were afraid to touch the plants; and hence sprung many superstitious precautions about the manner of gathering them. Theophrastus relates that there was a mode of preparing the aconite in his days, so that it should only destroy at the end of one or two years. But some have ACO AGO questioned whether the aconite of Theo- phrastus, Dioscorides, Pliny, and other ancient writers, be the same with ours, or should be referred to the genus of Ranun- culus It is confidently affirmed that the huntsmen on the Alps, who hunt the wolves and other wild animals, dip their arrows into the juice of these plants,which renders the wounds occasioned by them mortal. A decoction of the roots has been used to kill bugs ; and the powder, dis- guised in bread, or some other palatable vehicle, has been employed to destroy rats and mice.The A. napellus, or common monk's-hood, has been long known as one of the most virulent of all vegetable poisons. Linnaeus says that it is fatal to swine and goats, but does no injury to horses, who eat it dry. He also informs us, from the Stockholm Acts, that an ig- norant surgeon died in consequence of taking the fresh leaves, which he pre- scribed to a patient. The effluvia of the herb in full flower have produced swoon- ing fits, and a temporary loss of sight. The leaves and shoots of this plant, used as salad, instead of celery, have proved fatal in several instances. But the most powerful part of the plant is the root. Matthiolus relates, that it was given by way of experiment to four condemned cri- minals, two at Rome, in 1524, and two at Prague, in 1561, two of whom soon died, and the other two, with great difficulty, were recovered. The juice applied to the wound of a finger, not only produced pain m the arm and hand, but cardialgia, anxi- ety, sense of suffocation, syncope, &c. and the wounded part sphacelated before it came to suppuration. Dodonaeus says that five persons at Antwerp died in con- sequence of eating it by mistake. The effects of this plant are, convulsions, gid- diness, insanity, violent evacuations, both upwards and downwards, faintings, cold sweat, and even death itself. Neverthe- less it has been used for medical purpo- ses. The Indians are said to use aconite, corrected in cow's urine, with good suc- cess against fevers. There is one species of it which has been deemed an antidote to those that are poisonous, called antho- ra, and those that are poisonous are called thora. The taste of the root of the species denominated anthora is sweet, with a mix- ture of bitterness and acrimony, and the smell is pleasant. It purges violently when fresh, but loses its qualities when dried. This is poisonous as well as the others .though in a slighter degree, and "^ -.el in the present practice. The sophers, assert, that it is the only vehicle; that, if there were no air, we should have no sounds whatsoever ; for it is found, by experiment, that sounds are conveyed through water with the same facility with which they move through air. A bell run< in water returns a tone as distinct as if rung in air. This was observed by Dr, Derham. who also remarked, that the tone came a quarter deeper. It appears, from the experiments of naturalists, that fishes have a strong perception of sounds, even ACOUSTICS. at the bottom of deep rivers, from hence it would seem not to be very material in the propagation of sounds, whether the fluid which conveys them be elastic or otherwise. Water, which, of all substan- ces that we know, has the least elasticity, yet serves to carry them forward : and if we make allowance for the difference of its density, perhaps the sounds move in it with a proportionable rapidity to what they are found to do in the elastic fluid of air. But though air and water are both ve- hicles of sound, yet neither of them, ac- cording to some philosophers, seems to be so by itself, but only as it contains an ex- ceedingly subtle fluid,capable of penetrat- ing the most solid bodies. One thing, how- ever, is certain, that whatever sound we hear is produced by a stroke, which the sounding body makes against the fluid, whether air or water. The fluid, being struck upon, carries the impression for- ward to the ear, and there produces its sensation. Philosophers are so far agreed, that they all allow that sound is nothing more than the impression made by an elastic body upon the air or water, and this impression carried along by either fluid to the organ of hearing. But the manner in which this conveyance is made 5s still disputed: whether the sound is diffused into the air, in circle beyond cir- cle, like the waves of water when we dis- turb the smoothness of its surface by dropping in a stone ; or whether it travels tdong, like rays diffused from a centre, somewhat in the swift manner that elec- tricity runs along a rod of iron ; these are the questions which have divided the learned. Newton was of the first opinion, lie has explained the progression of sound by an undulatory, or rather a vermicular, motion in the parts of the air. If we have an exact idea of the crawling of some in- sects, we shall have a tolerable notion of the progression of sound upon this hypo- thesis. The insect, for instance, in its motion, first carries its contractions from the hinder part, in order to throw its fore part to the proper distance, then it carries its contractions from the fore part to the hinder, to bring that forward. Something similar to this is the motion of the air when struck upon by a sounding body. All who have remarked the tone of a bell, while its sounds are decaying away, must have an idea of the pulses of sound, which, ac- cording to Newton, are formed by the air's alternate progression and recession. And it must be observed, that as each of these pulses is formed by a single vibration of the string, they must be equal to each other; for the vibrations of the string are known to be so. Again, as to the veloci- ty with which sounds travel, this Newton determines, by the most difficult calcula- tion that can be imagined, to be in pro- portion to the thickness of the parts of the air, and the distance of these parts from each other. From hence he goes on to prove, that eachlittle part moves back- ward and forward like a pendulum ; and from thence he proceeds to demonstrate, that if the atmosphere were of the same density every where as at the surface of the earth, in such a case, a pendulum, that reached from its highest surface down to the surface of the earth, would, by its vi- brations, discover to us the proportion of the velocity with which sounds travel. The velocity with which each pulse would move, he shows, would be as much great- er than the velocity of such a pendulum swinging with one complete vibration, as the circumference of a circle is greater than the diameter. From hence he calcu- lates that the motion of sound will be 979 feet in one second. But this not being consonant to experience, he takes in ano- ther consideration, which destroys entire- ly the rigour of his former demonstration, namely, vapours in the airland then hnds the motion of sound to be 1142 feet in one second, or near 13 miles in a minute, a proportion which experience had esta- blished nearly before. Many other theo- ries on this subject have been advanced by ingenious men, but our limits do not allow to enter farther into them. Since by experiment it has been proved that sound travels at about the rate f?1142 feet in a second, and that no obstacleshin- der its progress, a contrary wind only a small matter diminishing its velocity, the method of calculating its progress is easily made known. When a gun is discharged at a distance, we see the fire long before we hear the sound. If then we know the distance of the place, and know the time of the interval between our first seeing the fire and hearing the report, this will shew us exactly the time that the sound has been travelling to us. For instance, if the gun is discharged a mile off, the mo- ment the flash is seen you take a watch. and count the seconds till you hear the sound, the number of seconds is the time the sound has been travelling a mile. We are also enabled to find the distance between objects that would be otherwise immeasurable. For example ; suppose you see the flash of a gun in the night at sea, and tell seven seconds before you hear the report, it follows tkerefore that the ACOUSTICS. cfistance is seven times 1142 feet. In like manner, if you observe the number of se- conds between the lightning and the re- port of the thunder, you know the distance of the cloud from whence it proceeds. But, according to another philosopher,Dr. Thomas Young, the velocity of sound is not quite so great. " It has been demon- strated," he observes, " by M. De La Grange and others, that any impression whatever,communicatedto one particle of an elastic fluid,will be transmitted through that fluid with an uniform velocity, de- pending on the constitution of the fluid, without reference to any supposed laws of the continuation of that impression. Their theorem for ascertaining this velo- city is the same as Newton has deduced from the hypothesis of a particular law of continuation : but it must be confessed, that the result differs somewhat too wide- ly from experiment, to give us full con- fidence in the perfection of the theory. Corrected by the experiments of various observers, the velocity of any impression transmitted by the common air may, at an average, be reckoned 1130 feet in a second." Phil. Trans, vol. xc. Dr. Derham has proved by experiment, that all sounds whatever travel at the same rate. The sound of a gun, and the strik- ing of a hammer, are equally swift in their motions ; the softest whisper flies as swift- ly, as far as it goes, as the loudest thun- der. To these we may add, that smooth and clear sounds proceed from bodies that are homogeneous, and of an uniform figure ; and harsh or obtuse sounds, from such as are of a mixed matter and irregu- lar figure. The velocity of sounds is to that of a brisk wind as fifty to one. The strength of sounds is greastest in cold and dense air, and least in that which is warm and rarefied. Every point, against which the pulses of sound strike, becomes a cen- tre, from which a new series of pulses are propagated in every direction. Sound describes equal spaces in equal times. There is probably no substance which is not in some measure a conductor of sound ; but sound is much enfeebled by passing from one medium to another. If a man, stopping one of his ears with his finger, stops the other also by pressing 1 it against the end of a long stick, and a watch be applied to the opposite end of the stick or of a piece of timber, be it ever so long, the beating of the watch will be distinctly heard ; whereas, in the usual way, it can scarcely be heard at the distance o 1 ' 15 or 18 feet. The same effect will take place if he stops both his ears with his hands, and rests his teeth, his temple, or the car- tilaginous part of one of his ears, against the end of the slick. Instead of a watch, a gentle scratch may be made at one end of a pole or rod, and the person who keeps the ear in close contact with the other end of the pole will hear it very plainly. Thus, persons who are dull of hearing may, by applying their teeth to some part of an harpsichord, or other sounding body, hear the sound much better than other- wise. If a person tie a poker or any other piece of metal on to the middle of a strip of flan- nel about a yard long, then press with his thumbs or fingers the ends of the flannel into his ears, while he swings the poker against any obstacle, as an iron or steel fender, he will hear a sound very like that of a large church bell. Sound, like light, after it has been re- flected from several places, may be col- lected in one point, as into a focus ; and it will be there more audible than in any other part, even that at the place from whence it proceeded. On this principle it is that a whispering gallery is construct- ed. The form of a whispering gallery must be that of a concave hemisphere, a"s ABC, plate Acoustics, fig. 2. ; and if a low sound or whisper be uttered at A, the vi- brations expanding themselves everyway will impinge on the points D, D,D, &c. and from thence be reflected to E, E, E, and from thence to the points F and G, tilt at last they all meet in C } where the sound will be the most distinctly heard. The augmentation of sound, by means of speak- ing-trumpets, is usually illustrated in the following manner: Let ABC, fig. 3. be the tube, BD the axis, and B the mouth-piece for conveying the voice to the tube. Then it is evident, when a person speaks atB in the trumpet, the whole force of his voice is spent upon the air contained in the tube, which will be agitated through its whole length, and, by various reflections from the side of the tube to the axis, the air along- the middle part of the tube will be greatly condensed, and its momentum propor- tionably increased, so that when it comes to agitate the air at the orifice of the tube AC, its force will be as much greater than what it would have been without the tube, as the surface of a sphere, whose radius is equal to the length of the tube, is great- er than the surface of the segment of such sphere, whose base is the orifice of the tube. For a person speaking at B, with- out the tube, will have the force of his voice spent in exciting concentric super- ficies of air all round the point B; and when ACOUSTICS. tlvose superficies or pulses of air are dif- fused as far as D every way, it is plain the force of the voice will there be diffused through the whole superficies of a sphere whose radius is BD ; but in the trumpet it will be so confined, that at its exit it will be diffused through so much of that spherical surface of air as corresponds to the orifice of the tube. But since the force is given, its intensity will be always inversely as the number of particles it has to move ; and therefore in the tube it will be to that without, as the superficies of such a sphere to the area of the large end of the tube nearly. But it is obvious, Dr. ~M. Young observes, that the confinement of the voice can have little effect in in- creasing the strength of the sound, as this strength depends on the velocity with which the particles move. Were this rea- soning conclusive, the voice should issue through the smallest possible orifice ; cy- lindrical tubes would be preferable to any that increased in diameter ; and the less the diameter, the greater would be the effect of the instrument; because the plate or mass of air to be moved would, in that case, be less, and consequently the effect of the voice the greater; all which is con- tradicted by experience. The cause of the increase of sound in thes6 tubes must therefore be derived from some other principles : and among these we shall pro- bablyfind, that what the ingenious Kircher has suggested is the most deserving of our attention. He tells us, that "the augmen- tation of the sound depends on its reflec- tion from the tremulous sides of the tube; which reflections, conspiring in propa- gating the pulses in the same -direction, must increase its intensity." Newton also seems to have considered this as the prin- cipal cause, in the scholium of Prop. 50, B. II. Princip. when he says, " We hence Tsee why sounds are so much increased in stentorophonic tubes, for every reciprocal motion is, in each return, increased by the generating cause." Farther, when we speak in the open air, the effect on the tympanum of-a distant auditor is.produced merely by a single pulse. But when we use a tube, all the pulses propagated from the mouth, except those in the direction of the axis, strike against the sides of the tube, and every point of impulse becoming a new centre, from whence the pulses are progagatedin all directions, a pulse will Mi-rive at the ear from each of those points. Thus, by the use of a tube, a greater num- ber of pulses are propagated to the ear, nd consequently the sound increased. 'The confinement too of the voice may have a little effect, though not such as is ascrib^ ed to it by some ; for the condensed pul- ses produced by the naked voice freely expand every way ; but in tubes, the late- ral expansion being diminished, the direct expansion will be increased, and conse- quently the velocity of the particles, and the intensity of the sound. The substance also of the tube has its effect ; for it is found, by experiment, that the more elas- tic the substance of the tube, and conse- quently the more susceptible it is of these tremulous motions, the stronger is the sound. If the tube be laid on any non- elastic substance, it deadens the sound, because it prevents the vibratory motion of the parts. The sound is increased iu speaking-trumpets, if the tube be suspend- ed in the air; because the agitations are then carried on without interruption. These tubes should increase in diameter from the mouth-piece, because the parts vibrating in directions perpendicular to the surface will conspire in impelling for- ward the particles of air, and consequent- ly, by increasing their velocity, will in- crease the intensity of the sound : and the surface also increasing, the number of points of impulse and of new propaga- tion will increase proportionably. The se- veral causes, therefore, of the increase of sound in these tubes, Dr. Young concludes to be, 1. The diminution of the lateral, and consequently the increase of the di- rect expansion and velocity ofthe included air. 2. The increase of the number of pulses by increasing the points of new propagation. 3. The reflections of the pulses from the tremulous sides of the tube, which impel the particles of air for- ward, and thus increase their velocity. An umbrella, held in a proper position over the head, may serve to collect the force of a distant sound by reflection, in the manner of a hearing-trumpet ; but its substance is too slight to reflect any sound perfectly, unless the sound fall on it in a very oblique direction. Th ?. exhibition of tiie Invisible Girl is said to depend on the reflection of sound; but the deception is really performed by conveying the sound through pipes, artfully concealed, and opening opposite to the mouth of the trumpet, from which it seems to proceed. When a portion of a pulse of a sound is separated by any means from the rest of the spherical or hemispherical surface to which it belongs, and proceeds through a wide space, without being supported on either side, there is a certain degree of divergence, by means of which it some- times becomes audible in every part of the ACOUSTICS. medium transmitting it : but the sound thus diverging is comparatively very faint. Hence, in order that a speaking-trumpet may produce its full effect, it must be di- rected in a right line towards the hearer ; and the sound collected into the focus of a concave mirror is far more powerful than at a little distance from it, which could not happen, if sound, in all cases, tended to spread equally in all directions. It is said that the report of a cannon ap- pears many times louder to a person to- wards whom it is fired, than to one placed in a contrary direction. It must, says Dr. Young, have occurred to every one's ob- servation, that a sound, such as that of a mill or a fall of water, has appeared much louder after turning a corner, when the house or oilier obstacle no longer inter- vened. Indeed the whole theory of the speaking-trumpet would fall to the ground if it were demonstrable that sound spreads equally in all directions. In windy wea- ther, it may be often observed, that the sound of a distant bell varies almost in- stantaneously in its strength, so as to ap- pear twice as remote at one time as an- other. Now, if sound diverged equally in all directions, the variation produced by the wind would not exceed one-tenth of the apparent distance ; but on the suppo- sition ot a motion nearly rectilinear, it may easily happen that a slight change in the direction of the wind shall convey a sound, either directly or after reflection, in very different degrees, to the same spot. The decay of sound is the natural con- sequence of its distribution throughout a larger and larger quantity of matter, as it proceeds to diverge every way from its centre. The actual velocity of the parti- cles of the medium transmitting it, appears to diminish, simply in the same proportion as the distance from the centre increases ; consequently, their energy, which is to be considered as the measure of the strength of sound, must vary as the square of the distance ; so that, at the distance of ten feet from the sounding body, the velocity of the particles of the medium becomes one-tenth as great as at the distance of one foot ; and their energy, or the strength of the sound, only one-hundredth as great. An echo is a reflection of sound strik- ing against some object, as an image is reflected in a glass : but it has been dis- puted, what are the proper qualities in a body for thus reflecting sounds. It is in general known, that caverns, grottoes, mountains, and ruined buildings, return this reflection of sound. We have heard of a very extraordinary echo, at a ruined VOL. I. fortress near Louvain, in Flanders. If a person sung, he only heard his own voice without any repetition ; on the contrary, those who stood at some distance heard the echo, but not the voice ; but then they heard it with surprising variations, some- times louder, sometimes softer, now more near, then more distant. There is an ac- count, in the Memoirs of the French Aca- demy, of a similar echo near Rome. It has been already observed, that every point against which the pulses of sound strike becomes the centre of a new series of pulses, and sound describes equal dis- tances in equal times; therefore, when any sound is propagated from a centre, and its pulses strike against a variety of obstacles, if the sum of the right lines drawn from that point to each of the ob- stacles, and from each obstacle to a second point, be equal, then will the latter be a point in which an echo will be heard. Thus, let A, fig 4, be the point from which the sound is propagated in all directions, and let the pulses strike against die ob- stacles C, U, E, F, G, H, I, &c. each of these points becomes a newcencre of pul- ses by the first principles, and therefore from each of them one series of pulses will pass through the point B. Now, if the several sums of tin- right lines A G -f- C B, A iJ-f-DlT, ~ A E -f- A G -f- G B, A H-f li B, A 1 + 1 B, &c. be all equal to each other, it is obvious that the pulses propagated from A to these points, and again from these points to B, will all ar- rive at B at the same instant, according to the second principle ; and, therefore, if the hearer be in that point, his ear will at the same instant be struck by all these pulses. Now, it appears, from experiment, that the ear of an exercised musician can alone distinguish such sounds as follow one another at the rate of 9 or 10 in a se- cond, or any slower rate : and therefore, for a distinct perception of the direct and reflected sound, there should intervene the interval of 4- of a second ; but in this 1142 time sound describes or 127 feet nearly. And, therefore, unless the sum of the lines drawn from each of the obstacles to the point A and B exceeds the interval AB by 127 feet, no echo will be heard at B. Since the several sums of the lines drawn from the obstacles to the points A and B are of the same magnitude, it ap- pears that the curve passing through all the points, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, &c. will be an ellipse. Hence all the points of the obstacles which produce an echo must C ACOUSTICS. lie in the surface of the oblong spheroid, generated by the revolution of this ellipse round its major axis. See COMC SEC- TIONS. As there may be several sphe- roids of different magnitudes, so there may be several different echoes of the same original sound. And as there may hap. pen to be a greater number of reflecting points in the surface of an exterior Sphe- roid than in that of an interior, a second or a third echo may be much more powerful than the first, provided that the superior number of reflecting points, that is, the superior number of reflecting pulses pro- pagated to the ear, be more than sufficient to compensate for the decay of sound which arises from its being propagated through a greater space. This is finely illustrated in the celebrated echoes at the lake of Killarney, in Kerry, where the first return of the sound is much inferior in Strength to those which immediately suc- ceed it. From what lias been laid down it appears, that, for the most powerful echo, the sounding body should be in one focus of the ellipse, which is the section of the echoing spheroid, and the hearer in the other. However, an echo may be heard in other situations, though not so favourably ; as such a number of reflect- ed pulses may arrive at the same time at the ear, as may be sufficient to excite a distinct perception. Thus a person often hears the echo of his own voice ; but for this purpose he should stand at least 63 or 64 feet from the reflecting obstacle, according to what has been said before. If a bell, a, fig. 5, be struck, and the undulations of the air strike the wall c d in a perpendicular direction, they will be reflected back in the same line ; and if a person be situated between a and c, as at x, he would hear the sound of the bell by means of the undulations as they went to the wall, and he would hear it again as they came back, after the reflection,which would be the echo of the sound. So a person standing at x might, in speaking in the direction of the wall cd, hear the echo of his own voice. But in both cases the distance c x must be 63 or 64 feet. If the undulations strike against the wall oblique- ly, they will be reflected off obliquely on the other side ; if, for instance, a person stand at m, and there be any obstacle be- tween that place uid the bell, so as to pre vent him hearing the direct sound, he may nevertheless hear the echo from the wall erf, provided the direct sound fall in that sort of oblique direction, so as to force the reflected undulations along the line c m. At the common rate of speaking, we do not pronounce above three syllables and a, half, that is, seven half syllables, in a se- cond ; therefore, that the echo raay return just as soon as three syllables are ex- pressed, twice the distance of the speaker from the reflecting object must be equal to 1000 feet ; for as sound describes 1142 feet in a second, 6-7tha of that space, that is, 1000 feet nearly ,will be described while six half, or three whole, syllables are pro- nounced ; that is, the speaker must stand near 500 feet from the obstacle. And, in general, the distance of the speaker from the echoing surface, for any number of syllables, must be equal to the seventh part of the product of 1142 feet multiplied by the number. In churches we never hear a distinct echo of the voice, but a confused sound, when the speaker utters his words too rapidly ; because the great- est difference of distance between the di- rect and reflected courses of such a num- ber of pulses as would produce a distinct sound is never in any church equal to 127 feet, the limit of echoes. But though the first reflected pulses may produce no echo, both on account of their being too few in number, and too rapid in their return to the ear, yet it is evident, that the reflect- ing surface may be so formed, as that the pulses which come to the ear, after two reflections or more, may, after having de- scribed 127 feet or more, arrive at the ear in sufficient numbers, and also so nearly at the same instant, as to produce an echo, though the distance of the reflecting sur- face from the ear be less than the limit of echoes This is confirmed by a singular echo in a grotto on the banks of the little brook called the Dinan, about two miles from Castlecomber, in the county of Kil- kenny. As you enter the cave, and con- tinue speaking loud, no return of the voice is perceived ; but on your arriving at a certain point, which is. not above 14 or 15 feet from the reflecting surface, a very distinct echo is heard. Now this echo cannot arise from the first course of pul- ses that are reflected to the ear, because the breadth of the cave is so small, that they would return too quickly to produce a distinct sensation from that of the origi- nal sound : it therefore is produced by those pulses, which, after having been re- flected several times from one side of the grotto to the other, and having run over a greater space than 127 feet, arrived at the ear in considerable numbers, and not more distant from each other in point of time than the ninth part of a second. M. De la Grange demonstrated, that all im- pressions are reflected by an obstacle ter- ACOUSTICS. tninating an elastic fluid, with the same ve- locii) with which they arrived at that ob. stacle. When the walls of a passage, or of an unfurnished room, are smooth and perfectly parallel, any explosion, or a stamping with the foot, communicates an impression to the air, which is reflected from one wall to the other, and from the second again towards the ear, nearly in the same direction with the primitive im- pulse : this takes place as frequently in a second, as double the breadth of the pas- sage is contained in 1130 feet; and the ear receives a perception of a musical sound, thus determining its pitch by the breadth of the passage. On making the experiment, the result will be found accurately to agree with this explanation. If the sound is predetermined, and the fre- quency of vibrations such, as that each pulse, when doubly reflected, may coin- cide with the subsequent impulse, pro- ceeding directly from the sounding body, the intensity of the sound will be much increased by the reflection ; and also in a less degree, if the reflected pulse coin- cides with the next but one, the next but two, or more of the direct pulses The ap- propriate notes of a room may readily be discovered by singing the scale in it ; and they will be found to depend on the pro- portion of its length or breadth tollSOfeet. By altering our situation in a room, and expressing a sound, or hearing the sound of another person, in different situations, or when different objects are alternately placed in the room, that sound may be heard louder or weaker, and more or less distinct. Hence it is, that blind persons, who are under the necessity of paying great attention to the perceptions of their sense of hearing, acquire the habit of dis- tinguishing, from the sound even of their own voices, whether a room is empty or furnished ; whether the windows are open or shut ; and sometimes they can even dis- tinguish whether any person be in the room or not. A great deal of furniture in a room checks, in a great measure, the sounds that are produced in it, for they hinder the free communication of the vi- brations of the air from one part of the room to the other. The fittest rooms for declamation, or for music, are such as contain few ornaments that obstruct the sound, and at the same time have the least echo possible. A strong and continued sound fatigues the ear. The strokes of heavy hammers, of artillery, &c. are apt to make people deaf for a time : and it has been known that persons, who have been long exposed to the continued and confused noise of cer- tain manufactories, or of water-falls, or other noisy places, can hear what is spo- ken to them much better in the midst of that noise than elsewhere. We shall conclude this article with an experiment or two, for the amusement of the younger part of our readers. Experiment 1,. Place a concave mir- ror, AB, fig. 6, of two feet in diameter, in a perpendicular direction, and at the dis- tance of about five or six feet from a par- tition EF, in which there is an opening equal in size to the mirror ; against this opening must be placed a picture, painted in water-colours, on a thin cloth, that the sound may easily pass through it. Be- hind the partition, at the distance of a few feet, place another mirror GH, of the same size as the former, and directly opposite to it. At the point C is to be placed the figure of a man, seated on a pedestal, with his ear exactly in the focus of the first mirror; his lower jaw must be' made to open by a wire, and shut by a spring. The wire must pass through the figure, and under the floor, to come up behind the partition. Let a person, properly in- structed, be placed behind the partition, near the mirror; any one may now whisper into the ear of the image, with the assur- ance of being answered. The deception is managed by giving a signal to the person behind the partition, who, by placing his ear to the focus I ofthe mirror GH, will hear distinctly what the other said, and moving the jaw ofthe statue by the concealed wire will return the answer directly, which will be heard distinctly by the first speaker. Ex. 2. Let two heads" of plaster of Pa- ris be placed on pedestals, on opposite sides of a room. A tin tube of an inch in diameter must pass from the ear of one head through the pedestal under the floor, and go up to the mouth of the other. When a person speaks low into the ear of one bust, the sound is reverberated through the length ofthe tube, and will be distinctly heard by any one who shall place his ear to the mouth ofthe other. The end ofthe tube which is next the ear of the one head should be considerably larger than that end which comes to the mouth ofthe other. If there be two tubes, one going to the ear, and the other to the mouth of each head, two persons may converse together, by applying their mouth and ear reciprocally to the mouth and ear of the busts, while other people, standing in the middle of the room, be- tween the heads, will not hear any part of the conversation. ACR ACR Ex. 3. Fig. 7 is a representation of the Eolian harp, which was probably invented by Kircher. This instrument may be made by almost any carpenter ; it con- sists of a long narrow box of very thin deal, about five or six inches broad, and two inches deep, with a circle in the middle of the upper side, of an inch and a half in diameter, in which is drilled small holes. On this side seven, ten, or more strings of very fine gut are stretched over bridg- es at each end, like the bridge of a fiddle, and screwed up or relaxed with screw- pins. The strings are all turned to one and the same note ; and the instrument is placed in some current of air, where the wind can pass over its strings with free- dom. A window, of which the width is exactly equal to the length of the harp, with the sash just raised to give the air admission, is a proper situation. When the air blows upon these strings with dif- ferent degrees of force, it will excite dif- ferent tones of sound ; sometimes the blast brings out all the tones in full con- cert, and sometimes it sinks them to the softest murmurs. There are different kinds of these in- struments ; one, invented by the Rev. W. Jones, has the striags fixed to a sounding- board, or belly, within a wooden case, and the wind is admitted to them through an horizontal aperture. In this form the instrument is portable, and may be used any where in the open air. The tension of the strings must not be great, as the air, if gentle, has not sufficient power to make them vibrate, and if it blows fresh, the instrument does not sing, but scream. See HARMONICS. ACQUITTAL, in law, is a deliverance or setting free from the suspicion of guilt ; as one who is discharged of a felony is said to be acquitted thereof. Acquittal is either in fact, or in law ; in fact, it is where a person, on a verdict of the jury, is found not guilty ; in law, it is M'hen two persons are indicted, one as a principal, &.c. the other as accessary: here, if the former be discharged, the latter of consequence is acquitted. ACQUITTANCE, a discharge in wri- ting for a sum of money, witnessing that the party is paid the same. A man is obliged to give an acquittance on receiving money : and a servant's ac- quittance for money received for the use of his master shall bind him, provided the servant used to receive his master's rents. An acquittance is a full discharge, and bars all actions, &c. in entomology, the name by which Linnaeus has distinguished the first family of the gryllus, or the cricket, pro- perly so called:" the characters of which are, that the head is conical and longer than the thorax, and the antennxensiform, or sword-shaped. Of this family there are eight species, none of which are found in Britain. The insects of this family feed on other insects. See GRYLLUS. ACROCHORDUS, in natural history, a genus of the class Amphibia, and of the order Serpents. There are but three spe- cies, viz. A. javanicus, warted snake, brown, beneath paler : the sides obscurely variegated with whitish. It inhabits Java, chiefly among the pepper plantations ; grows sometimes to seven feet long. The warts, by means of a magnifying glass, appear to be convex carinate scales, and the smaller ones are furnished with two smaller prominences, one each side the larger. Head somewhat flattened, hardly wider than the neck, body gradually thicker towards the middle, and suddenly contracting near the tail, which is short, and slightly acuminate. A. dubius, which very nearly resembles the javani- cus, except that the head is covered with very minute, rough and warted scales, differing in size alone from those on the other part of the animal. The dubius measures only about three feet in length. A specimen is to be seen in the British Museum. Its native place is not ascer- tained. A. fasciatus, resembles the du- bius so much, that some naturalists sup- pose them both to be of the same species, and differing only in age and cast of co- lours. The specimen in the British Mu- seum is about eighteen inches long. See plate Serpentes, fig. 1. ACRONICHAL, or ACHRONYCAL, in as- tronomy, an appellation given to the ris- ing of a star above the horizon, at sunset ; or to its setting when the sun rises. A- cronichal is one of the three poetical ris- ings of a star : the other two being called cosmical and helical. This term is also applied to the superi- or planets, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, when they are come to the meridian of midnight. ACROSTERMUM, in botany, a genus of the Cryptogamia Fungi class and or- der; fungus quite simple, nearly erect, emitting the seeds exteriorly from the top. There are four species. ACROSTICUM, rusty.back, -wall-rue, or forked-fern, in botany, a genus of the Cryp- togamia Filices ; the character of which is, that the fructifications cover the whole inferior surface of the leaf. There are ACT ACT 45 species distributed into different class- es. Few of the species have been intro- duced into gardens. Those of Europe may be preserved in pots, rilled with gra- vel and lime rubbish, or planted on walls and artificial rocks; but most of them, being natives of very hot climates, must be planted in pots, and plunged into the bark pit. ACTJEA, in botany, a genus of plants of the Polyandria Monogynia class and order. Gen. character : calyx perianth, four-leaved ; leaflets roundish, obtuse, concave, caducous; cor. petals four, acu- minate at both ends, larger than the ca- lyx ; filaments about 30 ; germ superi- or ovate ; no style ; stigma thickish, ob- liquely depressed ; pericarp a berry, oval- globose, smooth, one furrowed, one-cell- ed; seeds very many, semi-orbicular, lying over each other in two rows. There are four species, viz. the spicata ; racemosa ; japonica; and aspera. Of the first there are varieties, of the black-berried herb Christopher, or bane-berry, found in the northern parts of England ; the Christo- pher, with white berries, a native of Ame- rica ; and that with red berries. The racemosa, or black snake-root, found also in America, of which the root is much used in many disorders, and is supposed to be an antidote against the bite of the rattle-snake. This species is now more properly referred to the genus Cimifuga, and is called by Pursh Cimifuga Serpen- taria. See CIMIFURA. The leaves of the A. aspera being extremely rough, the Chi- nese use them in polishing their tin ware. ACTINIA, in natural history, a genus of the Mollusca order of worms; the cha- racters of which are, body oblong, cylin- drical, fleshy, contractile, fixed by the base; mouth terminal, expansile, sur- rounded with numerous cirri, and without any aperture. There are 36 species. These marine animals are viviparous, and have no aperture but the mouth. They feed on shell-fish and other marine animals, which they draw in with their feelers, in a short time rejecting through the same aperture the shells and indigestible parts. They assume various forms, and where the tentacula or feelers are all expanded, have the appearance of full-blown flow- ers. Many of them are eatable, and some of them very sfipid. ACTINOLITE, in mineralogy, a family, comprehending six species, viz. the acti- nolite, smaragdite, tremolite, cyanite, sya- lite, and schalstone. The actinolite oc- curs chiefly in beds in primitive moun- tains, and is divided into three sub-species, viz. the asbestos, common and glassy. The abestos colours greenish grey, moun- tain green, smelt blue, olive green, yel- lowish, and liver-brown. Massive, and in capillary crystals. Soft; brittle; specific gravity 2.5 to 2.9. Melts before the blow- pipe. The usual colour of the common is leek green, but its specific gravity is between 3.0 and 3.3. The principal co- lour of the glassy is mountain green, pass- ing to the emerald green. Specific gra- vity 2.9 to 3.9. ACTION, in mechanics and physics, is the influence of one body upon another, in generating or destroying its motion. It is one of the laws of nature, that ac- tion and re-action are equal, that is, the resistance of the body moved is always equal to the force communicated to it ; or, which is the same thing, the moving body loses as much of its force as it communi- cates to the body moved. If a body be urged by equal and con- trary actions or pressures, if will remain at rest. But if one of these pressures be greater than its opposite, motion will en- sue toward the parts least pressed. It is to be observed, that the actions of bodies on each other, in a space that is carried uniformly forward, are the same as if the space were at rest; and any powers or motions that act upon all bodies, so as to produce equal velocities in them in the same, or in parallel right lines, have no effect on their mutual actions, or rela- tive motions. Thus, the motion of bodies aboard a ship, that is carried steadily and uniformly forward, are performed in the same manner as if the ship was at rest. The motion of the earth round its axis has no effect on the actions of bodies and agents at its surface, but so far as it is not uniform and rectilineal. In general, the actions of bodies upon each other depend not on their absolute, but relative motion. ACTION, in law, denotes either the right of demanding, in a legal manner, what is any man's due, or the process brought for the recovering the same. Actions are either criminal or civil. Criminal actions are to have judgment of death, as appeals of death, robbery, &c. or only judgment for damage to the in- jured party, fine to the king, and impri- sonment. Under the head of criminal actions may likewise be ranked penal actions, which lie for some penalty or punishment on the party sued, whether it be corporal or pe- cuniary. Also actions upon the statute, brought on breach of any statute, or act of parlia- ACT ADA went, by which an action is given tnat did not lie before ; as where a person com- mits perjury to the prejudice of another, the injured party shall have an action up- on the statute. And Ksily, popular ac- tions, so called, because any person may bring them on behalf of himself and the crown, by information, &c. for the breach of some penal statute. Civil actions are divided into real, per- sonal, and mixed. Real action, is that whereby a man claims a title, lands, tenements, &.C. in fee, or for life, and this action is either posses- sory, or ancestral ; possessory, where the lands are a person's own possession or seisin ; ancestral, when they were of the possession or seisin of his ancestors. Personal action, is one brought by one man against another, upon any contract for money or goods, or on account of tres- pass, or other offence committed ; and thereby the debt, goods, chattels, &c. claimed. Mixt action, one lying as well for the thing demanded as against the person who has it; and on which the thing is recover- ed, with damages for the wrong sustained; such is an action of waste, sued against a tenant for life, the place wasted being re- coverable, with treble damages for the wrong done. ACTS of parliament, statutes, acts, edicts, made by the king, with the advice and consent of the lords spiritual and tem- poral, and commons, in parliament assem- bled. An act of parliament is the highest possible authority, and hath power to bind not only every subject, but the king him- self, if particularly named therein, and cannot be altered or repealed but by the same authority Where the common law and the statute law differ, the common law gives place to the statute, and an old statute gives place to a new one. Penal statutes must be construed strictly; thus a statute of Edw. I having enacted, that those convicted of stealing horses should not have the benefit of clergy, the judges conceived that this did not extend to him that should steal but one horse, and a new act for that purpose was passed in the fol- lowing year. Statutes against frauds are to be liberally and beneficially expounded. One part of a statute must be construed by another, that the whole may, if possi- ble, stand; a saving clause totally repug- nant to the body of the act. If a statute that repeals another is itself repealed af- terwards, the first statute is hereby re- vived. Acts of parliament derogatory from the power of subsequent parliaments bind not. Acts of parliament, that are impossible to be performed, are of no va- lidity. ACULEATE, or ACULEATED, an ap- pellation given to any thing that has acu- lei, or prickles : thus fishes are divided into those with aculeated and not aculeat- edh'ns. The same term is applied, in botany, to the stems and branches of those plants that are furnished with prickles, as the rose, the raspberry, and barberry trees. The prickle differs from the thorn, which is another species of armature, or defence, against animals, in being only a prolonga- tion of the cortex or outer bark of the plant, and not connected with nor protrud- ed from the wood. This is apparent, from the ease with which such prickles are detached from the stem with the bark, while the other and more rigid species of weapon, being an expansion of the ligne- ous body, cannot be detached, without ren- dering and tearing the substance of the wood. Prickles are either straight, as in the solanum indicum ; or bent inwards, as in the mimosa cineraria; or bent outwards; or downy, that is, covered with a sort of wool. See TOMKNTUM. ACUMINATE, in natural history, a term applied to fishes whose tails end in a sharp point. AD, a Latin preposition, expressing the relation of one thing to another. It is frequently prefixed to other words: thus, AD hominem, among logicians, an argu- ment drawn from the professed belief or principles of those with whom we argue. AD valorem, among the officers of the king's revenue, a term used for such du- ties, or customs, as are paid according to the value of the goods sworn to by the owner. ADAGIO, in music, signifies the second degree of music from slow to quick. It is applied to music not only meant to be performed in slow time,but also with grace and embellishment. ADAMANTINE spar, in mineralogy, one of the species of the ruby family, found only in China. Colour dark, hair brown. Massive, crystallized in six-sided prisms, and six-sided pyramids, having their apex truncated. Specific gravity 3.98. See RUBY. ADAMBEA, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Monogynia class and order, of which there is but a single species, which grows on the coast of Malabar, in sandy and stony places ; rises to about seven feet,and sends forth branches, which ADD ADH are terminated by panicles of fine purple flowers, large, and resembling roses. ADAXSONIA, in botany, a genus of the Monadelphia order, and Polyandria class, named after Michael Adanson, an inde- fatigable French naturalist. The A. digi- tata, Ethiopian sour-gourd, or monkies' bread, called also abavo, is the only spe- cies known of this genus. ADDER. See COLUBER. ADDITION, in arithmetic, the first of the four fundamental rules of that art, whereby we find a sum equal to several smaller ones. See ALGEBRA and ARITH- METIC. ADDITIONS, in law, denote all manner of designations given to a man, over and above his proper name and surname, to shew of what estate, degree, mystery, place of abode, &c. he is. Additions of degree are the same with titles of honour or dignity, as knight, lord, earl, duke, &c. Additions of estate are yeoman, gentle- man, esquire, and the like. Additions of mystery, or trade, are, car- penter, mason, painter, engraver, and the like. Additions of place, or residence, are, London, Edinburgh, Bristol, York, Glas- gow, Aberdeen, &c. These additions were ordained, to pre- vent one man's being grieved, or molest- ed, for another; and that every person might be certainly known, so as to bear his own burthen. If a man is of different degrees, as duke, earl, &c. he shall have the most worthy ; and the title of knight, or baronet, is part of the party's name, and therefore ought to be rightly used : whereas that of es- quire, or gentleman, being as people please to call them, may be used, or not, or varied at pleasure. A Peer of Ireland is no addition of ho- nour here ; nay, the law-addition to the children of British noblemen is only that of esquire, commonly called lord. Writs without the proper additions, if excepted to, shall abate ; only, where the process of outlawry doth not lie, additions are not necessary. The addition of a pa- rish, not in any city, must mention the county, otherwise it is not good. ADDITION, in heraldry, something added to a coat of arms, as a mark of ho- nour ; and therefore directly opposite to abatement. ADDUCTOR, in anatomy, a general name for all such muscles as serve to draw one part of the body towards another. See ANATOMY. ADELIA, in botany, a genus of the Dioecia Gynandria class and order. Male : caiyx three-parted ; no corolla; stamina numerous ; united at the base. Female : calyx five-parted ; no corolla ; styles three, lacerated. Capsule three-grained ADENANTHERA, in botany, a genus of the Decandria Monogynia class of plants, the calyx of which is a single-leaved perianthium, very small, and cut into five segments : the corolla consists of five lan- ceolated bell-shaped petals ; the fruit is a long membranaceous compressed pod, containing several round seeds. There are three species : A. paronina, which is one of the largest trees in the East Indies. Its duration is 200 years, and its timber is much used on account of its solidity : the powder of the leaves is used in their reli- gious ceremonies ; the seeds are eaten, and also valued as weights, being each of them four grains This species must be raised on a hot-bed from seeds. It has never flowered in England: it is of very slow growih. The other species, viz. the A. falcata, and A. scandens, have not been cultivated in this country. ADENIA, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and order, that grows in Arabia. There is but one species, which is mentioned by Fo-skal, in his Flor. JEgypt. He says, that the pow- der of the young branches mixed in any kind of liquor is a strong poison, and that the capparis spinosa is an antidote to it. ADFECTEDegwafr'os,in algebra, those wherein the unknown quantity is found in two or more different powers : such is xi a^+bx^za* b. ADHESION, in philosophy and chemis- try, is a term generally made use of to ex- press the property which certain bodies have, of attracting to themselves other bodies, or the force by which they adhere together : thus, water adheres to the fin- ger, mercury to gold, &c. Hence arises an important distinction between two words, that in a loose and popular sense are often confounded. Adhesion, denotes an union to a certain point between two dissimilar substances ; and cohesion, that which retains together the component particles of the same mass. See COHE- SION. Adhesion may take place either be- tween two solids, as two hemispheres of glass, which, according to an experiment of Desaguliers, adhere to each other with a force equal to 19 ounces on a surface of contact one-tenth of an inch in diameter ; or between solids and fluids, as the sus* ADH ADI , pension of water in capillary tubes ; or, lastly, between two fluids, as oil and wa- ter. About the same time Mr. Hauksbee proved experimentally the error which Bernoulli had fallen into, in attributing the adhesion of surfaces and capillary at- traction to the pressure of the atmo- sphere. Nevertheless, in 1772, M. M. La Grange and Cigna, taking for granted a natural repulsion between water and oily substances, imagined, if there was an ad- hesion between water and oil, or tallow, that it must be occasioned by a cause dif- ferent from attraction : and having ascer- tained the reality of the adhesion, they concluded that it was occasioned by the pressure of the air, and that Dr. Taylor's method was not well founded. Such was the state of opinions on the subject, when, in 1773, Guyton Morveau made his celebrated experiments on ad- hesion, in presence of the Dijon Academy, demonstrating, as indeed Hauksbee had done before him, not only that water as- cends between two parallel plates of tal- low, separated from each other 1,8 of a line, but also that the atmospheric pres- sure is not in the least degree the cause of the phenomenon, which is solely attribut- able to attraction; in proof of this, a po- lished disk of glass, 30 lines in diameter, was suspended to the arm of a balance, and brought into contact with the surface ef mercury : the counterpoise required to separate it was equivalent to 9 gros and a few grains ; and upon moving the apparatus into the receiver of an air- pump, and forming as perfect a vacuum as possible, precisely the same counter- poise was required as before. In the prosecution of his inquiries on this subject, he observed, that the same disk of glass, which, when in contact with pure water, adhered to it with a force equal to 258 grains, required a counter- poise of only 210, in order to separate it from a solution of potash, notwithstanding the superior density of this last. This inequality of effects on equal diameters, and in an inverse order to that of the respective specific gravities of the two fluids, appeared not only to be decisive in favour of Dr. Taylor's method, but to en- courage the hope of applying it to the calculation of chemical affinities. In order to verify this proposition, plates of the different metals in their highest state of purity were procured, perfectly round, an inch in diameter, of the same thickness, well polished, and furnished with a small ring in the centre of each, so as to keep them suspended precisely parallel to the plane of the hori- zon. Each of these plates was in turn suspended to the arm of an assay balance, and exactly counterpoised by weights placed in the scale attached to the oppo- site arm; the plate, thus balanced, was applied to the surface of some mercury in a cup, about two lines beneath it, by sliding the plate over the mercury, as in the silvering of mirrors, so as to exclude every bubble of air ; weights were then successively added, till the adhesion be- tween the plate and the mercury was broken. Fresh mercury was used for each experiment. The following is the table ot results : Gold adheres to mercury with a force equal to .... 446 grains, Silver 429 Tin 418 Lead 397 Bismuth 372 /inc 204 Copper 142 Antimony (regulus) . . . 126 Iron 115 Cobalt 8 The striking differences in the above table shew that the pressure of the at- mosphere has no share in them, since in this respect the circumstances of each were precisely similar ; nor do they de- pend on the respective specific gravities; for if so, silver should rank after lead, cobalt before zinc, and iron before tin. The only order which agrees with the above is that of the chemical affinity of these metals, or the respective degrees of their solubility in mercury. It is highly probable, therefore, that at least the prin- cipal part of the adhesive force thus found by experiment is owing to chemical affi- nity ; and that the above numerical series, 446, 429, 418, 397, &c. is an approxima- tion towards the ratio of the relative af- finities of gold, silver, tin, lead, &c. for mercury. ADIANTHUM, Maiden-hair, in botany, the name of a genus of plants of the Cryptogamia Filices class and order, the characters of which are, that the fructifi- cations are collected in oval spots at the ends of the leaves, which are folded back. There are forty -four species, of which one only belongs to Great Britain, viz. the A. capillus veneris, vrhich is found rarely in Scotland and Wales, on rocks and moist walls, and which is a native of the south of Europe and the Levant. From this the syrup of capillaire is made. Another species, the Adianthum pedatum, was formerly esteemed as a valuable article ADIPOCIRE. of the Materia Meclica. It lias, however, fallen into disrepute. ADIPOCIRE, is a term formed of udeps, fat, and cera, wax, and denotes a sub- stance, the nature and origin of which are thus explained. The changes which ani- mal matter undergoes in its progress to- wards total decomposition have been^ for many obvious reasons, but little attended to. But an opportunity of this kind was offered at Paris in 1786 and 1787, when the old burial ground of the Innocens was laid out for building upon, in conse- quence of which, the surface soil, and the animal remains contained therein, were removed. The cemetry, having been for ages appropriated to the reception of the dead, in one of the most populous districts of Paris, was eminently well calculated to exhibit the various process- es of animal decomposition ; another fa- vourable circumstance was, that it con- tained several of those large pits (fosses communes) in which the bodies of the poor are deposited by hundreds. These pits are cavities 30 feet deep, with an area of 20 feet square, in which the shells con- taining the bodies are closely packed in rows over each other, without any inter- mediate earth, and with only a slight su- perficial covering of soil, not more than a foot thick : each pit contained from 1200 to 1500 bodies, and may be considered as amass of animal matter of the dimensions above mentioned. M. M. Foucroy and Thouret were present at the opening of several of these receptacles , and it is from a memoir by the former of these, that the principal part of this article is composed. The first pit that was exam- ined had been filled and closed up fifteen years before ; on opening some of the coffins (for the wood was still quite sound, only tinged of a yellow colour) the bodies were found within shrunk, so as to leave a considerable vacant space in the upper part of the coffin, and flattened, as if they had been subject to a strong compression; the linen which covered them adhered firmly; and upon being removed, present- ed to view only irregular masses of a soft, ductile, greyish-white matter, appa- rently intermediate between fat and wax; the bones were enveloped in this, and were found to be very brittle. The bo- dies, thus changed, being but little offen- sive to the smell, a great number were dug up and minutely examined : in some this alteration had, as yet, only partially taken place, the remains of muscular fi- bres being still visible; but where the VOL. I. conversion had been complete, the bones throughout the whole body were found co- vered with this grey substance, generally soft and ductile, sometimes dry, but always readily separating into porous cavernous fragments, without the slightest trace of muscles, membranes, vessels, tendons, or nerves: the ligaments of the articulations had been in like manner changed : the connexion between the bones was destroy- ed, and these last had become so yielding, that the grave-diggers, in order to remove the bodies more conveniently, rolled each upon itself from head to heels, without any difficulty. According to the testi- mony of these men, to whom the facts just mentioned had been long familiar, this conversion of animal matter is never observed in those bodies that are interred singly, but always takes place in the fos- ses communes: to effect this change, nearly three years are required. The soapy matter of latest formation is soft, very ductile, light, and spongy, and con- tains water; in 30 or 40 years it becomes much drier, more brittle, and assumes the appearance of dense laminae; and where the surrounding earth has been drier than usual, it is sometimes semi- transparent, of a granulated texture, brittle, and bears a considerable resem- blance to wax. Animal matter, having- once passed into this stage of decomposi- tion, appears to resist for a long time any further alteration: some of these pits that had been closed above 40 years were, upon examination, found to be little else than a solid mass of soapy matter ; nor is it yet ascertained, how long in common circumstances it would continue unchang- ed, the burial ground of the Inndcens be. ing so small in comparison to the popula- tion of the district, as to require each pit in 30 or 40 years to be emptied of its contents, in order to receive a new suc- cession of bodies : it appears, however, that the ulterior changes depend in a great measure on the quantity of moisture draining through the mass. From the history of this singular substance, we proceed to an examination of its chemical properties. It was first, however, puri- fied by gently heating in an earthen ves- sel, till it became of a pasty consistence, and then rubbed through a fine hair sieve, by which means the hair, small bones, and remains of the muscular fibre, were separated with tolerable exactness. It this state, being exposed in an earthen vessel to the naked fire, it readily became soft, but did not liquify without consider.- D ADI ADJ able difficulty, rather frying as a piece of soap would do, and disengaging at the same time ammoniacal vapours. Four pounds being put into a glass retort, and submitted to slow distillation in a water bath, afforded in the space of three weeks eight ounces of a clear watery fluid, with a foetid odour, turning syrup of violets green, and manifestly containing ammonia in solution ; the soapy matter remaining in the retort had acquired a greater con- sistence, was become less fusible, of a deeper brown colour, and upon cooling, was evidently drier than before, though not admitting of being 1 broken. Eight ounces of soapy matter, white and puri- fied, were mixed with an equal weight of powdered quick lime ; on the addition of a little water, the mass heated, swelled, and disengaged a very strongly ammoni- acal vapour, accompanied by a peculiar putrescent smell ; a sufficiency of water being then added to bring the whole to the state of an emulsion, it was heated to ebullition, much ammoniacal vapour es- caping at the same time ; the liquor being thrown on a filter, passed perfectly clear and colourless, and appeared to be only lime-water, with a very small quantity of soap in solution : the matter remaining on the filter, being well washed, was beat- en up with water, but shewed no tenden- cy to unite with it, subsiding after a time in the form of a white mass ; this, by dry- ing for a few days in the open air, became grey, and much reduced in volume : ' it was then mixed with diluted muriatic acid, which immediately decomposed it, and a number of white clots rose to the surface of the liquor. This last being obtained clear by filtration, yielded crystals of muriat of lime, and a slight trace of phosphoric salt; the white clots being washed and dried, and afterwards melted in a water bath, cooled into a dry, com- bustible, oily matter, brittle, waxy, crys- tallizable, and perfectly insoluble in wa- ter, to which the name of adipocire has been appropriated. From this series of experiments with lime, it appears that the soapy matter is a true ammoniacal soup, with a base of adipocire, to which lime has a stronger affinity than ammo- nia ; but which last composition is again in its turn decomposed by all the acids, leav : ng the adipocire in a state of purity. Potash and soda produce effects perfectly analogous to these of lime. To the fore- going experiments of Fourcroy, a few facts have snice been added by Dr. Gib- fces. The receptacle at Oxford for those bodies which have been used by the ana- tomical professor there for his demonstra- tions, is a hole dug in the ground to the depth of thirteen or fourteen feet, and a little stream is turned through it, in or- der to remove all offensive smell : the flesh contained in this was found, on ex- amination, to be quite white, and for the most part changed into the soapy matter above mentioned. From this hint, pieces of lean beef were inclosed in a perforated box, and placed in running water, and at the end of a month were found converted into a mass of fatty matter ; this change was observed to take place much sooner, and more completely, in running than in stagnant water: in order to get rid of the foetid smell, nitrous acid was had recourse to, which immediately had the desired effect ; a waxy smell was perceived, and by melting the matter it was obtained nearly pure ; the yellow colour, which had been given to it by the nitrous acid, was wholly discharged by the oxymuriatic acid. A similar conversion of muscular fibre takes place by maceration in very diluted nitrous acid. Dr. Gibbes has not mentioned whether the fatty matter pro- duced by running water is pure adipocire, or ammoniacal soap ; it appears proba- ble, however, that it is in the former state; where nitrous acid is the men- struum employed, it is obviously impossi- ble that the ad'ipocire should be combined with an alkali. ADIT of a Jlfine, the hole or aperture whereby it is entered and dug, and by which the water and ores are carried away; it is distinguished from the air- shaft. The adit is usually made on the side of a hill, towards the bottom, about four or six feet high, and eight wide, in form of an arch ; sometimes cut into the rock, and sometimes supported with tim- ber, so conducted, as that the sole oi bottom of the adit may answer to the bot- tom of the shaft, only somewhat lower, that the water may have a sufficient cur- rent to pass away without the use of the pump. ADJUTAGE, or AJUTAGE, in hydrau- lics, the tube fitted to the mouth of a pipe through which a fountain plays. See HYDRAULICS. ADJUTANT, in the military art, an officer whose business is to assist the major, and therefore sometimes called the aid- major. ADJUTANT -general, an officer of dis- tinction, who assists the general in his la- borious duty: he forms the several 4e- ADM ADO fails of the duty of the army with the bri- gade majors, and keeps an account of the state of each brigade and regiment. In the day of battle he sees the infantry drawn up, after which he places himself by the side of the general, to receive or- ders. In a siege he visits the several posts, gives and signs all orders, and has a serjeant from each brigade to carry any orders which he may have to send. ADMEASUREMENT, in law, a writ for adjusting the shares of something to be divided. Thus, admeasurement of dower takes place, when the widow of the de- ceased claims more as her dower than what of right belongs to her. And ad- measurement of pasture maybe obtained, when any of the persons who have right in a common pasture puts more cattle to feed on it than he ought. ADMINISTRATOR, in law, the per- son to whom the goods, effects, or estate of one who died intestate, are entrusted ; for which he is to be accountable when required. The bishop of the diocese, where the party dies, is regularly to grant adminis- tration ; but if the intestate has goods in several dioceses, administration must be granted by the archbishop in the preroga- tive court. The persons to whom admin- istration is granted are, a husband, wife, children, whether sons or daughters, the father or mother, brother or sister, and, in general, to the next of kin, as uncle, aunt, cousin; then to a creditor. An action lies for and against an admi- nistrator, as for and against an executor ; only that he is accountable no farther than to the value of the goods. ADMIRAL, in maritime affairs, a great fficer, who commands the naval forces of a kingdom or state, and decides all mari- time causes. For the latter purposes a commission has been instituted in Eng- land, who, by a statute of W. and M. have the same authority as the Lord High Ad- miral. The admirals of England are merely naval commanders. Every other business relative to the navy at large is directed by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. See PRECEDENCE, ADMI- RALTY COURT, &c. ADMIRALTY, properly signifies the office of Lord High Admiral, whether dis- charged by one or several joint commis- sioners, called Lords of the Admiralty. ADMIRALTY-CO?/?-*, or Court of Admiral- ty, in the British polity, a. sovereign court held by the Lord High Admiral, or the i'ommissi oners of the Adtniraltv, This court has cognizance in all mari- time affairs, civil as well as criminal. All- crimes committed on the high-seas, or in great rivers, beneath the bridge next the sea, are cognizable only in this court; which, by statute, is obliged to try the same by judge and jury. But in civil causes it is otherwise, these being all de- termined according to the civil law ; the reason whereof is, because the sea is without the jurisdiction of the common law. In case any person be sued in the ad- miralty-court, contrary to the statutes, he may have the writ of supersedeas, to stop farther proceedings, and also an action, for double damages against the person suing. Subordinate to this court, there is ano.- ther of equity, called Court-merchant; wherein all causes between merchants are decided, agreeable to the rules of the civil law. ADOLIA, in botany, a genus of plants found among the trees at Malabar, which bear a near relation to the rahmnus. There are two species, viz. A. alba, with white flowers, which grows to the height of seven or eight feet, and bears fruit twice a year : the berries, when ripe, are of a purplish black colour : and A. rubra, with red flowers : but the berries, when ripe, are of an orange colour, and of an acid taste. ADONIS, Pheasant's Eye, or Red JMaiihs, in botany, a genus of the Polyan- dria Polygynia class of plants, the calyx of which is a perianthium, composed of five obtuse, hollow, somewhat coloured and deciduous leaved; the corolla consists of five oblong obtuse beautiful petals, and sometimes there are more than five j there is no pericarpium ; the receptacle is oblong, spicated, and holds five series of seeds ; the seeds are numerous, irre- gular, and angular, gibbous at the base, and their apex reflex and prominent. - There are six species, viz. the A. aestivalis, or tall, which is a native of the southern countries of Europe, where it grows among corn : the A. autumnalis, or com- mon, which are found in Kent, near the Medway, in fields sown with wheat : the flowers are brought in great quantities to London, where they are sold under the name of Red Morocco : this is an- nual, and flowers from May to October; A. vernuiis, or spring adonis, is found in Switzerland, Prussia, and some parts of Germany : A. apennina is found wild in Siberia.- A. veseatfria. r blister adonis. ADV and the A. capensis, are used by the Af- ricans for raising- blisters. To these have been added two other species, viz. the miniata and the flammea. ADOXA, in botany, a genus of the Oc- tandria Tetragynia class of plants, the corolla of which is plain, and consists of a single petal, divided into four oval acute .segments, longer than the cup ; the fruit is a globose berry, situated between the calyx and corolla ; the calyx adheres to its under part ; the berry is umbilicated, and contains four cells; the seeds are single and compressed. There is but a single species, viz the A. moschatellina, bulbous fumitory, which grows naturally in shady places and woods, as in Hamp- stead and Charlton woods; it is peren- nial ; flowers in April and May. The leaves soon after decay, and the flowers smell like musk, on which account it has sometimes been called musk-crowfoot. AD QUOD DAMNUM, in law, a writ which ought t<- be issued before the king- grants certain liberties, as a fair, market, or the like ; ordering the sheriff to in- quire by the country what damage such a grant is like to be attended with. ADRIFT, in naval affairs, the state of a vessel broken loose from her moorings, and driven to and fro by the winds or waves. ADVERB, adverbhnp, in grammar, a word joined to verbs, expressing the man- ner, time, &c. of an action ; thus, in the phrase, it is conducive to health to rise early; the word early is an adverb; and so of others. ADVERSARIA, among the ancients, was a book of accounts, not unlike our journals or day books. ADVERSARIA is more particularly used, among- men of letters, for a kind of com- mon-place book, wherein they enter what- ever occurs to them worthy of notice, whether in reading or conversation, in the order in which it occurs : a method which Morbof prefers to that of digesting them under certain heads. ADVOCATE, Lord, one of the officers of state in Scotland, who pleads in all causes of the crown, or wherein the king- is concerned. The lord advocate sometimes happens to be one of the lords of session ; in which case, he only pleads in the king's causes. ADVOWSON, in law, is the right of patronage, or presenting to a vacant be- nefice. -Advowsons are either appcndant, or 111 gross. Appendant advowsons are those which depend on a manor, or lands, and pass as appurtenances of the same : whereas advowson in gross is a right of presentation subsisting by itself, belong- ing to a person, and not to lands. In either case, advowsons are no les the property of the patrons than their landed estate : accordingly they may be granted away by deed or will, and are assets in the hands of executors. How- ever, Papists and Jews, seized of any ad- vowsons, are disabled from presenting; the right of presentation being in this case transferred to the chancellors of the universities, or the bishop of the diocese, Advowsons are also presentative, colla- tive, or donative. Presentative, where the patron has a right of presentation to the bishop or ordinary ; collative, where the bishop is patron; and donative, where the king, or any subject. This licence founds a church or chapel, and ordains that it shall be merely in the gift of the patron. ADZE, a cutting tool, of the axe kind, having its blade thin and arching, and its edge at right angle to the handle ; chiefly used for taking thin chips oft' timber, &c. It is used by carpenters, but more fre- quently by coopers. JECID1UM, in botany, a genus of the Criptogamia Fungi class and order. Its characters are, that it has a membranace- ous sheath, smooth on both sides, and full of naked separate sides. There are 18 species, of which several are found on the leaves of other plants, and one of them is known to agriculturalists by the name of red gum. This species usually grows upon the inside of the glumes of the calyx, and of the exterior valvule of the corolla, under their epidermes, which, when the plant is ripe, bursts, and emits a powder of a bright orange colour. Other species grow on decaying wood and mosses, and in the leaves of trussilago, farfara, &c. JEGICERAS, a genus of thePentandria Monogynia class and order : calyx five- cleft ; petals five ; capsule curved; one- celled ; one-valred ; one-seeded ; two species found in the Moluccas. JEGILOPS, goafs face, in botany, a ge- nus of the Triandria Digynia class and order, and of the natural order of grasses the characters are, that the hermaphro- dite calyx is a large bivalvular glume, sustaining 'three flowers ; the valves are ovate, and streaked with various awns r the nectary twb-leaved, with very small JEGO AER leaflets : the stamina have three capillary filaments \v ith oblong 1 anthers ; the pistil- lum is a turbinate germen ; no pericardi- um ; the seeds are oblon , convex on one side, grooved on the other, with the in- ner valve of the corolla adhering- to it, and not opening. There are six species. JEGINETA, in botany, a genus of the Didynamia Angiospermia class and order : calyx one-leafed, spathaceous; corolla campanulate, two-lipped ; capsule many celled : one species, viz. the JE. Indica, found at Malabar. jEGIPHILA, goafs-friend, a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and or- der, and the natural order of Vitices: the calyx is a one-leafed permanent perianthi- urn ; the corolla is one-petalled, and long- er than the calyx ; the stamina are capil- lary filaments, inserted into the mouth of the tube ; the pistilium is a roundish su- perior germ, style capillary, deeply bifid, and stigmas simple ; the pericarpium is a roundish two-celled berry, surrounded with a permanent calyx ; and the seed is either in pairs or solitary. There are se- ven species, natives of the W. Indies, chiefly of Jamaica. JEGLE,, in botany, a genus of the Poly- andria Monogynia class and order : calyx iive-lobed ; petals five ; berry globular, many celled, with numerous seeds in each. One species, viz. the marmelos, a tree with thorny branches ; fruit delicious to the taste, and exquisitely fragrant; seeds imbedded in an extremely tenaceous transparent gluten. JEGOPODUM, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Digynia class of plants, the general corolla whereof is uniform ; the single flowers consist each of five, oval, concave, and nearly equal petals ; the fruit is naked, ovato-oblong, striated, and separable into two parts ; the seeds are two, ovato-oblong, and striated, con- vex on one side, and plain on the other. There is but one species, viz. JE. poda- graria, gout-weed, which is a perennial, creeping weed, with white flow r ers, that appear in May or June. It has been used in cases of gout, whence it derives its name. It is boiled for greens, and eaten in Sweden; cows, sheep, and goats, eat it. It is found among rubbish in shady places, and in hedges. jEGOPRICON, in botany, a genus of the Monandria Trigynia class and order : the male Bowers are small, in an ovate ament ; their calyx one-leafed ; no corol- la, the stamina of one filament longer than the ca!\ \, w : th an ovate amher ; the fe- male flowers are on the same plant, and solitary ; the calyx and corolla are the same as the male; the pistilium has an ovate superior germ, three divaricate styles, with simple permanent stigmas ; the pericardium is a globular berry ; the seeds are solitary, and angular on one side. There is but one species, viz. JE. betulinum, which is a tree very much branched, with wrinkled bark and alter- nate leaves resembling those of the myr- tle. JEOLIPILE, a hollow metalline ball, in which is inserted a slender neck or pipe; from whence, after the vessel has been filled with water, and heated, issues a blast of wind with great vehemence. Great care should be taken, that the aperture of the pipe be not stopped when the instrument is put on the fire, other- wise the jeolipile will burst with a vast explosion, and may occasion no little mis- chief. Dr. Plot gives an instance, where the aeolipile is actually used to blow the fire ; the lord of the manor of Effington. is bound, by his tenure, to drive a goose every New-year's day three times round the hall of the lord of Hilton, while Jack of Hilton (a brazen figure having the structure of an zeolipile) blows the fire. In Italy, it is said, that the seolipile is com- monly made use of to cure smoky chim- neys ; for being hung over the lire, the blast arising from it carries up the loiter- ing smoke along with it. An zeolipile of great antiquity, made of brass, was lately dug up in the site of the Basingstoke canal, and presented to the Antiquarian Society in London. It is not globular, with a bent tube, but in the form of a grotesque human figure, and the blast proceeds from the mouth. BOLUS'S harp, or EOLIAN harp, a mu- sical instrument, so named from its pro- ducing an agreeable harmony merely by the action of the wind. See ACOUSTICS. JERA, a fixed pointof time, from which any number of years is begun to be rec- koned. See CHHONOLOGT. AEROSTATION, in the modern appli- cation of the term, signifies the art of na- vigation through the air, both in its prin- ciples and ^practice. Hence also the ma- chines which are employed for this pur- pose are called aerostats, or aerostatic machines ; and on account of their round figures, air balloons. The fundamental principles of this arl: have been long and generally known ; al- though the application of them to prac- tice seems to be altogether a modern dis- covery. It will be sufficient, therefore, to observe, in this place, that any body, AEROSTATION. being disengaged from the cords thatheld it down, it rose before a prodigious con- course of people in less than two minutes to the height of 3123 feet. It then enter- ed a cloud, but soon appeared again ; and at last it was lost among other clouds. This balloon, after having floated about three quarters of an hour, fell in a field about 15 miles distant from the place of ascent ; where, as we may naturally ima- gine, it occasioned much astonishment to the peasants. Its fall was owing to a rent, occasioned by the expansion of the inflam- mable air in that part of the atmosphere to which it ascended. When the balloon went up, itsspecific gravity was 35 pounds less than that of common air. In conse- quence of this brilliant experiment, many balloons were made on a small scale; gold-beaters' skin was used for the cover- ing; and their size was from 9 to 18 inches in diameter. Mr. Montgolner repeated an experi- ment with a machine of his construction before the commissaries of the Academy of Sciences, on the llth and 12th of Sep- tember. This machine was 74 feet high, and about 43 feet in diameter. When dis- tended, it appeared spheroidical. It was made of canvas, covered with paper both within and without, and it weighed 1000 pounds. The operation of filling it with rarefied air, produced by means of the combustion of 5 ! J pounds of dry straw, and 12 pounds of chopped wool, was per- formed in about nine minutes; and its force of ascension, when inflated, was so great, that it raised eight men who held it some feet from the ground. This ma- chine was so much damaged by the rain, that it was found necessary to prepare another for exhibition before the king and royal family on the 19th. This new ma- chine consisted of cloth made of linen and cotton thread, and was painted with water colours both within and without. Its height was near 60 feet, and its diameter about 43 feet. Having made tlic necessary preparations for inflating it, the operation xvas begun about one o'clock, on the 19th of September, before the king 1 and queen, the court, and all the Parisians who could procure a conveyance to Versailles. In eleven minutes it was sufficiently distend- ed, and the ropes being cut, it ascended, bearing up with it a wicker cage, in which were a sheep, a cock, and a duck. Its power of ascension, or the weight by which it was lighter than an equal bulk of common air, allowing for the cage and animals, was 696 pounds. This balloon i-ose to the height of about 1440 feet ; and being driven by the wind, it descended gradually, and fell gently into a wood, at the distance of 10,200 feet from Versailles. After remaining in the atmosphere eight minutes, the animals in the cage were safely landed. The sheep was found feeding; the cock had received some hurt on one of his wings, probably from a kick of the sheep ; the duck was perfectly well. The successof this experiment in-- duced M. Pilatre de Rosier, with a philo- sophical intrepidity which will be record- ed with applause in the history of aeros- tation, to offer himself as the first adven- turer in this aerial navigation. Mr. Mont- goltier constructed a new machine for this purpose, in a garden intheFauxbourg St. Antoine. Its shape was oval; its diameter being about 48 feet, and its height about 74 feet. To the aperture at the bottom was annexed a wicker gallery, about three feet broad, with a ballustrade about three feet high. From the middle of the aperture was suspended by chains, which came down fron the sides of the machine, an iron grate, or brazier, in which a fire was lighted for inflating the machine ; and port-holes were opened in the gallery, towards the aperture, through which any person, who should venture to ascend, might feed the fire on the grate with fuel, and regulate the dilatation of the inclosed air of the machine at plea- sure. The weight of the aerostat was upwards of sixteen hundred pounds. On the fifteenth of October, the fire being lighted, and the machine inflated, M. P. de Hosier placed himself in the gallery, and ascended, to the astonishment of a multitude of spectators, to the height of 84 feet from the ground, and there kept the machine afloat during 4' 25", by re- peatedly throwing straw and wool upon the fire : the machine then descended, gradually and gently, through a medium of increasing density, to the ground ; and the intrepid adventurer assured the spectators that he had not experienced the least inconvenience in this aerial ex- cursion. This experiment was repeated on the 17th and on the 19th, when M. P. de Rozier, in his descent, and in order to avoid danger by re-ascending, evinced, to a multitude of observers, that the ma- chine may be made to ascend and de- scend, at the pleasure of the aeronaut, by merely increasing or diminishing the fire in the grate. The balloon having been hauled clown, M. Giraude de Villiette placed himself in the gallery opposite to M. Rozier ; and being suffered to ascend, it hovered for about nine minutes over AEROSTATION, Paris, in the sight of all its inhabitants, at the height of about 330 feet. In another experiment the marquis of Arlandes as- cended with M. Rozier much in the same manner. In consequence of the report of the preceding 1 experiment, signed by the commissaries of the Academy of Sciences, it was ordered that the annual prize of 600 livrcs should be given to Messrs. Montgolfier for the year 1783. In the experiments above recited the ma- chine was secured by ropes ; but they were soon succeeded by unconfined aerial navigation. Accordingly, the balloon of 74 feet in height, above mentioned, was removed to a royal palace in the Bois de Boulogne ; and nil things being ready, on the 21st of November, M. P. de Ro- zier and the Marquis d' Arlandes took their respective posts in the gallery, and at 54 minutes after one the machine was absolutely abandoned to the element, and ascended calmly and majestically in the atmosphere. The aeronauts, having reach- ed the height of about 280 feet, waved their hats to the astonished multitude; but they soon rose too high to be distin- guished, and are thought to have snared to an elevation of above 3000 feet. They were at first driven by a north-west wind horizontally over the river Seine and over Paris, taking care to clear the steeples and high buildings by increasing the fire ; and in rising met with a current of air, which carried them southward. Having passed the Boulevard, and desisting from supplying the fire with fuel, they descend- ed very gently in a field beyond the New Boulevard, about 9000 yards distant from the palace, having been in the air about 25 minutes. The weight of the whole apparatus, including that of the travel- lers, was between 1600 and 1700 pounds. Notwithstanding the rapid progress of aerostation in France, we have no authen- tic account of the aerostatic experiments performed in other countries till about the close of the year 1783. The first experiment of this kind, publicly exhibit- ed in our country, was performed in Lon- don, on the 25th of November, by Count Zambeccari, an ingenious Italian, with a balloon of oil silk, ;10 feet in diameter, and weighing 11 pounds. It was gilt, in order to render it more beautiful, and more impermeable to the gas. This bal- loon, three -fourths of which were filled with inflammable air, was launched from the Artillery-ground, in presence of a vasf concourse of spectators, at one o'clock in the afternoon, and at half past three was taken up near Pctvrorth, in VOL. K Sussex, 48 miles distant from London r so that it travelled at the rate of nearly 20 miles an hour. Its descent was occa- sioned by a rent, which must have been the effect of the rarefaction of the inflam- mable air, when the balloon ascended to the lighter parts of the atmosphere. Aerostatic experiments and aerial voy- ages became so frequent in the course of the year 1784, that the limits of this arti- cle will not allow our particularly record- ing them. We shall, therefore, mention those which were attended with any pe- culiar circumstances. Messrs, de Mor- veau and Bertram! ascended from Dijon, in April, to the height of about 13,000 feet, with an inflammable air balloon : the thermometer was observed to stand at 25 degrees. They were in the air during an hour and 25 minutes, and went to the distance of about eighteen miles. The clouds floated beneath them, and seclud- ed them from the earth ; and they jointly repeated the motto inscribed on their aerostat: " Surgit nunc gallus ad aethe- ra." In May, four ladies and two gentle- men ascended with a Montgolfier at Paris above the highest buildings : the machine was confined by ropes. It was 74 feet high, and 72 in diameter. In a second voyage, performed by Mr. Blanchard from Rouen in May, it was observed, that his wings and oars could not carry him in any other direction than that of the wind. The mercury in the barometer descended as low as 20.57 inches; but on the earth, be- fore he ascended, it stood at 30. 16 inches. On the 23d of June, a large aerostat, on the principle of rarefied air, 91 feet high, and 79 feet in diameter, was elevated by Mont- golfier at Versailles, in the presence of the royal family and the King of Sweden. M. Pilatre de Rozier, and M. Proust, as- cended with it, and continued for 28 mi- nutes at the height of 11,732 feet, and observed the clouds below them, that re- flected to the region which they occupied the rays of the sun ;. the temperature of the air being 5 below the freezing point; and in three quarters of an hour they travelled to the distance of 36 miles. In consequence of this experiment, the king- granted to M. Rozier a pension of 2000 livres. On the 15th of July the Duke of Chatres, the two brothers Roberts, and another person, ascended with an inflam- mable airbal loon, of an oblong form, 55^ feet long, and 34 feet in diameter, from the Park of St. Cloud: the machine re- mained in the atmosphere about 45 mi- nutes. This machine contained an inte- rior small baboon, filled with common airy E AEROSTATION. by which means it was proposed to make it ascend or decend without any loss of inflammable air or ballast. The boat was furnished with a helm and oars, intended for guiding- it. At the place of departure the barometer stood at 30.12 inches. Three minutes after ascending 1 , the bal- loon was lost in the clouds, and involved in a dense vapour. An agitation of the air, resembling- a whirlwind, alarmed the aerial voyagers, and occasioned several shocks, which prevented their using any of the instruments and contrivances pre- p;i rd for the direction of the balloon. Other circumstances concurred to in- crease their danger ; and when the mer- cury, standing in the barometer at 24.36 inches, indicated their height to be about 5100 feet, they found it necessary to make holes in the bottom for discharging the inflammable air : and having made a rent Of between seven and eight feet, they de- scended very rapidly, and at last came .safely to the ground. The first aerial voyage in England was performed in Lon- don, on the 15th of September, by Vin- cent Lunardi, a native of Italy. His bal- loon was made of oiled silk, painted in alternate stripes of blue and red. Its di- ameter was 33 feet. From a net which went over about two-thirds of the bal- loon, descended 45 cords to a hoop hang- ing below the balloon, and to which the gallery was attached. The balloon had no valve ; and its neck, which terminated in the form of a pear, was the aperture through which the inflammable air was introduced, and through which it might be let out. The air for filling the balloon was produced from zinc, by means of di- luted vitriolic acid. M. Lunardi depart- ed from the Artillery Ground at two o'clock ; and with him were a clog 1 , a cat, and a pigeon. After throwing out some sand to clear the houses, he ascended to a great height. The direction of his mo- tion was at first north-west by west; but as the balloon rose higher, it fell into another current of air, which carried it nearly north. About half after three he de- scended very near the ground, and landed the cat, which was almost dead with cold : then rising, he prosecuted his voyage. He ascribes his descent to the action of on oar; but as he was under the necessi- ty of throwing out ballast in order to re- ascend, his descent was probably occa- sioned by the loss of inflammable air. At ten minutes past four he descended on a meadow, near Ware, in Hertford- shire. The only philosophical instrument which he carried with him was a ther- mometer, which in the course of hi;'; . age stood as low as 29, and he observed that the drops of water which collected round the balloon were frozen. The longest and the most interesting- voyage, which was performed about this time, was that of Messrs. Roberts and M. Collin. HulJin, at Paris, on the 19th of September. Their aerostat was filled with inflammable air. Its diameter was 27^ feet, and its length 46 feet, and it was made to float with its longest part pa- rallel to the horizon, with a boat nearly^ 17 feet long, attached to a net that went over it as far as its middle. To the boat were annexed wings, or oars, in the. form of an umbrella. At 12 o'clock they as- cended with 450 pounds of ballast, and, after various manoeuvres, descended at 4 ) minutes past six o'clock near Arras, in Artois, having still 200 pounds of their ballast remaining in the boat. Having risen about 1400 feet, they perceived storray clouds, which they endeavoured to avoid; but the current of air was uniform from the height of 600 to 4200 feet. The barometer on the coast of the sea was 29.61 inches, and sunk to 23.94 inches. They found that, by working with their oars, they accelerated their course. In the prosecution of their voyage, which was 150 miles, they heard two claps of thunder; and the cold occasioned by the approach of stormy clouds made the thermometer fall from 77 to 59, and condensed the inflammable air in the bal- loon, so as to make it descend very low. From some experiments they concluded, that they were able by the use of two oars to deviate from the direction of the wind about 22. But this experiment re- quires repetition, in order to ascertain with accuracy the effect here ascribed to oars. The second aerial voyage in Eng- land was performed by Mr. Blanchard and Mr. Sheldon, professor of anatomy to the Royal Academy, the first English- man who ascended with an aerostatic ma- chine. This experiment was performed at Chelsea, on the 16th of October. The wings used on this occasion seemed to have produced no deviation in the ma- chine's track from the direction of the wind. Mr. Blanchard, having landed his friend about the distance of 14 miles from Chelsea, proceeded alone, with different currents, and ascended so high as to expe- rience great difficulty of breathing; a pi- geon, also, which flew away from the boat, laboured some time with its wings, in order to sustain itself in the rarefied air, and after wandering for a good vvhHe, AEROSTATION returned, and rested on. one side of the boat. Mr. Blanchard, perceiving the sea before him, descended near Rumsey, about 75 miles from London, having- tra- velled at the rate of nearly 20 miles an hour. On the 12th of October, Mr. Sadler, of Oxford, made a voyage of 14 miles from that place in 17 minutes, with an inflam- mable air balloon of his own contrivance and construction. The fate ofM. P. de- Rozier, the first aerial navigator, and of his companion, M. Remain, has been much lamented. They ascended at Boulogne, on the 15th of June, with an intention of crossing the channel to England. Their machine consisted of a spherical balloon, 37 feet in diameter, filled with inflam- mable air, and under this balloon was sus- pended a small Montgolfier, or fire bal- loon, ten feet in diameter. This Mont- golfier was designed for rarefying the atmospheric air, and thus diminishing the specific gravity of the whole apparatus. For the first twenty minutes they seemed to pursue their proper course ; but the balloon seemed much inflated, and the aeronauts appeared anxious to descend. Soon, however, when they were at the height of about three quarters of a mile, the whole apparatus was in flames, and the unfortunate adventurers fell to the ground and were killed on the spot. On the 19th of July, Mr. Crosbie as- cended at Dublin, with a view of crossing the channel to England. To a wicker basket of a circular form, which he had substituted for the boat, he had affixed a number of bladders for the purpose of rendering his gallery buoyant, in case of a disaster at sea. The height to which he ascended at one time was such, that by the intense cold his ink was frozen, and the mercury sunk into the ball of the thermometer. He himself was sick, and he felt a strong impression on the tympa- num of his ears. At his utmost eleva- tion he thought himself stationary ; but on discharging some gas, he descended to a very rough current of air blowing to the north. He then entered a dense cloud, and experienced strong blasts of winds, with thunder and lightning, which brought him with rapidity towards the surface of the water. The water soon entered his car : the force of the wind plunged him into the ocean, and it was with difficulty that he put on his cork jacket. The bladders which he had pre- pared were now found of great use. The water, added to his own weight, served as ballast ; and the balloon, maintaining; its poise, answered the purpose of a sail, by means of which, and a snatch-block to his car, he moved before the wind as re- gularly as a sailing-boat. He was at. length overtaken by some vessels that were crowding sail after him, and con- veyed to Dunleary with the balloon. On the 22d of July, Major Money, who as- cended at Norwich, was driven out to sea, and after being blown about for about two hours, he dropped into the water. Af- ter much exertion for preserving his life, and when he was almost despairing 1 of re- lief, he was taken up by a revenue cutter, in a state of extreme weakness ; having been struggling to keep himself above water for about seven hours. The longest voyage, that had been hi- therto made, was performed by Mr. Blanchard, towards the end of A'ugust. He ascended at Lisle, accompanied by the Chevalier de L'Epinard, and traversed a distance of 300 miles before he descend, ed. On this, as well as on other occa- sions, Mr. Blanchard made trial of a pa- rachute, in the form of a large umbrella, which he contrived for breaking his fall, in case of any accident. With this ma- chine he let down a dog, which came to the ground gently, and unhurt. On the 8th of September, Mr. Baldwin ascended from the city of Chester, and performed an aerial voyage of 25 miles in two hours and a quarter. His greatest elevation was about a mile and a half, and he supposes that the velocity of his motion was some- times at the rate of 20 miles an hour. He has published a circumstantial account of his voyage, described the appearances of the clouds as he passed through them, and annexed a variety of observations re- lating to aerostation. It would be tedious to recount the aerial expeditions that were performed in various parts of our own country, as well as on the continent, in the whole course of the year 1785 : more especially as they have afforded us no experiment or disco- very of any peculiar importance. The most persevering aerial navigator has been Mr. Blanchard In August, 1788, he ascended at Brunswick for the thirty- second time. Within two years;from the first discovery of this art of navigating the atmosphere, more than forty different persons performed the experiment with- out any material injury ; and it may be justly questioned, says Mr. Cavallo, whe- ther the first forty persons who trusted themselves to the sea in boats escaped so safely. The catastrophe that befel Rozier, and the unpleasant circumstances that AEROSTATION. have happened to some of the aeronauts in our own country, have been owing-, not so much to the principle of the art, as to want of judgment, or imprudent manage- ment in the conduct of it. Omitting 1 the various uninteresting 1 , though not very numerous, aerial voyages undertaken in various parts of the world, during the 17 years subsequent to the above-mentioned dreadful accident of Pi- latre de llozier and Mr. Romain, we shall only add the account of two aerostatic ex- periments lately performed in England by Mr. Garnerin, a French aeronaut. The first of these is remarkable for the very great velocity of its motion ; the second for the exhibition of u mode of leaving 1 the balloon, and of descending with safe- ty to the ground. On the 30th of June, 1802, the wind being strong, though not impetuous, Mr. Garnerin and another gentleman ascended with an inflammable air, or hydrogen gas, balloon, from Rane- lagh gardens, on the south-west of Lon don, between four and five o'clock in tke afternoon ; and in exactly three quarters of an hour they descended near the sea, at the distance of four miles from Col- chester. The distance of that place from Ra.jelagh is 60 miles ; therefore they tra- veUed at the astonishing rate of 80 miles per hour. It seems that the balloon had power enough to keep them up four or fi\e hours longer, in which time they might have gone safely to the continent; but prudence induced them to descend when they discovered the sea not far off. The singular experiment of ascending into the atmosphere with a balloon, and of descending with a machine called a parachute, was performed by Mr. Garne- rin on rhe 21st of September, 1802. He ascended from St. George's parade, North Audley street, and descended safe into a field near the small-pox hospital, at Panci as. The balloon was of the usual sort, viz. of oiled silk, with a net, from which ropes proceeded, which terminated in or were joined to a single rope at a few feet below the balloon. To this rope the parachute was fastened in the following manner. The reader may easily form to himself an idea of this parachute, by ima- gining a large umbrella of canvass, about 30 feet in d'iameter, but destitute of the ribs and handle. Several ropes of about 30 feet in length, which proceeded from the edge of the parachute, terminated in a common joining, from which shorter ropes proceeded, to the extremities of which a circular basket was fastened, and in this basket Mr. Garnerin placed him- self. The single rope passed through a hole in the centre of the parachute, also through certain tin tubes, which were placed one after the other, in the place of the handle or stick of an umbrella, and was lastly fastened to the basket ; so that, when the balloon was in the air, by cut- ting the end of the rope next to the bas- ket, the parachute with the basket would be separated from the balloon, and in falling downwards would be naturally opened by the resistance of the air. The use of the tin tubes was, to let the rope slip off with greater certainty, and to pre- vent its being entangled with any of the other ropes, as also to keep the parachute at a distance from the basket. The bal- loon began to be filled about two o'clock. There were 36 casks filled with iron filings, and diluted sulphuric acid, for the pro- duction of the hydrogen gas. These communicated with three other casks, or general receivers, to each of which was fixed a tube, that emptied itself into the. main tube attached to the balloon. At six, the balloon being quite full of gas, and the parachute, &c. being attached to it, Mr. Garnerin placed himself in the basket, and ascended majestically, amidst the acclamations of innumerable specta- tors. The weather was the clearest and pleasantest imaginable ; the wind was gentle, and about west by south ; in con- sequence of which Mr. Garnerin went in the direction of nearly east by north. In about eight minutes the balloon and para- chute had ascended to an immense height, and Mr. Garnerin, in the basket, could scarcely be perceived. While every spectator was contemplating the grand sight before them, Mr. Garaerin cut the rope, and in an instant he was separated from the balloon, trusting his safety to the parachute. At first, viz. before the parachute opened, he fell with great ve- locity ; but as soon as the parachute was expanded, which took place a few mo- ments after, the descent became very gentle and gradual. A remarkable cir- cumstance was observed ; namely, that the parachute, with the appendage of cords and basket, soon began to vibrate like the pendulum of a clock, and the vi- brations were so great, that more than once the parachute, and the basket with Mr. Garnerin, seemed to be on the same level, or quite horizontal : however, the extent of the vibrations diminished as he descended. On coming to the earth, Mr. Garnerin experienced some pretty strong shocks ; but he soon recovered his spirits, and remained without anv material, hurt. AEROSTATION. As soon as the parachute was separated from the balloon, the latter ascended with great rapidity, and being of an oval form, turned itself with a longer axis into an horizontal position. We now come to the practice of the art. The shape of the balloon is one of the first objects of consideration. As a sphere ad- mits the greatest capacity under the least surface, the spherical figure, or that which approaches nearest to it, has been gene- rally preferred. However, since bodies of this form oppose a greater surface to the air, and consequently a greater ob- struction to the action of the oar or wings than those of some other form, and there- fore cannot be so well guided in a calm, or in a course different from the direction of the wind, it has been proposed to con- struct balloons of a conical or oblong figure, and to make them proceed with their narrow end forward. Next to the shape, it is necessary to consider the stuff that is most proper for forming the enve- lope of the inflammable or rarefied air. Silk stuff, especially that which is called lutestring, properly varnished, has been most commonly used for hydrogen gas balloons ; and common linen, lined within and without with paper, varnished, for those of rarefied air. Varnished paper, or gold-beaters' skin, will answer the purpose for making small hydrogen gas balloons ; and the small rarefied air bal- loons may be made of paper, without any varnish or other preparation. The stuff for large balloons of both kinds requires some previous preparation. The best mode ofpreparingtheclothforamachine, upon Montgolfier's principle, is, first to soak it in a solution of sal-ammoniac and size, using one pound of each to every gallon of water ; and when the cloth is quite dry, to paint it over with some earthy colour, and strong size or glue. It may be also varnished over, when per- fectly dry, with some stiff, oily varnish, or simple drying linseed oil, which would dry before it penetrates quite through the cloth. The pieces of which an hydrogen p;as balloon is to be formed must be cut of a proper size, according to the proposed dimensions of it, when the varnish is suf- ficiently dry. The pieces that compose the surface of the balloon are like those gores that form the superficies of a globe ; and the best method of cutting them is, to describe a pattern on wood or stiff card- paper, and to cut the silk or stuff upon it. To the upper part of the balloon there must be adapted a valve, opening inward, fo which is annexed a string passing through a hole made in a small round piece of wood, which is fastened to the lowest part of the balloon, opposite to the valve, to the boat below it; so that the aeronaut may open it as occasion requires, and let the hydrogen gas out of the bal- loon. To the lower part of the balloon are fixed two pipes, of the same stuff with the covering, six inches in diameter for a balloon of 30 feet, and much larger for balloons of greater size, and long enough to reach the boat. These pipes are the apertures through which the hydrogen gas is introduced into the balloon. The boat may be made of wicker work, and covered with leather, well painted or var- nished over. The best method of sus- pending it is by means of ropes, proceed- ing from the net which goes over the bal- loon. This net should be formed to the shape of the balloon, and fall down to the middle of it, and have various.cords pro- ceeding from it to the circumference of a circle, about two feet below the balloon ; and from that circle other ropes should go to the edge of the boat. This circle may be made of wood, or of several pieces of slen- der cane bound together. The meshes of the net may be small at top, against which part of the balloon the hydrogen gas ex- erts the greatest force, and increase in size as they recede from the top. A hoop has been sometimes put round the middle of the balloon for fastening the net. This is not absolutely necessary ; but when used, it is best made of pieces of cane bound together, and covered with leather. When the balloon and its appendages are constructed,the next object of importance is to procure proper materials for fillingit. Hydrogen gas for balloons may be obtain- ed in several ways ; but the best methods are by applying acids to certain metals ; by exposing animal, vegetable, and some mineral substances, in a close vessel, to u strong fire ; or by transmitting the va- pour of certain fluids through red hot tubes. In the first of these methods, iron, zinc, and sulphuric acid, are the materials most commonly used. The acid must be diluted with five or six parts of water. Iron may be expected to yield in the common way about 1700 times its own bulk of gas, or 4 ounces of iron ; the like weight of sulphuric acid, and 22 ounces of water, will produce one cubic foot of hydrogen gas; 6 ounces of zinc, an equal weight of acid, and 30 ounces of water, are necessary for producing the same quantity. It is more proper to use the turnings or chippings of gi-en; pieces of iron, as of cannon, Sec. than the filings AER AES of that metal, because the heat attending 1 the effervescence will be diminished, and the diluted acid will pass more readily through the interstices of the turnings, when they are heaped together, than through the filings, which stick closer to one another. The weight of the hydro- gen gas thus obtained by means of sul- phuric acid is, in the common way of procuring it, generally one-seventh part of the weight of common air ; and with the necessary precautions for philosophical experiments, less than one-tenth of the weight of common air. We shall con- clude this article with a description of some figures explanatory of the subject. Figure 1 (plate Aerostation) represents a balloon, 13 F, suspended by means of the poles G and H, and the cord, for the pur- pose of being filled with gas. It is kept steady and held down whilst filling by ropes, which are readily desengaged. A, A, are two tubs, about three feet in diam- eter, and two feet deep, inverted in larger tubs, B, B, full of water. At the bottom of each of the inverted tubes there is a hole in which is inserted a tin tube ; to these the silken tubes of the balloon are tied. Each of the tubs, B, is surrounded by se- veral strong casks, so regulated in num- ber and capacity, as to be less than half full when the materials are equally distri- buted. In the top of these casks there are two holes : to one of which is adapted a tin tube, formed so as to pass over the edge of the tub B, and through the water, and to terminate with its aperture under the inverted tub A. The other hole, which serves fur supplying the cask with materials, is stopped with a wooden plug. "When the balloon is to be filled, the com- mon air is first to be expelled, then the silken tubes are fastened round the tin ones ; the iron filing's are to be put into the casks, then the water, and lastly the sulphuric acid. The balloon will speedi- ly be inflated by the gas, and support it- self without the aid of the rope G H. As the filling advances, a net is adjusted about it, the cords proceeding from the net are fastened to the hoop MN; the boat I K is suspended from the hoop, and whatever is wanted for the voyage is de- posited in the boat. When the bailoonis sufficiently full, the silken tubes are sepa- rated from the tin tubes, their extremities are tied, and they are placed in the boat. When the aeronauts are seated in the boat, the ropes that held the balloon down are slipped oft', and the machine ascends in the air, as in figure 2. In fig. 3, is a representation of a part of Mr. Garnerin's balloon in its ascent, to which is attached a parachute, in its contracted state, and below is the car. Figure 4 shews the manner in which Mr. Garnerin descended in the car by means of the expanded para- chute, after he had detatched it from the balloon. In fig-ure 5 is represented an ap- paratus, as described by Mr. Cavallo, for filling balloons of the size of two or three feet in diameter with hydrogen gas, after passing it through water. A is a bottle, with the ingredients ; BCD a tube fasten- ed in the neck at B, and passing through C, the cork of the other bottle, in which there is a hole made to receive the tube, and to this the balloon is tied. Thus the hydrogen gas, coming out of the tube D, will pass first through the water of the bottle E, and then into the balloon. Two small casks may be used instead of the bottles A and E. -ERVA, in botany, a genus of the Mo- nadelphia Decandria class and order. The flowers are polygamous ; the calyx five-leaved and patent : the stamina are five ; the pistillum is a globulous ovary, having a filiform style, terminated by a bifid stigma : the fruit is an oblong, sin- gle-seeded capsule, encompassed by a ca- lyx : there is but one species, viz. JE. aegyptiaca, or tomentosa, which grows on the sandy calcareous soil of Arabia. JESCHYNOMENE, a word from the Greek, signifying to be ashamed, because it retreats from the touch : bastard sensi- tive plant, in botany, a genus of the Dia- delphia Decandria class and order, and of the natural order of Papilio Naceae, of which there are 12 species, found native in the East Indies, and cultivated in other hot countries. One of the species may be treated as hemp, and is used for the same purposes. AESCULUS, in botany, a genus of the Heptandria Monogynia class and order, of jthe natural order of Trihilatse. There are three species : the first, or common horse-chestnut, was brought from the northern parts of Asia into Europe about the year 1550, and sent to Vienna about the year 1558. From Vienna it was con- veyed to France and Italy ; but it came to u from the Levant. It is distinguished by the beautiful parabolic form of its branches, the disposition and structure of its digitate leaves, and by the pyramidal bunches of its white flowers, variegated near the centre with yellow or red. Al- though this tree is now less in esteem for avenues and walks than it formerly was, on account of the early decay of its leaves. it affords an excellent shade; and th" AES spikes or flowers, which appear in May, with the intexmixUire of large leaves, ex- hibit a noble appearance. The most eli- gible situation for these trees is in lawns and parks, where they may be planted singly, and where their fruit will be ser- viceable to the deer, who are fond of it. This tree is of quick growth ; and in a few years it will afford a good shade in summer, and yield plenty of flowers. Trees, raised from nuts, have in 12 or 14 years become large enough to shade two or three chairs with their branches, which in the season are covered with flowers. But the trees are of short duration, and the wood is of little value. It serves, however, for water-pipes, turners' ware, and fuel : and for these uses it is worth the charge of planting, and should be felled in November or December. The horse-chestnut has been employed in France and Switzerland for the purpose of bleaching yarn; and it is recommend- ed in the Memoirs of the Society of Berne, Vol. II. part 2, as capable of extensive use in whitening not only flax and hemp, but silk and wool. It contains an astrin- gent saponaceous juice, which is obtained by peeling the nuts, and grinding or rasp- ing them. They are then mixed with hot rain or running water, in the proportion of 20 nuts to 10 or 12 quarts of water. Wove caps and stockings were milled in this water, and took the die extremely well ; and successful trials were made of it in fulling stuffs and cloths. Linen washed in this water takes a pleasing light sky-blue colour; and the filaments of hemp, steeped in it some days, were easily separated. The author of the me- moir, above referred to, imagines, that if the meal of the chesnut could be made into cakes or balls, it would answer the purposes of soap, in washing and fulling. The sediment, after infusion, loses its bit- ter taste, and becomes good food for fowls when mixed with bran. The Edinburgh College have admitted the horse-chesnut into their Pharmacopoeia of 1783, on the recommendation of Dr. Gardiner, who says that three or four grains of the pow- der, snuffed up the nostrils in the evening, operate next morning as an excellant ster- uutatory, and thereby proves very benefi- cial in obstinate inflammations oftheeyes. A patent was granted in 1796, to Lord W. Murray, for his discovery of a method of extracting sturch from horse-chesnuts. The second species, or yellow-flowered horse-chestnut, is a native of North Caro- lina, was cultivated with us in 1764, and flowers in May and June. The third species, or scarlet horse- chestnut, rises to the height of twenty feet without much extending its branch- es ; its bark is smooth, and the leaves, which are opposite, on long, red petioles, are of a light green. The common horse-chestnut is propa- gated by sowing the nuts, after preserv- ing them in sand during the winter : but the scarletis propagated by grafting it up- on stocks of the common horse-chestnut. The American species are : JE paria ; J. flava; JE. macrostachya ; and JE. achi- nata. Of the last there are two varieties, A. the glabra, and B. the pallida. JETHUSA, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Digynia class and order, and belonging to the natural order of Umbel- late or Umbelliferze : the calyx is an uni- versal spreading umbel, and the partial is also spreading, but small ; having no universal involucre, and the partial one placed on the outside, and consisting only of three very long 1 , linear, pendulous leaf- lets, and the proper perianthium scarcely observable : the universal corolla is nearly uniform, with all the floscules fertile, and the partial has the petals bent in, heart- shaped, and unequal: the stamina are simple filaments, with roundish anthers; the pistillum is an inferior germ, and the styles are reflex, with obtuse stigmas : it has no pericarpium, and the fruit is roundish, streaked, and bipartite : the seeds are two, roundish, streaked, except on a third part of the surface, which is plain. There are four species, the prin- cipal is JE. cynapium, common fool's pars- ley, or lesser hemlock, which is a common weed in fields and kitchen-gardens, and in a slight degree poisonous. It is easily distinguished when in flower, in July and August, from true parsley and chervil; by the three narrow pendent leaflets of the involucre, placed on the outer part only of the umbel, and by its being a much humbler plant than either of the others. The leaves also, in an earlier state, are of a different form and a darker hue, and, when bruised, emit in a slight degree a disagreeable venomous smell. The safest way to avoid dou t or danger is to culti- vate the curled parsley. Most cattle eat it, but it is said to be noxious to geese. AETIOLOGY, that branch of physic which assigns the causes of diseases ; in. this sense we say the aetiology of the small pox, dropsy, &c. JETIOLOGT, in rhetoric, is deemed a figure of speech, whereby, in relating an event, we, at the same time, unfold the causes of it. JETN IFF iETNA, a famous volcanic or burning mountain in Sicily, situated on the eastern coast, not far from Catania. The height of this mountain is above 10,000 feet above the surface of the sea, and its circumfer- ence at the base is 180 miles. Over its sides are 77 cities, towns, and villages, the number of inhabitants of which is -about 115,000. From Catania to the sum- nit is the distance of 30 miles, and the traveller must pass through three distinct climates, which may be denominated the torrid, the temperate, and the frigid. Ac- cordingly, the whole mountain is divided into three distinct regions, called the fer- tile, the woody, and the barren. The first, or lowest region, extends through an interval of ascent from 12 to 18 miles. The city of Catania and several villages are situated in the first zone, and it abounds in pastures, orchards, and vari- ous kinds of fruit trees. Its great fertili- ty is ascribed to the decomposition of la- va, and of those vegetables, which have been introduced by the arts of agriculture, and the exertions of human industry. The figs, and fruit in general, in this re- gion, are reckoned the finest in Sicily. The lava in this region flows from a num- ber of small mountains, which are dis- persed over the immense declivity of ./Et- na. Thp woody region, or temperate xone, extends from 8 to 10 miles in a di- rect line, towards the top of the mountain; it comprehends a surface of about 40 or 45 square leagues. It forms a zone of the brightest green all round the moun- tain, which exhibits a pleasing contrast to the white and hoary head of the moun- tain. It is called the woody region, be- cause it abounds with oaks, "beeches, and firs. The soil is similar to that of the lower region. The air here is cool and refreshing, and every breeze is loaded with a thousand perfumes, the whole ground being covered over with the rich- est aromatic plants. Many parts of this region are the most heavenly spots upon earth ; and if JEtna resemble hell within, it may with equal justice be said to re- semble paradise without. The upper re- gion, called the frigid zone, is marked out by a circle of snow and ice. The surface of this zone is for the most part flat and even, and the approach to it is indicated by the decline of vegetation, by uncover- ed rocks of lava and heaps of sand, by near views of an expanse of snow and ice, and of torrents of smoke issuing from the crater of the mountain, and by the diffi- culty and danger of advancing, amidst streams of melted snow, sheets or ice, and ^usts of chilling wind. The curiyns tra- veller, however, thinks himself amply re- compensed, upon gaining the summit, for the peril which he has encountered. At night the number of stars seem increased, and their light appears brighter than usu- al. The lustre of the milky way is like a pure flame that shoots across "the hea- vens, and with the naked eye we may ob- serve clusters of stars totally invisible in the lower regions. The scoriae of which the mountain is composed have the same kind of base, containing shorls and felt- spars. AFFIDAVIT signifies an oath in writ- ing, sworn before some person who is au- thorised to take the same. Jn an affidavit, the time, place of habi- tation, and addition, of the person who makes it are to be inserted. Affidavits are chiefly used to certify the serving of processes or other matters con- cerning the proceedings in a court ; and therefore should set forth the matter of fact to be proved, without taking any no- tice of the merits of the cause. They are read in court upon motions, but arc not admitted in evidence at trials. 1'y statute, the judges of the courts at Westminster may commission persons, in the several counties in England, to take affidavits relating to any thing depending 1 in their several courts. AFFINITY, among Civilians, denotes the relation of each of the parties mar- ried to the kindred of the other. Affinity is distinguished into three kinds. 1. Direct affinity, or that subsisting be- tween the husband and his wife's rela- tions, by blood ; or between the wife and her husband's relation, by blood. 2. Se- condary affinity, or that which subsists between the husband and his wife's rela- tions, by marriage. 3. Collateral affinity . or that which subsists between the hus- band and the relations of his wife's rela- tions. The degrees of affinity are always the same with those of consanguinity. Hence, in whatever degree of consangui- nity the kindred of one of the parties mar- ried are, they are in the same degree of affinity to the other. By the canon law, direct affinity ren- ders marriage unlawful to the fourth ge- neration, inclusive ; but the case is other- wise, with respect to the secondary and collateral kinds. It is likewise to be ob- served, that the affinity contracted by a criminal commerce is a.n impediment to marriage so far as the second generation: thus, a man is not allowed to marry the sister of a woman he has lain with. Nay, with regard to contracting marriage, uffi- riity is riot dissolved by death ; for though AUA AGA woman may be admitted a witness for the brother of her deceased husband, she is noi allowed to marry him. AFFINITY, in chemistry, the attraction manifest between the parts of bodies in chemical combination is, by many authors, distinguished by this name. See CHE- MISTRY. AFFIRMATION, an indulgence allow- ed by law to the people called Quakers, who, in cases where an oath is required from others, may make a solemn affirma- tion that what they say is true. But their affirmation is confined to civil cases, and is not allowed in any criminal cause, nor with regard to places of profit or trust under the government. AFFRAY, or AFFRAY .VENT, in law, for- merly signified the crime of affrighting other pei-sons, by appearing in unusual ar- mour, brandishing a weapon, &c. But, at present, affray denotes a skirmish or fighting between two or more ; and there must be a stroke given, otherwise it is no affray. AFFRONTEE, in heraldry, an appella- tion giving to animals facing one another on an escutcheon, a kind of bearing, which is otherwise called confrouffe, and stands opposed to adossce. AFT, in the sea language, the same with abaft. See ABAFT. AFZELIA, in botany, a genus of the Didynamia Angiospermia class and order : the calyx is quinquepartite, the corolla campanulated,andihe capsule rotundated with hemispheric receptacles. There is but one species, found in Africa, near the equinoctial. AGAPANTHUS, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and or- der, of the natural order of Liliacae : the calyx is a spathe ; the corolla is one pe- talled ; the stamina are six filaments, in- serted into the throat, shorter than the corolla ; the anthers kidney-shaped and incumbent ; the pistillum is a superior germ ; the style filiform, of the length of three stamens; the stigma simple or tri- fid ; the pericarpium isan oblong-capsule ; the seeds numerous, oblong, compressed, and enlarged with a membrane. There is one species, viz. A. umbellatus, or African blue lily. This is the African tube-rose hyacinth, with a blue umbellated flow- er. The root of this plant is compos- ed of thick fleshy fibres ; from the same head arises a cluster of leaves, which are thick and succulent, and of a dark green colour. Between these issues the flower stalk, supporting an umbel of blue flowers in a sheath, and oach flower VOL. F standing on a pedicle, about an inch long. The umbel being large, the flowers nu- merous, and of a light blue colour, make a fine appearance. They come out at the end of August, or beginning of Septem- ber, and frequently continue in beauty till spring. It is a native of the Cape of Good Hope, from whence it was brought to Holland, and in 1692 it was cultivated at Hampton court. This plant is propagated by offsets, ta- ken at the latter end of June, planted in separate pots, with light kitchen -garden earth, and placed in a shady situation. In five weeks the offsets will put off new roots, and the pots should then be re- moved to a more sunny situation, and have more water. In September they will put out their flower-stalks, and toward the end of the month the flowers will begin to open, and should be removed under shelter in bad weather, but in good wea- ther exposed to the free air. Toward the end of October they should be removed to the green-house, and have the benefit of free air, and be occasionally watered during winter, in mild weather, but in frost they should be kept dry. AGARIC, in botany, a genus of the or- der of fungi, and class of Cryptogamia: the pileus or cap has gills underneath, and the gills differ in substance from the rest of the plant, being composed of two lamina, and the seeds are in the gills. There are nearly 400 species. Dr. Wi- thering distributes them into three gene- ral classes, comprehending those which have central stems, those with lateral stems, and those which have no stems; and he again subdivides the two formei* classes into such as have solid, and such as have hollow stems, with decurrent, fixed, and loose gills, respectively. Un- der these heads, he arranges the species by the colour of the gills, Into those whose gills are white, brown, red, buff', yellow, grey, green, and purple As this ingeni- ous author has formed a system, that serves to facilitate the investigation and description of the several species of Aga- rics, we shall here give a brief sketch of the principles upon which it is founded. Agarics are composed of a cap or pile-is, with gills underneath, and are either with or without stems. The stems are either central or lateral. They have also a root, which is more or less apparent, and some of them, in their unfolded state, wholly enclosed in a incmbranaceous or leather- like case, called a wrapper. Some of them have also a curtain, or thin mem- brane, extending from the stem to the F AGA edge of the pileus, which is rent as the pileus expands, and soon vanishes ; but the part attached to the stem often re- mains, and forms round it a ring 1 which is more or less permanent, as its substance is more or less tender. Of all the species of Agaric, one only has been selected for cultivation in our gardens, viz. the A. campestris, or common mushroom, or champignon. The gills of this species are loose, pinky red, changing to a liver colour, in contact with the stem, but not united to it ; very thick set, irregularly disposed, some forked next the stem, some next the edge of the pileus, some at both ends, and in that case generally ex- cluding the intermediate smaller gills. The pileus is white, changing to brown when old, and becoming scurfy, irregular- ly convex, fleshy, flatter with age, from two to four inches, and sometimes nine inches, in diameter, and liquefying in de- cay ; the flesh white. The stem is so- lid, white, cylindrical, from two to three inches high, half an inch in diameter; the curtain white and delicate. When this mushroom first makes its appearance, it is smooth and almost globular ; and in this state it is called a button. This species is esteemed the best and most savoury of the genus, and is much in request for the table in England. It is eaten fresh, either stewed or boiled, and preserved, either as a pickle or in powder; and it furnishes the sauce called Catchup. The field plants are better for eating than those raised on artificial beds, their flesh being more tender : and those who are accus- tomed to them can distinguish them by their smell. But the cultivated ones are more sightly, may be more easily collect- ed in the proper state for eating, and are firmer and better for pickling. The wild mushrooms are found in parks and other pastures, where the turf has not been ploughed up for many years, and the best time for gathering them is August and September. AGATE, a fossil compounded of vari- ous substances, as chalcedony, cornelian, jasper, hornstone, quartz, 8cc. These different fossils do not all occur in every agate, commonly only two or three. There are different kinds of agate, as the fortification, the landscape, the ribbon, the moss, the tube, the clouded, the zoned, the star, the fragment, the punctuated, thepetrefaction, the coral, and the jasper agate. No country affords finer agate, or in greater abundance, than Germany : it is found in great quantity at Oberstein, \vhera several thousand person's are em- ployed in quarrying, sorting, cutting 1 , arw3 polishing it. It is also found in Prance, England. Scotland, and Ireland, and very beautiful in the East Indies, where, how- ever, it is confounded with onyx. It is cut into vases, mortars, snuff-boxes, and some- times into plates for inlaying in tables. Very handsome specimens are made into seals, and the smaller pieces are used for gun flints. It was highly valued by the ancients, who executed many fine works in it : these, however, are only to be found in the cabinets of the rich. The collec- tions of Brunswick and Dresdenarare re-* markable for beautiful specimens of this kind. AGATHOPHYLLUM, a genus of the Dodecandria Monogynia class and order: calyx very minute, truncate ; petals six, inserted into the calyx; drupe somewhat globular ; nut half five-celled, one seed- ed ; kernel five-lobed. One species, viz. A. aromaticum, a tree in Madagascar, with an aromatic rufous bark. AGAVE, in botany, a genus of the Hex- andria Monogynia class and order, of the natural order of Coronariz : it has no calyx : the corolla is one-petalled and funnel-shaped ; the stamina are filiform ; the anthers linear ; the pistillum is an ob- long germen ; the style filiform ; the stig- ma headed and three cornered; theperi- carpium is oblong, and the seeds are nu- merous. There are seven species, of which we shall notice the A. Americana, or great American Aloe, whose stems., when vigorous, rise upwards of twenty feet high, (one in the king of Prussia's garden rose to forty feet,) and branch out on every side, so as to form a kind of pyramid, composed of greenish yel- low flowers, which stand erect, and come out in thcik clusters at every joint. The seeds do not come to maturity in England. When this plant flowers, it makes a beautiful appearance ; and if it be protected from the cold in autumn, a succession of new flowers will be pro- duced for nearly three months in favour- able seasons. It has been a common er- ror, that this plant does not flower till it is one hundred years old : the truth is, that the flowering depends on its growth ; so that in hot countries it will flower in a few years ; but in colder climates the growth is slower, and it will be much longer be- fore it shoots up a stem. The first that flowered in England is said to have been Mr. Cowell's at Hoxton, in 1729; but they have occurred so often since that time, that they are now scarcely considered as rarities. Few of the variety with yellow- AGE AGE edged leaves have yet blossomed. There are hedges of the common agave in Spain, Portugal, Sic;!y, and Calabria ; it flourish- es also ubout Naples, and in other parts of Italy. The juice of the leaves, strain- ed, and reduced to a thick consistence, by being exposed to the sun, may be made up into balls by means of lye-ashes. It will lather with salt water as well as fresh. The leaves, instead of passing between the rollers of a mill, may be pounded in a wooden mortar, and the juice brought to a consistence by the sun, or by boiling. A gallon of juice will yield about a pound of soft extract. The leaves are also used for scouring pewter, or other kitchen utensils, and floors. In Al- garvia, where pasture is scarce, they are cut in thin transverse slices, and given to cattle. The inward substance of the de- cayed stalk will serve for tinder. The fibres of the leaves, separated by braising and steeping in water, and afterwards beating them, will make a thread for com- mon uses. Varieties of the common American agave, with gold and silver striped leaves, are not now uncommon in the English gardens. The Karatto agave is a variety brought from St. Christo- pher's, and the name is given to other species of this genus, and has leaves from 2 J to 3 feet long, and about 3 inches broad, ending in a black spine, and more erect than those of the others. This sort has not flowered in England. Linnaeus has separated this genus from the aloe, be- cause the stamina and style are extended much longer than the corolla, and the corolla rests upon the germ. Besides, all the agaves have their central leaves closely folding over each other, and em- bracing the flower-stem in the centre ; so that these never flower till all the leaves are expanded, and when the flower is past, the plants die. Whereas the flower-stem of the aloe is produced on one side of the centre, annually, from the same plant, and the leaves are more expanded than in this genus. AGE, in horsemanship, makes a consi- derable point of knowledge, the horse being an animal that remarkably shews the progress of his years by correspon- dent alterations in his body. We have the chief characteristics from his teeth. The first year he has only small grinders and gatherers, of abrightish colour, which are called foal's teeth. The second year he changes his four foremost teeth, viz. two above, and two below, and they ap- pear browner and bigger than the rest. The third year he changes the teeth next these, leaving no apparent foal's teeth be- fore, but two above, and two below, on each side, which are all bright and small. The fourth year he changes the teeth next these, and leaves no more foal's teeth be- fore, but one above and below, on each side. The fifth year his foremost teeth are all changed, and the tushes on each side are complete ; and those which sue- ceed the last foal's teeth are hollow, with a small black speck in the middle, which is called the mark in the horse's mouth, and continues till he is eight years old. The sixth year there appear new tushes, near which is visible some young flesh, at the bottom of the tush, the tushes being white, small, short, and sharp. The se- venth year his teeth are at their full growth, and the mark in his mouth ap- pears very plain. At eight all his teeth are full, plain, and smooth, and the black mark but just discernible, the tushes looking more yellow than ordinary. The ninth, his foremost teeth shew longer, broader, yellower, and fouler, than before, the mark quite disappearing, and the tushes bluntish. At ten no holes are felt on the inside of the upper tushes, which, till then, are easily felt. At eleven his teeth are very long, yellow, black, and foul, and stand directly opposite each, other. At twelve the teeth of his upper jaw hang over those of his under. At thirteen his tushes are worn almost close to his chaps, if he has been much ridden ; otherwise they will be long, black, and foul. AGE likewise denotes certain periods of the duration of the world. Thus, among Christian chronologers, we meet with the age of the law of nature, which comprehends the whole time between Adam and Moses ; the age of the Jewish law, which takes in all the time from Mo- ses to Christ ; and lastly, the age of grace, or the number of years elapsed since the birth of Christ. Among ancient historians, the duration of the world is also subdivided into cer- tain periods, called ages 4 ; of which they reckon three : the first, reaching from the creation to the deluge, which happened in Greece, during the reign of Ogyges, is called the obscure or uncertain age ; the history of mankind, during that period, being altogether uncertain. The second, called the tabulous or heroic, terminates at the first olympiad; where the third, or historical, age commences. The ancient poets also divided the du- ration of the world into four ages, or pe- riods : the first of which thev called the AGG AGI golden age, the second the silver age, the third the brazen age, the fourth the iron age. Not unlike these are the four ages of the world, as computed by the East In- dians, who extend them to a monstrous length. AGE, in law, signifies certain periods of life, when persons of both sexes are enabled to do certain acts, which, for want of years and d'scrt lion, they were incapa- ble of before. Thus, a man at twelve years of age ought, to take the oath of al- legiance to the king, in a lect: at four- teen, .vhich is his age of discretion, he nu.y consent to marriage, choose his guar- dian, and claim his Kinds held in socage. Twenty-one is called full age, a man or woman being then capable of acting for themselves, of managing their affairs, nuking contracts, disposing of their es- tates, and 'he like ; which before that age they could not do. A woman is dowable at nine years of age, may consent to mar- ry at twelve, and at fourteen choose her guardian, and at twenty -one may alienate her lands. AGE, in military affairs. A young man must be fourteen years of age, before he can become un officer in the line, or be entered as a cadet at Woolwich. Persons may be enlisted as soldiers from sixteen to forty-iive ; after the latter age, every inhabitant is exempted from serving in the militia. AGENT, in iaw, a person appointed to transact the business of another. It is a principle of law, that whenever a man has- a power, as owner, to do a thing, he may, as consistent with his ngiit, do it by de- puty, either as agent, factor, or servant. If a person be appointed a general agent, _the principal is bound by all his acts. But an agent, specially appointed, cannot bind Ins principal by an act whereby he exceeds his authority. AGERATUM, maudlin, in botany, a genus of the Syngenesla Polygamia JE- qualis class of plants, with a monopetalous personated flower, and an oblong mem- branaceous fruit, divided into two cells, which contain a number of minute seeds, affixed to a placenta. There are two species. AGGREGATE, in botany, is a term used to express those flowers which are corn;. used of parts or florets, so united or incorporated by means cither of the recep- tacle or calyx, that no one of them can be taken away without destroying the form of the whole. They are opposed to sim- ple flowers that have, no such common part, which is either the receptacle or the calyx, and are usually divided into seveu kinds, viz. the aggregate, properly so call- ed, whose receptacle is dilated, and whose florets are supported by foot-stalks ; such are the blue daisy, thrift, or sea-pink, &c.: the compound, which consist of several florets, that are placed, without partial peduncles, on a common dilated recepta- cle, and within a common perianth mm ; and where each floret hath its proper ca- lyx ; it is also a perianthium : umbellate, when the flower consists of many florets placed on fastigate peduncles, proceeding from the same stem or receptacle ; and which, though of different lengths, rise to such a height as to form a regular head or umbel, flat, convex, or concave : cy- mous, when several fastigate peduncles proceed from the same centre, like the umbel, and rise to nearly an even height ; but, unlike the umbel, the secondary or partial peduncles proceed without any regular order, as in sambuctis, viburnum, &c. : amentaceous, which have a long common receptacle ; along these are dis- posed squamae or scales, which form that sort of calyx called the Amentum : glu- mose, which proceed from a common husky calyx belonging to grasses, called Gluma, many of which flowers are placed on a common receptacle called Rachis, collecting the florets into the spikes, as triticum, hordeum, bolium, &c. : and spa- diceous, which have a common recepta- cle, protruded from within a common ca- lyx, called Spatha, along which are dis- posed several florets. Such a receptacle is called a Spadix, and is either branched, as in p ham be ; or simple, as in narcissus, &c. In this last case, the florets may be disposed all around it; as in calla, draco- nitum, &c.; on the lower part of it, as in arum, &c. ; or on one side, as in zostera, &c. These flowers have generally no partial calyx. AGGIIEGATE, in the Linnsean system of botany, is one of the natural methods of classing plants, and comprehending 1 those which have aggregate flowers. AGGREGATION, in chemistry, de- notes the adhesion of parts of the same, kind. Thus, pieces of sulphur united by fusion form an aggregate. AGIO, in commerce, a term chiefly used in Holland and at Venice, where it denotes the difference between the value of bank stock and the current coin. Mo- ney in bank is commonly worth more than specie : thus, at Amsterdam, they give 103 or 104 florins for every 100 florins in bank. At Venice, the agio is fixed at 20 per cent, See- EXC'EULNGE. Agio is AGR AGR also used for the profit arisimg from the discounting 1 a note, bill, &c. Agio of as- surance, is the same with what we call policy of assurance. See ASSURANCE. AGREEMENT, in law, signifies the consent of several persons to any thing- done, or to be done. There are three kinds of agreement. First, an agreement already executed at the beginning, as when money is paid, or other satisfaction made for the thing agreed to. Secondly, an agreement after an act done by another, to which a person agrees : this is also executed. Thirdly, an agreement executory, or to be execut- ed in time to come. An agreement put in writing does not change its nature ; but if it be sealed and delivered, it becomes still stronger ; nay, any writing under hand and seal, or a proviso amounting to an agreement, is equivalent to a covenant. AGRICULTURE, is the science which explains the means of making the earth produce, in plenty and perfection, those vegetables, which are necessary to the subsistence or convenience of man. Its practice demands a considerable know- ledge of the relations subsisting between the most important objects of nature. It is eminently conducive to the advantage of those actively engaged in it, by its tendency to promote their health, and to cherish in them a manly and ingenuous character ; and every improvement made in the art must be considered as of high utility, as it facilitates the subsistence of a greater proportion of rational and moral agents; or, if we suppose the number to be unincreased, furnishes them with greater opportunities than could be pos- sessed before, of obtaining that intellec- tual and moral enjoyment, which is the most honourable characteristic of their nature. The strength of nations is in proportion to their skilful cultivation of the soil ; and their independence is se- cured, and their patriotism animated, by obtaining from their native spot all the requisites for easy and vigorous subsist- ence. Not only to raise vegetables for the use of man, but those animals also which are used for food, is obviously therefore part of the occupation of the husband- man; and to assist him in his operations, other animals are to be reared and fed by him, to relieve his labours by their strength and endurance of exertion. In cold and comparatively infertile climates, the serv ces of these creatures are par- t icularly important, if not absolutely in- dispensable, and their health and mul- tiplication become, consequently, objects of great and unremitted attention. The period of the introduction of agriculture into Britain is unknown. Pliny observes that, at the time of the Roman invasion, the inhabitants were ac- quainted with certain manures, particu- larly marl. During the possession of the island by the Romans, great quantities of grain were exported from it, and it can not be doubted that, as in various other respects, the rude inhabitants derived ad- vantage from their enlightened conquer- ors; they were eminently benefited by their agricultural experience. Amidst the series of contest and confusions which fol- lowed the final abandonment of Britain by the Romans, the art and practice of hus- bandry must be presumed to have become retrograde. From the Norman conquest, however, it derived fresh vigour, as a con- siderable number of Flemish farmers, by this revolution, became proprietors of British estates, and introduced that know- ledge of the means of cultivation, for which their own country had been long distinguished. Before the sixteenth century few data are afforded, witli respect to the details of agricultural practice in this island. At this period it derived a valuable impulse from the exertions of Fitzherbert, a judge of the common pleas, whose treatises on the subject were read with avidity, and, while they abounded in instruction, ex- cited a taste and emulation for the pur- suits of husbandry. Sir Hugh Platt fol- lowed this path of genuine patriotism with great assiduity, modesty, and public advantage, treating particularly on the subject of manuring. Gabriel Platter held out to his countrymen the light of genius, guided by experience. Captain Blyth, in 1652, published a judicious treatise, containing- directions for water- ing lands. And Hartlib, the friend of Millan, in a work called the Legacy, sug- gested the establishment of a national in- stitution for the encouragement of hus- bandry, and stimulated to the practice of it a number of country gentlemen., whom the violence and changes of the times had reduced to a situation, in which they found it requisite to avail themselves of all means and resources to extricate themselves from comparative impoverish- ment. Evelyn and Jethro Tull were, at a somewhat later period, of eminent service in directing the attention of their contem- poraries from the grossness and pollutions of voluptuousness, to tins most valuable AGRICULTURE. department of avt ; the former, by his treatise on plants; the latter, by his re- Commendation of the practice of drill husbandry. Since their successful and in- genious efforts, a series of valuable ex- perimentalists and writers have performed to their country very essential service, by communicating the most useful informa- tion, and exciting 1 a spirit of acute re- search and unwearied exertion. In France, the political expedience of guarding against that scarcity, which, in time of war, either necessitated the yield- ing to harsh terms from the enemy, or exposed to the miseries and horrors of famine, by continued hostilities, induced the government, in the late reigns, to be- stow on the subject of agriculture con- siderable attention, and to hold out nu- merous encouragements to it. The court was present at various experiments in husbandry. Prize questions were pro- posed at Lyons, Bourdeaux, and Amiens, for its promotion, and no less than fifteen societies, for the express purpose of ad- vancing agriculture, were established, wit!) the approbation, probably at the sug- gestion, of' the governing powers. But, notwithstanding all those efforts, which, however, can by no means be presumed to have been totally useless, French hus- bandry continued in a very deplorable state, ascribable, in a great degree, to that tenure of lands, by which, through the greater part of the kingdom, the land- lord contributed the stock, and the occu- pier the labour, dividing the profits in certain proportional shares. This cir- cumstance, with several others, operated to keep the cultivation of this country in an extremely low state ; and a compara- tive estimate of the produce of an Eng- lish and of a French estate, of precisely similar natural advantages, at the period when this practice prevailed, would shew that, in consequence, principally, of so absurd and perverse a regulation, the su- periority of the former to the latter was at least in the ratio of 36 to 25. But the revolution of France, changing every thing, has swept away, with many excel- lent individuals, and some valuable insti- tutions, a practice so impolitic and injuri- ous ; and although our intercourse with that country, since this event, has scarce- ly been such as to afford accurate and detailed information of the present state of its husbandly, it cannot easily be doubted, that the repeated transfers of landed property, the annihilation of par- tial burdens upon cultivation, the re- searches of ingenious chemists, and the general view of government to the pro- ductiveness of its territory, and to the promotion of its arts and sciences, must be connected with considerable improve- ment in this most valuable of national concerns. In Germany, lectures have for many years been given on this subject, in va- rious states of it ; and several princes in the empire, particularly the present king of Bavaria, have directed to it their parti- cular attention and patronage. In Rus- sia, the late Empress gave it every facili- ty which could be applied in the semi- barbarous state of her dominions, and sent gentlemen into this and ot-her coun- tries, with a view to acquire information on rural economy, for the benefit of their own. In the Dutchy of Tuscany, the Archduke Leopold recently diffused the active spirit of improvement by which he was himself animated, and an academy was endowed for the promotion of agri- culture. A society for the same purpose was instituted about the year 1759, at Berne, in Switzerland, consisting of men of great political influence, and also of great personal experience in rural econo- mics. The Stockholm Memoirs suffi- ciently evince that Sweden, under the influence of the great Linnaeus, applied to this science with extraordinary success and advantage. Even the indolence and pride of Spain were roused to exertion on this interesting subject, and the go- vernment of that country made overtures to the Swedish philosopher, for the su- perintendance of a college directed to the advance of natural history, and the art of husbandry. In our 'own country, however, from a happy combination of circumstances, the exertions of individuals, societies, and government, have been directed, within the last thirty years, to the subject under consideration, with more energy and effect than have been displayed in any other part of Europe. The gentry and nobility have liberally patronized, and many of them judiciously and successfully prac- tised it. The Royal Society, the Society of Arts, and various others, have been of distinguished service in collecting" and diffusing information, and in promoting a spirit of emulation, with respect to the management and productions of their native soil. The names of Kaims and Hunter, of Anderson and Marshall, of Sinclair and Young, are celebrated by publications, exhibititi;-; a union of philo- sophical sagacity aad patient experiment; the results of which have been of meal- AGRICULTURE. culable advantage ; and to the efforts of these and other individuals it may be ascribed, that a board of agriculture was established by the government in 1793, whose exertions in procuring and pub- lishing intelligence on the objects of its establishment have entitled it to the high- est credit. By its agricultural surveys, by its diffusion of rewards for important dis- coveries, and of premiums for valuable treatises, and by its exertions at critical periods of scarcity, its utility and merit may be considered not only as decided, but distinguished. It has the power of directing public attention to any topics particularly requiring practical research or illustration, and possesses the means of most advantageously diffusing its collec- tions, circumstances of high importance to the utility of the establishment. It must be regarded as its privilege, as well as duty, to suggest, from time to time, to the legislature, means for removing va- rious impediments, still existing, to the perfection of the art, for the promotion of which it is expressly instituted. On Inclosing- and Draining. Inclosing of lands must be considered as the grand foundation of all improve- ments. When remaining open, litigations between neighbours are perpetually oc- curring, and the ingenuity of any indi- vidual proprietor is of little use to him, as he is obliged to follow the practice pursued by the ignorant and obstinate occupiers of the common property in which he shares. In connection with inclosures may be considered the practice of draining lands, which is the next step in rendering them productive. The su- perabundance of water is no less injuri- ous to vegetation than the absolute want of it : and, whether arising from rain stagnating on the surface, or from springs in the interior of the earth, it is one of the most important objects of the farmer to prevent its pernicious consequences. For this purpose, open or visible drains are in many cases adopted; while in others, hollow ones, so called from their being concealed in covered trenches, are pre- fen-ed. The width and depth of open drains must be regulated by the variety of soil and situation to which they are applied. To prevent, however, the sides from falling in, they must at top be three times the width they have at bottom ; while their direction must obviously, and f necessity, be descending, it should, at the same time, not be steep, as this would form inequalities, and bear down their sides by the rapid rush of the water. All open drains should be cleared, at least, once in every year; which regular re- pairs may, in some cases, render them in the end more expensive than those de- nominated hollow, which will sometimes last tor several generations unimpaired, but demand originally a far greater sum for their completion. The practice of hollow draining was known by the Roman writers on agricul- ture, and is particularly mentioned by them. In stiff clays it is of little service, and it is practised with desired effect only where the soil is of that porous sub- stance which easily admits the passage of the water through it. Opinions differ with regard to the season for carrying these works into execution; some, with plausable reason, preferring the summer, and others, having nearly as much to state in recommendation of winter for the purpose. The depth of the drain, from, the surface of the land, should generally be from twenty-six inches to thirty-two ; and the principal rule for their depth is, that they should be secured from receiv- ing injury from the feet of horses or cat- tle ploughing on the spot under which they are made It is desirable to consti- tute the drain in such a manner that the stones may lean towards each other, so as to form a triangle, of which the bottom of the drain forms the base : in which case, the width of a foot may be regarded as sufficient for them. The ditches con- structed for these drains must be execut- ed with great neatness and care ; and with respect to filling them up, which they should be about ten inches deep, if stones are plentifully at hand, they should be applied for this purpose. But in many places, faggot-wood, horns, bones, straw, fern, and even turf, laid in like a wedge, are all used in different situations ; and drains constructed of these materials, thirty years ago, are found in several places effectually to answer their purpose still. By many pei'sons, straw, twisted into a very large rope, has been success- fully laid in the bottom of the ditch ; and by others, after twenty years experience, the white thorn has been recommended as answering better than all other mate- rials. Injurious moisture in land arises often from springs in the bowels of the earth. The person who first published the me- thod of draining land, in these circum- stances, was Dr John Anderson, of Aber- deen, while Mr. Ettcington was actually AGRICULTURE. practising upon the same principle, in va- rious parts of England, with complete success ; and at length obtained from the Tiritish parliament a thousand pounds, as '.he discoverer of so valuable an improve- ment. In Italy and Germany, however, it is stated upon respectable authority, that the art has been long known and practised. Some ot the strata of which the earth is composed will admit the free pas- sage of water through them, while others 'rtectually resist it. Gravel is obviously Characterised by the former quality, and clay by the latter. The upper part of mountains is frequently composed of gra- vel, which extends far into their depth, iiul conveys with it the water received Mpon their surface from the clouds. Meeting with layers of clay or rock, how- ever the water is unable to permeate them, and flows upon the upper part of them obliquely, according to that general direction of the layers or laminse, which form the earth towards the plain or val- ley. After descending for some way, the layer of gravel along which the water had passed, and from which it could not penetrate the clay, flowing only on its surface, often passes, in consequence of the obliquity just mentioned, under new- strata of materials, consisting of clay, or some substance equally difficult to be pe- netrated by moisture. The water is thus confined between impervious beds. If the layer of gravel Suddenly stops, in such circumstances, as it often does, the water which it had conveyed between.these two beds, deriving fresh accumulation perpe- tually from its original source, will at length permeate the superior layer, as- cending through its weaker parts, and arriving at last at the surface, will there stagnate. The art of draining lands in this situation (the principle of which, in whatever research or casualty its disco- very originated, is of such happy applica- tion) consists merely of digging or boring with an auger into the earth, so as to reach the layer of gravel ; the water in which, finding an easy and rapid access upwards by this vent, no longer presses in its former diffused manner, to the injury of the su- perior clay, which will consequently cease to nourish moss and weeds through re- dundant moisture, and be fitted for the purposes of useful cultivation. The ap- plication of this principle to the purposes of improved husbandry may be consider- ed at present as in its infancy. It may be presumed that, in future period.-;, it may be carried to un extent of incalculable utility, and be connected with the supply of navigable canals, and the movement of machinery adapted to various objects of art and commerce. The manner in which the various strata are intermingled with each other must, it is obvious, as nearly as possible, be ascertained, before this practice can be applied with certainty of success ; and the surest way of discover- ing their direction consists in exan.-ni.ng the beds of the nearest rivers, and the ap- pearance of their steep and broken bankfl The examination of pits, wells, and quar- ries, in the vicinity, will also contribute information on the subject. Rusiu-* ind other plants, which grow only in moisiure injurious toother veget;ibles,W!ll likewise often indicate where u collection of water is impeded in its course beiovv, and con- sequently presses upward, to the destruc- tion of useful vegetation. In draining 1 a large bog, it wilt be generally proper lo dig a trench from one end of it to nie other, with cross trenches at considerable distances, to allow the water a free dis- charge, by frequently piercing ri'.e ' ottom, at which the springs are to be fo'.md, with an auger A single perforation will fre- quently, indeed, complete the object. In- stanceshave occurred, in which water thus raised has been made to ascend, by erect- ing round the perforation a building of brick, lined both sides with ,,clay, above the level of the bog% applicable to a va- riety of purpcses, and conveyed by pipes, or otherwise, to a considerable distance. Detailed regulations for the application of this important principle, so productive a source of improved cultivation, are pre- cluded by the assigned limits of this ar- ticle. ' On Fences. Without firm and close fences, the luis bandman might as well cultivate c-j en fields as inclosures, which in thr-v.e cir- cumstances, indeed, are only no;n .->y'Iy such. He is imder perpetual ar.d well- founded apprehensions, Ie.it cattle o'.' his own or his neighbours should bre:f other lands, and the em- ployment of many honest and industrious poor. Hie principles on which the prac- tice depends have no portion of difficulty and complexity whatever. Water will al- ways rise to the level of the receptacle from which it is derived. All streams de- scending in a greater or less degree, which is indicated by their smooth and slow, or their agitated and noisy progress, it ia obvious that a main or trench may be taken from a river, vhich will convey wa- ter over the land by the side of that river to a considerable distance below the head of the main, where the river from which it is taken flows greatly below it. As water, however, if left to stagnate upon land, does it very considerable injury, instead of benefiting it, by cherishing flags, rushes, and other weeds, it is requi- site to ascertain, before it be introduced upon any spot, that it can be easily and effectually drained off. The muddiness of the water applied is stated by some to be of little consequence, and several writers have even laid it down as a nrtuxim, that the purer or clearer the water is, the more beneficial are its effects. These opinions, however, appear to be directly contradicted by experience; and it may be affirmed, that the mud of water, particularly in some situations, is nearly of as much consequence in winter water- ing, as dung is in the improvement of a poor upland field. Every meadow will be found productive, proportionally to the quantity of mud collected from the water. Those meadows which lie next below any village or town are uniformly most rapid and plentiful in their growth. So well known is this truth, that disputes are per- petually arising concerning the first appli- cation of water to lands; and when mud is supposed to be collected at the bottom of a river, or in ditches, many persons will employ labourers with rakes, for several days together, to disturb it, that it may be carried down by the water, and spread upon the meadows. The more turbid and feculent the water, the more beneficially it acts. Hasty and violent rains, produc- ing floods, dissolve the salts of the cir- cumjacent lands, and wash from them con- siderable portions of the, manure, which naturally or factitiously had been depo- sited on them. Water from a spring de- pends in no small degree for the quantity of nutriment it affords to vegetables, on the nature of the strata over which it passes. If these be metallic, or consisting of earth partaking of the sulphuric acid, it may be really injurious. But that which passes over fossil chalks, or any thing of a calcareous nature, will highly promote the process of vegetation. That which has run a long way is, almost always, pre- ferable to what flows over land immedi- ately from the spring. In mid-winter great attention should be appliedto keeping watered lands sheltered by the waterfrom the rigour of night frosts; but during the whole winter it should be withdrawn once in every twelve days, to prevent its rotting and destroying the roots of the grass. Every meadow should also be attentively inspected, to preserve the equal distribution of the water over it, and to remove obstacles arising from the influx of weeds and sticks, and other similar causes. In the month of Febru- ary particular caution is requisite. If the water be suffered to remain many days together upon the fend, a white scum, ex- tremely pernicious, is the consequence ; and if the land be exposed, without dry- ing during the course of the day, to one severe night frost, the herbage will often be completely cut off. Both these causes of injury must be carefully avoided. A- bout the middle of February half the quantity of water previously used will be better than more, all that is requisite now being to keep the ground moist and warm, and to hasten the progress of vegetation; and in proportion as the weather becomes warmer, the quantity introduced should proportionally be diminished. An import- ant maxim in the application of water is, to bring it on as plentifully as possible, but to let it pass off by a brisk and nim- ble course, as not only its stagnation is injurious, but by indolently creeping over the land, it is of much less'advantage than when passing off quickly The spring* feeding 1 ought never to be done by be.aviev AGRICULTURE. cattle than sheep or calves, as others would do extreme injury, by poaching the ground with their feet, and spoiling the trenches. The barer the meadows are fed towards the close of April, the better. After clearing, they should have a week's watering, with a careful atten- tion to every sluice or drain. With respecttothe application offloods, a general rule, of no slight importance, is, that the farmer should avail himself of them whenever the grass cannot be used, as the sand and mud brought down by them increase and enrich the soil; but that he should avoid them when the grass is Jong, or soon to be cut, as in flat countries it is frequently spoiled by them, and much of the matter which they bring down, sticking to the grass, renders it. peculiar- ly unpleasant to entile, which have been known in some instances rather to starve than use it. So great is the importance of irrigation, that governments would be fully justified in giving facility to undertaking's for con- ducting it on an extensive plan. The fer- tility, or, in other words, the national wealth, capable of being derived from the application of cold water, which is at present allowed to flow uselessly away, to the purposes of agriculture, is well wor- thy the attention of the enlightened and benevolent statesman. In the neighbour- hood of the cities of Milan and Lodi, Mr. Young observes, that the exertions in ir- rigation arc truly great, and even astonish- ing. " Canals are not only numerous and uni?iterrupte( 7 , but conducted with great skill and expense. Along the public roads, almost every where, there is one canal on the side of the road, and some- times there are two. Cross ones are thrown over these on arches, and pass in trunks of brick or stone under the road. A very considerable one, after passing for seve- ral miles by the side of the highway, sinks under it, ana also under two other canals, earned in stone troughs a foot wide. The variety of directions in which the water is carried, the ey.se with which it is made to flow in opposite directions, and the ob- stacles which, a^e overcome, are objects of admiration. The expense thus em- ployed in the twenty miles from Milan to JLodi is immense, and meritorious as ma- ny undertakings in England are, they sink to nothing in comparison with these truly great and noble works. So well under- stood is the value of water in this country, that it is brought by the farmer (who has the power of conducting it through his neighbour's ground, for a stipulated sum, and under certain regulations, to any dis tance that may suit him) from a canal of a certain size, at so much an hour perweek, and even from an hour down to a quarter. The usual price for an hour per week in perpetuity is fifteen hundred livres." JITanure, &c. Ingenious theories have too often, in argiculturai treatises, usurped the place of recitals of attentive and patient expe- rience. To the latter, the judicious rea- der will ever bend his attention with plea- sure and advantage, rejoicing that, while the systems of men are seen to vanish, one after another, in rapid succession, like the waves of the ocean, the course of na- ture is constant, and may be depended upon through all generations and ages. Of ail the expenses incurred by the hus- bandman, none so rarely disappoints its object as that which he employs in ma- nures. The use of lime in this connec- tion has been long decidedly established- It reduces to mould all the dead roots of vegetables with which the soil abounds. Its useful operation depends upon its in- timate mixture with the land ; and the proper time therefore to apply it is, when both are in that pulverized state in which this union can be best completed. If left to be slaked by humid air, or casual rain, it is seldom perfectly reduced to powder. The proper method is, to place it in heaps on the ground on which it is intended to be spread, to slake it there with a due quantity of water, and after- wards to cover it with sod, to preserve it from the rain. If long slaked, however, before it is spread, it runs into clots, and becomes less operative for its purpose ; besides which, it loses in such circumstan- ces its caustic quality, on which account it should be brought home as short a time as possible before its intended application. Lime should not be permitted to He all winter on the surface of the ground after being spread, for a similar reason, as also because it is washed down into the fur- rows ; and on the sides of hills the whole is apt to be carried off by the winter tor- rents. It should be spread, and mixed with the soil immediately before sowing. The quantity to be laid on depends upon the nature of the lands,, which, if strong, will easily bear a hundred bolls per acre, while thin and gravelly ones will require only thirty or forty, and upon meadow ones fifty or sixty will be found sufficient. Marl is valuable as a manure in propor- tion to the Quantity of calcareous earth which it contains, which, in some instan- AGRICULTURE. ces, amount to one half. When of this quality, it may be regarded as the most substantial of all manures, converting the weakest ground nearly into the most pro- ductive. It is the best of manure for clay soils, in which all agricultural writers are perfectly agreed. Before its application, the land should be cleared of weeds, and smoothed, that it may be evenly spread ; after which it should remain all winter on the surface. Its usefulness depends on its pulverization and close union with the soil to which it is applied. Frost, and a fre- quent alternation of drynessand humidity, contribute greatly to reduce it to pow- der, on which account it should, as much and as long as possible, be exposed to their influence. The proper season for marling land is summer. The best grain for the first crop after marl is oats. But, whatever be the crop, the furrow should be always ebbed, as otherwise the marl, which is a heavy body, sinks to the bot- tom of it. Gypsum, or plaster of Paris, is com- monly used in Switzerland and North America as a manure, and has been tried in this country with stated results of a very different description. Experiments, however, respecting its efficacy and ad- vantages, do not appear yet to have been made with sufficient accuracy to justify a final opinion respecting it. In Cornwall and other counties, sea sand is laid upon the land in considerable quantities, and found extremely useful in softening stiff clays, and rendering them pervious to the roots of plants. Chalk, or powdered lime- stone, will also answer this important end; and sand, together with lime perfectly extinguished, will, more effectually than any thing else, open its texture, and pre- pare it for whatever is intended to be sown on it. The true nourishment of vegetables consists of water, coal, salts, and differ- ent kinds of earths, which are ascertained to be the only substances common to ve- getables, and the soils in which they grow. In favourable weather, grasses and corn absorb and perspire nearly half their weight of water every day. The great problem with respect to manuring or fer- tilizing a soil appears to be, how to ren- ber coal soluble in water for the purpo- ses of vegetation, and to discover that composition of the different earths, which s best adapted to detain the due pro- portion of moisture. With respect to the former, the fermentation of dung appears to be the best method hither 1 o discover- ed ; and as to the different kinds of earths to be applied for the improvement of particular soils, the experiments of Mr. Kirwan, to whom the world is indebted for much elaborate and ingenious analy- sis on the subject, have led him to seve- ral conclusions, which will be briefly no- ticed. Clay soils, being defective in con- stitution and texture, want the calcare- ous ingredient, and course sand. The former is supplied by calcareous marl, and both are furnished by limestone gra- vel. Marl and dung are still more bene- ficial, as dung supplies the carbonaceous principle. Sand, chalk, or powdered lime- stone, will either of them answer this pur- pose, though less advantageously. Coal ashes, chips of wood, burnt clay, brick- dust, and even pebbles, may be applied with this view. For clayey loam, if defi- cient in the calcareous ingredient, chalk is an excellent manure ; if in the sandy ingredient, sand is the obvious and easy remedy ; a deficiency in both will be best supplied by siliceous marl, limestone gra- vel, or effete lime with sand. The most effectual application for the chalky soils, which want both the argillaceous and the sandy ingredients, is clayey or sandy loams. For chalky loam, the best ma- nure is clay, because this soil is chiefly defective in the argillaceous ingredient. Calcareous marl is the best manure for sandy soils. For sandy looms, chalk should be followed by clay ; and for vi- triolic soils, lime, or limestone gravel, or calcareous clay, is peculiarly applicable. Not only sea-sand, but sea-weeds also., may be employed to considerable advan- tage as manure. For lands on the coast it may be procured, not only in any quan- tities, but at a trifling expense. The weeds of rivers are also extremely use- ful for the same purpose. The refuse of slaughter-houses and oil cakes are well adapted to fertilize the soil, but in most situations not easily to be obtained at a reasonable rate. In almost all circumstances, the indus- try and ingenuity of the occupier must be depended on for raising on the spot an ade- quate quantity of dung for its manure j. and for this purpose it is expedient that, in such circumstances, as little as possi- ble of the hay and straw raised upon the premises should be sold from them. This tenaciousness on the part of the farmer will prove the constant source of improve- ment With a view to turn his means of manure most advantageously to account, he should draw into his farm yard, at the most leisurely season of the year, before the time of confining his cattle to fodder, AGRICULTURE. as much marl, turf, dry mud, loam, and other applicable articles, as will cover its surface to the depth of twelve inches. If there be many hog-houses, stables, and eow-stalls, that are cleansed into the yard, on such spots these materials should be spread more thickly. Bog peats, if near at hand, should never be neglected. These peats may be regarded as vegeta- ble dunghills, and their easy accessibility in this connection will be regarded as of extreme utility and consequence. Before foddering is begun, the whole yard should be well littered, for which stub- ble, fern, and leaves, are well adapted. No money laid out by the farmer is more wisely and successfully expended, than that which he employs in procuring, at a reasonable rate, great quantities of litter, by which his cattle are enabled to lie dry and warm, and the mass of manure which he raises is much larger and cheaper than he could procure in any othermode. Fern abounds in alkaline salts, and must therefore obviously produce very valua- ble dung : it requires, however, to be rotted well, and is more difficult to be so than straw. In woodlands, leaves may be collected at slight expence, and will make admirable litter and dung. In the neigh- bourhood of marshes, rushes, flags, and coarse grass, may all be easily procured, and will be exceedingly serviceable. After these exertions and preparations, the farmer must strictly confine his cattle during the winter, not by tying them, as some have done, but so as completely to prevent their roaming in the adjoining pastures. By thus confining all the cat- tle upon straw, and turnips, and hay, as may be requisite, the necessary quantity of animal manure will be obtained to make the compost of the several ingredi- ents ferment, rot, and turn to rich ma- nure, while, without these animal materi- als, the heap might be large, but would be of little value. The draining from the yard should never run to waste, and, un- less in extraordinary cases, such as ex- tremely violent rains, this may be easily prevented. An excellent method for this purpose is the sinking a well in the low- er part of the yard to fix a pump in ; by which the water may be conveyed along a trough to a large heap of marl, turf, e-halk, and other appropriate materials, which, by a daily application of this li- quor, will be of little less value eventu- ally than a heap of dung of the same size. If the dung remains underwater, pu- trefaction is stopped ; this, therefore, should be carefully guarded Stirring the dung should also be avoided, as the oils and alkaline salts are thus car- ried off into the atmosphere, and it is not merely rottenness that is wanted, and particularly that dry rottenness thus pro- duced, but such as exhibits a fat, oily, mu- cilaginous appearance. It will be advisa- ble, if practicable, to let it remain in the yard unmoved, till the ground it is destin- ed for is completely ready for its recep- tion. If, for want of room in the yard, it must be carted off into the field, let the litter and the marl be well mixed in filling the cart, and let the whole form, under the shade of trees, if an opportu- nity be afforded for it, a heap of about four feet in thickness. The dung raised even by a few sheep in a standing fold, under a shed construct- ed expressly for the purpose, (for the trouble and expence of one composed of hurdles will overbalance its profits, un- less upon a very large scale) is a consider- able object, while the sheep under it are at the same time warm and comfortable, instead of being exposed to driving rains and snow. Animal substances are very far prefer- able as manures to fossil or vegetable ones. Woollen rags, hogs' hair, hora shavings, the offal of butcher's and fish- monger's stalls, may be obtained in large cities,and, whenever reasonably to be pro- cured, should be eagerly caught at. With regard to the dung of animals, that of sheep is unquestionably the best. That of horses fed upon corn and hay is justly preferred to that of fatting cattle, which, however, is greatly superior to that of lean cattle, and particularly of cows, though they may feed upon turnips. The practice of paring and burning is pronounced by men of great philosophi- cal sagacity and research, and who have justly referred more to practical results than to theoretical reasonings, to be of the most decided advantage in the pre- paration of land. It may be considered as a practice safe on any soil, as in some it is essentially necessary. That which most of all requires it, and which it is impossible by any other means to pulve- rize, is what consists of moss, rushes, and all kinds of coarse grass. It should be exercised on moor and heath-fields, on ac- count of the roots of the grass remaining- in it, which are very stubborn and dura- ble, and which check the growth of corn^ turnips, and other vegetables, by depriv- ing them of a certain portion of nourish- ment. Thev serve Ivkewise as a harbour AGRICULTURE. for worms, the only efVecliul way to clear the ground from which is to burn it; the old and the young 1 , together with their oggs, being thus destroyed or smothered. The ashes procured by paring and burn- ing will furnish manure for several crops. The lessening of the soil by this husband- ry was long apprehended; such a conse- quence, however, may be safely and po- sitively denied, unless, perhaps, in cases n which the practice is carried to great xcess. In poor soils, peat and sedgy 'Bottoms, the process is universally admit- ted to be a proper one. With respect >-ven to clay lands, it produces not only rhe common manure found in vegetable ashes, but a substance which acts me- chanically to the utmost advantage, loos- ening and opening the stubborn adhesion of the soil. In loam itself, the ploughing of rough pastures to the depth of eight or nine inches, and burning the whole fur- row in heaps of about thirty bushels each, has been attended with most decided and durable improvement ; and even though this depth be nearly twenty times the depth of common paring, the soil has not been supposed to be wasted eventually by the practice. Its texture has been rendered less stiff; the redundance of water has been expelled ; and the imme- diate fertility attending this method of treatment fills it speedily with far more vegetable particles than it previously pos- sessed. Sandy grounds are as improve- iible by this method as those of a dif- ferent description, and chalk lands, in every part ot'England, have been so treat- ed, and most profitably been brought into culture. In Gloucestershire, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire, in Hampshire, Wilt- shire, and Kent, the consequent crops of wheat, barley, oats, and sainfoin, have been of sufficient value to buy the land at more than forty years purchase, at a fair- ly estimated rent, before these improve- ments were applied. But whatever dif- ference may exist, with respect to the practice on such lands as have been just mentioned, and which is rapidly vanishing before obvious and impressive facts, no one, as already observed, doubts the pro- priety of it on peat. From the fens of Cambridgeshire to the bogs of Ireland, the moors of the north, or the sedgy bot- toms abounding in almost every part of the united kingdom, paring and burning are universally employed, on their being broken up, by men of real experience and observation. The method of doing ;t by fallow is completely abandoned by all persons of this description, after the most regular and decided experiments of it* results. In Cambridgeshire the work is performed by a plough, purposely con* structed, and admirably adapted for it, which reduces the expence considerably. With respect to meadow and pasture land, it is performed by what is denomi- nated a breast-piough, which, requiring great strength and labour in its applica- tion, much increases the cost. With re- gard to the general practice, it may be observed, that the heaps should not con- sist of more than twenty bushels., as, if they are much larger, the iurfs will be too much burnt. Their s;ze must be regulated, in a great degree, by the na- ture of the weather and the thickness of the paring. When the ashes are spread, which should be completed as soon as possible, the land, as is usually the case, should be thinly ploughed. In almost all circumstances, the ashes should be left ploughed in for sowing turnips upon lands burnt in the months of March and April. If potatoes arc desired, this preparation is excellently adapted to them, and they should be planted in April on lands burnt in March. The Culture of Grasses. A close and sound turf may be consid- ered as the best manure yet discovered, on which account it is justly reroa/ked, that those who have grass can at any time have corn, the reverse of which is by no means true. Excellent grass lands, there- fore, are valuable, not on'y directly, for the food of cattle, but indirectly, as con- taining ample means of raising grain, never failing, upon being broken up, to produce, for a time, a succession of va- luable crops, whether of grain or roots. The small decree of labour and hazard attending the pasture of land recommends it to many ; and also the opportunity it supplies of laying out considerable pro- perty to great advantage in stock, Lunds are preserved by it in good condition, and large estates may be managed under it with peculiar ease. Grass lands, designed to be cut for hay, are to be distinguished frcm those on which the herbage is intended to be consumed by cattle on the sj'Ot : In fields of the latter kind, property called pastures, manure is supplied by the cat- tle ; in the others it must be applied ar- tificially, as large crops of hay exhaust the land, and always in proportion to the maturitv which the herbage is suffered to attain before cropping, while nothing is AGRICULTURE. returned to the soil, for all that is thus detatchedfrom it. In consequence, more- over, of depasturing lands, the plants, being unable to propagate themselves by seed, do it by root, forming a compact and matted turf, incapable of sending forth strong and powerful stems, to form a good crop of hay, but abounding in slender and delicate shoots, such as the closeness of the turf will alone permit to pass, and which constitute a most nou- rishing and pleasing food for cattle. These two modes of employing land therefore should not be intermixed. What has for some time been applied to either pur- pose should, by all means, be permitted to remain so ; and to attempt to alternate the application of grass lands between pasture and cropping, is an effectual me- thod of completely defeating botli objects. The difficulty of restoring old, rich, and clean pastures to their original state, after their being broken up, should ever prevent their being so, unless in very extraordinary cases^ In common times they can be applied to no better purpose than their actual one : whenever it is ex- pedient to direct them to the raising of grain, they will be certain to produce it in immense abundance. With respect to the improvement of which grass lands are generally suscepti- ble, those, of course, should in the first instance be applied to them, which are connected with draining and inclosure, which happily coincide with each other, as the ditch serves at once for dividing and defending the land, and for cleaning off the redundant moisture. Irrigation also, which, as well indeed as the last- mentioned topics, has been already ad- verted to, from its obvious and admirable utility to pasture, will derive every atten- tion in this connection. In spring a heavy wooden roller should be applied, when the weather is moist, as it will then make the greater impression. The roots of the plants will thus be fixed in the soil. The mould will be crushed, and the worm- casts levelled by this practice ; and the ground is prepared by it for the applica- tion of the scythe, which will, in conse- quence of this operation, cut deeper, and with more facility. The stocking of poor pastures with sheep, rather than black cattle, is of parti- cular consequence to their improvement, and the perseverance in this practice for years, the sheep being folded upon the spot, has been more recruiting to poor soils, than any other practice. A habit of matting its roots is given to the grass by the close bite of these animals, and a growth of delicate herbage is promoted. Weeds are likewise cleared by sheep, as every thing 1 young 1 and tender (even heath and broom) is readily eaten by them. By means also of the dung" neces- sarily arising, an amelioration of the soil as well as produce takes place, of extreme and surprising importance. The sweet- ness of the feed on the downs of Wilt- shire arises, not so much from any natu- ral and characteristic excellence of the grass grown on them, as from its being- kept close, and eaten as rapidly as it vege- tates. It has been remarked, that on cer- tain poor soils, it requires much more time to produce the second inch of vege- tation than the first, making allowance for the fuller development and size ac- companying the second ; a circumstance indicating that the preference should in such cases be given to the feeding by sheep rather than by cattle. The for- mer remarks, however, on this subject, concerning the inapplicability of land thus depastured for rearing crops of hay, must never be forgotten. Quicklime, spread in powder over the surface of pasture lands, will scarcely fail to improve, not only the poor, but the more valuable ones. The moss plants, which are so particularly pernicious, are thus destroyed, and converted into valua- ble manure. Upon impoverished and worn-out lands, about 270 bushels per acre, on the sward, in the summer, will be found of great and durable efficacy in cleaning and improving them. Mixing lime with earth taken from ditches or ponds is superior to using it alone, and, as a general rule, double the quantity of earth should be mixed with that of lime. The requisite proportions vary, however, with the nature of the soils; but are easily ascertained by attentive workmen. Paring and burning may be applied to pasture with great success in a partial manner, by grubbing up rushes and bush- es with which it may be encumbered, burning them after they are dried, and before the autumnal rains come on spread- ing their ashes on the surface. In some instances this husbandry may be success- fully exercised on pasture over the whole surface, as particularly on a poor worn out ley ; which, by such a process, attend- ed with the harrowing in of white clover, and several other grass seeds, at the time of spreading the ashes, hasbeen improved into a very fine meadow. Where suita- ble, such a practice may be regarded as one of the cheapest of all improvements. AGRICULTURE. From whatever cause land may be overrun with moss plants, or covered with fern, rushes, and ant-hills, it should be subjected for some time to the plough, ^s no other method is equally useful to prepare for permanently ameliorating its pasture. To prepare arable land for grass, it must be cleaned from weeds, and well manured, just in the same manner as that which is required for a crop of grain. Excepting upon stiff clays, the most eli- gible preparation for grass is a crop of turnips, consumed by cattle in the field ; the ground being thus at once manured and cleaned. Where lands are broken up expressly for the purpose of improv- ing the pasture, the turnips scarcely fail to succeed, through the manure afforded so abundantly by the fresh turf; and the cattle deriving, from the abundant crop consequent on this circumstance, a plen- tiful food, are thus enabled, the more extensively, to improve the soil by dung. On the clay land, the soil should be very liberally manured in spring or autumn ; it ought to be ploughed once in autumn, and three or four times more in summer, pre- viously to the period of sowing the seeds, which should take place in August. As to the much agitated question of sowing grass seeds with or without a crop of corn, it may be observed, that it is impos- sible for lands intended for grass crops, or meadow, to possess too high a state of richness, and that, after the soil is im- proved with a view to its permanent fer- tility in grass, to weaken it by a crop of corn appears little better than blind or infatuated counteraction. If, however, the practice be persevered in, which has so generally been followed in this respect, barley should be the grain preferred, as springing up with a slight stalk, and not overshadowing and smothering the grass plants, and also as being the incum- brance to those plants more speedily re- moved than any other. Whether the grass seeds be sown in August after a fallow, or with corn in spring, all trampling by horses or cattle should be effectually prevented. Every thing, therefore, should be kept out from it, both during autumn and winter. Not only is the tender soil, which is extremely susceptible of injury, thus secured from it, but the pasturage in the spring is of pro- portionally more value for not having been eaten off in autumn, and affords a most valuable early bite for the ewes and lambs. The proper treatment of leys during the lirst year is, to feed them with sheep., unless, after a crop of hay be taken from them, vast quantities of manure be spread over their surface. The chief food of cattle consisting of grasses, their importance is as obvious as it is great, and the distinguishing and se- lecting them cannot be too fully attended to. By this care the best grasses, and in the greatest abundance that the land ad- mits of, are secured ; while for want of this attention, pastures are either filled with weeds, or bad and inappropriate grasses. The number of grasses fit, or at least necessary, for the purposes of cul- ture, is but small, scarcely exceeding half a score, and by the careful separation and sowing of the seeds of these, the hus- bandman would soon be enabled to ac- commodate the varieties of his soil, each with the herbage best adapted to it, the advantage of which would infinitely ex- ceed the trouble necessary for its accom- plishment. Were a great variety of grain to be sown in the same inclosure, the ab- surdity would be universally ridiculed; and scarcely less absurd and ridiculous is the common practice, of indiscrimi- nately sowing grass seeds from the foul hay rack, including a mixture of almost every species of grass seed and rubbish. The species of grass appropriated to any particular soil or application being determined upon, its seeds cannot be sown too plentifully, and no economy less de- serving the name can possibly exist, than the being sparing of grass seeds. The seeds of grain may easily be sown too thickly ; but with respect to those of grass, it is scarcely capable of occurring. The smaller the stem, the more accepta- ble it is to cattle ; and when the seeds, particularly of some grasses, are thinly scattered, their stems tend, as it is called, to wood. The most valuable grass to be cut green, for summer's food, is red clover, which also is an admirable preparation for wheat. To have it in perfection, the weeds must be cleared, and the land har- rowed as finely as possible. The surface should also be smoothed with alight roll- er. The seeds should likewise be well covered with earth, as should all small seeds, notwithstanding the common opi- nion to the contrary. From the middle of April to that of May is the proper sea- son for sowing it. Although it will last three years, if cut down green, the safest course is to let it stand but one. It is luxuriant upon a rich soil, whether of clay, loam, or gravel, and will grow even upon a moor, for a. wet soil it is totallv unfit. AGRICULTURE. It may be sown with grain with less im- propriety than perhaps any other grass, and particularly with flax. When a land, left unploughed, spontaneously produces this plant, the soil may decidedly be pro- nounced good. Those who lay down land permanently to grass may best depend on white, or Dutch clover, for all rich and dry loams and sands, and for rich clays that have been properly drained. Rye grass will flourish on any land but stiff clays. It is well adapted for perma- nent pasture, and, if properly managed, is one of the best spring- grasses. There are few so early, or more palatable and nutritive to cattle. It is less subject to injury in critical hay seasons than any other, and the seeds of none are collected with greater facility. It should be cut for hay some time previously to its being ripe, as the stalks will otherwise be con- verted into a species of straw, and its nu- tritive qualities be proportionably weak- ened. Sainfoin is preferred by many agricul- turists to clover, as less likely to injure cattle when they eat it green, producing larger crops, making better hay, and con- tinuing four times longer in the ground. It is several years in arriving at its full strength. The quantity of milk yielded by means of it from cows is nearly double of what is prodouced by any other green food, and the quality also of the milk is proportionably better. It is much culti- vated on chalky soils, and succeeds best where its roots run deep. Cold and wet clay is extremely ill adapted for it, and the dryness of land is of more conse- quence to its growth than even the rich- ness of it. It is best cultivated by the drill husbandry, after repeated ploughing, harrowing, and rolling ; and while care is taken not to leave the seeds uncovered, they must also not be buried deeper than about an inch. They should be sowed in the latter end of March. An acre of very ordinary land will maintain four cows for eight months, and afford the greatest part of their food in hay for the rest of the year. Lucerne remains at least above twelve years producing very large crops, and yielding the most excellent hay to the amount of about seven tons per acre. It has obtained the highest praises from all agricultural writers. With a view to its successful cultivation, the soil must be kept open and free from weeds, which is most effectually done by horse-hoeing 1 . It is transplanted with extreme advantage, VOL. I. if the tap root be cut off, by which it is fitted for a shallow soil, and its roots shoot out laterally and near the surface. The culture of this plant is a principal dis- tinction of French husbandry, and is in that country a source of almost uniform profit. The best preparation for it is a turnip or cabbage crop. No manure should be allowed after the sowing till the crop is two years old. Its improving effect upon the soil is particularly great. Burnet is a grass peculiarly adapted to poor land, and is so hardy as to flourish when all other vegetation fails. Its cul- tivation is not hazardous or expensive. It is best sown in the beginning of July. It affords rich pleasant milk, and in great plenty. For moist loams and clays there cannot be a better grass than the meadow fox-tail, which is not only early, but re- mains for nine or ten years, and is little in- jured by frost. To these remarks on a few of the grass- es it may be added, that in connection with soils, the principal grass plants have been thus arranged by one of the most distinguished agriculturists of the day. Clay. Loam. Sand. Cow grass White clover 'White clover Cock's-foot Rye Rye Dog's-tail York white York white Ftescue Fescue Yarrow Fox-tail Fox-tail Burnet Oat grass Dog's-tail Trefoil Trefoil Poa Rib York white Timothy Timothy Yarrow- Luc erne Chalk. Peat. Yarrow White clover Burnet Dog'-tail Trefoil Cock's-foot White clover Rib Sainfoin York white Rye Fox-tail Fescue Timothy Instruments and Operations of Husbandry. The instruments used in husbandry are so numerous, and, under the same deno- mination, often so differently constructed, with a view to varieties of the same opera- tion, that it would be impossible, in a sketch like the present, to detail their structure and application. In the process for which they are respectively intended, every agriculturist will of course arail H AGRICULTURE. himself of those, the utility of which is best decided by experience. PloiufMng. In almost all lands there is a fixed depth for the plough to go to, which is the stra- tum between the fertile and unfertile moulds. No soil should be ploughed be- yond this bottom, or sole, which is the preservative on which the top layer should rest, and by which the manure laid upon the ground is prevented from losing its effect. In fallowing land, therefore, the plough may go as deep as the fertile soil will allow, as also in breaking up land without paring and burning. When land is pared and burnt, it ought to be plough- ed in small furrows, and not so deep, as this depth of furrow would hazard the loss of the ashes for the immediate and indeed for the subsequent crops. Where the sods are burned in small heaps, and by slow fires, and the land ploughed shallow for the first time, and successively deep- er and deeper, poor land will be more ef- fectually benefited from itself than by any other mode ; and in proportion as land can be made to maintain or improve itself, the benefit to the farmer is obvious. Instead of ploughing stubble into the land, it is far better to move the stubble, and even to harrow the land before it is fallowed. In soil of a poor quality, a cer- tain proportion should be observed be- tween the depth of ploughing and the quantity of manure usually spread, which on better soils might be safely disregard- ed. There are few which it is not requi- site to plough to the depth of six inches; and for many, the depth of ten is by no means too great. Once in twelve or eighteen months it is highly desirable to plough to the full depth, while in the in- terval shallower tillage will be preferable to deep working, for wheat particularly, which is best promoted by a firm bottom. A ploughing before harvest is of extreme consequence infallowing, with respect to which seasonableness is of more conse- quence than the number of earths given. When fallows are called for, they should be attended with an observant eye, and be kept clean, whatever other business may press upon the husbandman's attention. On a well-managed farm servants and cat- tle will be kept sufficient for every neces- sary operation. The practice of fallows, however, is now abandoned in a variety of cases in which they were formerly deemed absolutely indispensable, and the well-informed agriculturist will seldom have recourse to them after his first year. Harrowing is not only necessary > vering the seed, but also for preparing the land for its reception. The same instru- ments, whatever be their form, cannot an- swer the different purposes of this opera- tion upon all soils, whether firm or loose, and rough or smooth. For every purpose, however, and of whatever size, they should be so constructed, that no tooth can fol- low the track of another, and that every one should be constantly kept acting. The practice is best performed by har- rowing a square piece of land at once, so that the instrument may be lifted at the corner, and the refuse stuff left there. The following harrows will thus have an opportunity of passing over every part of the land, and it will be completely cleaned from couch grass and all noxious weeds. Till of late years the practice of rolling was but little used, or even known, and it is in many places exercised so slightly, as to be of little service. Its utility, when it is exercised as it ought to be, consists in rendering a loose soil more compact and solid, which, by making the earth adhere to the roots of plants, cherishes their growth. No roller that can be drawn by two, or even by four horses, will carry this effect too far. By rolling, moreover, the moisture of the earth is kept more in, and in a dry season, this circumstance may reasonably be pre- sumed sometimes to constitute "the differ- ence between a good and a bad crop. The common practice of breaking clods by means of mallets, may judiciously be superseded by the roller, preceded for a day or two by harrowing. When firm and tough clay clods are to be broken, a large and heavy roller will be required for this purpose, with circles of iron of the depth of six or seven inches, which will completely reduce the most stubborn clods, and, from its decided usefulness, must by no means be regarded as a refine- ment in husbandry, productive of expense without ample corresponding advantage. With respect to grass lands, the mowing for hay is extremely facilitated by the practice of rolling. The practice of scarifying grass lands is used by a variety of persons, and is di- rectly opposite to that of rolling them in its principle and effect. For this purpose a plough, consisting only of four coulters, or narrow teeth, is employed ; and it is as- serted that the crops of hay are consider- ably increased by the loosening of the earth occasioned by this process, the roots acquiring the power of fresh vegetation, while rolling 1 is stated to increase the te- AGRICULTURE. nacity of many pastures, in which it ought rather to be diminished. Previously to the manurng of grass land it is observed to be particularly beneficial, as. whate- ver it be that is spread over the ground finds, in consequence of this method, more rapid access to the roots, and a smaller quantity is remarked to answer the end proposed than a considerably larger one without this practice. The operation may undoubtedly be beneficial in various instances and soils, and expe- riments indeed have evinced that it is so. The use of the roller, however, upon grass lands of a certain description, will be admitted to be preferable ; and with regard to arable land, this new process by no means interferes with the application of the roller, for all the purposes which have been mentioned. Drill Husbandry. The system of drill husbandry has beenlong known to be extremely prefera- ble on sandy soils and dry loams, and in Norfolk particularly it made a rapid and extensive progress upon such lands. It has latter)} been introduced on the strong soils of Suffolk. The objects of this hus- bandry are, the promotion of the growth of plants by hoeing, ai)d the saving of seed ; objects, it will be universally ad- mitted, of great importance. It was well known, that in gardens the hoeing and transplantation of vegetables often dou- bled their vigour, analogy therefore natu- rally led to the conclusion, that a similar result would occur from the same ma- nagement of arable lands, and experience has decided both the practicability and the advantage of it. Land sowed with wheat, however well prepared and finished it may be in the autumn, sinks in winter, so that in the spring it possesses too great tenacity to admit the free extension of the roots for the collection of nourish- ment, and stands in extreme need of ploughing and hoeing to counteract these effects. Grain sown before winter, there- fore, requires the process of hoeing inex- pressibly more than what is sown in the spring; the land in the latter case not having had the same time to harden, nor to produce many weeds by exposure to the winter snow and rain. As the vigour of the plants upon the drill system is very considerably increas- ed, the land must be sowed much thin- ner than in the old practice ; a circum- stance, which, in unreflecting minds, has operated as a considerable objection, it appearing at the first view, which on such is not only strong, but often indelibly im- pressive, that the vacant spots are com- pletely lost or wasted. In the common practice, however e\vn in the mos<. pro- cluc'ive lands, the seeds, though very thickly sown, produce each butone or two ears, whereas two or three are universally produced by each in the latter mode, and sometimes a single one will produce 18 or 20. In the old method, there being by far more plants than nourishment, many must perish without attaining maturity, and many of the remainder can exist on- ly in a languid and drooping state ; where- as in the other method ull have as nmch nutriment as they require, and though comparatively few, being far more vigo- rous in their vegetation, they artbrd a larger produce than the numerous but sickly plants cultivated in the ordinary method. For the application of this new mode, however^ it is expedient that land should have been broi>g-ht into good tilth by the old method, which being done, it should be so thinly sown as to leave sufficient room for the plants to extend themselves. It must be divided for this purpose into rows, 30 inches distant from each other, which will give an interval of two feet between the rows, every plant there- by having ample room to extend its roots and collect its food. In such con- siderable intervals, also, the earth may be hoed round the plants without the hazard of injury to them. The first hoe- ing should be applied when the wheat is in leaf, before winter, and is designed to draw off the wet, and dispose the earth to be mellowed by frost. The second, after the hard frosts are passed, is calcu- lated for making the plants branch free- ly. The third may be very slight, and should be given when the ears begin to appear. The last should be given when the wheat is in bloom, and is of the great- est importance, as it makes the ears fill at the extremities, and increases the size of the grain. In the middle of the inter- vals a deep furrow must be traced, and the earth be thrown to the right and left on the foot of the plants. By the careful application of the earth in this manner the plants are supported, and prevented from being laid, and the ground is pre- pared for the next sowing, in which the seed is to be put in the middle of the ground that formed the intervals. The practice of hoeing may take place at almost any time in light and dry soils ; but on strong and clay ones, in which AGRICULTURE. the extremes of wet and dry are particu- larly inimical to vegetation, the seasons for its exercise are often short and critical. As vigorous plants, such as are produ- ced by this system, require a longer pe- riod for attaining maturity, the corn thus cultivated must be sown earlier than in the usual mode. The intervals are usu- ally prepared for sowing again, by pla- cing some well-rotted dung in the deep furrows made in the middle of them, and this dung must be covered by the earth before thrown towards the rows of wheat. This should be performed immediately after harvest, that, before the rows are sowed, there may be time for slightly stirring the land. The intervals of the second year occupy the place taken up by the stubble of the preceding. The banishment of the plough in spring, to as great a degree as possible, has taken place, in consequence of this most useful and happy innovation. All peas and beans, barley and oats, not only may be put in on an autumnal ploughing, but actually are so in many parts of the country (especially in Suffolk,) the stitch- es in this ploughing being carefully thrown to the precise breadth, suited to the intention of the farmer, whether to use only one movement of the drill, or what is usually denominated a bout of it; on which subject opinions differ. By the winter frosts a friability is given to the surface of the soil, so great, that very early in the spring, after one scarifying and harrowing, the corn may be drilled, and without a horse-foot treading any where but in the stitch furrows, where it can do no injury. Instead of losing this admirable gift of the atmosphere (which cannot be renewed,) as was done by the former practice of at least two spring ploughings, it is thus completely preser- ved, and the delay, expense, and vexa- tion, occasioned to the farmer, by the suc- cession of rains and north-easterly winds, giving the dreadful alternative of mire and clods, are wholly avoided. From a comparative estimate of the profits attending the different modes of husbandry, that of the new is stated, after various experiments, to be very nearly in the proportion of three to two: and making the utmost allowance for the influence, by which the sanguine tempe- rament of the partizan will interfere with the dispassionate calculations of philoso- phy, the advantage on the side of profit is indisputably and greatly with the mo- dern system. It is also to be observed, that most of the accidents attending crops of wheat originate in their being late sown, which, on the old plan, is una- voidable ; whereas, in the new method, the farmer may plough the furrows for the next crop as soon us ever the first is removed. The ground may be ploughed dry, and may be drilled wet. The seed, moreover, is not planted under the fur- rows, but at the precisely proper depth. The seed has all the advantage of early sowing, therefore, and the crop is more certain than by any other mode. The land, also, is much less exhausted by this method, the weeds being completely de- stroyed by the hoe, and none of the plants existing to draw nutriment from the ground but what attain their full matu- rity ; whereas in the usual practice seeds are permitted inevitably to impoverish, and three-fourths of the plants them- selves, after having derived a certain and a considerable portion of vegetable food from the soil, perish abortively. The state of the land, therefore, must neces- sarily and obviously be left far better by the new mode than by the old. The practice of drill-husbandry has been justly remarked to be the manage- ment of the garden brought into the field ; and the grand question relating to it is, whether the extraordinary expence of this finer cultivation be compensated by the superior quality or abundance of its crop ? which the most sagacious and experienced judges have determined in the affirmative. Even admitting, for a moment, after all, that the practice is not, on the whole, su- perior, or equal, to the old mode, its in- troduction has at least been highly ser- viceable in correcting and refining the old method of cultivation, and some of the reputation of the new one may un- doubtedly be allowed to have arisen from a comparison with slovenly and defective methods upon the old plan. With regard to white crops, there are many practitioners of liberality and sense who reject this practice, although, with respect to potatoes, cabbages, beans, and often turnips also, it is admitted by them to be unexceptionable. On a soil, how- ever, in which the drill machine can move with freedom, there appears no reason, and it may be almost said no excuse, for the rejection of the modern system, which, indeed, however recently it may have been introduced into this country, is practised in every part of China, and is used also by the inhabitants of the Carna- tic, and, from the decided aversion of these nations to innovation, may naturally AGRICULTURE. be supposed to have been their practice for a vast succession of ages. Tobacco, cotton, and the castor-oil plant, are culti- vated by it, as well as every species of grain. The Culture of Grain and Roots. Of the various plants raised for the nou- rishment of man, wheat is of the chief importance. To prevent the disease so fatal to this vegetable, called the smut, steeping its seed from twelve to twenty- four hours in a ley of wood ashes, in lime water, and in a solution of arsenic, is completely efficacious, even although it should have been extremely affected by the disease. A less time is insufficient. On cold, wet, and backward soils, the best season for putting this grain into the earth is September, particularly if the weather be rainy, as wheat should never be sown in U dry season. On dry and warm soils the sowing may be best post- poned till October. In proportion to the earliness of the sowing, a less quantity of seed is sufficient. The best preparation for it is by beans. Clover forms also an excellent preparation for it : and on a farm dry enough for turnips, and rich enough for wheat, the Norfolk practice of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, is perhaps the most eligible that can be adopted. By the dibbling of wheat, for a fort- night before which the land must be ploughed, and rolled down with a heavy roller, the seedjis deposited in the centre of the flag, and the regular treading which the land receives presses down the furrows, and gives it a most valuable de- gree of firmness. The chief attention required in dibbling is, to make the holes deep enough, and to see that the children drop the seed equally, without scattering. After this dropping is completed, bush- harrowing follows. The quantity of seed should be about six pecks in two rows in a flag. If the drill-machine be used, the preparation of the land by ploughing, harrowing, and rolling, must be extreme- ly accurate, whether for one stroke of the machine, or for a bout of it, and the quantity of seed should be the same as that used in dibbling. In February, slight dressings are with great advantage spread over the green crop of this grain ; and if the farmer has his choice for this purpose, he can never hesitate about tak- ing them from dung ; as dungs of all sorts are excellent, and no other manures, like these, are universally applicable. In the drill-husbandry, the practice of hoeing is of the first importance, and has been already mentioned. If horse-hoeing be not employed, the hand-hoe may be used to great advantage, and should be per- formed, first, early in March, and the se- cond time in the beginning of April. A scarifier is by many employed instead of the hoe, with the same object and effect. Whatever the operation, employed with this view, may be, the bottom should, with respect to wheat, be left firm and untouched. This is of particular import- ance. A mild and open winter is far from being favourable to this grain, pushing it forward with too rapid vegetation, and also cherishing those weeds which be- come its most injurious enemies. No weather is so injurious to wheat in the ground as wet. If, however, it have a good blooming time, though the rest of the summer, both before and after this period, maybe unkindly, little apprehen- sion for the crop need be entertained from any state of the weather. If wheat be attacked by mildew, which is most likely to occur in the month of July, the only effectual application is the sickle, which ought not to be delayed for a moment, though the ear be perfectly green. Barley requires a mellow soil, and when sown upon clay, therefore, extraor- dinary care is required to stir the land im- mediately after the removal of the previ- ous crop ; and, with this view, the prac- tice of rib-ploughing, which exposes the greatest possible quantity of surface to the air and frost, has been employed by many. This object should, at all events, be gained, which ever method be adopted for it, of the many which have been sug- gested, and are indeed practised. Scari- fication, with Mr. Cooke's machine for this purpose, instead of ploughing, is found to be an excellent method. In pro- portion to the tenaciousness of the soil must be the extent of this operation, which is easily dispatched, even when repeated, leaving the lands, or stitches, in excellent order for the drill-machine to advance and perfect its work. The proper season for getting barley into the ground is March. The most useful preparation for it is by turnips. To have the land dry for sowing is of more consequence for this grain, than it is for almost any other. It should always fol- low either an ameliorating crop or a fal- low, and in many cases it should be fol- lowed by clover. The quantity of seed AGRICULTURE. barley should be increased as the season advances, as early sown crops have more time to tiller than later ones ; and in the same proportion, the importance of the drill husbandry with regard to this arti- cle increases; as, if sown in the latter end of February, in the broadcast me- thod, it would get, the start of weeds, which, if it be sown early in April, would extremely annoy it, according- to the old mode, but by the hoeing practice may be easily removed. Oats should never be sown after other corn crops (as the land is by this practice too much exhausted,) and should receive the same preparation as barley: a circum- stance often not sufficiently attended to. Warm, forward sands yield as great a quantity of barley as of oats, and should, therefore be applied to the culture of the former, as generally yielding a better price. Upon various other soils, however, the produce of oats will be in considerably greater proportion than that of barley, and by superior quantity more than com- pensate for being sold at the smaller price. To relieve the business of the succeed- ing months, oats may sometimes be sown in January ; without this view, however, February is preferable. The land should have been ploughed in October. Six bushels per acre may be sown in broad- cast, and on poor soils even eight, to great advantage : the crop being, by thick sow- ing, several days sooner ripe, and the idea of saving seed with respect to this grain not being an object worth any particular attention. In the drill husbandry five bushels per acre are sufficient, and they should be horse-hoed early in the month of May. Peas are extremely ameliorating to the soil, and may therefore, with very great advantage, be substituted in tillage for white corn, a succession of which is pe- culiarly impoverishing. They should, however, not be sown on lands negligent- ly prepared, as is too commonly done; and indeed the maxim cannot be too much attended to, with respect to grain, that none should be sown but on lands in real- ly good order, with respect to heart, cleanness from weeds, and well-finished tilth. The uncertainty generally ascribed to this crop is to be attributed in a great degree to a neglect of these circumstan- ces. At the same time, however, it is not meant to be asserted, that for all grain the preparation sh;n;ld be equally high and finished. The earlier peas are sown, the better they will thrive, and the more easily they will be moved off the ground in due time for turnips, a circumstance of particular importance. February is the proper month for their being sown. Ear- ly peas will seldom prove beneficial upon, wet soils, and should be cultivated only on dry ones, upon sands, dry sandy loams, gravels, and chalks. The broadcast me- thod should be most clearly njected in relation to them. The only question is between drilling and dibbling ih em. On a ley, the latter practice cannot be too de- cidedly adopted. Put in on a. layer, they do not want manure, \vluc:i will often, make them run to long .straw, a circum- stance unfavourable to podding, and like- wise encourages weeds, which, in the in- fant stage of the growth of peas, cannot be extirpated without danger. If the land be in good heart, therefore, as it ought to be, dung may be applied with much more advantage to other crops ; and being an article for which the farmer has, perhaps in all cases, a greater de- mand than he can supply, should be used with economy, and only where it is sure to answer best. The proper quantity of seeds to be applied in the drill-husbandry, in equally distant rows, about one foot asunder, is seven pecks per acre. It is a judicious and valuable observation, the result of long 1 experience, that peas should not be sown above once in about ien years, being not found to succeed, if sown oftener. Beans, where the land is proper for them, deserve from the farmer every at- tention, constituting one of the surest funds of profit. He is enabled by them to lessen, if not absolutely explode, the practice of fallowing. When cultivated, however, with a view of substituting them in the room of fallow, drilling or dibbling must be uniformly employed, so as to ad- mit the plough between their rows, as no hand work will sufficiently pulverize the lands for the purpose, without extreme expence. Dibbl ng, when well perform- ed, with respect to beans, is an admirable method. The difficulty, however, of pro- curing it to be well done must be consi- dered as no trifling objection to it. Beans are too often imperfecily delivered by the various drill-machines employed. On the other hand, however, the practice is less expensive than dibbling, and the seed is more surely put into the desired depth, so that, on the whole, the drilling me- thod seems preferable to that by dibbling. It is a point "n which different circum- stances will suiely and judiciously lead to different conclusions; and soil, season, dependance upon servants, together with AGRICULTURE. ether considerations, will be resorted to, previously to the decision upon either of these methods. Tije common little horse- bean has the advantage of being 1 more marketable than any other. Beans thrive upon light loams better than has been ge- nerally imagined. The soils, however, generally applied to their culture, are all the strong and heavy ones. Wherever they can be cultivated, the farmer ought to have them. They do not exhaust the soil. Wheat is prepared for by them, perhaps, better than by an* other mode. They preserve their upright attitude to the latest period, admitting of horse- hoeing to the very last. The ground is well shaded by them from the sun ; and, if they are harvested favourably, their straw is valuable, and, at all events, may be converted into admirable dung. By a bad crop of peas, the land is often filled with weeds; but though a crop of beans should be extremeh- had, the land may nevertheless be in the highest state of cleanness. The quantity of seed dif- fers according to the variety of the grain. About two bushels of the horse-heans per acre, in rows equi-distaut, at eighteen inches, is a proper allowance, and Febru- ary is the month in which they should be put in. Buck-wheat is known to a vast majority of the farmers of this kingdom only by name. It has, however, numerous excel- lencies, is of an enriching nature, and pre- pares well for wheat or any other crop. One bushel of seed is sufficient to sow an acre, which is only about the fourth part of the expence of seed barley. It is sold at the same price as barley, and is equal to it for the fatting of hogs and poultry The end of May is the proper season for its being sown, and grass seeds may be sown with it, if the practice should be thought in any instance eligible, with more advantage than with any other grain, un- less barley may be excepted. Buck-wheat may be sown even so late as the first week in July, a circumstance, by which the period of tillage is considerably protract- ed, and an ameliorating crop may thus be produced, after the usual period has, from any unavoidable or casual occur- rence, been neglected. Potatoes form a most important article of food, both for the human species and for cattle, and are an inestimable substi- tute for bread formed of grain, the best resource in periods of scarcity of wheat ; and, happily, when the crops of grain fail, through redundant moisture, the potatoe is far from being equally injured, and sometimes is even benefited by the wet season. The choice of soil for the culture of this root is of prime importance. Po- tatoes never make palatable nourishment for man, if yrown in a clay soil, or in rank, black loam, although in these circum- stances they are well fitted for cattle, and relished by them, and also produced in great abundance. They grow to perfec- tion for human food in gravelly and sandy soils. The drill should be universally preferred for their cultivation. In Sep- tember, or October, the field intended for them should have successively a rousing furrow, a cross braking, and the opera- tion of the cleaning harrow ; and being formed into three-feet ridges, should re- main in that state till April, which is the proper season for planting this root. Af- ter cross braking them, to raise in a small degree the furrows, well rotted horse- dung should be laid along them, on which the roots should be laid at eightinches dis- tance. The plough should then pass once round every row, to cover them. As soon s they appear above ground, the plough should be passed round them a second time, laying on the plants about an inch, or somewhat more, of mould, in addition. When they have attained the height of six inches, the plough should go twice along the middle of each interval, in opposite directions, laying earth first to one row, and then to another ; and, to apply it more closely to the roots, a spade should after- wards be used to cover four inches of the plants, and bury all the weeds. The wevds which arise afterwards must be ex- tirpated by the hand, as the hoes would go too deep, and damage the roots of the plants. From ten to fifteen bushels will be sufficient to plant an acre, the produce of which may probably be three hundred bushels. Sets should be cut for some few before they are planted, with at least one eye to each, and not in very small pieces, and the depredations of the grub upon them may be effectually prevented by- scattering on the surface of the land about two bushels per acre of lime, fresh slak- ed. The most certain method of taking them up is, to plough once round every row, at the distance of four inches, after which they may easily be raised, by a three-clawed fork, rather than by a spade, and scarcely a single one will by this practice be left in the ground. They may with care be preserved till the ensuing crop, particularly by the allowance ne- cessary till April being closely covered in the barn with dry and pressed down straw, while the remainder for the ensuing- part AGRICULTURE. of the year is buried in a dry cave, mixed with the husks of dried oats, sand, or leaves, especially if a hay or corn-stack is erected over it. Potatoes are subject to a disease called the curl, which has drawn the attention of sagacious and experienced men, and suggested, in consequence, a great varie- ty of opinions on its cause and remedy. Some kinds of this root, however, it is al- most unanimously agreed, are less sus- ceptible of the disease than others, and the old red, the golden dun, and the long dun, are the least of all so. One or more of the following circumstances may be most probably considered as causing it ; frost, insects, the planting from sets of un- ripe and large potatoes, the planting in old and exhausted grounds, and too near the surface, or the small shoots of the sets being broken off before planting. Where certainty on any interesting subject can- not be obtained, the hints of the judicious are always desirable. The methods most successfully exercised for the prevention of the curl are, to cut the sets from smooth ripe potatoes, of the middle size, which have been kept particularly dry, to guard against the rubbing off the first shoots, and to plant them rather deeply in fresh earth, with a mixture of quick lime. No plant thrives better even in the cold- est part of this island than the turnip, and none are more advantageous to the soil. Its introduction was an improve- ment of the most valuable nature. There is no soil which will not produce it, when previously prepared for it by art ; but the gravelly one is best of all adapted to it. No root requires a finer mould than the turnip, and with a view to this object, the land intended for it should be exposed to frost by ribbing it after the harvest. The season for sowing must be regulated by the time intended for feeding, the later from the first of June to the end of July, in proportion to the designed protraction of this feeding. The field should be first ploughed by a shallow furrow. Lime, if necessary, should be then harrowed into it. Single furrows, at the interval of three feet, should be drawn, and dung laid in them, which should be then covered by going round it with the plough, and form- ing the three feet spaces into ridges. Wider rows answer no profitable object, and with straiter ones a h orse h as not room to walk. Thick sowing is far better than thin, bearing better the depredations of the fly, and forming also a protection against drought. The weeds may, in many cases, be most effectually extirpa- ted by women, without injuring the crop ; and the standing turnips should be left at twelve inches distance from each other. On average seasons, with good prepara- tion, the produce from this number per acre may be considered as amounting to 46 tons of valuable nourishment. For pre- servation they may be stacked with straw; and 42 tons may be thus secured by one load of straw, orof stubble andold haulm. A method preferred by many is that of sowing late crops, even in August, by which a succession of them remains on the field to be consumed on the spot, even so late as the ensuing May, and the ad- vantage of having turnips good till the spring grasses are ready for food has greatly encouraged this practice. To pre- vent the devastations of the fly, the most destructive enemy to a crop of turnips, the most effectual methods as little de- pendance can be placed on steepings, or on fumigations, is to sow the seed at such a season, that they may be well grown before the appearance of the insect ; and by well dunging and manuring the ground, to hasten their attainment of the rough leaf, in which the fly does not at all affect them. New seed, it may also be observed, vegetates more rapidly and vigorously than old ; and the more healthy and vigorous the plants are, the more likely they are to escape depredation. The sowing- of turnips with grain is by many recommended in this connection, and stated to be highly efficacious. The culture of cabbages for cattle is a subject well meriting the attention of the agriculturist. The cabbage is subject to few diseases, and resists frost more easily than the turnip. It is palatable to cattle, and sooner fills them than carrots or potatoes; and, in every respect but one, cabbages are superior to turnips. On all soils they require manure ; where- as, on good land, turnips may be raised without it. Fifty-four tons have been raised upon an acre of groxind not worth more than twelve shillings per. annum. Some lands have produced sixty-eight. The time of setting them depends on their intended use. If for feeding in November, plants, procured from seed sown in the end of July in the former year, must be set in March or April : if for feeding in March, April, and May, they must be set in the beginning of the preceding July, from seed sown in the previous February. Repeated trans- plantation may be applied to them with singular advantage. When they are of the larg-e species, four feet by two and u AGRICULTURE. half are a full distance for them. The best protection for them from the cater- pillar, by which these and greens in gene- ral are apt particularly to be injured, is to pull off the large umler-leaves, (which may be given to cows with great benefit) on which the eggs of those insects are usually deposited. Sowing beans among the cabbages is also considered a most effectual preventive of the nuisance. Carrots require a deeper soil than any other root, and when the soil does not na- turally extend to the depth of twelve inches, equally good throughout, it must be artificially made so for their culture, which may be easily effected by trench- ploughing. Loams and sandy soils are the only ones in which they will flourish, and no dung can be used for them in the year they are sown, as it will inevitably rot them. The ground must be prepared for them by the deepest possible furrows, and, when they are sown about the be- ginning of April, it must be smoothed by a brake. In large plots of ground, where horse-hoeing is requisite,three feet should be the distance between the drills. Where an acre or little more only is employed, the interval should not be greater than a foot, and hand-hoeing will be found more convenient, and scarcely attended with greater expense. From six to nine hun- dred bushels have been produced per acre of this root, where the land has been carefully prepared and attended to. As food for horses, its culture is rapidly spreading. For oxen, milch cows, and pigs, carrots are admirably applicable and nourishing, and, when boiled, turkeys and other poultry are fed on them with great success. The ease with which parsnips are cul- tivated, and the great quantity of saccha- rine and nutritious matter which they contain, in which they are scarcely ex- ceeded by any vegetable whatever, ren- der them well worthy of the attention of the husbandman. Though little used in Britain, they are highly esteemedin many disHcts of France, in some parts being thought little inferior to wheat as food for man. Cows which are fed with them are stated to give as much milk as they do in the months of summer. All animals eat them with avidity, and in preference to potatoes, and fatten more quickly upon them. In the cultivation of them the seed should be sown in the autumn, immedi- ately after it is reaped. When the seed is put in at this season, the plants will an- ticipate the growth of weeds in the fol- lowing spring. Frost never does them VOL. I. any material injury. The best soil foi them is a deep rich loam. Sand is next suitable to them ; and in a black, gritty soil they will flourish, but not in gravel or clay. In the deepest earth they are al- ways largest. In an appropriate soil no manure is necessary for them, and a very good crop has been obtained for three years in succession, without using any. The seed should be sown in drills, at the distance of eighteen inches, for the great- er convenience of hoeing; and by a se- cond hoeing and a cautious earthing, by which the leaves may not be covered, the crop will be luxuriant. In Jersey, the root has been known and cultivated for seve- ral centuries, and is highly valued. It is considered as an excellent preparation for wheat, which, after parsnips, yields an abundant crop without any manure. The profit of cultivating hemp-seed is by no means small. It requires, how- ever, the best land that can be found on a farm, or which is made such by manuring. A rich, deep, putrid, and friable loam is what it particularly delights in; and in addition to natural richness, forty cubical yards of dung per acre should be suppli- ed. Besides this original cost of land in natural richness and preparation, it is to be considered that hemp returns nothing- to the farm yard, while corn will give straw, and the dung-hill is improved by green crops. The question concerning- the propriety of its cultivation by any in- dividual is not to be determined, there- fore, only from the circumstance of any price in the market, but is to be inferred from a view of all its bearings and con- nections. For many crops, tillage should be given with caution. With hemp such caution is unnecessary, as its rank and luxuriant growth proves fatal to all those weeds, by which corn would not only be injured, but destroyed. From the au- tumn preceding to the time of sowing- hemp, the land should be three or four times ploughed, and be well harrowed to a fine surface. The quantity of dung- should be proportioned to the deficiency of the soil; and when the culture is con- tinued from year to year, a plentiful dress- ing must be every time applied. About twelve pecks should be sown per acre : and as the destruction of weeds in the till- age is here no object, the broadcast me- thod is universally preferable to the drill. It will be ready for pulling in August, or about thirteen weeks after it is sown. Flax, with due attention, will repav its cultivation ; but, generally speaking, in this country the same land and manure I AGRICULTURE. may be more conveniently and profitably applied. Two bushels an acre is the. re- quisite quantity of seed, and the land, if it be not particularly rich by nature, must be rendered so by art, must be worked to a fine surface, and be kept perfectly free from weeds. The preparation for rape-seed is the same which is necessary for that of tur- nips. It is a crop subject to great injury, and extremely uncertain. In the con- quered countries in the north of France, the practice is to sow it in a seed bed for transplantation, which is begun in Octo- ber, and if there be no frost in November, is continued through that month, when the plants are about two feet long. Were this operation to take place earlier, they would be more secure from the frost. Dibbling is employed for the purpose, and the plants are set at about the distance of eighteen inches by ten. In a favourable year the profit is considerable, as indeed it ought to be, to compensate for the fre- quent and inevitable failure attending this Cultivation. An indispensable point, in regard to this article, is to catch at oppor- tunities of fine weather, for the purpose of reaping and threshing, which must be done in immediate succession. In reaping, extreme care is requisite, to prevent the shedding of the seed. Both in lifting it from the ground and conveying it to the ba'-n floor, the utmost attention must be applied. As rain, at this critical period, may be considered nearly fatal to this produce, celerity of operation is of the first consequence, and as many assistants as possible should be procured, and not a moment of fine weather should be suffer- ed to pass unimproved. The cultivation of hops demands a greater capital than that of any other plant. The cost of the first year's prepa- paration and planting will amount to about eighty pounds per acre, and the subse- quent annual expense will be little less than half that sum, and after all the ex- pense, preparation, and attention, which may be employed, no crop is more preca- rious. The serious consideration of a farmer is demanded, before he resolves to introduce this plant where it has not been usually cultivated. And not only the cir. cumstances already mentioned, but that of the accessibility or distance of manure, (for which the largest quantities are call- ed for by hops,) and the fact, that a small solitary hop ground seldom thrives like those which cover a large extent of coun- try, from whatever cause this may pro- ceed, should be fully weighed. Ruin may easily follow the want of adverting" t these and other considerations, and they cannot therefore be too strongly impress- ed on the sanguine adventurer. A flat deep bog-, in a sheltered situation, makes an excellent hop soil, constituting indeed, a natural dung-hill. For the application of such land to hops, the chances are fa- vourable. The best preparation for this plant when such a spot as this does not occur, is made by two successive crops of turnips or cabbages, fed off by sheep, early enough for the ploughing and plant- ing in March The plants should be in- serted in rows, at eight feet distance from each other, and about six feet from hill to hill. Four fresh cuttings should be planted in each spot which is to form a hill. In April they should be poled, an operation requiring that critical accuracy which, depending on changeable and ca- sual circumstances, can be derived only from experience. The binds must next be tied to the poles. The superfluous vines must be pruned about midsummer, and are useful food for cows. Septem- ber is the month for pulling them. But the management of hops is a subject most operose and delicate, requiring extreme experience, attention, and dexterity ; and the details of which would, if extended only equally to its importance, occupy bulky volumes. Course of Crops. No subject of greater importance has been treated by modern writers on hus^ bandry, than the succession of crops. Be- fore the present reign, although a consi- derable number of writers on agriculture existed, this topic was little treated, and by many scarcely adverted to. It has at length obtained something approaching to that attention which it merits. The main principles upon which all practices on this subject proceed are, that some crops are more exhausting than others ; that some, although of a very impoverish- ing character, yet, by being consumed on the farm, return to it as much as they de- ducted originally from it, and, perhaps, even more, that some admit profitable till- age and accurate cleaning, during their growth ; while by others the land is almost unavoidably rendered foul by weeds, is exhausted without return, and when they are applied in succession, will be extreme- ly and fatally impoverished. By experi- ence, much is found to depend on a cer- tain arrangement of crops of these differ- ent and opposite characters; and in no AGRICULTURE. tme circcumstimcG is the theory or prac- tice of husbandry, in the present day, so materially a- vanced as in relation to this subject. Unless this department be well understood, the efforts of the farmer in others are either abortive or injurious. An important difference is observable be- tween culmiferous and leguminous plants, or those which are cultivated for their seed, and such as are raised for their roots. The former bisid the soil, while the latter uniformly give it openness and freedom. The former also are decidedly more exhausting, though unquestionably in themselves the most profitable. No soil can bear them in long and uninter- rupted succession. And, on the other hand, without the interposition of them among leguminous crops, the soil in which the latter grow would by their loos- eningquality become deficient in the tena- city which is necessary for vegetation. Some crops are rendered valuable chiefly from their preparation for others, that are more valuable, of a different kind. The husbandmen of a former age sowed frequently in succession that species of grain which they wished to possess abun- dantly: whereas, by this practice, their object was often, at length, completely defeated. And if wheat, oats, or barley, were for a certain period sown in the same field, the land would eventually, and that in no long time, scarcely return the seed which was put into it. That rotation is admitted to be best, which enriches the land with abundant manure, preserves it best from weeds, pul- verizes the soil most effectually when it is too tenacious, and binds it most com- pletely, where it is naturally too open. As a general rule, those who are engaged in agriculture cannot, with a view to these purposes, have the importance of provid- ing food for large quantities of cattle too repeatedly and emphatically recom- mended to them. Indeed, by attending to this circumstance, larger quantities of grain are produced than by any other mode, while that produce of the land, which consists of milk, butter, cheese, butcher's meat, and other articles con- nected with cattle, is nearly so much clear gain. Grass prepares a turf, which, when broken up, constitutes the most va- v luable of all known manures. Turnips, cabbnges, beans, peas, and a variety of other similar food for cattle, supply admir- able opportunities for cleaning and pul- verizing the soil by repeated hoeings ; the close covering which they bestow on the land smothers those weeds which th escape by this trunk. Some of these have been nine, and others six, inches in the clear ; but, whatever be their diameter, their length should be proportional, in order to promote the ascent of the vapour. As the pressure of fluids, and consequently of the air, corresponds to their perpendi- cular altitude, the longer these trunks are, so much the greater will be the dif- ference between columns of air pressing at the bottom and at the top ; and of course so much the greater wilt be their effect. See VENTILATOR. Am-vesset, in hydraulics, is a name given to those metalline cylinders, which are placed between the two forcing- pumps in the improved fire-engines. The water is injected by the action of the pistons through two pipes, with valves, into this vessel : the air previously com- tained in it will be compressed by the water, in proportion to the quantity ad- mitted, and by its spring force the water into a pipe, which will discharge a con- AIR AJU slant and equal stream ; whereas, in the common squirting engine, the stream is discontinued between the several strokes. Other water-engines are furnished with vessels of this kind. Ain-vessels, in botany, are certain ca- nals or ducts, whereby a kind of absorp- tion and respiration is effected in vegeta- ble bodies. Air-vessels have been distinguished from sap-vessels ; the former being sup- posed to correspond to the trachea and lungs of animals ; the latter to their lac- teals and blood-vessels. Dr. Grew, in an inquiry into the motion and cause of the air in vegetables, shows, that it enters them various ways, not only by the trunk, leaves, and other parts above ground, but at the root. For the reception, as well as expulsion of the air, the pores are so very large in the trunks of some plants, as in the better sort of thick walking-canes, that they are visible to a good eye without a glass; but with a glass, the cane seems as if it were stuck lull of large pin-holes, resembling the pores of the skin in the ends of the fin- gers, and ball of tiie hand. In the leaves of the pine, through a glass, they make an elegant show, standing almost exactly in rank and file throughout the length of the leaves. But though the air enters in partly at the trunk, and also at other parts, especially in some plants, yet its chief admission is at the root; much as, in animals, some part of the air may con- tinually pass into the body and blood by the pores of the skin ; but the chief draught is at the mouth. If the chief en- trance of the air were at the trunk, before it could be mixed with the sap in the root, it must descend; and so move notonly con- trary to its own nature, but in a contrary course to the sap : whereas, by its recep- tion at the root, and its transition from thence, it has a more natural and easy motion of ascent. The same fact is far- ther deduced from the fineness and smali- jicss of the diametral apertures in the trunk, in comparison of those in the root, which nature has plainly designed for the separation of the air from the sap, after they are bothtogetnerreceivedinto them. Air-vessels are found in the leaves of all plants, and are even discoverable in many without the help of glasses ; for, upon breaking the stalk or chief fibres of a leaf, the likeness of a fine woolly sub- stance, or rather of curious small cob- webs, may be seen to hang at both the broken ends. This is taken notice ef, not only in some few plants, as in scabious, where it is most visible ; but may also be seen more or less in most others, if the leaves be very tenderly broken. This wool is really a skein of air-vessels, or rather of the fibres of the air-vessels, loosed from their spiral position, and so drawn out in length. A1RA, hair-grass, in botany, a genus of the Triandria Digynia class and order, and of the natural order of Grasses. There are twenty-five species, some of which have awns, and others have none. The A. aquatica, water hair-grass, gene- rally grows in the margin of pools and watery places, running into the water to a considerable distance, and is known by the purple or bluish colour of the panni- cles, and sweet taste of the flowers. It is a perennial, and flowers in May and June. To this grass has been attributed the sweetness of Cottenham cheese, and the fineness of Cambridge butter. The A. caepitosa, or tufty-hair grass, grows in nv>ist meadows and woods, is perennial, it flowers in June and July, sometimes trailing on the ground to the length of several feet, and the panicle exhibiting a beautiful silky appearance : cows, goats, and swine eat it, but horses are not fond of it. It is the roughest and coarsest grass that grows in pastures or meadows, and is called by the common people hassocks, rough-caps, and bull's faces. To get rid of it, the land should be first drained, and the tufts of the noxious weeds pared off and burnt. The ashes yield a good manure. The A. flexuosa, or waved mountain grass, is the principal grass on Banstead Downs, and the Mendip Hills. It is difficult of cultivation. AITON1A, in botany, so called from M. Aiton, his Majesty's late gardener at Kew, a genus of the Monadelphia Octan- dria class and order, and of the natural order of Columniferae. There is but one species, viz. A. capensis, found at the Cape of Thunberg. It has a shrubby stalk, sixfeet high, and a fruit resembling' that of the winter cherry With us it is of slow growth, and seldom exceeds three feet in height. At a sufficient age it produces flowers and fruit through the greatest part of the year. AJUGA, Intgk, in botany, a genus of the Didynamia Gymnospermia class of plants: the flower is monopetalous and rin- gent ; the upper lip being small and bifid; the lower one large and triiid : there is no pericarpium : the seeds are contained in the cup of the flower, and are four in number. There are 10 species. The species native in the United States are 7 ALA ALA in number, 1. A. Cerpitosa ; 2. A. flexu- os: ; 3. A. pallens, of which there are two varieties, one with and the other without nvns ; 4. A. truncata : 5. A. mollis: 6. A. purpurea of Walt : 7. A. prxcox. There is an eighth doubtful species, A, aegytopoides of Walt. AIZOON, in botany, a genus of the Po- lyandria Pentagynia : the calyx is a one- leafed perianthium : no corolla ; the sta- jnina have many capillary filaments ; the anthers are simple, the pistillum has a five-cornered germ, the seeds are several : there are ten species, all belonging to the hot climates. ALA, in botany, is used in different senses ; sometimes it denotes the hollow between the stalk of a plant and the leaves; sometimes it is applied to the two side petals of the papilionaceous flowers, the upper petal being called the vexillum, and the lower one the carina ; others use it for the slender membrana- ceous parts of some seeds, thence said to be alated ; and others, again, for the membranaceous expansions found on the stems of plants, thence denominated ala- ted stalks. ALABASTER, a well known descrip- tion of stone used by statuaries and others. It is the sulphate of lime. See CHEMIS- TKY and MINERALOGY. ALJE, in anatomy, is sometimes used for the lobes of the liver, the nymphae of the female pudendum, the two cartilages which form the nostril, the arm-pits, young stems or branches, &c. ALANGIUM, in botany, a genus of the Decandria Monogynia class and order : the characters of which are, that it has from 6 to 10 linear petals ; from 10 to 12 stamina; the calyx dentated ; the fruit a spherical berry, single-celled, containing- from one to three seeds : there is only one species, viz. A. pungens. ALATED, in botany, an epithet appli- ed to the seed, stem, or leaf-stalk ; a seed is alated, when it has an ala or membrane affixed to it, which, by its flying, serves to disperse it. The foot stalk of a leaf is alated, when it spreads out the sides. Alated leaves are those made up of seve- ral pinnated ones. ALAUD A, lark, in ornithology, a genus of birds of the order of Passeres ; the characters of which are, that the beak is cylindrical, subulate, and straight, bend- ing towards the point, the mandibles are of equal size, and opening downwards at their base; the tongue is bifid; and the hinder claw is straighter and longer than the toe. Pennant adds, that the nostrils are covered with feathers or bristles, ana the toes divided to their origin. There are 33 species, but we shall notice only two of them. 1. A. arvensis, or sky -lark, the specific characters of which are, that the two outermost quills of its tail are white lengthwise externally, and the in- termediate ones are ferruginous on the inside : the length is about seven inches. The males of this species are somewhat browner than the females ; they have a black collar, and more white on the tail ; their size is larger, and their aspect bold- er; and they exclusively possess the fa- culty of singing. When the female is im- pregnated, she forms her nest between two clods of earth, and lines it with herbs, and dry roots, being no less attentive to the concealment than to the structure of it. It sometimes builds its nest among corn and in high grass. Each female lays four or hve eggs, which are greyish, with brown spots ; and the period of her incu- bation is about 15 days. The young may be taken out of the nest when they are a fortnight old, and they are so hardy, that they may be easily brought up. The pa- rentjis very tender of her young; and though she does not always cover them with her wings, she directs their motions, supplies their wants, and guards them from danger, The common food of the young sky-larks is worms, caterpillars, ant's eggs, and even grasshoppers ; and in maturity they live chiefly on seeds, herbage, and all vegetable substances. Those birds, it is said, that are destined for singing, should be caught in October or November; the males should, as much as possible, be selected ; and when they are untractable, they should be pinioned, lest they injure themselves by their vio- lence against the roof of the cage. As they cannot cling by the toes, it is need- less to place bars across their cage ; but they should have clean sand at the bottom of it, that they may welter in it, and be relieved from the vermin which torment them. In Flanders, the young ones arc fed with moistened poppy-seeds and soak- ed crumbs of bread; and, when thev'be- gin to sing, with sheep's and calves hearts, hashed with hard eggs ; to which are added, wheat, spilt-oats, milled lin- seed, and the seeds of poppy and hemp, steeped in milk. Their capacity of learn- ing to sing is well known ; and so apt are some cock larks, that, after hearing a tune whistled with the pipe, they have caught the whole, and repeat it more agreeably than any linnet or canary bird. In summer the lark seeks the highest anrl 1 ALAUDA. driest situations ; but in winter they de- scend to the plains, and assemble in nu- merous flocks. In the former season they m-e very lean, and in the latter very fat, as they are always on the ground, and con- stantly feeding-. In mounting 1 the air, they ascend almost perpendicularly, by suc- cessive springs, and hover at a great height ; but in descending they make an oblique sweep, unless they are pursued by a ravenous bird, or attracted by a mate, in either of which cases they fall like a stone. These small birds, at the height to which they soar, are liable to be waft- ed by the wind ; and they have been ob- served at sea, clinging to the masts and cordage of ships. Sir Hans Sloane ob- served some of them 40 miles from the coast, and Count Marsigli met with them on the Mediterranean. It is conjectured that those which are found in America have been driven thither by the wind. Some have supposed, that they are birds of passage, at least in the more southern, and milder climates of Europe ; but they are occasionally concealed undeT some rock or sheltered cave. The lark is found in all the inhabited parts of both conti- nents, as far as the Cape of Good Hope ; this bird, and the wood lark, are the only birds which sing whilst they fly. The high- er it soars, the more it strains its voice, and lowers it till it quite dies away in de- scending. When it ascends beyond our sight, its music is distinctly heard; and its song, which is full of swells and falls, and thus delightful for its variety, commences before the earliest dawn. In a state of freedom, the lark begins its song early in the spring, which is its season of love and pairing, and continues to warble during the whole of the summer. The honourable Dairies Harrington reckons this among the best of the singing larks; and as it copies the warble of every other bird, he terms it a mocking-bird. These birds, which are esteemed a deli- cacy for the table, though Linnaeus thinks the food improper for gravelly complaints, are taken with us in the greatest num- bers, in the neighbourhood of Dunstable. The season begins about the 14th of September, and ends the 25th of Febru- ary ; and during this time about 4000 dozen are caught, for supplying the Lon- don markets. Those caught in the day are taken in clap-nets, till the 14th of November. But when the weather be- comes gloomy, and also in the night, the larker makes use of a trammel-net, 27 or 28 feet long, and five broad, which is put on two poles 18 feet long 1 , and carried by men under each arm, who pass over- the fields, and quarter the grounds, as a setting dog. When they see or feel a lark strike the net, they drop it down, and thus the birds are taken. The dark- est nights are the most proper for their sport ; and the net will not only take larks, but all other birds that roost on the ground; among which are wood-cocks, snipes, partridges,! quails, field-fares, and several others. In the depth of winter, people sometimes take great numbers of larks by nooses of horse-hair. The me- thod is" this : take 100 or 200 yards of packthread ; fasten at every six inches a noose made of double horse-hair; at every 20 yards the line is to be pegged down to the ground, and so left ready to take them. The time to use this is when the ground is covered with snow, and the larks are to be allured to it by some white oats, scattered among the nooses. They will soon fly to them, and, in eating, will be hung by the nooses. They must be taken away as soon as three or four are hung, otherwise the rest will be frightened; but though the others are scared away just where the sportsman comes, some will be feeding at the other end of the line, and the sport maybe thus continued for a long time. As the sky- lark is a kind of mocking-bird, and apt to catch the note of any other which hangs near it, even after its own note is fixed, the bird-fanciers often place it next to one which has not been long caught, in order to keep the caged sky-lark honest. Plate II. Aves, fig. 1. 2. A. arborea, wood-lark of English writers, is specifically characterised by a white annular belt, encircling its head. This bird is smaller than the sky-lark, and of a shorter thicker form ; the co- lours of the plumage are paler ; the first feather of the wing is shorter than the second ; the hind claw is very long, and somewhat bent; it perches on trees; it haunts the uncultivated tracts near copses, without penetrating the woods ; whence its name ; its song resembles more the warble of the nightingale, or the whist- ling of the black-bird, than that of the sky-lark, its note being less sonorous and less varied, though not less sweet ; and it is heard not only in the day, but in the night, both when it flies and when it sits on a bough. This bird builds on the ground, and forms its nest on the out- side with moss, and on the inside with dried bents, lined with a few hairs, and conceals it with a turf; and the situation it selects is ground where the grass is ALA ALB rank, or become brown. It lays four or five eggs, which are dusky and blotched with deep brown ; its fecundity is inferior to that of the sky -lark, and its numbers are not so great: it breeds earlier, since its young are sometimes flown in the middle of March, and therefore they pair in February, at which time, and not be- fore, they part with their last year's brood ; whereas the common lark does not hatch before the month of May. This is a very tender and delicate bird ; so that it is impossible to rear the young taken out of the nest : but this is the case only in England and such cold climates, for in Italy they are removed from the nest, and reared at first like the nightingale, and afterwards fed upon panic and millet. The wood-lark feeds on beetles, caterpil- lars, and seeds : its tongue is forked ; its stomach muscular and fleshy ; and it has no craw, but a moderate dilatation of the lower part of the oesophagus, and its coeca are very small. It lives ten or twelve years. The males are distinguished from the females by their larger size ; the crown of the head is also of a darker co- lour, and the hind nail longer; its breast is more spotted, and its great wing-quills edged with olive, which in the female is grey. The wood-lark mounts high, war- bling its notes, and hovering in the air ; it flies in flocks during the winter colds ; it is found' in Sweden and Italy, and is probably dispersed through the interve- ning countries, and consequently over the greatest part of Europe. It is also found in Siberia, as far as Kamtschatka, and likewise in the island of Madeira. The best time for taking this bird for the cage is July, or the preceding or follow- ing month. Those that are put into the cage at this time sing presently ; but their song-time is not lasting, for they soon fall to moulting, in which state many die; but if they get over it, they com- monly prove very healthful afterwards, become very tame and familiar, and sing sweetly. Those which are taken in the latter end of September are generally ve- ry strong and sprightly ; but they do not ing till after Christmas. Those taken in January and February finally prove the best of all ; they generally begin singing in two or three days, or at the utmost in a week after they are taken. The cock- bird of this kind is known from the hen by the loudness and length of his call, by his tallnessas he walks about the cage, and by his doubling his notes in the even- ing, as if he were going 1 with his mate TOL. I, to roost. A better rule than all others, however, is his singing strong ; for the hen wood-lark sings but very weakly. Both the cock and hen of this kind are tender, and subject to many disorders ; the principal of these are, cramps ; giddiness of the head, and breed- ing lice. Cleanliness is the best cure for the first and the last of these complaints; but we know of no cure for the oth-,a*. A good strong bird will last very well for five or six years, and frequently improve during the whole of this time. The lark is not only a very agreeable bird for the cage, but it will also live upon almost any food, so that it have once a week a fresh tuft of three-leaved grass put into the cage with it. The wood-lark is one of the sweetest of our singing-birds, and is indeed very little inferior to the nightin- gale, when in good health ; but we are not to judge by such as are made feeble by improper food, or want of cleanliness" in their cages. ALBINOS, in zoology, a denomination given to the white negroes of Africa, who have light hair, blue eyes, and a white body, resembling that of the Europeans, when viewed at a distance ; but upon a nearer approach, the whiteness is pale and livid, like that of leprous persons, or of a dead body. Their eyes are so weak that they can hardly see any object in the day, or bear the rays of the sun, and yet, when the moon shines, they see as well, and run through the deepest shades of their forest with as much ease and ac- tivity as other men do in the brightest day -light. Their complexion is delicate ; they are less robust and vigorous than other men ; they generally sleep in the day, and go abroad in the night. The negroes regard them as monsters, and will not allow them to propagate their kind. In Africa this variety of the human spe- cies very frequently occurs. Wafer in- forms us that there are white Indians of the same general character among the yellow or copper-coloured Indians of the isthmus of Darien. It has been a subject of inquiry, whether these men form a pe- culiar and distinct race, and a permanent variety of the human species, or are merely individuals who have accidentally degenerated from their original stock. Buffo n inclines to the latter opinion, and he alleges in proof of it, that in the isth- mus of America a husband and wife, both of a copper colour, produced one of these white children ; so that the singu- lar colour and constitution of these white M ALB ALC Indians must be a species of disease which they derive from their parents; and the production of whites by negro parents, which sometimes happens, con- firms the same theory. According to this author, white appears to be the prin- mitive colour of nature, which may be varied by climate, food, and manners, to yellow, brown, and black; and which, in certain circumstances, returns, but so much altered, that it has no resemblance to the original whiteness, because it has been adulterated by the causes that are assigned. Nature, he says, in her most perfect exertions, made men white ; and the same nature, after suffering every possible change, still renders them white: but the natural or specific whiteness is very different from the individual or acci- dental. Of this we have examples in vegetables, as well as in men and other animals. A white rose is very different, even in the quality of whiteness, from a red rose, which has been rendered white by the autumnal frosts. He deduces a farther proof that these white men are merely degenerated individuals, from the comparative weakness of their constitu- tion and from the extreme feebleness of their eyes. This last fact, he says, will appear to be less singular, when it is considered that in Europe very fair men have generally weak eyes ; and he has re- marked that their organs of hearing are often dull : and it has been alleged by others, that dogs of a perfectly white co- lour are deaf. This is a subject which demands farther investigation. Buffon's Natural History. AUBUCA, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and order : corolla six-petalled ; the inner ones con- nivent; outer ones spreading ; style tri- angular : this genus is distinguished in- to those species, three of whose stamina are fertile ; and into others, in which all the stamina are fertile : of the former there are six species ; of the latter eight. They are all found at the Cape. ALBUMEN, in chemistry, a term to denote the white of egg, and all glary, tasteless substances, which, like it, have the property of coagulating into a white, opaque, tough, solid substance, when heated a little under the boiling point. This substance forms a constituent of many of the fluids of animal bodies, and when coagulated, it constitutes also an important part of their solids. Substan- ces analogous to it have been noticed in the vegetable kingdom. The essential characters of albumen are the following : 1. In its natural state it is soluble in wa- ter, and forms a glary, limpid liquid, ha- ving very little taste : in this state it may be employed as a paste and a varnish. 2. The solution is coagulated by acids, in the same way as milk is acted upon ; and also by heat of the temperature of 170, and by alcohol. 3. Dissolved in water, it is precipitated by the infusion of tan ; and also in the form of white powder by the salts of most of the white metals, as silver, mercury, lead and tin. 4. When burnt it emits ammonia, and when treated with nitric acid, yields azotic gas. The juice of the papaw tree yields albumen ; so also does the juice of the fruit of the hibiscus esculentis : that obtained from the latter has been used in the "West In- dies as a substitute for white of eggs in clarifying sugar. ALBURNUM, denotes the white, soft substance that lies between the inner bark and the wood of trees, composed of lay- ers of the former, which have not at- tained the solidity of the latter. Plants, after they have germinated, do not re- main stationary, but are continually in creasing in size. A tree, for instance, every season adds considerably to its bulk. The roots send forth new shoots, and the old ones become longer and thicker. The same increment takes place in the branches and the trunk. A new layer of wood, or rather of alburnum, is added annually to the tree in every part, just under the bark ; and the former lay- er of alburnum assumes the appearance of perfect wood. The alburnum is found in largest quantities in trees that are vi- gorous ; though in such as languish and are sickly there is a great number of beds. In an oak six inches in diameter the alburnum is said to be nearly equal in. bulk to the wood. ALCA, auk, in ornithology, a genus of the order of Anseres, in the Linnaean sys- tem, the characters of which are, that the bill is without teeth, short, compressed, convex, frequently furrowed transversely; the inferior mandible is gibbous before the base ; the nostrils are behind the bill ; and the feet have generally three toes. This genus comprehends 12 species, of which we shall notice the following :' 7 A. torda, with four furrows on the bill, and a w r hite line on each side, running from the bill to the eyes. This is the alka of Clu- sius andBrisson ; the pinguin of Buffon ; and the razor-bill, auk, or murre, of Pen- nant, Ray, Willoughby, Albinus, Edwards, and Latham. This species weighs about 22 ounces ; its length is about 18 inches . ALCA. *nd breadth 27. These birds, in compa- ny with the guillemot, appear in our seas in the beginning of February, but do not settle in their breeding-places till they begin to lay, about the beginning of May. quill-feathers to the first joint, being only 4 inches : and these birds are therefor* observed by seamen never to wander be- yond soundings, and by the sight of them they are able to ascertain the nearness of When they take possession of the ledges the land. They can scarcely even walk, of the highest rocks that hang over the and of course continue on the water, ex- sea, they sit close together, and in rows one above another, and form a ver}' gro- tesque appearance. They lay only one egg at a time, which is of a large size, in proportion to that of the bird, being three Inches long, either white or of a pale sea- green, irregularly spotted with black: if this egg be destroyed, both the auk and the guillemot will lay another, and if this be taken a third; as they make no nest, they deposit the egg on the bare rock, poising it in such a manner as no human art can effect, and fixing it by means of the viscous moisture that bedews its sur- face on its exclusion; and though such multitudes of eggs are contiguous to each other, each bird distinguishes its own. These eggs serve as food to the inhabi- tants of the coasts which the birds fre- quent ; and are procured with great ha- zard by persons let down with ropes, held by their companions, and who, for want of stable footing, are'sometimes precipitated down the rocks, and perish together. They ?re found in the northern parts of America, Europe, and Asia. They come to breed on the Ferroe islands, along the west of England, and on the Isle of Wight, where they add to the multitude of sea-fowl that inhabit the great rocks called the Needles. Their winter resi- dence is not positively ascertained ; as they cannot remain on the sea in that sea- son, and never appear on shore, nor retire to southern climates. Edwards supposes that they pass the winter in the caverns of rocks, which open under water, but rise internally as much above the level of the flood as to admit a recess, and here, as he apprehends, they remain torpid, and live upon their abundant fat. The pace of this bird is heavy and sluggish ; and its ordinary posture is that of swimming or floating on the water, or lying stretched on the rocks, or on the ice. A., impennis, A. major of Brisson, pen- guin of Ray, Martin, Edwards, &c. and great auk of Pennant and Latham, has its bill compressed and furrowed on both sides, and has an oval spot on each side before the eyes. Its length to the end of its toes is three feet ; the bill to the cor- ner of the mouth is 4i inches : the wings are so small as to be useless for flight, their length, from the tip of the longest cept in the time of breeding. According to Mr. Martin, they breed on the isle of St. Kilda, appearing there in the begin- ning of May, and retiring in the middle of June. They lay one egg, six inches long, of a white colour : and if the egg be taken away, no other is laid in the same season. Mr. Macaulay, in his his- tory of St. Kilda, observes that this bird does not visit that island annually, but sometimes keeps away for several years together, and that it lays its eggs close to the sea-mark, and is incapable, by the shortness of its wings, of mounting high- er. Birds of this species are said not to be numerous ; they seldom appear on the coasts of Norway. They are met with near Newfoundland and Iceland. They do not resort annually to the Ferroe Isl- ands, and they rarely descend more to the south in the European seas. They feed on the cyclopterus and such fish, and on the rose root and other plants. The skins are used by the Esquimaux for garments. These birds live in flocks at sea, and ne- ver approach the land, except in very se- vere cold ; and in this case they are so numerous, that they cover the water like a thick dark fog. The Greenlanders drive them on the coast, and catch them with the hand, as they can neither run nor fly. At the mouth of the Ball river they afford subsistence to the inhabitants in the months of February and March, and their down serves to line winter gar- ments. Plate II. Aves, fig. 2. A. psittacula, or perroquet auk of Pen- nant and Latham, is found in the sea that lies between the northern parts of Asia and America, sometimes by day in flocks swimming on the water, though not very far from land, unless driven out by storms, and in the night harbouring in the crevi- ces of rocks. About the middle of June they lay upon the rocks, or sand, a single egg about the size of that of a hen, and of a dirty white or yellowish colour, spot- ted with brown, which is esteemed good. These birds, like others of the same class, are stupid, and are mostly taken by the natives, who place themselves in the evening among the rocks, dressed in gar- ments of fir, with large open sleeves, into which the birds fly for shelter, as the night comes on, and thus they become ALC ALC an easy prey. They sometimes at sea mistake a ship for a roosting place, and thus warn navigators of their being- near the land, at the access of night, or on the approach of storms. A. cirrhata, tufted auk of Pennant and Latham, is entirely black, nearly 18 inches long-, swimming about for whole days in the sea, where it dives well, and occasion- ally flies swiftly, but never departing- far from the rocks and islands, and feeding on shrimps, crabs, and other shell-fish, which it forces from the rocks with its strong bill ; in the night it comes to shore, bur- rows about a yard deep under ground, and makes a nest with feathers and sea- weed, in which it lodges with its mate, being monogamous. It lays one egg in May or June, which is fit to be eaten and used for food, but the flesh of the bird is hard and insipid. This species inhabits the shores of Kamtschutka, the Kurile islands, and those that lie between Kamtschatka and America. A. arctica, or puffin, found on the coasts of England ; and particularly in Prestholm isle, where they are seen in flocks almost innumerable. They come in the beginning of April, and depart in August. Fig. 3. ALCEA, hollyhock, in botany, a genus of the Monadelphia Polyandria class of plants, the calyx of which is a double pe- rianthium ; the exterior one, which is permanent, consists of a single patent leaf, divided into six segments ; the inte- rior is also permanent, and consists of a single leaf divided into five segments ; the corolla consists of five very large patent and emarginated petals, growing together at the base : the fruit is compos- ed of numerous capsules, each contain- ing a single compressed kidney-shaped seed. There are five species. The hol- lyhock grows wild in the country of Nice. The colour of the flowers is accidental, and the double flowers are only varieties proceeding from culture. These varie- ties are not constant ; but the greatest number of plants, produced from seeds carefully saved from the most double flowers, will arise nearly the same with the plants from which they are taken, provided they are kept separate from sin- gle or bad coloured flowers. The A. ro- sea grows naturally in China ; a dwarf sort, with beautiful double variegated flowers, has been some years in great esteem, under the name of the Chinese hollyhock. Hollyhocks are propagated from seeds, sown half an inch deep in a bed of light earth, about the middle of April. When the plants have put out six or eight leaves, they are to be transplant- ed into nursery beds, and in October they are to be removed to the situation where they are to remain. ALC EDO, kingsfisher, in ornithology, a genus of the order of Pic would be 5-J-3, or 8. If a quantity have no sign, -}-, plus, is understood, and the quantity is affirmative or positive. The sign , minus, or less, denotes that the quantity which it precedes is to be subtracted, and it is called a negative quantity. Thus a b expresses the dif- ference of a and b , so that a being 5, and b 3, a by or 5- 3, would be equal to 2, If more quantities than two were con- nected by these signs, the sum of those with the sign must be substracted from the sum of those with the sign -}-. Thus a + b c d represents the quantity which would remain, when c and d are taken from a and b. So that if a were 7, b 6, c 5 and d 3, a + b c d, or 7 + 6 5 3, or 13 8, would be equal to 5. If two quantities are connected by the sign 02 , as a 02 6 > this mode of expres- sion represents the difference of a and 6, when it is not known which of them is the greatest. The sign X signifies that the quantities between whicli it stands are to be multiplied together, or it repre- sents their product. Thus, a X b ex- presses the product of a and b; a X b X c denotes the product of a, 6, and c ; (a-j->) X c denotes the product of the compound quantity a -f- b by the simple quantity c ; and (a +- b + c) X (a b + c) X O+6 represents the product of the three com- pound quantities, multiplied continually into one another; so that if a were 5, b 4, and c 3, then would (a + b + c) X (a b + c) X (a + c) be 12 X 4 X 8, or 384. The parenthesis used in the forego- ing expressions indicate that the whole compound quantities are affected by the sign, and not simply the single terms be- tween which it is placed- Quantities that are joined together without any interme- diate sign form a product ; thus a b is the same with a X b, and a b c the same with a X b X c. When a quantity is multi- plied into itself, or raised to any power, the usual mode of expression is to draw a line over the quantity, and to place the number denoting the power at the end of it, which number is called the index or exponent. Thus, (a -f- by denotes the same as (a -\- b) X (a -\- b} or second power or square, of a -{- b considered as one quantity ; and (a -}- 6)3 denotes the same as (a -f b} X O + b) X (a -f ), or the third power, or cube of a -f- b. In expressing the powers of quantities re- presented by single letters, the line over the top is usually omitted ; thus, a* is the same as a a cr a X a, and />S the same as b b b or b X b X b, and a 1 b>, the same us a a XbbboraXaXbXbX b. The full point . and the word into, are sometimes used instead of X as the sign of multiplication. Thus, (a+6) . (a-f-r?). ALGEBRA. and a + b into a + c, signify the same thing as (a -f 6) X (a + c), or the pro- duct of a -f- 6 by a + c. The sign -r- is the sign of division, as it denotes that the quantity preceding it is to be divided by the succeeding quantity. Thus, c -f- b signifies that c is to be divided by b , and (a + ) -r- (a + c), that a -f- b is to be divided by a -f- c. The mark ) is some- times used as a note of division ; thus a -{- b) a b denotes that a b is to be divid- ed by a -f- b. But the division of alge- braic quantities is most commonly ex- pressed by placing the divisor under the dividend, with a line between them, like a vulgar fraction. Thus, represents the quantity arising by dividing c by b, or the ^quotient, and - represents the quotient of a-f-6 divided by a-\-c. Quan- tities thus expressed are called algebraic fractions. The sign ^/ expresses the square root of any quantity to which it is prefixed ; thus v/ 25 signifies the square root of 25, or 5, because 5 x 5 is 25 ; and v/ (a 6) denotes the square root of a b , and / ( - - J denotes the square root of , or of the quantity arising from the division of a b -f b c by d ; but v/ (a b H- b c) . . . , - - - , winch has the separating line drawn under v/, signifies that the square root of a b -\- b c is to be first ta- ken, and afterwards divided by d , so that if a were 2, b 6, c 4, and d 9, v/ (a b + be) ... v /36 6 ^ ' - - - -, would be z-fi or-; but v/4, which is 2. The sign ^/ with a figure over it is used to express the cubic or biquadratic root, &c. of any quantity ; thus ^/ 64 represents the cube root of 64, or 4, because 4 X 4 x 4 is 64 ; and $/ (a b -f- c d} the cube root of a b -{- c d. In like mannerl^/ 16 denotes the biquadratic root of 16, or 2, because 2x2x2x2 is 16, and v/ ( a b-\-c d) denotes the biquadra- tic root of a b + c d; and so of others. Quantities thus expressed are called ra- dical quantities, or surds ; of which those, consisting of one term only, as ^/ a and ^/ (a b) are called simple surds; and those consisting of several terms or num- bers, as v/ (a 1 6>) and $f (a 1 b+b c) are denominated compound surd&. ther commodious method of expressing radical quantities is that which denotes the root by a vulgar fraction, placed at the end of a line drawn over the quantity given. In this notation, the square root is expressed by , the cube root by -i, the biquadratic root by , &c. Thus a $ expresses the same quantity with ^/ a y i. e. the square root of a, and (c^-f-a b) * the same as *f (a j + 6), i. e. the cube root of c^-fa b ; and~^ f denotes the cube root of the square o f a, or the square of the cube root of a; and (a-J-z)^. the seventh power of the biquadratic root of a + x; and so of others; (a 1 ) \ is a, asj-y is a, &c. Quantities that have no ra- dical sign (vO or index annexed to them, are called rational quantities. The sign =, called the sign of equality, signifies that the quantities between which it oc- curs are equal. Thus 2 + 3 =5, shews that 2 plus 3 is equal to 5 ; and x = a b shews that x is equal to the difference of a and b. The mark : : signifies that the quantities between which it stands are proportional. As a : b : : c : d denotes that a is in the same proportion to b as c is to d,- or that if a be twice, thrice, or four times, 8cc. as great as 6, c will be twice, thrice, or four times, 8cc. as great as d. When any quantity is to be taken more than once, the number which shows how many times it is to be taken must be prefixed; thus 5 a denotes that the quantity a is to be taken 5 times, and 3 b c represents three times b c, and 7 v/ (a'X^ 3 ) denotes that .r? g x*--r x Ans. a p . x? b q . x*+I Ex.7. 3 4 a* 9 b c IQe* + 21 x 90 Ans.^^6 a 1 -f b c 9e* + 16 x 71 Ex. 8 4 a c - 15 bd + e ar - fl * In Aisjxample the co-efficients are llac-f 76* \9ex-\-4, ax united ; a p . 373 is equal to bx* gx>\ 41 ' +- 6b d 7 de 2 ax b g . x 1 is equal to b x* q x* ; and A. I5a^4la^ 9*d+7t>* I8ex 7de ax i - r . 0:1=0: r a:. Ex. 9. px^ qx*rx axi b x* x Ans. />-f-a . o:3 g -j-6 . x 1 r+1. x In this example, the co-efficients ofo: and its powers are united ; p+a. xi=p ,r3 -}- a x> ; also g-\-b . x* = q x 1 b x 1 , because the negative sign affects the whole quantity under the vinculum ; and r 1 . x r x x. SUBTRACTION. Subtraction, or the taking away of one quantity from another, is performed by chang- ing the sign of the quantity to be subtracted, and then adding it to the other, by the rules laid doion in the last article. Ex. 1. From 2 b x take c y, and the dif- ference is properly represented by 2 b x c y / because the prefixed to c y shews that it is to be subtracted from the other ; and 2 b x c y is the sum of 2 b x and c y. Ex. 2. Again, from 2 bx take c y, and the difference is 2 b x-\-c y , because 2 b x =2 b x~\-c y c y, take away c y from these equal quantities, and the differences will be equal; i. e. the difference between 2 b x and cy is 2 b x + c y, the quantity ^hich arises from adding -f- c y to 2 b x. Ex. 3. From a + b take a b Ans. * 4- 2 b Ex. 4. From 6 a 12 b take 5 a 10 b Ans. 11 p-ITTA Ex. 5. From 5 a*-f-4 a b & x y {take 11 aH-6 a b 4 x y Ans. 6 a* 2 a b 2 x ?/ VOL. I. " MULTIPLICATION. The multiplication of simple algebrai- cal quantities must be represented ac- cording to the notation already pointed out. Thus, a X b, or a b, represents the pro- duct a multiplied by b ; a be, the product of the three quantities, a, b, and c. It is also indifferent in what order tlvey are placed, a X b and b X being equal. To determine the sign of the product, observe the following rule. If the multiplier and multiplicand have the same sign, the product is positive ; if they have different signs, it is negative. 1. + aX -\- b = ab ; because in this case a is to be taken positively b times ; therefore the product a b must be posi- tive. 2. ax-M= ob; because a is to be taken b times ; that is, we must take ab. 3. -f-aX b = ab : for a quantity is said to be multiplied by a negative num- ber b, if it be subtracted b times ; and a subtracted b times is ab. 4. X b=x*\-ab. Here a is to be subtracted b times ; that is, a b is to be subtracted ; but subtracting a b is the same as adding + ab ; therefore we have to add + ab. The 2d and 4^ cases may be thus prov- ed; a a=o, multiply both sides by b, and ab together with aX b must be equal to bx> or nothing; therefore, a mul- tiplied by b must give ab, a quantity which when added to ab makes the sum nothing. Again, a a=o / multiply both sides by b, then a b together with ax b must be =o,- therefore a X b If the quantities to be multiplied have co-efficients, these must be multiplied to- O ALSEBRA. gether, as in common arithmetic; the sign and the literal product being deter- mined by the preceding rules. Thus,'3x56= 15ab; because 3xc>X x5Xx=15a,- 4 a:X 11 y a-y ; 91) X 5c= +456c / m= 24 m d. The powers of the same quantity are multiplied together by adding the indices; thus a^X^ 3 =rt 5 : for aa X <* tt = acmaa. in the same manner, a"> X a" =+; anc l _ 3 a - x^xS* x y== 15^3 ^ y . If the multiplier or multiplicand con- sist of several terms, each term of the lat- ter must be multiplied by every term of the former, and the sum ot all the pro- ducts taken, for the whole product of the two quantities. Ex. 1. Mult, by c+d r Ans. a c-4-6 c+x c+<* d+b d+x d Here a +- -f x is to be added to itself c-\-d times, i. e. c times and d times. Ex. 2. Mult, a 4- b x by c d ___ Ans. a cx ca d b d-\-x d Here n-j-6 is to be taken c d times, that is, c times wanting d times; or c times positively and d times negatively. Ex. 3. Mult, a+b Ans. q3+2 a b+b* Ex. 4. Mult. or+# by a: y x y y~ Ans. x 1 * a 1 Ex. 5. Mult. 3 a2_ 5 b d by 5 a*-f 4 b d 15 aM-25 a 1 b d Ans. 15 flH-37 a* 6 d 20 A* rf* Ex. 6. Mult, a^ 2 a by a 1 2 a Ex. r. Mult. 1 x+x* by 1 x * 4. 3-3 Ans. Ex. 8. Mult, .r 1 p x -j- q by x + a -}- a x 1 ap x-\-a q __ Ans. jrtp ax*-\-qap.x+att Here the co-efficients of x and x are collected ; p a . x 1 = p and q a p . 07=5 a- a /> x. a a >: Ans. a* * To divide one quantity by another, is to de- termine how often the latter is contained in tJic former, or ivhat quantity multiplied by tht latter tvitt produce the former. Thus, to divide a b by a is to determine how often a must be taken to make np a b,- that is, what quantity multiplied by a will give a b ,- which we know is b. From this consideration are derived all the rules for the division of algebraical quantities. If the divisor and dividend be affected with like signs, the sign of the quotient is -f : but if their signs be unlike, the sign of the quotient is . If a b be divided by a, the quo- tient is + b ; because a X -f- b gives a b , and a similar proof may be given in the other cases. In the division of simple quantities, if the co-efficient and literal product of the divisor be found in the dividend, the other part of the dividend, with the sign deter- mined by the last rule, is the quotient. Thus, f- =c; because a b multipli a b ed by c gives a b c. If we first divide by a, and then by b, the result will be the same; for = c, and =c, as before. a Hence, any power of a quantity is divi- ded by any other power of the same quan- tity, by subtracting the index of the divi- sor from the index of the dividend. a$ pa-\-qxl ax 1 a p.r 2 -\-qx a p.x* u4 pa.x -^pa+q-xr r+a>- Remainder a3 pa%-\-qa r a ab+b* THE THAXSFOIUrATION OF FRACTIONS ' TO OTHERS OF F.a^AL VALUE. The reason of this, and the foregoing rule, is, that as the whole dividend is made up of all its parts, the divisor is contained in the whole, as often as it is contained in all the parts. In the preceding operation we inquire, first, how often a is contained in a 1 , which gives a for the first term of the quotient, then multiplying the whole divisor by it, we have a 1 a b to be sub- tracted from the dividend, and the re- mainder is a i-j-fi 1 , with which we are to proceed as before. The whole quantity a 1 2 a b+b 1 is in reality divided into two parts by the pro- cess, each of which is divided by a b ; therefore the true quotient is obtained. If the signs of all the terms both in the numerator and denominator of a fraction be changed, its value will not be altered. For a b -\-ab , ab = -4- b = ; and. = b =* a -f- a a b. a If the numerator and denominator of a fraction be both multiplied, or both divi- ded, by the same quantity, its value is not altered. For ac a _. ' a .1 y z y a b c z b c be b Hence, a fraction is reduced to its low- est terms, by dividing both the numera- ALGEBRA, tor and denominator by the greatest a- #*)a3 a- x a x3-}-x*(a z quantity thst measures them both. a> a -r 1 The greatest common measure of tioo quantities is found by arranging them ac- cording to the powers of some letter, and then di-j'ding the greater t>y the less, and the preceding divisor ahvays by the last re- mainder, till the remainder is nothing , the last divisor is the greatest common measure required. Let a and b be the two b} a (p quantities, and let b be contained in a, p times,\vith fc) b (q a remainder c; again, let c be contained in #, q times, d) c ( ? with a remainder d, and so on, till nothing remains; let d be the last divisor, and it will be the greatest com- mon measure of a and b. TheUruth of this rule depends upon these two principles : 1. If one quantity measure another, it will also measure any multiple of that quantity. Let x measure y by the units in n, then will it measure c y by the units in n c. 2. If a quantity measure two others, it will measure their sum or difference. Let a be contained in x, m times, and in y t n times ; then m a = x and n a = y ; therefore xy=m an =ra;i . a ; i. e. a is contained in x#, mn times, or it measures x:y by the units of mn. Now it appears from what has been said, that a p b = c, and b q c = d,- even quantity therefore, which measures a and b_ measures/* b, and a p 6, or c ,- hence also it measures q c, and b q c, or df that is, every common measure of a and b measures d. Ex. To find the greatest common mea- sure of a 4 a;* and a3 a 1 x a a^-f-x?, a* x* and to reduce --- to a z x-J-.r3 its lowest terms. a3 a 1 a: ax 1 -{-x3 'x a- leaving out 2 x*, which is found in each term of the remainder, the next divisor a 1 x- is therefore the greatest common measure of the two quantities, and if : hey be respectively divided by it, the frac- tion is reduced to - , its lowest x terms. The quantity 2 x 1 , found in every term of one of the divisors, 2 a 1 x- 2 x*, but not in every term of the dividend, 3 a 1 x a x 1 -f ^ ; , must be left out ; other- wise the quotient will be fractional, which is contrary to the supposition made in the proof of the rule; and by omitting this part, 2 x% no common measure of the divisor and dividend is left out; because, by the supposition, no part of 2 x* is found in all the terms of the dividend. To find the greatest common measure of three quantities, a b c; take d the great- est common measure of a and 6, and the greatest measure of d and c is the great- est common measure required. In the same manner, the greatest common mea- sure of four or more quantities may be found. If one number be divided by another, and the preceding divisor by the remain- der, according to what has been said, the remainder will at length be less than any quantity that can be assigned. Fractions are changed to others of equal value -with a common denominator, by multi- plying each numerator by every denominator except its own, for the new numerator ,- and all the denominators togetJierfor the common denominator. Let -,-be the proposed fractions; adf cbf edb iT^~f> 7T777' 7"T7> are tractions of s a 1 x 1 . the same value with the former, having the common denominator b d f. For a df_q c bf c edb e TdJ~b' b~Tf~ d'* Tdf~~f numerator and denominator of each frac- tion having been multiplied by the same quantity, viz. the product of the denomi- nators of all the other fractions. When the denominators of the propo- sed fractions are not prime to each other, find their greatest common measure ; multiply both the numerator and deno- ALGEBRA. minator of each fraction by the denomi- nators of all the rest, divided respective- ly by their greatest common measure ; and "the fractions will be reduced to a common denominator, in lower terms than they would have been by proceed- ing according to the former rule. Thus. --. - --, m x my m z mon denominator are reduced to a com- a V z b x z - ; - m x i/ z m x y z ; bd c d a ') c d a b c d Ex.3, a ;-= 7 r-= ; b b b b Ex. a c a d b c b d a c a d ~b cb d~ b c+bd 'bcbd b cb d The sign of b d is negative, because every part of the latter fraction is to be taken from the former. ON THE ADDITION AND SUBTRACTION OF FRACTIONS. If the fractions to be added have a com- mon denominator, their sum is found by add- ing the numerators together, and retaining the common denominator. Thus, a c -f-c Tf the fractions have not a common de- nominator, they must be transformed to others of the same value, which have a common denominator, and then the addi- tion may take place as before. ad bc ad+bc '' bd ' Ex - 3 -^n- _ a 6-fo-H \ b a^b 1 a* I Here a is considered as a fraction whose deno- minator is unity. If tivo fractions have a common denomi- nator, their difference is found by taking the difference of the numerators, and retaining the common denominator. Thus, c a c ~b b~' I If they have not a common denomina- tor, they must be transformed to others of the same value which have a common denominator, and then the subtraction may take place as above. ON THE MULTIPL1C ATION AND DIVISION OF FRACTIONS. To multiply a fraction by any quantity, multiply the numerator by that quantity, and retain the denominator. Thus, - x c = -T-. For if the quantity to be divided be c times as great as be- fore, and the divisor the same, the quo- tient must be c times as great. The product of two fractions is found by multiplying the numerators together for a new numerator, and the denominators for a new denominator. Let - and - be the two fractions ; then b d a c '"bd' For if -7= oc and = y, by multiplying the equal quantities and x, by b, a=6 x ,- in the same manner, cdy,- therefore a c = b d x y,- dividing these equal quantities, a c and b d x y, by b d, To divide a fraction by any quantity, multiply the denominator by that quantity, and retain the numerator. The fraction? divided by c, is. Be- b be a a c , .. . a cause =7 , and a c th part of this js ; b b c be the quantity to be divided being a c 1 ^ part of what it was before, and the divi- sor the same. The result is the same, whether the de- nominator is multiplied by the quantity, or the numerator divided by it. Let the fraction be -r-t; if the denomi- bd ALGEBRA, nator be multiplied by c, it becomes ?-^ bdc or ~ ; the quantity which arises from the division of the numerator by c. To divide one fraction by another, invert the numerator and denominator of the divi- zor, and proceed as in multiplication. Let- and -be the two fractions, then 6 a a c a d a d For if = x, and -7 b a -y, then a = b ^> and c d y; also, ad b d x, and b c = ,. a d bdx x a c bdy; therefore = r - r =-= r -f-- b c b dy y b d The rule for multiplying the powers of the same quantity will hold, when one or both of the indices are negative. Thus, a m X a n= am n ; for a* X a n 1 a m = fl X = = a 7 "-* 1 ; in the same manner, #3 x x~ 5 = _____ x -2. x> x> a~ rni ' n ; because Again, a m X a X an = - x If 7/1= n, am X a, = amm a o. also, a m X a ~ m = = 1 ; therefore a=l ; according to the notation adopted. The rule for dividing any power of a quantity by any other power of the same quantity holds, whether those powers are positive or negative. Thus, a^ -~a~n = am-s -- = a x a 71 a am+n. 1 1 a 7 " -~- a = -- ; -- = = a* a a m ^jTn+n. Hence it appears,that a quantity may be transferred from the numerator of a frac- tion to the denominator, and the contrary, by changing the sign of its index. Thus, ^m x an _ am am u m Xa~ n ~bp bp a ' ant a dp Tp OJf IirVOIXTIOJST AND EVOLUTION. . If a quantity be continu- ally multiplied by itself, it is said to be involved or raised ; and the power to which it is raised is expressed by the number of times the quantity has been employed in the multiplication. Thus, aXa, or a-, is called the second power of a,- aXX, or a?, the third power, aXa .(?0> or an * ne w th power. If the quantity to be involved be nega- tive, the signs of the even powers will be positive, and the signs of the odd power negative. For aX ar=a*; aX aX a = a?, &c. A simple quantity is raised to any pow- er, by multiplying the index of every fac- tor in the quantity by the exponent of the power, and prefixing the proper sign de- termined by the last article. Thus, a m raised to the ?z,th power is a"*". Because a 7 " X m X a 7 *. ...to n factors, by the rule of multiplication, is a mn ; also, ^a~b}n=a bXa bXa 6x&c. to n factors, or a X a + .... to n factors X b X b X A... .to n factors = a^xbn ; and a 1 63 c raised to the fifth power is a l b l< > c*. Also, a m raised to the wth power is a 7 "" ; where the positive or negative sign is to be pre- fixed, according as n is an even or odd number. If the quantity to be involved be a frac- tion, both the numerator and denomina- tor must be raised to the proposed power. If the quantity proposed be a compound one, the involution may either be repre- sented by the proper index, or it may ac- tually take place. Let a-H be the quantity to be raised to any power. a+b a+b or a J -f-2 a b-\-b~ the sq. or 2 d power a+b __ c3-|-2 a 1 b -fa 6 1 -j- a* 6+2 ab*-\-fr "0+6*3 or o3+3 a- 6+3 a 6H-63 the 3d pr. -f a36-j-3a a 63 a 63-ffl* a+6H oraH-3a3 6+6a*6-+4 a 63+6* the fourth power. If 6 be negative, or the quantity to be involved be a 6, wherever an odd pow- er of 6 enters, the sign of the term must be negative. Hence, a 6)* = a* 4 a3 6+6 a* 6 : _ 4 a 63+6 . EVOLUTION, or the extraction of roots, is the method of determining a quantity, which, raised to a proposed power, will produce a given quantity. ALGEBRA. Since the n^ power of a m is a", the 31 th root of a m n must be a m ; i. e. to ex- tract any root of a single quantity, we must divide the index of that quantity by the index of the root required. When the index of the quantity is not exactly divisible by the number which expresses the root to be extracted, that root must be represented according to the notation already pointed out. Thus the square, cube, fourth, n* root offl^-f x z , are respectively represented by (a> + *\H, (a 1 4- **)* (* + * l )fc (a 1 -f" xl )n; the same roots of-; - ;, or (aH-x 1 ) 1 ,arerepresentedby(a i -f.r 1 ) i ** * s * I ~ If the root to be extracted be express- ed by an odd number, the sign of the root will be the same with the sign of the pro- posed quantity. If the root to be extracted be express- ed by an even number, and the quantity proposed be positive, the root may be either positive or negative. Because either a positive or negative quantity, raised to such a power, is positive. If the root proposed to be extracted be expressed by an even number, and the sign of the proposed quantity be negative, the root cannot be extracted ; because no quantity, raised to an even power, can produce a negative result. Such roots are called impossible. Any root of a product may be found by taking that root of each factor, and mul- tiplying the roots, so taken, together. Thus, (a 6)"ri=aX 6"~; because each of these quantities, raised to the nd pow- er, is a b. C a_f2 a b-}- b* (a-f b a* a b+b* 2 a b+b* Since the square root of a*-f 2 a b-\-b z is a-f , whatever be the values of a and b, we may obtain a general rule for the extraction of the square root, by observ- ing in what manner a and b may be deriv- ed from a 1 +2 a b+b\ Having arranged the terms according to the dimensions of one letter, a, the square root of the first term a 1 is a, the first factor in the root; subtract its square from the whole quantity, and bring down the remainder 2 a 6-f b 1 ; divide 2 a 6 by 2 , and the result is b, the other factor in the root ; then multiply the sum of twice the first factor and the second (2-f 2 a 6+* l -f 2 a c-f 2 b c-f c 1 (a 2 a b+b* 2 a b+b* In i JL - , then a" X a=a ; and in the 2 a c-f 2 b c+c- 2 a c-f 2 b c-f c> a 2 a x -f same manner ax . Any root of a fraction may be found by ^"^"^ tpkingthatrootboth of the numerator and denominator. Thus, the cube root of ^ is 2 /,x i ^I,ora|x^ |; and f J *| \*> = ?; 3 / * 4( a -S , ?i or a To extract the square root of a compound Ex. 3. To extract the square root of ] quantity, 4-0-. ALGEBRA. X' 4 ~+ x ^) ~~T ' 07 1 3 4 . O7 4 8~ l "64 07? 074 8 64 &C ' . It appears from the second example, x 1 that a trinomial a 1 a x + ,in which four times the product of the first and last terms is equal to the square of the middle term, and a complete square, or X 2 aZ x ~4~ X4=a*o-2. The method of extracting the cube rqot is discovered in the same manner. a3+3 a- (a+b 3 a 1 b+ 3 a ft s + fr 3 a 2 6.4.3 a b--\-bi 3 a*) The cube root of a3+3 a 1 6+3 is a+6; and to obtain rt+6 from this compound quantity, arrange the terms as before, and the cube root of the first term, fl?, is a, the first factor in the root : sub- tract its cube from the whole quantity, and divide the first term of the remainder by 3 a 2 , the result is b, the second factor in the root: then subtract 3 a2 6+3 a 62+63 from the remainder, and the whole cube of a-\-b has been subtracted. If any quantity be left, proceed with a+b as a new a, and divide the last remainder by 3 . a+6) 2 for a third factor in the root ; and thus any number of factors may be obtained. OX SIMPLE EQUATIONS. If one quantity be equal to another, or to nothing, and this equality be expressed algebraically, it constitutes an equation. Thus, x a =b x is an equation, of which x a forms one side, and b x the other. When an equation is cleared of frac- tions and surds, if it contain the first pow- er only of an unknown quantity, it is call- ed a simple equation, or an equation of one dimension : if the square of the unknown quantity be in any term, it is called a quadratic, or an equation of two dimen- sions ; and in general, if the index of the highest power of the unknown quantity be n, it is called an equation of n dimen- In any equation quantities may be trans- posed from one side to the other, if their Mg-718 be changed, and the tioo sides toill still be equal. Let x + 10=15, then by subtracting 10 from each side, x + 10 10 = 15 10 or x = 15 - 10. Let x 4=6, by adding 4 to each side, x 4 + 4=6 + 4, or o-=6+3. If x a + b=y ; adding a b to each side, x a + 6 + a b = y -\- a b ; or a: = y + a b. Hence, if the signs of all the terms on each side be changed, the two sides will still be equal. Let x =6 2 x ; by transposition, 07= x-\-a ; or a 07=2 x b. If every term, on each side, be multiplied by the same quantity, the results -will be equal. An equation may be cleared of frac- tions, by multiplying every term, succes- sively, by the denominators of those frac- tions, excepting those terms in which the denominators are found. 5 x Let 3 07 + -7-= 34; multiplying by 4, 12o-+5o; = 136, or 17 07 = 136. If each side of an equation be divided by the same quantity, the results will be equal. Let 17 x 136 ; then 07 = -^=- = 8. If each side of an equation be raised t* the same power, the results ivill be equal. Let 07* = 9 ; then 07 = 9 X 9 = 81. Also, if the same root be extracted on both sides, the results will be equal. Let x = 81 ; then o^ = 9. To find the value of an unknown quantity in a simple equation. Letthe equation first be cleared of frac- tions, then transpose all the terms which involve the unknown quantity to one side of the equation, and the known quantities to the other, divide both sides by the co- efficient, or sum of the co-efficients, of ALGEBRA. the unknown quantity, and the value re- quired is obtained. Ex. 1. To find the value of 07 in the equation 3o7 5=23 07. by transp. 3x+.r=23+5 or 4o7=28 28 _ by division 07= =o. Ex. 2. Let o7+| |=4.r 17. = 1 =3 Mult, by 2, and 2 07 + 07 ^= 8 07 34 hence also, 07=10 1/=10 3=7. value may be found by the rules before laid down. T find * and From the first equal. 07= 10 y\ hence, 2 07=202 y, by subst. 202 y 3 y 20 5 16=5 # Mult, by 3, and 6 x+3 x 2 xx=24 a: 102 by transp. 6 x+3 x2 x 24 x= 102 or 17 x = 102. 17o-=102 102 . Ex. 3.i a x 07+6 a=c a x x c a x b d or c a x 07= b a i. e. c a 1. 07=6 a b a Ex. 4. x -3. ^ 55 07 4=11 a: 33. 55 4-f- 33 = 11 x-{-x 84=12 x 2 07+3 075= 6 07+9 0715=72 4 07+8 6 07+9 07+4 07=72 +8+15 19 07=95 _95 ~19~ If there be two independent simple equations involving two unknown quanti- ties, they may be reduced to one which involves only one of the unknown quan- tities, by any of the following methods : 1st Method. In either equation find the value of one of the unknown quanti- ties in terms of the other and known quantities, and for it substitute this value in the other equation, which will then only contain one unknown quantitv, whose VOL. I. 2d Method. Find an expression for one of the unknown quantities in each equa- tion ; put these expressions equal to each other, and from the resulting equation the other unknown quantity may be found. From the first equat. 07=0 y from the second, b x=d e c y, and _ de cy ~ b f d e c y therefore a y= - - - b b a b y=d e c y c y b y=zd e b a c b . yd e b a d e b n Also, x=a y ; that is, de ba ca ba de-\-ba c b c b _ c a d e '' cb ' 3d Method. If either of the unknown quantities have the same co-efficient in both equations, it may be exterminated by subtracting, or adding, the equations, ac- cording as the sign of the unknown quan- tity, in the two cases, is the same or dif- ferent. To find 07 and r/. Let By subtraction, 2 #=8, and y=4 By addition, 2 o?=22, and 07= 11. If the co-efficients of the unknown quantity to be exterminated be different, multiply the terms of the first equation by the co-efficient of the unknown quan- tity in the second, and the terms of the second equation by the co-efficient of the same unknown quantity in the first ; then add, or subtract, the resulting equations, as in the former case. ALGEBRA. Fx 1 Let -* =13? To find x 1 ' Let ?2a>fry8l5 and y. Multiply the terms of the first equation by 2, and the terms of the other by 3, then 6 a 10 #=26 6 oH-21 #=243 By subtraction, 31 y 217 217 and v= =7; 13, also, 3 x 5 y = 13, or 3 x 35 therefore 3 a; = 13 + 35 = 48 and x = = 16 Fx 2 T^fr $ax+t>y=c-> To find x -r***. t_mxny=d$ and y. From the first, m a x + * ^ y = * c from the other, max n a y = ad by subtraction, m b y -\- n a y=m c ad, m c a d therefore, y = r-r -- . m b-\-n a Again, n a x-\~n b y=n c m b x n b y=b d by addition, n a-\-m b .x = n c + b d, *P n c-\-b d therefore x = - ; -.. n a-\-m o If there be three independent simple equations, and three unknown quantities, reduce two of the equations to one, con- taining 1 only two of the unknown quanti- ties, by the preceding rules ; then reduce the third equation and either of the form- er to one, containing the same two un- known quantities ; and from the two equations thus obtained, the unknown quantities which they involve may be found. The third quantity may be found by substituting their values in any of the proposed equations. C2 x+3 #+4 z=16} To find.r, Ex. Let ^3oH-2# 5z=8 C #, and CSx 6 #+3 z=9 ) z. From the 21st equa. 6 x-^-n #-4-12 z=48 6 x+4 #10 z=16 by subtr.5# 22z=32 from the lt and 3rd 10 x + 15 #+20 2=80 10 j 12 y +6z=12 bysubtr. 27#-f-14z=68 and 5 #+22 -=,32 hence 135 y + 70 2=340 andl35#+594z=864 bysubtr. 524 z= 524 z = 1 5 y -f 22 z = 32 that is, 5 y -f- 22 =32 5# = 32 22 = 10 10 that is, 2 x + 6 + 4 == 16 2# = 16 -6 4 The same method may be applied to any number of simple equations. That the unknown quantities may have definite values, there must be as many independent equations as unknown quan- tities. Thus, if a: -}- y = a, x = a y ; and assuming y at pleasure, we obtain a value of x, such that x-\- y = a. These equations must also be inde- pendent, that is, not deducible one from another. Let x -f- y = a, and 2a:+2# = 2a; the latter equation being deducible from the former, it involves no different sup- position, nor requires any thing more for its truth, than that x + y = a should be a just equation. PROBLEMS WHICH PRODUCE SIMPLE EQUATIONS. From certain quantities which are known, to investigate others which have a given relation to them, is the business of Algebra. When a question is proposed to be re- solved, we must first consider fully its- meaning and conditions. Then substi- tuting for such unknown quantities as ap- pear most convenient, we must proceed as if they were already determined, and we wished to try whether they would an- swer all the proposed conditions or not, till as many independent equations arise as we have assumed unknown quantities, which will always be the case, if the ques- tion be properly limited; and by the so- lution of these equations, the quantities sought will be determined. Prob. 1. To divide aline of 15 inches into two such parts, that one may be three- fourths of the other. Let 4 x = one part, then 3 x = the other, 7 x = 15, by the question, 15 *= f 60 4 4or= - = 8 -, one part, 45 3 3 x=.-~- = 6 , the other, Prob. 2. If Jl can perform a piece of- work in 8 clays, and n in 10 days, in what time will they finish it together ? ALGEBRA. Let x be the time required. In one day, JI performs - part of the work ; therefore, in x days he performs |j parts of it ; and in the same time, B performs -rr parts of it ; and calling the work 1, 10 x+8x=80 18 or=80 80 . 8 .4 Prob. 3. Ji and B play at bowls, and JI bets B three shillings to two upon every game; after a certain number of games, it appears that Ji has won three shillings ; but had he ventured to bet five shillings to two, and lost one game more out of the same number, he would have lost thirty shillings : how many games did they play ? C be the number of games ***{ .4 won, y the number B won, then 2 x is what JI won of B, and 3 y what B won of A. %x' 3 #=3, by the ques- tion ; _ 9 C JI would win on x A * t the 2d supposition y -\- 1 . 5 y li would win, 5y + 5 2x + 2=30, by the question ; or 5 y _ 2 x=30 5 2=23, therefore, 5 y 2 x=23 and 2 x 3 y=3 by addition, 5 # 3 #=26 2 y = 26 yLj3 2#= 3 + 3#=3-|-39 = 42 a: = 21 x -j- y = 34, the number of games. OJf QUADRATIC EQUATIONS. When the terms of an equation involve the square of an unknown quantity, but the first power does not appear, the value of the square is obtained by the preced- ing rules ; and by extracting the square root on both sides, the quantity itself is found. Ex. 1. Let 4 x 2 45=0; to find*. By trans. 5 x 2 .= 45 x 2 =9 therefore, x = The signs + and are both prefixed to the root, because the square root of a quantity may be either positive or nega- tive. The sign of x may also be nega- tive ; but still x will be either equal to + 3 or 3, Ex. 2. Let a x 2 =& c d; to find a-. \ a ) If both the first and second powers of the unknown quantity be found in an equation : Arrange the terms according to the dimensions of the unknown quanti- ty, beginning with the highest, and trans- pose the known quantities to the other side ; then, if the square of the unknown quantity be affected with a co-effici : nt, divide all the terms by this co-efficient ; and if its sign be negative, change the signs of all the terms, that the equation may be reduced to this form, x* p x =0: q. Then add to both sides the square of half the co-efficient of the first power of the unknown quantity, by which means the first side of the equation is made a complete square, and the other consists of known quantities ; and by extracting the square root on both sides, a simple equation is obtained, from which the value of the unknown quantity may be found. Ex. 1. Let x 1 + p x = q ; now, we know that x 2 + p x + is the square ofx+, add therefore, to both sides, and we have x 1 + p x -\.*L = q +P1 . then by extracting the square root on both sides, trans. In the same manner, if x 1 p is found to be Ex. 2. Let a: 1 12 x -f 35=0 ; to find x. By transposition, x 2 12 x = 35, and adding the square of 6 to both sides of the equation, x 1 - 12 x + 36 =r 36 35 = 1 ; then extracting the square root on both sides, ALGEBRA. x 6=1 x = 6 1 = 7 or 5; either of which, subsutuied for .- in the original equation, answers the condition, that is, makes the whole equal to nothing. Ex. 3. Let x + v/ (5 x + 10 == 8 ; to find jc. By transposition, v/ (5 .r -f- 10) = 8 x squar. both sides 5 x + 10 = 64 I6x + * 1 x i _ 21 x = 10 64 = 54 -*s 3 or 18. Ex. 6. Let y*+r */3+ = 0, 21 extracting the sq. root, .r 21 15 By this process two values of x are found, but on trial it appears, that 18 does not answer the condition of the equation, if we suppose that ^/ (5 x + 10) repre- sents the positive square root of 5 x + 10. The reason is, that 5 x + 10 is the square of ^/ (5 x + 10) as well as of + v/ (5 a? + 10) ; thus by squaring both sides of the equation ^/ (5 x + 10) = 8 x, a new condition is introduced, and a new value of the unknown quanti- ty corresponding to it, which had no place before. Here, 18 is the value which corresponds to the supposition that x V/(5;r+10)=8. Every equation, where the unknown quantity is found in two terms, and its in- dex in one is twice as great as|inthe other, may be resolved in the same manner. Ex. 4. Let 2+4 +4=21+4=25 27 When there are more equations and unknown quantities than one, a single equation, involving only one of the un- known quantities, may sometimes be ob- tained by the rules laid down for the so- lution of simple equations : and one of the unknown quantities being discovered, the others may be obtained by substituting its value in the preceding equations. Ex.7.Let X *+J 65 To find x and y. z^=5 2=3, or 7 therefore z=9, or 49. Ex. 5. Let y* 6y* 27 = 0. y4_6y-27 ^ 6^+9=27+9=36 F 1 3#=6 y 1 36=9, or 3 y=3, or ^/ 3. From the second equation, 2 x y=56 & adding this to the lst,o: 1 +2^+i/ l =121 sub. it from the same, a; 1 2.n/+i/ 2 ==9 by extracting the sq. roots, a+y= 11 and x y = 3 therefore, 2 x = 14 x=7, or 7 and y=4, or 4 PROBLEMS PRODUCING QUADRATIC EQ.UATIOXS. Prob. 1. To divide aline of 20 inches into two such parts, that the rectangle under the whole and one part may be equal to the square of the other. Let x be the greater part, then will 20 x be the less. and* 1 = (20 or). 20 = 400 20 x by the question. X* +20 or=400 # +20 .r+ 100=400+ 100=500 x= + V/500 10, or ^/ 500 10. Prob. 2. To find two numbers, whose sum, product, and the sum of whose squares, are equal to each other. Let x-\-y and x y be the numbers ; their sum is 2 x their product x 1 r/ s the sum of their sqs. 2 cc s =2 y 2 and by the question 2 x=2 x 1 +2 y"- or ar=x 1 + y 1 also, 2 x=x* y 1 therefore, 3 x=2 x 1 ALGEBRA. Since the square of every quantity is positive, a negative quantity has no square root ; the conclusion therefore shews that there are no such numbers as the ques- tion supposes. See BINOMIAL THEO- REM; EQUATIONS, nature of,- SERIES, SURDS, &c. 8cc. ALGEBRA, application of to geometry. The first and principal applications of al- gebra were to arithmetical questions and computations, as being the first and most useful science in all the concerns of hu- man life. Afterwards algebra was applied to geometry, and all the other sciences in their turn. The application of algebra to geometry is of two kinds; that which regards the plane or common geometry, and that which respects the higher geo- metry, or the nature of curve lines. The first of these, or the application of algebra to common geometry, is concern- ed in the algebraical solution of geome- trical problems, and finding out theorems in geometrical figures, by means of alge- braical investigations or demonstrations. This kind of application has been made from the time of the most early writers on algebra, as Diophantus, Cardan, &c. &c. down to the present times. Some of the best precepts and exercises of this kind of application are to be met with in Sir I. Newton's " Universal Arithmetic," and in Thomas Simpson's " Algebra and Select Exercises." Geometrical problems are commonly resolved more directly and ea- sily by algebra, than by the geometrical analysis, especially by young beginners; but then the synthesis, or construction and demonstration, is most elegant as de- duced from the latter method. Now it commonly happens, that the algebraical solution succeeds best in such problems as respect the sides and other lines in ge- ometrical figures ; and, on the contrary, those problems in which angles are con- cerned are best effected by the geome- trical analysis. Sir Isaac Newton gives among many other remarks on this branch. Having any problem proposed, compare together the quantities concern- ed in it; and making no difference be- tween the known andunknown quantities, consider how they depend, or are related to, one another ; that we may perceive what quantities, if they are assumed, will, by proceeding synthetically, give the rest, and that in the simplest manner. And in this comparison, the geometrical figure is to be feigned and constructed at random, as if all the parts were actually known or given, and any other lines drawn, that may appear to conduce to the easier and sim- pler solution of the problem. Having considered the method of computation, and drawn out the scheme, names are then to be given to the quantities enter- ing into the computation, that is, to some few of them, both known andunknown, from which the rest may most naturally and simply be derived or expressed, by means of the geometrical properties of figures, till an equation be obtained, by which the value of the unknown quantity may be derived by the ordinary methods of reduction of equations, when only one unknown quantity is in the notation ; or till as many equations are obtained as there are unknown letters in the notation. For example : suppose it were required to inscribe a square in a given triangle. Let ABC, (Plate Miscellanies, fig. 1.) be the given triangle: and feign DEFGto be the required square : also draw the per- pendicular BP of the triangle, which will be given, as well as all the sides of it. Then, considering that the triangles BAC, BEF are similar, it will be proper to make the notation as follows, viz. making the base A.C=6, the perpendicular BP=/>, and the side of the square DE or EF=a:. Hence then BQ=BP ED=/> x- consequently,by the proportionality of the parts of those two similar triangles, viz. BP : AC :: BQ : EF, it isp : b :: p X : X ; then, multiply extremes and means, &c. there arises p x=b p b x t or b x-{-p x =l> p, and x= , , the side of the square b-\-p sought ; that is, a fourth proportional to the base and perpendicular, and the sum of the two, taking this sum for the first term, or AC-j-BP : BP :: AC : EF. The other branch of the application of algebra to geometry was introduced by Descartes, in his Geometry, which is the new or higher geometry, and respects the nature and property of curve lines. In this branch, the nature of the curve is ex- pressed or denoted by an algebraic equa- tion, which is thus derived : A line is ALG ALG conceived to be drawn, as the diameter or some other principal line about the curve .- and upon any indefinite points of this line other lines are erected perpendi- cularly, which are called ordinates, whilst the parts of the first line cut off by them are called abscisses. Then, calling 1 any absciss .r, and its corresponding- ordinate t/, by means of the known nature, or rela- tions, of the other lines in the curve, an equation is derived, involving- x and y, with other given quantities in it. Hence, as x and y are common to every point in the primary line, that equation so derived will belong to every position or value of the absciss and ordinate, and so is proper- ly considered as expressing the nature of the curve in all points of it; and is com- monly called the equation of the curve. In this way it is found, that any curve line has a peculiar form of equation be- longing to it, and which is different from that of every other curve, either as to the number of the terms, the powers of the unknown letters x and y, or the signs or co-efficients of the terms of the equation. Thus, if the curve line HK, (fig. 2.) be a circle, of which HI is part of the diame- ter, and IK a perpendicular ordinate ; then put HI=x, IK y, and p = the diameter of the circle, the equation of the circle will be p x x-=y\ But if HK be an ellipse, an hyperbola, or parabola, the equation of the curve will be differ- ent, and for all the four curves will be respectively as follows : viz. For the circle . . . p x x^^y-, For the ellipse. . . p x *x*aty* s For the hyperbola p x-j--x i =z/ 1 , For the parabola . . p x - - - =y* where t is the transverse axis, and/; its parameter. And in like manner for other curves. This way of expressing the nature of curve lines, by algebraic equations, has given occasion to the greatest improve- ment and extension of the geometry of curve lines; for thus all the properties of algebraic equations, and their roots, are transferred and added to the curve lines, whose abscisses and ordinates have similar properties. -Indeed the benefit of this sort of application is mutual and re- ciprocal, the known properties of equa- tions being transferred to the curves they represent; and, on the contrary, the known properties of curves transferred to their representative equations Besides the use and application of the higher geometry, namely, of curve lines, to detecting the nature and roots of equa- tions, and to the finding the values of those roots by the geometrical construc- tion of curve lines, even common geome- try may be made subservient to the pur- poses of algebra. Thus, to take a very plain and simple instance, if it were re- quired to square the binomial a -|- b (fig. 3.) by forming a square, as in the figure, whose side is equal to a-\-b, or the two lines or parts added together de- noted by the letters a and b : and then drawing two lines parallel to the sides, from the points where the two parts join, it will be immediately evident that the whole square of the compound quantity a-}-b z is equal to the squares of both the parts, together with two rectangles under the two parts, or a'" and 6 1 and 2 a b, that is, the square of a-\-b is equal to a 1 -f-6 1 -f-2 a 6, as derived from a geome- trical figure or construction. And in this very manner it was, that the Arabi- ans, and the earlier European writers on algebra, derived and demonstrated the common rule for resolving compound quadratic equations. And thus also, in a similar way, it was, that Tartalea and Cardan derived and demonstrated all the rules for the resolution of cubic equa- tions, using cubes and parallelopipedons instead of squares and rectangles. Many other instances might be given of the use and application of geometry in algebra. ALGOL, the name of a fixed star of the third magnitude in the constellation Perseus, otherwise called Medusa's Head. This star has been subject to singular va- riations, appearing at different times on different magnitudes, from the fourth to the second, which is its usual appear- ance. These variations have been noticed with great accuracy, and the period of their return is determined to be 2 d 20 h 48' 56". The cause of this variation, Mr. Goodricke, who has attended closely to the subject, conjectures, may be either owing to the interposition of a large body revolving round Algol, or to some motion of its own, in consequence of which, part of its body, covered with spots or some such like matter, is periodically turned towards the earth. ALGORITHM, an Arabic term, not unfrequentlyusedto denote the practical rules of algebra, and sometimes for the practice of common arithmetic ; in which last sense it coincides with logistica nume- ALI ALK rails, or the art of numbering truly and readily. ALIEN, in law, a person born in a strange country, not within the king's al- legiance, in contradistinction from a deni- zen or natural subject. An alien is incapable of inheriting lands in England, till naturalized by an act of parliament. No alien is entitled to vote in the choice of members of parlia- ment, has a right to enjoy offices, or can be returned on any jury, unless where an alien is party in a cause ; and then the in- quest of jurors shall be one half denizens and the other aliens. Every alien neglecting the king's pro- clamation, directing him to depart from the realm within a limited time, shall, on conviction, for the first offence, be impri- soned for any time not exceeding one month, and not exceeding twelve months for the second; at the expiration of which, he shall depart within a time to be limit- ed : and if such alien be found therein after such time so limited, he or she shall be transported for life. ALIMENTARY duct, a name which some call the intestines, on account of the food's passing through them. See AlTATOMY. ALIMONY, alimoma, in law, denotes the maintenance sued for by a wife, in case of a separation from her husband, wherein she is neither chargeable with elopement nor adultery. ALIQUANT parts, in arithmetic, those which will not divide or measure the whole number exactly. Thus, 7 is an aliquant part of 16, for twice 7 wants 2 of 16, and three times 7 exceeds 16 by 5. ALIQUOT part, is such part of a num- ber as will divide and measure it exactly, without any remainder. For instance, 2 is an aliquot part of 4, 3 of 9, and 4 of 16. To find all the aliquot parts of a num- ber, divide it by its least divisor, and the quotient by its least divisor, until you get a quotient not farther divisible, and you will have all the prime divisors or ali- quot parts of that number. Thus, 60, divided by 2, gives the quotient 30, which divided by 2 gives 15, and 15 divided by 3 gives the indivisible quotient 5. Hence, the prime aliquot parts are 1, 2, 2, 3, 5; and by multiplying any two or three of these together, you will find the com- pound aliquot parts, viz. 4, 6, 10, 12, 15, 20, 30. Aliquot parts must not be confounded with commensurable ones; for though the former be all commensurable, yet these are not always aliquot parts : thus, 4 is commensurable with 6, but is not aa aliquot part of it. ALISMA, /5-ratf -water plantain, in bota- ny, a genus of the Hexandria Polyginia class of plants, the calyx of which is a pe- rianthium, composed of three oval, hollow, permanent leaves ; the corolla consists of three large, roundish, plane, and very pa- tent petals; the fruit consists of capsules, arranged together in a roundish or trigo- nal form : the seeds are single and small. There are nine species. ALKAHEST, or ALCAHEST, among chemists, denotes a universal menstruum, capable of resolving all bodies into theis ens primiim, or first matter ; and that with- out suffering any change, or diminution of force, by so doing. See ALCHEMY. ALKALI, in chemistry, a word applied to all bodies that possess the following properties : they change vegetable blue colours, as that of an infusion of violets, to green : they have an acrid and peculiar taste : they serve as intermedia between oils and water : they are capable of com- bining with acids, and of destroying theie acidity: they corrode woollen cloth, and, if the solution be sufficiently strong, re- duce it to jelly : and they are soluble in water. The alkalies at present known are three ; viz. ammonia, potash, and so- da : the two last are called fixed alkalies, because they require a red heat to vola- tilize them ; the other is denominated volatile alkali, because it readily assumes a gaseous form, and is dissipated by a very moderate degree of heat. Barytes, strontian, lime, and magnesia, have been denominated alkalies by Fourcroy ; but as they possess the striking character of earths in their fixity, this innovation does not seem entitled to general adoption. Since writing the above, some discove- ries of great importance, on the subject of alkalies, have been made known to the philosophical world by Mr. Davy, Pro- fessor of Chemistry at the Royal Institu- tion. We shall in this place give a sketch of the two papers which he has just laid before the Royal Society, referring to some subsequent articles for further par- ticulars. In a former discourse, read be- fore this learned body, Mr. Davy, in speaking of the agencies of electricity, suggested the probability, that other bo- dies not then enumerated might be de- composed by the electric fluid, fn the course of the last summer, this celebrat- ed philosopher was employed in making a number of experiments with this par- ticular view, and by means of very pow- erful galvanic troughs, consisting of a ALK ALL hundred pair of plates, six inches square, and one hundred and fifty pair, four inch- es square, he has succeeded in decompos- ing potash and soda. A more brilliant discovery has not been made since those which have immortalized the names of Priestley and Cavendish. This was ef- fected by placing moistened potash, or soda, on a plate of platina, and exposing it to the galvanic circle. Oxygen was dis- engaged, and the alkalies reduced to their primitive base, which is found to be a pe- culiar and highly inflammable matter, and which assumes the form and appearance of small globules of mercury. These glo- g-ules are, however, lighter than water, and when potash is used, they are in the proportion of 6 to 10. At the freezing point they are hard and brittle ; and when broken and examined by a microscope, they present a number of facettes, with the appearance of crystallization : at 40 Fahrenheit they are soft, and can scarce- ly be discriminated but by their gravity from globules of mercury ; at 60 they are fluid, and at the small heat of 100 volatile. When exposed to the atmo- sphere, they rapidly imbibe oxygen, and reassume the alkaline character. In dis- tilled naptha they may be preserved four or five days, but if ex'posed to the atmo- sphere, they almost instantly become in- crusted with a coat of alkali : the incrus- tation may be removed, and the reduced globule will remain, either in naptha, or otherwise separated from all contact with oxygen. See BITUMEN. One part of the base of alkali and two of mercury, estimated by bulk, form an amalgam, which, when applied in the cir- cle of a galvanic battery, producing an intense heat to iron, silver, gold, or pla- tina, immediately dissolved them, and converted them into oxides, in which pro- cess alkali was regenerated. Glass, as well as all other metallic bodies, was also dissolved by the application of this sub- stance : the base of the alkali seizing the oxygen of the manganese and of the mi- nium, potash was regenerated. One of these globules placed on a piece of ice dissolved it, and burnt with a bright flame, giving out an intense heat. Potash was found in the product of the dissolved ice. Nearly the same effects followed, when a globule was thrown into water : in both cases a great quantity of hydro- gen was rapidly liberated. When laid on a piece of moistened turmeric paper, the globule seemed instantly to acquire an in- tense heat ; but so rapid was its move- ment in quest of the moisture, that no part of the paper was burnt, only an in- tense deep red stain marked the course it followed, and showed a reproduction of alkali. The specific gravity of the base of soda is as seven to ten of water: it is fixed in a temperature of about 150, and fluid at 180. Mr. Davy next tried its effects on the phosphates, phosphurets, and many other salts of the first and se- cond degree of oxydizement, all of which it decomposed, seizing their oxygen, and reassuming its alkaline qualities. From many experiments it appears, that 100 parts of potash contain 15 of oxygen, and 85 of an inflammable base, and that the same quantity of soda contains 20 of oxy- gen, and 80 base. This ingenious chemist, after a great number of complex experi- ments, in which he was assisted by Messrs. Pepys and Allen, ascertained that oxygen is also an essential ingredient in ammo- nia; of which 100 grains appeared to yield 20 of oxygen. Mr. Davy has also found that oxygen is one of the constitu- ent principles of the earths barytes and strontites. See CHEMISTRY, POTASH, and SODA. ALLAMANDA, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and or- der : corolla twisted ; capsule, lens-form, erect, echinate, one-celled, two-valved, many-seeded. One species, viz. catharti- ca, a climbing plant, found in Guiana, near rivers. The infusion of its leaves is used in the cholic. ALLANTOIS, or ALLANTOIDES, in com- parative anatomy, a vesicle investing the fostus of several animals, as cows, sheep, goats, &c. and filled with a urinous liquor conveyed thither from the urachus. ALLEGIANCE, is the lawful duty from the subject to the sovereign ; and is either natural, as every subject born ought to pay ; acquired, where a man is naturaliz- ed ; local, which a man ought to pay who comes under the dominion of the king. ALLEGORY, in matters of literature, a mode or species of writing, wherein something else is signified than the words in their l : teral meaning express. An al- legory may be considered as a series or chain of metaphors, continued through a whole discourse For example, when the prophets represent the Jews under the allegory of a vine, planted, cultivated, and watered, by the hand of God, which, in- stead of producing good fruit, brings forth verjuice and sour grapes. ALLEGRO, in music, an Italian word, denoting that the part is to be played in a sprightly, brisk, lively, and guv manner. AUegroes move swifter in triple than in ALL ALL c 5 t Common time. Sometimes in conjunction with another word, placed at the begin- ning of compositions, it is intended to rouse and stimulate the more violent pas- sions. ALLEMANDE, in music, a slow air or melody in common time, of four crotchets in a bar. A species of composition, sup- posed from its name to be of German ori- gin. It is found in Handel's harpsichord lessons, and other works of about that date ; but as a sonata movement it is now obsolete. The dance known by this name is still used in Germany and .Switzerland, and is written in common time of two crotchets in a bar. ALLEN, (THOMAS,) a celebrated ma- thematician of the 16th century. He was born at Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, in 1542; was admitted a scholar of Trinity Col- lege, Oxford, in 1561 ; where he took his degree of master of arts in 1567. In 1570 he quitted his college and fellowship, and retired to Gloucester Hall, where he stu- died very closely, and became famous for his knowledge in antiquities, philosophy, and mathematics. He received an invita- tion from Henry, earl of Northumberland, a great friend and patron of the mathe- maticians, and he spent some time at the Karl's house, where he became acquaint- ed with those celebrated mathematicians, Thomas Harriot, John Dee, Walter War- ner, and Nathaniel Torporley. Robert, Earl of Leicester, too, had a great esteem for Allen, and would have conferred a bishopric upon him ; but his love for soli- tude and retirement made him d ecline the offer. His great skill in the mathematics, gave occasion to the ignorant and vulgar to look upon him as a magician or conju- rer. Allen was very curious and indefati- gable in collecting scattered manuscripts relating to history, antiquity, astronomy, philosophy, and mathematics ; which col- lections have been quoted by several learned authors, and mentioned as in the Bibliotheca Alleniana. He published in Latin the second and third books of Pto- lemy, " Concerning the Judgment of the Stars," or, as it is usually called, of the quadripartite construction, with an expo- sition. He wrote also notes on many of Lilly's books, and some on John Bale's work, "De Scriptoribus Mag. Brittan- niae." He died at Gloucester Hall in 1632, being 90 years of age. Mr. Burton, the author of his funeral oration, calls him " the very soul and sun )f all the mathematicians of his age." ^nd Selden mentions him as a person of he most extensive learning and consum- nate judgment, the brightest ornament of VOL. T the University of Oxford. Also Camdert says, he was skilled in most of the best arts and sciences. A. Wood has also transcribed part of his character from a manuscript in the library of Trinity Col- lege, in these words : " He studied polite literature with great application ; he was strictly tenacious of academic discipline, always highly esteemed both by foreign- ers and those of the university, and by all of the highest stations of the church of England, and the University of Oxford. He was a sagacious observer, an agreea- ble companion," &c. ALLIGATION, in arithmetic, is the rule of mixture, which teaches to com- pound several species of ingredients or commodities together, according to any intent or design proposed ; and is either medial or alternate. ALLIGATION, medial, shews the rate or price of any mixtures, \vhen.the several quantities of the mixture, and their rates, are known. Rule : multiply each quantity given by the price ; and then, by direct proportion, say s as the sum of the quantities given to the sum of the products ; so is any part of the mixture to the value of that part. Example : a goldsmith melts 3 ounces of gold, at4J. 6s. 8d, per ounce, with twelve ounces at 4-1. per ounce ; and 8 ounces at 41. 5s. per ounce : when they are all melted together, one ounce will be found to be worth 4,1. 2s. --d. Thus, 12 8 I. s. 4 o 450 d. P ruduce 34 23 Sum oz. I. Then as 23 : 95 : : 1 Sum 95 iz. I. s. d. 4 2 7-jTj Ans. ALLIGATION, alternate, teaches to mix goods of different prices, in such propor- tion, that the mixture may be sold for any price proposed. Rule : set down the names of the things to be mixed, together with their prices ; then finding the difference between each of these, and the proposed price of the mixture, place these differences in an al- ternate order, and they will show the pro- portion of the ingredients. ALLIONIA, in botany, so called in ho- nour of Charles Allioni, professor of bota- ny at Turin, a genus of the Tetrandria Monogynia class and order, of the natural order of Aggregate ; the calyx is a peri- anthium common to three flowers ; and the perianthium proper is obsolete supe- Q ALL ALL rior; the corolla proper, one-petalled, funnel-shaped, and erect; the stamina have setaceous filaments ; anthers round- ish ; the pistillum has a germ inferior, ob- long, style setaeeous, longer than the sta- mens, stigma multifid and linear, no peri- carpium ; seeds solitary, the receptacle naked. There are two foreign species, described by Willdenow, viz. the A. vio- lacea, and A. incarnata. The American species described by Pursh are three in number, viz. A. nyctaginea, A. albida, and A. ovata. The first is found on the banks "of the river Tenessee ; the second in lower Carolina; the third found by Meri- wether Lewis on the plains of the Mis- souri. ALLIOTH, a star in the tail of the Greater Bear, much used tor finding the latitude at sea. ALLITERATION, in rhetoric, is a fi- gure, or decoration in language, chiefly used in poetry, and consisting in the re- petition of the same letter or letters at certain intervals, whence the name is de- rived. ALLIUM, garlic, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and or- der ; the calyx is a common sheath, and many-flowered ; the corolla consists of six dblong petals ; the stamina have six fila- ments, generally of the length of the co- rolla; the anthers are oblong and upright; the pistillum has a germ, superior, short, bluntly three-cornered ; the pericarpium is a capsule, short, broad, three-celled and three-valved; the seeds are many and round. There are 53 species, according to Willdenow, distributed into several divisions. The common garlic ha$ a large round white bulbous root of an irregular form, with numerous fibres at the bottom, composed of many smaller bulbs denomi- nated cloves, which are included in a common membranous covering, each of which being planted, grows, and in one season attains the size and structure of the parent bulb ; the leaves are cauline, or form a kind of stalk, which seldom spindles, except when the same roots re- main in the ground two or three years, when they run up and bear a flower and small bulbs at the top. It deserves to be cultivated in the garden for the sake of its root, which is in great estimation for culinary and other domestic purposes. Indeed, the roots, as well as all the other parts of the plant, have a very acrid taste, with an highly offensive smell, which has rendered its cultivation in gardens less desirable. It is a hardy plant, capable of growing in most sorts of soils and situa- tions, and readily propagated either by roots or seeds. Rocambole has very small compound bulbs, which grow in clusters; the stalk generally spindling two or three feet high, with many bulbs at its summit, which, as well as the root bulbs, are useful for the same purposes as garlic, though much in- ferior. The latter, or the flowery kinds, have the flower-stems rising immediately from the root, growing erect, and attain- ing different heights, from twelve to thir-^ ty inches ; in some the leaves are radical, in others cauline, or elevated with the stalk; some are broad like those of a tu- lip, others long and narrow like a daffo- dil, and some taper and rush-like ; but in all the sorts the stems are terminated by a sort of sheath, from which is protruded an aggregate of many small flowers, form- ing a kind of umbel. The flowers singly are composed each of six petals, which, though separately small, from many be- ing collected into large heads, are very conspicuous. Of the second division, or the onion kind, the characters, &c. of which are the same as those of garlic, the species are these : 1. Cepa, or com- mon onion; the best garden varieties of which are, the Strasburgh or common round onion, the oval or long-keeping common onion, the Spanish large flat onion, the Spanish silken skinned onionl the Spanish red-skinned onion, and the Portugal great roundish oval onion. 2. Fistulosum, or the ciboule, or Welsh on- ion. 3. Schacnoprasum, cives or chives. 4. Ascalonicum, eschalot or schallot. 5. Canadcnse, or Canada-tree onion. All the first species and varieties have large bul- bous roots, and the plants are biennial, or, being sown in the spring, arrive at per- fection in the root the same year, and next year shoot up into stalk, flower and ripen seed, when the stalks quickly die, and the individuals are annihilated. But the second and third species never form any bulbs at bottom ; they are, how- ever, hardy and perennial, and may be continued many years. And the fourth and fifth species are bulbous rooted pe- rennials, multiplying greatly by off-sets, as is evident from their culture. Ciboule, or Welsh onion. This is a pe- rennial plant, which never forms any bulb at bottom ; therefore deserves to be cul- tivated only to be drawn as young* green onions for salads, 8cc. in spring ; but, on account of its strong taste, it is greatly inferior to those of the common onion. From the plants being so extremely har- dy a$ to survive the severest winter, in ALL ALL v/hieh, though the blades be cut off, the roots remain sound, and shoot forth with great vigour early in spring, furnishing seasonable supplies till May, when they generally run to seed. From this singu- lar hardness they may be cultivated more or less as a winter standing crop, with advantage, for spring use. Cives, or chives. This is the smallest of all the onion kind, rising but a few inches high, but its roots are perennial, and increase considerably into clusters, from which large tufts of slender awl- shaped leaves issue, which are the prin- cipal part used, the roots never forming any bulb, at least not bigger than small peas. This is a hardy plant, which me- rits a place in every garden. Its clusters of leaves rise early in spring, and are use- ful both in salads and foi* culinary pur- poses, in default of onions. The method of gathering it is, to cut the leaves off near the ground, by which a fresh supply is soon produced from the bottom ; or oc- casionally the plants in clusters may be slipped quite to the root in separate lit- tle plants, resembling young onions, and used as substitutes for them. It is easily increased by dividing the roots in spring, and planting eight or ten of them toge- ther in holes, at six inches distance ; in this way, by autumn, they will multiply in- to bunches of a large size. Eschalot, or schallot. This is a species of onion which is bulbous-rooted, and which increases greatly by off-sets, the largest of which are the proper parts of the plant for use. The bulbs are oblong, irregular, and seldom grow large ; as they generally increase into clusters, they do not swell like roots that grow singly. From the roots are produced many long, narrow, infirm leaves in the spring, and which wither in July or August, when the roots are full grown . they are then taken up, made dry, and housed, when they keep in good perfection till the following spring. Canada, or tree-onion. This deserves to be cultivated, both as a curiosity in. producing the onion at the top of the stalk, and for the use of the onions, es- pecially for pickling, in which they are ex- cellent, and superior in flavour to the common onion. It is perennial, and pro- pagated by planting the bulbs in spring or autumn. Either the root-bulbs, or those produced on the top of the stalk, being planted in a bed or beds of any good earth, in rows a foot asunder, six inches distance in each row, and two or three inches deep, they shoot up leaves and stalks in the spring and summer, and produce the ; bulbs, for use in July or August ; and the root-bulbs remaining, furnish a produc- tion of top-bulbs, annually, in that season ; the root-bulb increasing by off-sets, may be taken up occasionally at the time the stem decays in autumn ; or once in two or three years, in order to separate the off-sets, and replant them when necessary. The leek is the third division of the ge- nus, the general characters of which are the same as those before described, and the species and varieties are, the porrum, or common leek, which may be said to be an annual-biennial plant ; for although the roots often survive after perfecting seeds, yet the plants always attain perfec- tion the same year they are sown, and the year afterwards run up to stalk, and be- come unfit for use. The seed-stalk of this plant does not belly like that of the onion. The best of the varieties of this plant for general culture is the broad- leaved or London leek, which attains a large growth, the neck acquiring a thick substance, in length from six to nine or ten inches, dividing upwards into many large, long, thick leaves, arranging them- selves in somewhat of a fan-shape. There are seven species indigenous in America, and described byPursh, TJIZ. : 1. A. vi- neaje, common in old fields. 2. A. fra- grans, (which is A. inodorum of Botani- cal Magazine 1129, and A. mutabile of Michaux's fl. Ame. 1 p. 195) found on the mountains of Virginia snd Corolina. 3. A. striatum (which is A. ornithogaloides of Halt's fl. Car. 121, and ornithogalum bivalve of Lin.) native in Virginia and Carolina. 4. A. angulosum, found on the banks of the Missouri by Lewis and Nut- tall. 5. A. triflorum, found in shady woods and high mountains of Pennsylva- nia. 6. A. canadense, found in fields and woods from Canada to Carolina. 7. A. tricoccon, found in shady woods, Penn- sylvania to Virginia. ALLODIAL, an epithet given to an in- heritance held without any acknowledg- ment to a lord or superior, in opposition to feudal. ALLODIUM, or ALLEUD, denotes lands which are the absolute property of their owner, without being obliged to pay any service oracknowledgment whatever to a superior lord ; in which sense they stand opposed to feudal lands, which pay a fee to some superior. ALLOPHYLUS, in botany, a genus of the Octandria Monogynia class of plants^ the calyx of which is a perianthium com- posed of four leaves of an orbicular figure, ALL ALM and two opposite ones smaller than the others ; the corolla consists of four petals, less than the cup, of an orbicular figure, and equal one to another, with large un- gues, of the same length with the smaller leaves of the cup. There are three spe- cies : A. zeylanicus is a tree having 1 the appearance of persea, and a native of Cey- lon. A. cominia vises 30 feet in height, with a stem as thick as a man's thigh, with numerous flowers, to which succeed berries the size of a pin's head, with shell and kernel , grows plentifully in Jamaica. A. ternatus is a native of Cochin China. ALLOY, or ALLAT, a proportion of a baser metal mixed with a finer one. Thus all gold coin has an alloy of silver and copper, as silver coin has of copper alone ; the proportion in the former case, for standard gold, being two carats of alloy in a pound troy of gold ; and in the latter, 18 penny weights of alloy for a pound troy of silver. According as gold or silver has more or less alloy than that mentioned above, it is said to he coarser or finer than the standard. However, it ought to be re- marked, that the coin of different nations varies greatly in this respect ; some using a larger, and others a less proportion of alloy, the original intention of which was to give the coir, a due degree of hardness. ALLOY, in a chemical sense, may be de- fined a combination of two or more me- tals into one homogeneous mass, not se- parable from each other by mere heat. The most valuable and useful of these are, brass, type-metal, tutenag, bronze, spe- culum metal, for which see the different articles. If two metals being fused toge- ther produce a mass, whose specific gra- vity is either greater orless than the mean specific gravity of its elements, the result is an alloy, or proper chemical combina- tion. One of the most striking proofs of actual combination between the parts of an alloy is, a remarkable increase of fusi- bility. This, in almost all cases, is much greater than could be inferred from the mean fusibility of its component parts. Thus, equal parts of tin and iron will melt at the same temperature as is required for equal parts of tin and copper, notwith- standing the great difference between the fusing heat of copper and iron, when they are each of them pure. So also an alloy of tin, bismuth, and lead, in the propor- tion of 3, 8, and 5, will melt in boiling water, which is a less heat than is neces- sary for the liquefactien of bismuth, the most fusible of the three. The oxyda- bility of an alloy is generally either great- er or less than that of the unmixed me- tals. Tin and lead mixed will, at a low red heat, take fire, and oxydate immediately. ALLUSION, in rhetoric, a figure by which something is applied to, or under- stood of another, on account of some si- militude between them. ALLUVIAL, by alluvial depositions is meant the soil which has been formed by the destruction of mountains, and the washing down of their particles by tor- rents of water. The alluvial formations constitute the great mass of the earth's surface. They have been formed by the gradual action of rain or river water up- on the other formations. They may be divided into two kinds, viz. those depo- sited in the vallies and mountainous dis- tricts, or upon elevated plains, which of- ten occur in mountains; and those depo- sited upon flat land. The first kind con- sists of sand, gravel, &c. which constitut ed the more solid parts of the neighbour- ing mountains and which remained when the less solid parts have been washed away. They sometimes contain ores, particularly gold and tin, which existed in the neighbouring mountains. The se- cond kind consists of loam, clay, sand, turf, and calctuff. Here are also earth and brown coal, in which amber isfound, wood coal, bituminous wood, and bog-iron ore. The sand contains some metals. The calctuff' contains plants, roots, moss, bones, &c. which it has incrusted. The clay and sand often contain petrified wood, and skeletons of quadrupeds. ALLUVION, among civilians, denotes the gradual increase of land along the sea-shore, or on the banks of rivers. This, when slow and imperceptible, is deemed a lawful means of acquisition : but when a considerable portion of land is torn a- way at once by the violence of the cur- rent, and joined to a neighbouring estat3,it may be claimed again by the formerowner. ALMAGEST, the name of a celebrated book composed by Ptolemy ; being a col- lection of a great number of the observa- tions and problems of the ancients, relat- ing to geometry and astronomy, but espe- cially the latter ; and being the first work of this kind which has come down to us, and containing a catalogue of the fixed stars, with their places, besides numerous records and observations of eclipses, the motions of the planets, &c. it will ever be held dear and valuable to the cultivators of astronomy. See PTOLEMY. In the original Greek it is called consonants are added, the number will be twenty-six; the French twenty-three ; the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan, twenty- two each ; the Arabic, twenty-eight; the Persian, thirty-one ; the Turkish, thirty- three ; the Georgian, thirty-six; the Cop- tic, thirty-two ; the Muscovite, forty- three ; the Greek, twenty -four ; the La- tin, twenty-two; the Sclavonic, twenty- seven ; the Dutch, twenty-six ; the Span- ish, twenty-seven ; the Italian, twenty ; the Ethiopic, as well as Tartarian, two- hundred and two ; the Indians of Bengal, twenty-one ; the Baramos, nineteen ; the Chinese, properly speaking, have no al- phabet, except we call their whole lan- guage their alphabet; their letters are words, or rather hieroglyphics, and amount to about 80,000. If alphabets had been constructed by ALP ALP able persons, after a full examination of the subject, they would not have been filled with such contradictions between the manner of writing- and reading as we have shown above, nor with those imper- fections that evidently appear in the al- phabets of every nation. Mr. Lodowick, however, and Bishop Wilkins, have en- deavoured to obviate all these, in their universal alphabets or characters. See CHARACTER. It is no wonder that the number of let- ters in most languages should be so small, and that of words so great, since it ap- pears, that, allowing only 24 letters to an alphabet, the different words or combina- tions that may be made out of them, ta- king them first one by one, then two by two, &.c. &c. would amount to the follow- ing number: 1391, 724288, 887252, 999425, 128493, 4022000. See COMBI- NATION. It must be admitted, neverthe- less, that the condition, that every sylla- ble must contain at least one vowel, would modify this number in the way of denomination ; but on the other hand, the combinations in polysyllabic words would operate the contrary way. Many learned authors have composed inquiries into the origin of alphabetic writing, and not a few have referred the invention to the immediate inspiration of God. Nevertheless, it appears to be a very simple and direct improvement of the hieroglyphic art. Sensible objects are depicted in outlines by children, and most rude nations ; and, as in the con- struction of languages, so in this writing by figures, substantives will come to be used adjectively, to denote relations or qualities. As words become more com- plex and less perfect by the use of ab- stractions, so likewise must the hiero- glyphic picturesbecome combined and im- perfect, and at length must have denoted things very different from any object ca- pable of being delineated ; and, among other consequences, there is one very striking ; namely, that the picture, after degenerating into a sign or character, will be associated by memory with the oral character, or name, or correspondent word. An immediate step after this must be, that characters associated with mono- syllabic words will be frequently put to- g-ether to form polysyllabic words, in which the picture is left out of the consi- deration, and the sound alone forms the subject of the record, (as if the charac- ters for man and eye were united to form the word many, or multitudinous.) And lastly, habit must in fact have o-iven a VOL. r. preference, in the composition of these polysyllabic words, to such simple sounds and their characters as were found to be most extensively useful. That is to say, an unintentional process of analysis must have thus given rise to the alphabet. The sounds of language are modified by articulation, which depends on certain gross, and in genaral obvious changes in the figure of the organs ; and by accent or mere intensity ; and by intonation or music. The first of these, as used in discourse, is much more capable of having its variations marked by characters than the others; and from this circumstance, it is found that the alphabet can deliver with correctness the words of sach lan- guages as communicate chiefly by articu- lation ; but in languages where the same articulated monosyllable denotes a great variety of things, according to the accent or intonation, there will be comparatively few instances of depicted sound, and the system of writing will continue to be hieroglyphic, or rather symbolic, in all its improvements. This system is, for the reason here mentioned, in use in China, and does not seem inferior to the alpha- bet, but in some respects more advanta- geous. ALPHABET is also used for a cypher, or table of the usual letters of the alpha- bet, with the corresponding secret cha- racters, and other blank symbols, intend- ed to render the writing more difficult to be decyphered. See the article DECI- PHERING. ALPHABET, among merchants, a kind of index, with the twenty-four letters in their natural order, in which are set down the names of those who have opened ac- counts, referringto the folios of theledger. ALPHONSINE tables, astronomical ta- bles, calculated by order of Alphonsus, King of Castile, in the construction of which that prince is supposed to have contributed his own labour. ALPINA, in botany, a genus of the Monandria Monogynia class of plants, the corolla whereof is monopetalous, un- equal, and as it were double ; the exte- rior one is trifid, the upper segment is hollow, the two side ones flat, and it has a tube ; the interior is short, its edge is trifid, and the lower segment of the three hangs out beyond the lateral parts of the exterior corolla, the other two are emar- ginated, and the base is ventricose ; the fruit is a fleshy capsule, of an ovated figure, composed of three valves, and containing three cells ; the seeds are nu- merous, of an ovated figure, with a pro- R ALP ALP 4 lve of most parts of Europe, and is found \vith us very common in pastures and meadows. It is perennial, and flowers in May. This is the best g'rass to be sown m low meadow grounds, or in boggy places which have been drained. It is grateful to cattle, and possesses the three great requisites of quantity, quality, and earliness, in a degree superior to any other, and is therefore highly deserving of cultivation in lands that are proper for "it. The seed may be easily collected, as >tdoes not quit the chaff', and the spikes are very prolific ; but the larvae of a spe- cies of fluiscse, which are themselves the prey of the cimex campestris, devour the seeds so much, that in many spikes scarce- ly one is found perfect. A. agrestis is a very troublesome weed in cultivated ground, and among wheat it is execrated by farmers under the name of blackbent: it is also common by way sides, as well as in corn fields, and in pastures in the Isle of Wight. It has acquired the name of mouse-tail grass in English, from the great length and slendernessof the spike, Which resembles the tail of a mouse. It is annual, and flowers in July, continues flowering till autumn, and comes into bloom very soon after being sown. ALPHABET, in matters of literature, the natural or accustomed series of the several letters of a language. As alphabets were not contrived with design, or according to the just rules of analogy and reason, but have been suc- cessively framed and altered, as occasion required, it is not surprising that many grievous complaints have been heard of iheir deficiencies, and divers attempts made to establish new and more adequate cnes in their place. All the alphabets extant are charged by Bishop Wilkins with great irregularities, with respect both to order, number, pow- er, figure, &c. As to the order, it appears (says he) .nartificial, precarious, and confused, as the vowels and consonants are not redu- ced into classes, with such order of pre- cedence and subsequence as their natures will bear. Of this imperfection, the Greek alphabet, which is one of the least defective, is far from being free: for in- stance, the Greeks should have separated the consonants from the vowels; after the vowels they should have placed the diphthongs, and then the consonants ; whereas, in fact, the order is so perverted that we find the *,,<*0v,the fifteenth letter an order of the alphabet, and the *tf7 or long o, the twenty -fourth and last, the e the fifth, and the the seventh. With respect to the number, they are both redundant and deficient; redundant, by allotting the same sound to several letters, as in the Latin c and k,f and ph ; or by reckoning double letters among the simple elements of speech, as in the Greek | and ^ the Latin q or cu, x or ex, and the j consonant ; deficient in many respects, particularly with regard to vow- els, of which seven or eight kinds are commonly used, though the Latin alpha- bet takes notice only of five. Add to this, that the difference among them, with re- gard to long and short, is not sufficiently provided against. The powers, again, are not more ex- empt from confusion ; the vowels, for in- stance, are generally acknowledged to have each of them several different sounds ; and among the consonants we need only bring, as evidence of theirdif- ferent pronunciation, the letter c in the word circa, and g in the word negligence. Hence it happens, that some words are differently "written, though pronounced in the same manner, as cessio and sessio ; and others are different in pronunciation, which are the same in writing, AS give, dare, &nd give, vincuhtm. Finally, the figures are but ill-concert- ed, there being nothing in the characters of the vowels answerable to the different manner of pronunciation ; nor in the con- sononts analagous to their agreements or disagreements. Alphabets of different nations vary in the number of their constituent letters. The English alphabet contains twenty- four letters, to which if,; andv consonants are added, the number will be twenty-six; the French twenty-three ; the Hebrew, Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan, twenty- two each ; the Arabic, twenty-eight; the Persian, thirty-one ; the Turkish, thirty- three ; the Georgian, thirty-six; the Cop- tic, thirty-two; the Muscovite, forty- three ; the Greek, twenty-four ; the La- tin, twenty-two; the Sclavonic, twenty- seven ; the Dutch, twenty-six ; the Span- ish, twenty-seven; the "Italian, twenty; the Ethiopic, as well as Tartarian, two- hundred and two ; the Indians of Bengal, twenty-one ; the Raramos, nineteen ; the Chinese, properly speaking, have no al- phabet, except we call their whole lan- guage their alphabet; their letters are words, or rather hieroglyphics, and amount to about 80,000. If alphabets had been constructed by ALP ALP able persons, after a full examination of the subject, they would not have been filled with such contradictions between the manner of writing- and reading as we have shown above, nor with those imper- fections that evidently appear in the al- phabets of every nation. Mr. Lodowick, however, and Bishop Wilkins, have en- deavoured to obviate all these, in their universal alphabets or characters. See CHARACTER. It is no wonder that the number of let- ters in most languages should be so small, and that of words so great, since it ap- pears, that, allowing only 24 letters to an alphabet, the different words or combina- tions that may be made out of them, ta- king them first one by one, then two by two, &,c. &c. would amount to the follow- ing number: 1391, 724288, 887252, 999425, 128493, 4022000. See COMBI- NATION. It must be admitted, neverthe- less, that the condition, that every sylla- ble must contain at least one vowel, would modify this number in the way of denomination ; but on the other hand, the combinations in polysyllabic words would operate the contrary way. Many learned authors have composed inquiries into the origin of alphabetic writing, and not a few have referred the invention to the immediate inspiration of God. Nevertheless, it appears to be a very simple and direct improvement of the hieroglyphic art. Sensible objects are depicted in outlines by children, and most rude nations ; and, as in the con- struction of languages, so in this writing by figures, substantives will come to be used adjectively, to denote relations or qualities. As words become more com- plex and less perfect by the use of ab- stractions, so likewise must the hiero- glyphic picturesbecome combined and im- perfect, and at length must have denoted things very different from any object ca- pable of being delineated ; and, among other consequences, there is one very striking ; namely, that the picture, after degenerating into a sign or character, will be associated by memory with the oral character, or name, or correspondent word. An immediate step after this must be, that characters associated with mono- syllabic words will be frequently put to- gether to form polysyllabic words, in which the picture is left out of the consi- deration, and the sound alone forms the subject of the record, (as if the charac- ters for man and eye were united to form the word many, or multitudinous.) And lastly, habit must in fact have e;iven a VOL. r, preference, in the composition of these polysyllabic words, to such simple sounds and iheir characters as were found to be most extensively useful. That is to say, an unintentional process of analysis must have thus given rise to the alphabet. The sounds of language are modified by articulation, which depends on certain gross, and in genaral obvious changes in the figure of the organs; and by accent or mere intensity ; and by intonation or music. The first of these, as used in discourse, is much more capable of having its variations marked by characters than the others; and from this circumstance, it is found that the alphabet can deliver with correctness the words of sach lan- guages as communicate chiefly by articu- lation ; but in languages where the same articulated monosyllable denotes a great variety of things, according to the accent or intonation^ there will be comparatively few instances of depicted sound, and the system of writing will continue to be hieroglyphic, or rather symbolic, in all its improvements. This system is, for the reason here mentioned, in use in China, and does not seem inferior to the alpha- bet, but in some respects more advanta- geous. ALPHABET is also used for a cypher, or table of the usual letters of the alpha- bet, with the corresponding secret cha- racters, and other blank symbols, intend- ed to render the writing more difficult to be decyphered. See the article DECT- PHERIIfG. ALPHABET, among merchants, a kind of index, with the twenty-four letters in their natural order, in which are set down the names of those who have opened ac- counts, referringto the folios of the ledger. ALPHONSINE tables, astronomical ta- bles, calculated by order of Alphonsus, King 1 of Castile, in the construction of which that prince is supposed to have contributed his own labour. ALPINA, in botany, a genus of the Monandria Monogynia class of plants, the corolla whereof is monopetalous, un- equal, and as it were double ; the exte- rior one is trifid, the upper segment is hollow, the two side ones flat, and it has a tube ; the interior is short, its edge is trifid, and the lower segment of the three hangs out beyond the lateral parts of the exterior corolla, the other two are emar- ginated, and the base is ventricose ; the fruit is a fleshy capsule, of an ovated figure, composed of three valves, and containing three cells ; the seeds are nu- merous, of an ovated figure, with a pro- R ALS ALT roinent but truncated apex, and a cauda- ted base. There are seven species. ALSIME, chick-weed, in botany, a ge- nus of the Pentandria Trigynia class and order, and the natural order of Caryo- phyllei : its characters are, that the calyx is a five-leaved perianthium, leaflets con- cave, oblong and acuminate : the corolla has five equal petals, longer than the calyx ; the stamina consists of capillary filaments, the anthers roundish ; the pis- tillum has a subovate germ, styles filiform, and stigmas obtuse; the pericarpium is an otate, one-celled, three-valved, cap- sule, covered with the calyx ; the seeds are very many and roundish. There are five species, of which the following is the principal. A. media, common chick- weed, with the petals bipartite, and leaves ovate cordate. The number of stamens in the flower of the common chick-weed is uncertain, from three to ten. This spe- cies in different soils and situations as- sumes different appearances ; but it is distinguished from the cerastiums, which it most resembles, by the number of pis- tils, and by having the petals shorter than the leaves of the calyx, and from all the plants related to it, and particularly the steliaria nemorum, by having the stalk alternately hairy on one side only. Dr. Withering refers it to the steliaria, with which genus it agrees in various respects, and especially in the capsules opening with six valves. He observes, that it grows almost in all situations, from damp and almost boggy woods, to the driest gravel walks in gardens; but in these various states its appearances are very different, so that those who have only ta- ken notice of it as garden chick-weed would hardly know it in woods, where it sometimes exceeds half a yard in height, and has leaves near two inches long and more than one inch broad. In its truly wild state, he says, in damp woods, and hedge bottoms, with a north- ern aspect, it has almost always ten sta- mens; but in drier soils and more sunny exposures, the stamens are usually five or three. When the flowers first open, the peduncles are upright ; as the flowers go off* they hang down ; and when the seeds ripen, they again become upright. Dr. Withering observes, that the flowers are upright, and open from nine in the morn- ing till noon ; but if it rains, they do not open. After rain they become pendent ; but in the course of a few days rise again. In gardens or dunghills, chick-weed sheds abundance of seeds, which are round, compressed, yellow, and rough, with lit- the tubercles : and thus becomes a trou blesome weed ; but if it be not suffered to seed, it may be destroyed, as it is annual, without much trouble. This species is a remarkable instance of the sleep of plants; for every night the leaves approach in pairs, including with their upper surfaces the tender rudiments of the new shoots ; and the uppermost pair but one, at the end of the stalk, is furnished with longer leaf-stalks than the others, so that they cun close upon the terminating pair, and protect the end of the branch The young shoots and leaves, when boiled, can scarcely be distinguished from spring spinach, and are equally wholesome. Swine are very fond of it ; cows and hor- ses eat it ; sheep are indifferent to it ; and goats refuse it. This plant is found wild in most parts of the world. It is annual, and flowers almost through the whole year. ALSTONIA, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Monogynia class and order. Essen, char, corol. one-petalled, eight or ten cleft: clefts alternated. There is but one species, a shrub found in South Ame- rica. It is very smooth, and has the air of the bohea-tea, in the leaves, calyxes, and situations of the flowers. The dried leaves taste like those of Chinese tea. ALSTROEMERIA, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and order : cor. six-petalled, somewhat two- lipped ; the lower petals tubular at the base; stamina declined. There are six species, all found in South America. ALT, in music, a term applied to that part of the great scale of sounds, which lies between F above the treble-cleft note and G in altissimo. ALTAR, a. place upon which sacrifices were anciently offered to some deity. The heathens at first made their altars only of turf; in following times they were made of stone, of marble, of wood, and even of horn, as that of Apollo in Delos. Altars differed in figure as well as in ma- terials. Some were round, others square, and others oval. All of them were turn- ed towards the east, and stood lower than the statues of the gods, and were gene- rally adorned with sculpture, inscriptions, and the leaves and flowers of the particu- lar tree consecrated to the deity. Thus, the altars of Jupiter were decked with oak, those of Apollo with laurel, those of Venus with myrtle, and those of Minerva with olive. The height of altars also differed ac- cording to the different gods to whom they sacrificed. Those of the celestial ALT ALU gods were raised to a great height above the ground ; those appointed for the ter- restrial were almost on a level' with the surface of the earth; and, on the contra- ry, they dug a hole for the altars of the infernal gods. According to Servius, the first were called altaria, the second ane, and the last crobiculi ; but this distinction is not every where observed, for we find in the best authors, the word am, as a ge- neral word, including the altars of celes- tial, infernal, and terrestrial gods. Before temples were in use, altars were erected sometimes in groves, sometimes in the highways, and sometimes on the tops of mountains ; and it was a custom to engrave upon them the name, proper ensign, or character of the deity to whom they were consecrated. Thus, St. Paul observed an altar at Athens, with an in- scription To tlie unfcnoiun God. In the great temples of ancient Rome, there were ordinarily three altars ; the first was placed in the sanctuary, at the foot of the statue of the Divinity, upon which incense was burnt, and libations of- fered ; the second was before the gate of the temple, and upon it they sacrificed the victims : and the third was a portable altar, upon which were placed the offer- ings and the sacred vessels. Besides these uses of the altars, the an- cients swore upon them, and swore by them, in making alliances, confirming treaties of peace, and on other solemn occasions. Altars also served as a place of refuge and sanctuary to all those who fled to them, whatever crime they had committed. ALTAR is also used, among Christians, for the communion-table. ALTERNATE, in heraldry, is said in respect of the situation of the quarters. Thus the first and fourth quarters, and the second and third, are usually of the same nature, and are called alternate quarters. ALTERNATION is used for the dif- ferent ways which any number of quanti- ties may be changed, or combined. See COMBINATION. ALTHJEA, marsh-mallow, in botany, a genus of plants, with a double calyx, the exterior one being divided into nine seg- ments; the fruit consists of numerous capsules, each containing a single seed. It belongs to the Monodelphia Polyan- dria class and order. There are nine spe- cies. The A. officinalis is perennial, and flowers from July to September. It grows plentifully in salt marshes, and on the banks of rivers and ditches, in many parts of England, Holland, France, Italy, Sibe- ria, &c. It has been in great request in every country where medicine has been regularly cultivated. All its parts abound with a glutinous juice, with scarcely any smell or peculiar taste. ALTIMETRY, denotes the art of mea- suring altitudes or heights. See MENSU- RATION. ALTITUDE, in geometry, one of the three dimensions of body ; being the same with what is otherwise called height. Altitude of a figure is the distance of its vertex from its base, or the length of a perpendicular let fall from the vertex to the base. Thales is supposed to have been the first person who applied the principles of geometry to the mensuration of altitude : by means of the staff he measured the height of the pyramids of Egypt, making the altitude of the staff and pyramid pro- portional to the length of the shadows. ALTITUDE, in optics, is the height of an object above a line, drawn parallel to the horizon from the eye of the observer. ALTITUDE of the eye, in perspective, is its perpendicular height above the geo- metrical plane. ALTITUDE of a star, &c. in astronomy, is an arch of a vertical circle, intercepted between the stars and the horizon. This altitude is either true or apparent, according as it is reckoned from the ra- tional or sensible horizon, and the diffe- rence between these is what, is called by astronomers the parallax of altitude. Near the horizon, this altitude is always increased by means of refraction. ALTITUDE of the mercury, in the baro- meter and thermometer, is marked by de- grees or equal divisions, placed by the side of the tube, of those instruments. The altitude of the mercury in the baro- meter, in and about the metropolis, is usually comprised between 28.4 and 30.6 inches : in the course of the last seven years it has not varied from these limits more than twice. Turing the same pe- riod, the thermometer in the shade has been rarely higher than 82 or 83, and this seldom more than three or four times in a whole summer, nor often lower than about 8 or 10 below the freezing point. This degree of cold is not common. ALTO-RELIEVO. See REMEVO. ALUM, in chemistry and the arts, is denominated the sulphate of alumina, though it is not merely a combination of alumina with the sulphuric acid. It pos- sesses the following characters : 1. It has a sweetish astringent taste. 2. It is solu- ALUM. ble in warm water, and the solution red- dens vegetable colours, which proves the acid to be in excess. 3. When mixed with a solution of carbonate of potash, an effervesence is produced by the un- combined acid, which prevents the first portions of alkali that are added to the solution of sulphate of alumina from occa- sioning any precipitate. 4. When sulphate of alumina is heated, it swells up, loses its regular form, and becomes a dry spongy mass ; but, according to the experiments of Vauquelin, the whole of its acid cannot be thus expelled. 5. The combination of sulphuric acid with alumina is incapable of crystallizing without an addition of potash, which makes a constituent part of all the alum of commerce. 6. It is de- composed by charcoal, which combines with the oxygen of the acid, and leaves the sulphur attached t o the alumina. Dr. Thompson says there are four va- rieties of alum, all of which are triple salts ; two neutral, and two he calls su- per-salts. These are thus denominated : 1. Sulphate of alumina and potash. 2. -Sulphate of alumina and ammonia. 3. Super-sulphate of alumina and potash. 4. Super-sulphate of alumina and am- monia. The discovery of alum was made in Asia, from whence it continued to be im- ported till the end of the fifteenth centu- ry, when a number of alum works were established in Italy. In the sixteenth century it was manufactured in Germany and Spain; and during Queen Elizabeth's reign, an alum manufactory was establish- ed in England. The alum of commerce is usually obtained from native mixtures of pyrites and clay, or sulphuric acid and clay." Bergman has published a very com- plete dissertation on the process usually followed. The earth from which it is pro- cured is usually called aluminous schistus, because it is slaty. Its colour is blackish, because it contains some bitumen. In most cases it is necessary to burn it be- fore it can be employed : this is done by means of a slow smothered fire. Some- times long exposure to the weather is sufficient to produce an efflorescence of alum on the surface. It is then lixiviated, and the water concentrated by evapora- tion, and mixed with putrid urine, or mu- riate of potash ; crystals of alum and of sulphate of iron usually farm together. The composition of alum has been but lately understood with accuracy. It has been long known, indeed, that one of its ingredients is sulphuric acid ; and the ex- periments of Pott and Margraft' proved in- contestibly that alumina is another ingre- dient. Bui sulphuric acid and alumina are incapable of forming alum. Manu- facturers knew that the addition of a quan- tity of potash or of ammonia, or of some substance containing these alkalies, is al- most always necessary, and it was proved, that in every case in which such additions are unnecessary, the earth from which the alum is obtained contains already a quan- tity of potash. Various conjectures were made about the part which potash acts in this case ; but Vauquelin and Chaptal appear to have been the first chemists that ascertained, by decisive experiments, that alum is a triple salt, composed of sul- phuric acid, alumina, and potash or ammo- nia united together. Alum crystallizes in regular octahedrons, consisting of two four-sided pyramids applied base to base. The sides are equilateral triangles. The form of its integrant particles, according to Hauy, is the regular tetrahedron. Its taste is, as we have observed, astringent. It always reddens vegetable blues. Its specific gravity is 1.7109. At the tempe- rature of 60 "it is soluble in from 15 to 20 parts of water, and in f ths of its weight of boilling Water. When exposed to the air it effloresces slightly. When exposed to a gentle heat it undergoes the watery fusion. A strong heat causes it to swell and foam, and to lose about 44 per cent of its weight, consisting chiefly of water of crystallization. What remains is called calcined or burnt alum, and is some- times used as a corrosive. By a violent heat the greater part of the acid may be driven off. Though the properties of alum are in all cases pretty nearly the same, it has been demonstrated by Vau- quelin that three varieties of it occur in commerce. The first is super-sulphate of alumina and potash ; the second, super- sulphate of alumina and ammonia; the third is a mixture or combination of these two, and contains both potash and ammo- nia. It is the most common of all ; doubt- less, because the alum-makers use both urine and the muriate of potash, to crys- tallize their alum. Vauquelin has lately analysed a number of specimens of alum manufactured in different countries. The result was, that they all contain very near- ly the same proportion of ingredients. The mean of all his trials was as follows : Acid 30.52 Alumina . . . . 10.50 Potash . . . . 10.40 Water .... 48.58 100.00 ALU ALU \Vhen an unusual quantity of potash is added to alum liquor, the salt loses its usual form and crystallizes into cubes. This constitutes a fourth variety of alum, usually distinguished by the name of cu- bic alum. It contains an excess of alkali. When the potash is still further increased, Chaptal has observed, jhe salt loses the property of crystallizing altogether, and falls down in flakes. This constitutes a fifth variety of olurn, consisting of sul- phate of potash combined with a small proportion of alumina. If three parts of alum and one of flour or sugar be melted together in an iron ladle, and the mixture dried till it becomes blackish and ceases to swell ; if it be then pounded small, put into a glass phial, and placed in a sand- bath till a blue flame issues from the mouth of the phial, and after burning for a minute or two, be allowed to cool, a sub- stance is obtained, known by the name of Homberg's pyrophorus, which has the property of catching fire whenever it is exposed to the open air, especially if the air be moist. This substance was acci- dentally discovered by Hombergabout the the beginning of the eighteenth century, while he was engaged in his experiments on the human faeces. He had distilled a mixture of human faeces and alum till he could obtain nothing more from it by means of heat ; and four or five days after, while he was taking the residuum out of the retort, he was surprised to see it take fire spontaneously. Soon after, Lemery the younger discovered that honey, sugar, flour, or almost any animal or vegetable matter, could be substituted for human faeces ; and afterwards Mr. Lejoy de Su- vigny showed that several other salts con- taining sulphuric acid may be substituted for alum. Scheele proved that alum de- prived of potash is incapable of forming pyrophorus, and that sulphate of potash may be substituted for alum. And Mr. Proust has shewn that a number of neu- tral salts, composed of vegetable acids and earths, when distilled by a strong fire in a retort, leave a residuum which takes fire spontaneously on exposure to the air. These facts have thrown a great deal of light on the nature of Homberg's pyro- phorus, and enabled us in some measure to account for its spontaneous inflamma- ti6n. It has been ascertained, that part of the sulphuric acid is decomposed du- ring the formation of the pyrophorus, and of course a part of the alkaline base be- comes uncombined with acid ; and the charcoal, which gives it its black colour, is evidently divided into very minute par- ticles. It has been ascertained, that du- ring the combustion of the pyrophorus a quantity of oxygen is absorbed. The in- flammation is probably occasioned by the charcoal ; the sulphuret of potash also acts an essential part. Perhaps it produ- ces a sudden increase of temperature, by the absorption and solidification of water from the atmosphere. A new process for making alum is used at some works, for which we are indebt- ed to Mr. Sadler, which is as follows : The boilers are filled with prepared li- quor of 10 pennyweights, to which sul- phate of potash is added, and boiled toge- ther until it weighs 16 pennyweights, by which time the whole of the superfluous alumina and the oxyde of iron is precipi- tated. The fluid is then run into a settler, where it remains until clear, after which it is pumped into a second boiler, and eva- porated up to 26 pennyweights, let into the coolers, and left to crystallize. By this process, it is said, he gains the whole of the alum at one evaporation, and from the mother liquor remaining there is a pro- duct, the sulphate of iron. ALUMINA, in chemistry, one of the five proper earths. It was discovered by the alchemists that alum was composed of sulphuric acid and an earth, the nature of which was long unknown ; but Geoffrey, and afterwards Margraflf, found that the earth of alum is an essential ingredient in clays, and gives them their properties, hence it was called argil but Morveau. gave it the name of alumina, because it is obtained in a state of the greatest pu- rity from alum by the following process. Dissolve alum in water, and add to the solution ammonia as long as any precipi- tate is formed. Decant off the fluid part, and wash the precipitate in a large quan- tity of water, and then allow it to dry, The substance thus obtained is alumina ; not however in a state of absolute purity, for it still retains a portion of the sulphu- ric acid with which it was combined in the alum. But it may be rendered tole- rably pure, by dissolving the newly preci- pitated earth in muriatic acid, evaporating the solution till a drop of it in cooling de- posits small crystals,' setting it by to crys- tallize, separating the crystals, concen- trating the liquid a second time, and se- parating the crystals which are again de- posited. By this process, most of the alum which the earth retained will be se- parated in crystals. If the liquid be now mixed with ammonia as long as any preci- pitate appears, this precipitate, washed and dried, will be air. mm a nearly pure ALUMINA. Alumina has little taste : when pure, it has no smell ; but if it contains oxyde of iron, which it often does, it emits a pecu- liar smell when breathed upon, known by the name of earthy smell. This smell is very pi'eceptible in common clays. The specific gravity of alumina is 2.00. When heat is applied to alumina, it gradually loses weight, in consequence of the eva- poration of a quantity of water, with which, in its usual state, it is combined ; at the same time its bulk is considerably diminished. The spongy alumina parts with its moisture very readily ; but the gelatinous retains it very strongly. Spon- gy alumina, when exposed to a red heat, loses 0.58 parts of its weight ; gelatinous, only 0.43 : spongy alumina loses no more than 0.58 when exposed to a heat of 130 Wedgewood ; gelatinous in the same tem- perature loses but 0.4825. Yet Saussure has shown that both species, after being dried in the temperature of 60, contain equal proportions of water. Alumina un- dergoes a diminution of bulk proportional to the heat to which it is exposed. This contraction seems owing, in low tempera- tures, to the loss of moisture ; but in high temperatures it must be owing to a more intimate combination of the earthy parti- cles with each other ; for it loses no per- ceptible weight in any temperature, how- ever high, after being exposed to a heat of 130 Wedgewood. Mr. Wedgewood took advantage of this property of alumina, and by means of it constructed an instrument for measuring high degrees of heat. It consists of pieces of clay of a determinate size, and an ap- paratus for measuring their bulk with ac- curacy ; one of these pieces is put into the fire, and the temperature is estimated by the contraction of the piece. The con- traction of the clay-pieces is measured by means of two brass rules, fixed upon a plate, the distance between which at one extremity is 0.5 inch, and the other ex- tremity 0.3 inch ; and the rules are exact- ly 24.0 inches in length, and divided into 240 equal parts, called degrees. These degrees commence at the widest end of the scale. The first of them indicates a red heat, or 947 Fahrenheit. The clay- pieces are small cylinders, baked in a red heat, and made so as to fit 1 of the scale. They are not composed of pure alumina, but "of a fine white clay. Alumina is scarcelv soluble in water ; but maybe dif- fused through that liquid with great fa- cility. Its affinity for water, however, is very considerable. In its usual state it is combined with more than its own weight of water, and we have seen with what ob- stinacy it retains it. Even this combina- tion of alumina and water is capable, in its usual state of dryness,of absorbing 2 times its weight of water, without suffer- ing any to drop out. It retains this water more obstinately than any of the earths hitherto described. In a freezing cold it contracts more, and parts with more of its water, than any other earth ; a circum- stance which is of some importance in agriculture. Alumina has no effect upon vegetable blues. It cannot be crystallized artificially ; but it is found native in beauti- ful transparent crystals, exceedingly hard, and having a specific gravity of 4. It is distinguished in this state by the name of sapphyr. It does not combine with me- tals ; but it has a strong affinity for me- tallic oxydes, especially for those oxydes which contain a maximum of oxygen. Some of these compounds are found na- tive. Thus, the combination of alumina and red oxyde of iron often occurs in the form of a yellow powder, which is em- ployed as a paint, and distinguished by the name of ochre. There is a strong af- finity between the fixed alkalies and alu- mina. When heated together they com- bine, and form a loose mass, without any transparency. Liquid fixed alkali dis- solves alumina by the assistance of heat, and retains it in solution. The alumina is precipitated again, unaltered, by drop- ping an acid into the solution. Tliis is a method employed by chemists to procure alumina in n state of complete purity ; for alumina, unless it be dissolved in alkali, almost always retains a little oxyde of iron and some acid, which disguise its properties. Liquid ammonia is also ca- pable of dissolving a very minute propor- tion of newly precipitated alumina. Ba- rytes and strontian also combine with alu- mina, both when heated with it in a cru- cible, and when boiled with it in water. The result, in the first case, is a greenish or bluish-coloured mass, cohering but im- perfectly : in the second, two compounds are formed ; the first, containing an ex- cess of alumina, remains in the state of an insoluble powder ; the other, containing an excess of barytes or strontian, is held in solution by the water. Alumina has a strong affinity for lime, and readily en- ters with it into fusion. None of the earths is of more importance to mankind than alumina; it forms the basis of china and stone-ware of all kinds, and of the cruci- bles and pots employed in all those manu- factures which require a strong heat. It is absolutely necessary to the dyer and AMA AMA calico printer, and is employed too, with the greatest advantage, by the fuller and cleaner of cloth. ALURNUS, in natural history, a genus of insects of the order Coleoptera. Es- sen, character: antennae filiform, short; feelers four to six, very short : jaw hor- ney, arched. There are three species. A. grossus, an inhabitant of South Ameri- ca and India : A. femoratus, found in In- dia: and A. dentipes, found at the Cape of Good Hope. ALYSSO, or ALTSSUM, mad wort, in botany, a genus of the Tetradynamia Es- culosa class of plants: the flower is of the cruciform kind, and consists of four leaves; the fruit is a small roundish cap- sule divided into two cells, in which are contained a number of small roundish seeds. The alyssum is arranged in three divi- sions, viz. into A. in which the stem is somewhat shrubby : B. stems herbace- ous : C. silules inflated, or calyx oblong, closed. There are 33 species ; but ac- cording to Martyn only 17. All the spe- cies may be propagated by seed, and most of them by slips and cuttings. In rich ground they seldom live through the win- ter in England; but in dry, poor, rub- bishy soil, or on old walls, they will abide the cold, and last much longer. AMALGAM, in the arts. The metals in general unite very readily with one another, and form compounds ; thus pew- ter is a compound of lead and tin, brass is a compound of copper and zinc, &c. These are all called alloys, except when one of the combining metals is mercury ; in that case the compound is called an amalgam : thus mercury and gold form a compound called the amalgam of gold. The amalgam of gold is formed very readily, because there is a very strong af- finity between the two metals. If a bit of gold be dipped into mercury, its surface, by combining with mercury, becomes as white as silver. The easiest way of form- ing this amalgam is, to throw small pieces of red hot gold into mercury heated till it begins to smoke. The proportions of the ingredients are not determinable, be- cause they combine in any proportion. This amalgam is of a silvery whiteness. By squeezing it through leather, the ex- cess of mercury may be separated, and a soft white amalgam obtained, which gra- dually becomes solid, and consists of about one part of mercury to two of gold. It melts at a moderate temperature ; and in a heat below redness the mercury eva- porates, and leaves the gold in a state of purity. It is much used in gilding. The amalgam is spread upon the metal which is to be gilt ; and then, by the applica- tion of a gentle and equal heat, the mer- cury is driven off, and the gold left adhe- ring to the metallic surface : this surface is then rubbed with a brass wire brush under water, and afterwards burnished. The amalgam of silver is made in the same manner as that of gold, and with equal ease. It forms dentrical crystals, which contain eight parts of mercury and one of silver. It it of a white colour, and is always of a soft consistence. Its spe- cific gravity is greater than the mean of the two metals. Gillert has even re- marked, that when thrown into purefmer- cury, it sinks to the bottom of that liquid. When heated sufficiently, the mercury is volatilized, and the silver remains behind pure. This amalgam is sometimes em- ployed, like that of gold, to cover the sur- faces of the inferior metals with a thin coat of silver. The amalgam of tin and mercury is much used in electricity. See GILDING. AMAUANTHUS, in botany, a genus of the Monoecia Pentandria class and or- der, of the Triandria Tryginia of Gmelin's Linnaeus ; its characters are, that those species which have male flowers on the same plants with the females have a ca- lyx, which is a five or three-leaved peri- anthium, upright, coloured, and perma- nent; the leaflets lanceolate and acute , no corolla ; the stamina have five or three capillary filaments, form upright, patu- lous, of the length of the calyx, the an- thers oblong and versatile : of those which have female flowers in the same raceme with the males, the calyx is a perianthi- um the same with the former ; no corol- la? the pistillum has an ovate germ, styles three, short and subulate ; stigmas sim- ple and permanent ; the pericarpium is an ovate capsule, somewhat compressed, as is also the calyx on which it is placed, coloured, and of the same size, three- beaked, one celled, cut open transverse- ly ; the seed is single, globular, com- pressed, and large. There are 22 .-pe- cies, of which we notice A. melancolicus, two-coloured A. with glomerules, axilla- ry peduncled, roundish, and leaves ovate- lanceolate, and coloured. This species varies in the colour of the leaves ; being- in the open air of a dingy purple on their upper surface, and the younger ones green ; in a stove the whole plant is pur- ple-coloured ; but it is easily distinguish- ed in all states by its colour, leaves, and the lateness of its flowering, after all th^ AMA AMA others are past : it is joined by La Marck with a tri-colour; a native of Guiana and the East-Indies, and cultivated in 1731 by Miller. The obscure purple and bright crimson of the leaves are so blend- ed as to set off each other, and, in the vigorous state of the plants, make a fine appearance. A tri-color, three-colour- ed A. with glomerules sessile, roundish ; stem clasping 1 , and leaves lanceolate-ovate, coloured. This has been long cultivated, being in the garden of Gerard in 1596, for the beauty of its variegated leaves, in which the colours are elegantly mixed ; these, when the plants are vigorous, are large and closely set from the bottom to the top of the stalks, and the branches form a kind of pyramid, and therefore there is not a more handsome plant when in full lustre : a native of Guiana, Persia, Ceylon, China, Japan, the Society Isles, &c. A. lividus, livid A. These are the most worthy of a place in the pleasure- garden ; but they are tender, and require attention. They are usually disposed in pots, with cocks-combs and other showy plants, for adorning court-yards,, and the environs of the house. The seeds of these should be sown in a moderate hot-bed, about the end of March ; and when the plants come up, they should have much air in mild weather. When they are fit for transplanting, they should be removed to another moderate hot -bed, and placed at six inches distance, watering and sha- ding them till they have taken new root; afterwards they should have free air, and frequent but gentle waterings. In the be- ginning of June they should be taken up, with large balls of earth to their roots, and planted either in pots or the borders of the pleasure-garden, shaded till they have taken root, and afterwards frequent- ly watered in dry weather. The tree amaranth must be planted in a rich light soil, and if it be allowed room, and well watered in dry weather, it will grow to a large size, and make a fine appearance. The other sorts are sufficiently hardy to bear the open air, and may be sown on a bedof light earth in the spring, and when the plants are fit to remove, transplanted into any part of the garden, where they will thrive and produce plenty of seeds. AMARILLIS, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and or- der, of the natural order of Liliae or Lilia- ceae ; its characters are, that the calyx is a spathe, oblong, obtuse, compressed, emarginate, gaping on the flat side, and withering; the corolla has six petals, lanceolate, the nectary has six very short scales without the base of the filaments ; the stamina have six awl-shaped filaments, with oblong, incumbent, rising anthers ; the pistillum has a roundish, furrowed, inferior germ, the style filiform, almost of the length and in the situation of the sta- mens, the stigma trifid and slender ; the pericarpium is a subovate, three-celled., three-valved capsule ; and the seeds are several. The inflection of the petals, stamens, and pistil, is very various in the different species of this genus ; and the corolla in most of the species is rather hexapetaloid than six-petalled. Gmelin reckons 27 species. A. lutea, yellow A. or autumnal narcissus, with an undivided obtuse spathe, sessile; flower bell sha- ped ; corolla erect, shortly tubular at the base, and erect stamens, alternately shorter ; the flowers seldom rise above three or four inches high ; the green leaves come up at the same time, and when the flowers are past, the leaves in- crease through the winter. This species recedes a little from the genus It is a native of the South of France, Spain, Italy, and Thrace : was cultivated by Gerard, in 1596, and flowers in September. A. formosissima, jacobea lily, so called, because some imagined that they disco- vered in it a likeness to the badge of the order of the knights of the order of St. James, in Spain, the lilio-narcissus and narcissus of others, with a spathe undi- vided, flower pedicelled, corolla two-lip- ped, nodding, deeply six-parted stamens, and pistil bent down. The flowers are produced from the sides of the bulbs, are large, of a deep red, and make a beauti- ful appearance : it is a native of America, first known in Europe in 1593, some roots of it having been found on board a ship which had returned from South America, by Simon de Jovar, a physician at Seville, who sent a description of the flowers to Clusius, who published a drawing of it in 1601, called, by Parkinson, who figured it in 1629, the Indian daffodil, with a red flower : cultivated in the Oxford Garden in 1658. A. reginae, Mexican lily, with spathe, having about two flowers, pedicels divaricating, corollas bell-shaped, shortly tubular, nodding, throat of the tube hir- sute and leaves lanceolate, patulous ; the bulb is green, corolla scarlet, and at the bottom whitish green, the style red, the flowers large, of a bright copper colour, inclined to red : it flowered in Fairchild's garden, at Hoxton, in 1728 ; and Dr. Douglas wrote a folio pamphlet upon it, giving it the title of lilium reginae, because it was in full beauty on the first of March, AMA AMB tne queen's birth-clay : the roots were brought from Mexico, and therefore Mr. Fairchild called it Mexican lily, the name which it has retained. It flowers in the spring- in a very warm stove ; is jn heauty in February; and in a moderate tempera- ture of air wil! flower in March or April. A. surniensis, lilium sarniense of Douglas, who published a description of it in 5.725 ; narcissus of others ; Guernsey lily, so called by Mr. Ray in 16G5 ; with petals line ar, flat, stamens and pistils straightish, longer than the corolla, stigmas parted, and revolute. The bulb is an oblong- spheroid ; the leaves are dark willow green ; the number of flowers is common- ly from eight to twelve, and circumfer- ence of each about seven inches ; the co- rolla, in its prime, has the colour of a fine gold tissue, wrought on a rose-coloured ground, and when it begins to fade, it is a pink: in full sunshine, it seems to be studded with diamqnds, but by candle- light the specks or spangles appear more like fine gold dust; when the petals be- gin to wither, they assume a deep crim- son colour. The flowers begin to come out at the end of August, and the head is usually three weeks in gradually expand- ing. This beautiful plant is a native of Japan, and has been long 1 naturalized in Guernsey. It is said to have been brought from Japan to Paris, and cultivated in Morin's garden before 1634. It was cul- tivated at Wimbledon, in England, by General Lambert, in 1659, and in 1664 be- came more common : it does not seem to have been in Holland before 1695. The plants are reputed to owe their origin in Guernsey to the shipwreck of a vessel re- turning from Japan, probably before the middle of the seventeenth century. The bulbs, it is said, being cast on shore, took root in that sandy soil, and produced beau- tiful flowers, which engaged the attention of Mr. Hatton, the governor's son, who sent roots to several of his friends. A va- riety of this, found at the Cape of Good Hope, is described by Jacquin with a ma- ny -flowered spathe, corollas very patent and reflex at the apex, stamens and pistil somewhat straight, longer than the corol- la, and leaves ensiform-linear. Most of these species have very beautiful flowers, and merit the attention of the botanist and florist. The first, or yellow autumnal A. is very hardy, and increases by offsets. The season for transplanting these roots is from May to the end of July, when the leaves are decayed. They will grow in any soil or situation ; but they will thrive best in a fresh, light, dry soil, and open VOL. I. situation, and will keep flowering from the beginning of September to the middle of November, provided that they escape severe frosts ; and a succession of flowers will spring from the same root. The Guernsey lily has been cultivated for ma- ny years in the gardens of Guernsey and Jersey, whence the roots are sent to most parts of Europe . The bulbs are common- ly brought over in June and July, and they should then be planted in pots filled with fresh, light, sandy earth, mixed with a small quantity of very rotten dung, placed in a warm situation, and occasion- ally refreshed with water. About the middle of September the stronger roots will shew their red-coloured flower-stem ; and then the pots should be removed into a situation where they may have the full benefit of the sun, and be sheltered from strong winds ; but not placed under glasses, or too near a wall, which would draw them up, and render them less beau- tiful. When the flowers begin to open, the pots should be put under shelter, so as to be secure from too much wet, but not kept too close or too warm. The flowers will continue in beauty for a month; and, though without scent, their rich co- lour entitles them to the first rank in the flowery tribe. AMASONIA, in botany, a genus of the Didy namia Angiospermia class and order : calyx five cleft: corolla tubular, with a small five-cleft border : berry four-seeded. There are two species. AMATEUR, in the arts, denotes a per- son understanding, loving, or practising- the fine arts, without any regard to pecu- niary advantage. AMBASSADOR, a person appointed by one sovereign power to another, to super- intend his affairs at some foreign court, and supposed to represent the power from which he is sent. The person of an am- bassador is inviolable. AMBER, in mineralogy, a resinous sub- stance, called by the ancients electrum, found in different countries ; but most abundantly in Prussia, either on the sea- shore, or under ground, at the depth of 100 feet, reposing on wood coal. It is ob- tained in lumps of different sizes. There are the white and the yellow amber. 1. The white amber is in colour straw-yel- low, inclining to yellowish white ; but 2. The yellow amber is a wax-yellow, pass- ing to a honey-yellow, yellowish brown, and hyacinth-red. It is found in blunt pieces, with a rough surface. It is rather brittle, and its specific gravity is from 1.07 to 1.08. Amber burns with a vellow-co- S AMB AMB loured flame, and, if the heat be strong enough, melts, and emits a peculiar agree- able odour, and leaves little ashes. When rubbed, it acquires a strong negative elec- trical virtue. From this property is de- rired the word electricity. It is com- posed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Amber is often found in the ailing al de- posit (usually called Marie) of New-Jer- sey. According to Sir J. Hill, it is said that amber has been found in digging in- to the alluvial land in the vicinity of Lon- don. It is found sometimes on the sea- shores of several parts of England. Being susceptible of a fine polish, it is cut into necklaces, bracelets, snuff-boxes, and other articles of dress. Before the discov- ery of the diamond and other precious stones of India, it was considered to be the most precious of jewels, and was employ- ed in all kinds of ornamental dress : altars were likewise ornamented with it. The greatest quantity at present consumed in commerce is purchased by Armenian and Grecian merchants, for the use, it is con- jectured, of pilgrims, previously to their journey to Mecca, and that on their arri- val there it is burnt in honour of the pro- phet Mahomet. The acid and oil obtain- ed from it are used as medicines. It often coniains insects of various spe- cies, in a state of complete preservation, also leaves, and other parts of vegetables. Various conjectures have been made re- specting its origin and formation. By some it is, as we have already seen, con- sidered as a vegetable gum or resin ; others regard it as a mineral oil, thicken- ed by the absorption of oxygen ; and Mr. Parkinson is of opinion, that it is inspissa- ted mineral oil. There was lately found in Prussia a mass of amber which weighed upwards of 13 pounds, the contents of which amounted to 3181 cubic inches. Five thousand dollars are said to have been offered for it ; and the Armenian merchants assert, that in Constantinople it would sell for six times that price at least. Pitch-coal is sometimes found with amber, and is called black, and is sold to the ignorant at a great price Spe- cimens inclosing insects, &c. are highly valued, and the amber dealers are said to be possessed of means, of softening- it, m order to introduce insects and other fo- reign bodies into it. Two parts of the empyreumatic oil obtained by distilling mineral pitch boiled severtil times, with three parts of turpentine, form a com- pound, which hears u great resemblance to amber, and which is often cut into necklaces and other ornaments, and sold as true amber. AMBERGRIS, in chemistry, is a sufe- stance found floating on the sea, near the coasts of India, Africa, and Brazil, usually in small pieces, but sometimes in mass- es of 50 or 100 pounds in weight. Vari- ous opinions have been entertained con- cerning its origin. Some affirmed that it was the concrete juice of a tree ; others thought it a bitumen ; but it is now esta- blished that it is a concretion, formed m the stomach or intestines of the physeter macrocephalus, or spermaceti whale. Am- bergris, when pure, is a light, soft sub- stance which swims on water. Its speci- fic gravity varies from 0.78 to 0.844. Its colour is ash-grey, with brownish yellow and white streaks. It has an agreeable smell, which improves by keeping. Its taste is insipid. When heated to 122, it melts without frothing ; if the heat be in- creased to 212,it is volatilized completely in a white smoke, leaving only a trace of charcoal. When distilled,we obtain a whi- tish acid liquid and a light volatile oil ; a bulky charcoal remains behind. It is in- soluble in water. Acids have little action on it. Weak sulphuric acid occasions no change; but, when concentrated, it de- velopes a little charcoal. Nitric acid dis- solves it, giving out at the same time ni- trous gas, carbonic acid, and azotic gas. A brownish liquid is formed, which leaves, when evaporated to dryness, a brittle brown substance, possessing the proper- ties of a resin. The alkalies dissolve it by the assistance of heat, and form a soap soluble in water. Both the fixed and vola- tile oils dissolve ambergris. It is soluble also in ether and alcohol. It possesses the properties of the salty matter into which the muscles are converted by nitric acid, and which makes its appearance when dead bodies are allowed to putrefy in great numbers together. This substance has been distinguished by the name of adipo- cire, from its resemblance both to fat and wax. The quantity of it in ambergris amounts to 52.8 parts. According to the analysis of ambergris made by Bouillon La Grange, it is composed of 52.7 adipocire 30.8 resin 11.1 benzoic acid 5.4 charcoal 1.000 AMBIDEXTER, a person who can use both hands with the same facility, and for the same purposes, that the generality of people do their right hands. Were it not for education, some think AME that all mankind would be ambidexters ; *nd, in fact, we frequently find nurses obliged to be at a good deal of pains be- fore they can bring 1 children to forego the use of their left hands. It is to be regret- ed, that any of the gifts of nature should be thus rendered in a great measure use- less, as there are many occasions in life which require the equal use of both hands : sfcch as the operations of bleed- ing in the left arm, left ancle, &c. AMBROSIA, in botany, the name of a distinct genus of plants, with flosculous flowers, composed of several small infun- dibuliforui floscules, divided into five seg- ments; these, however, are barren; the fruit, which IE some measure resembles a club, growing on other parts of the plant. This genus belongs to the Monoecia Pentandria class and order. There arc five species. AMBROSINJA, in botany, a genus' of the Monoecia Monadelphia class and or- der ; of which there is a. species found in the island of Sicily : spathe one-leafed, se- parated by a membranaceous partition, containing the stamina in the hinder cell and upper part of the partition, pistils in the outer cell, and lower part of' the par- tition : the root is tuberous; leaves radi- cal, ovate, and shining. AMBUSCADE, or AMBUSH, in the mi- litary art, properly denotes a place where soldiers may lie concealed, till they find an opportunity to surprise the enemy. AMELLUS, in botany, a genus of the Syngenesia Superflua : receptacle chaffy ; down simple : calyx imbricate : florets of the ray divided. There are three spe- cies. AMELIORATING crops, in husbandry, are such as are supposed to improve the lands on which they are cultivated. Most of those plants which have a large stem and shady leaf are thought to ren- der the soils on which they grow more fertile, by producing a confined or stag- nated state of the air. The improvement of lands, by what are called ameliorating crops, probably depends upon the culture which the ground receives while they are growing, and the returns which they make to it in the way of manure, after they are consumed by animals. AMEN, in the scripture language, a solemn formula, or conclusion to all pray- er, signify ing, so be it. The tei'in amen is Hebrew, being de- rived from the verb anan, i, e. to be true, faithful, &c. so that, strictly speaking, it .signifies truth ; and, used adverbially, as h frequently clone in the gospels, truly or AME verily. Sometimes it is repeated twice together, and then it stands for the super* lative, as amen, amen, dico vobis. The word in music, forms the usual conclusion of anthems, hymns, and other sacred compositions ; and has so long been one of the principal themes of choral harmony, as to have given birth to a dis- tinct appellation for music adapted to its expression : as when using the word ad- jectively, we s:iy, such an oratorio or an- them concludes with an amen chorus. AMEND, or A'MEJJDK, in the French customs, a pecuniary punishment impos- ed by a judge for any crime, false prose- cution, or groundless appeal. AMENDE honorable^ an infamous kind of punishment inflicted in France upon trai- tors, parricides, or sacrilegious persons, in the following manner: the offender being delivered into the hands of the hang- man, his shirt is stripped ofF, and a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand ; then he is led into court, where he must beg pardon of God, the King, the Court, and his Country. Sometimes the punishment ends here, but sometimes it is only a prelude to death, or banishment to the g-allies. Amende honorable is a term also used for making recantation in open court, or in presence of the pel-son injured AMENDMENT, in l aw , the correction of an error committed in a process, which may be amended after judgment, unless the error lies in giving judgment, for in that case it is not amendable, but the par- ty must bring a writ of error. A bill may be amended on the file at any time before the plea is pleaded; but not afterwards, without motion and leave of the court. AMERCEMENT, or AMEIICIAMEST, ir\ law, a pecuniary punishment, imposed upon offenders at the mercy of the court. Amercements differ from fines, the latter being certain punishments growing ex- pressly from some statute, whereas the former are imposed arbitrarily, in propor- tion to the fault. Besides, fines are assessed by the court, but amercements by the country. A court of record only can fine, all others can only amerce. Sheriffs are amerceable for the faults of their officers, and clerks of the peace may be amerced in the King's-bench for gross faults in indictments removed to that court. A town is subject to amercement for the escape of a murderer in the day-time, and if the town is wallet!, it is subject te AME AME amercement, whether the escape hap- pens by day or night. The statute of Magna Charta ordains, that a freeman is not to be amerced for a small fault, but in proportion to the of- fence, by his peers and equals. AMERIMNUM, or AMEIUMBTOX, in bo- tany, a genus of the Biadelphia Decan- dria class and order ; of the natural order of Papilionaceae or l-eguminosae ; the cha- racters of which are, that the calyx is a one-leafed perianthium; tube bell saap- ed, five-toothed, the teeth sharp ; the co- rolla papilionaceous, standard with an ob- long- cla\v, roundish, heart-shaped, ex- panding 1 and convex wings lanceolate, short o/V rwf/, in botany, a dis- tinct genus of umbelliferous plants, be- longing to the Pentandria Digynia class of Linnaeus ; the flower of which is rosa- ceous, and composed of heart -like petals ; and its fruit is a small roundish and stri- ated capsule, containing two striated seeds, convex on one side, and plane on the other. There are four species. AMMODYTES, in natural history, the launce, a genus of fishes, of the order Apodes : head compressed, narrower than the body : upper lip doubled : lower jaw narrow, pointed: teeth small and sharp. Gill-membrane seven-fayed : body long, roundish, with very small scales : tail dis- tinct. A. tobianus, or sand launce, so named from its shape. It inhabits the northern seas ; and is from 9 to 12 inches long. It buries itself on the recess of the tides a foot deep in the sand, and in fine weather rolls itself up, and lifts its nose just above the sand ; it is the prey of other rapacious fish ; the flesh is tolerably good, but it is used in most cases as baits, The launce lives on worms, water-insects, and small fishes, and even occasionally on those of its own species. The mackarel is very partial to this fish as its own food. The launce spawns in May, depositing- its eggs in the mud near the edges of the coast. AMMONIA, in chemistry. Volatile al- kali, in its purest form, subsists in a state of gas, and was thought, till the late expe- riments of Mr. Davy, to be composed of azote and hydrogen. It maybe obtained in the following manner : put into a retort a mixture of three parts of quick-lime and one part of sal ammoniac in powder. Plunge the beak of the retort below the mouth of a glass jar filled with mer- cury, and standing inverted in a basin of mercury. Apply the heat of a lamp to the retort : a gas conies over, which displaces the mercury and fills the jar. This gas is ammonia. It was known by the name of volatile alkali ; it was also called harts- horn, because it was often obtained by distilling the horn of the hart ; spirit of urine, because it may be obtained by the same process from urine ; and spirit of sal ammoniac, because it may be obtained from that salt. Dr. Black first pointed out the difference between ammonia and car- bonate of ammonia, or ammonia combined with carbonic acid; and Dr. Priestley dis- covered the method obtaining it in a state of purity, by the process already described. Ammonia, in a state of gas, is transparent and colourless like air; its taste is acrid and caustic, like that of the fixed alkalies, but not nearly so strong, AMM AMM -nor does it like them corrode those ani- mal bodies lo which it is applied ; its smell is remarkably pungent, though not unpleasant when sufficiently diluted. Its use as a stimulant to prevent fainting is well known. Animals cannot breathe it without death. When a lighted candle is let down into this gas, it goes out three or four times successively ; but at each time the flame is considerably enlarged by the addition of another flame of a pale yellow colour, and at last this flame de- scends from the top of the vessel to the bottom. Its specific gravity, according to the experiments of Kirwan, is 0.60, that of air being 1.00; while Mr. Davy, whose gas was probably purer, found it 0.55. At the temperature of 60, a hundred cubic inches of this gas weigh, according to Kirwan, 18.16 grains, according to Davy, 17.068. Hence it is to common air nearly as 3 to 5. When exposed to a cold of 45 it is condensed into a l ; quid, which again assumes the gaseous form when the temperature is raised. When passed through a red hot tube of porcelain or glass, it is totally decomposed, and con- verted into hydrogen and azotic gas. It combines very rapidly with water. When a bit of ice is brought into contact with this gas, it melts, and absorbs the ammo- nia, while at the same time its tempera- ture is diminished. Cold water absorbs this gas almost instantaneously, and at the -same time heat is evolved, and the spe- cific gravity of the water is diminished. Water is capable of absorbing and con- densing more than a third of its weight of ammoniacal gas. It is in this state that ammonia is usually employed by chemists. The term ammonia almost always means this liquid solution of am- monia in water. When heated to the temperature of about 130, the ammonia separates under the form of gas. When exposed to the temperature of 46, it crystallizes ; and when suddenly cooled down to 68, it assumes the appearance of a thick jelly, and has scarcely any smell. It follows, from the experiments of Mr. Davy, that a saturated solution of ammonia is composed of 74.63 water. 25.37 ammonia. 100.00 Charcoal absorbs ammoniacal gas, but does not alter its properties while cold. But when the gas is made to pass through red hot charcoal, part of the charcoal combines with it, and forms a substanee known by the name of Prussic acid. Am- monia is not acted on by azote ; but it combines rapidly with muriatic acid ; the two gases concreting into the solid salt called muriate of ammonia. Ammonia does not combine with the metals ; but it changes some of them into oxydes, and then dissolves them. Liquid ammonia is capable of dissolving the oxydes of silver, copper, iron, tin, nickel, zinc, bismuth, and cobalt. When digested upon the oxydes of mercury, lead, or manganese, it is decomposed, water is formed by the union of the hydrogen of the ammonia with the oxygen of oxydes, and azotic gas is emitted. If a considerable heat be applied, nitric acid is formed at the same time with water. Several other oxydes are also partly deoxidized, when ammo- nia is poured into their solutions in acids. See ALKALI, CHEMISTUT, &c. AMMONIAC, in chemistry, a gum re- sin brought from the East Indies. It is supposed to be a species of the Ferula. It is in small pieces agglutinated toge- ther, and has a yellowish white colour. Its smell is like that of the galbanum, but more pleasant. Its taste is a nauseous sweet, mixed with bitter. It does not melt. Water dissolves a portion of it ; the so- lution is milky, but gradually lets fall a resinous portion. One-half is soluble in alcohol. Its specific gravity is 1.2. Nei- ther alcohol nor water, distilled off it, brings over any thing. AMMONITRUM. See GLASS. AMMOPHILA, in natural history, the sand-tvasp, a genus of insects of the order Hymenoptera : gen. char, snout conic, in- flected, concealing a bifid retractile tubu- lar tongue: jawsforcipated, three-toothed at the tip ; antennae filiform in each sex, with about 14 articulations : eyes oval : wings plain : sting pungent, concealed in the abdomen. This genus is separated from that of the sphex, on the authority of the Rev. Mr. Kirby : in their manners and economy they resemble each other; and it is probable that many more of the spheges might with propriety be removed into this genus. There are four species : A. vulgaris inhabits Europe, in sandy, sunny banks, where it digs ahole with its fore-feet, and buries the carcase of the larva of a moth or half dead spider, in the body of which it has deposited its eggs, and then covers up the orifice. AMMUNITION, a general term for all warlike provisions, but more especially powder, ball,8tc. Ammunition, arms, utensils of war, AMN AMO gun-powder, imported without licence from his majesty, are, by the laws of Eng- land, forfeited, and triple the vulue. And again, such licence obtained, ex- cept for furnishing his majesty's public stores, is to be void, and the offender to incur a prxmunire, and to be disabled to hold any office from the crown. AMNESTY, in matters of policy, an act by which two parties at variance promise to pardon and bury in oblivion all that is past. Amnesty is either general and unlimit- ed, or particular and restrained, though most commonly universal, without con- ditions or exceptions ; such as that which passed in Germany at the peace of Osna- burg, in the year 1648. Amnesty, in a more limited sense, de- notes a pardon granted by a prince to his rebellious subjects, usually with some ex- ceptions: such was that granted by Charles II. at his restoration. AMN1OS, in anatomy, a thin pellucid membrane, which surrounds the foetus. The foetus in the uterus is enveloped in a peculiar membranaceous covering, to which anatomists have given the name of amnios. "Within this there is a liquid, distinguished by the name of the liquor of the amnios, which surrounds the foetus on every part. This liquid, as might have been expected, is very different in dif- ferent animals ; at least the liquor amnii in women and in cows, which alone have hitherto been analysed, have not the smallest resemblance to each other. The liquor of the amnios of women is a fluid of a slightly milky colour, a weak pleasant odour, and a saltish taste. The white colour is owing to a curdy matter suspended in it, for it may be obtained quite transparent by filtration. Its spe- cific gravity is 1.005. It gives a green colour to the tincture of violets, and yet it reddens very decidedly the tincture of turnsole. These two properties would in- dicate at once the presence of an acid and of an alkali. It froths considerably when agitated. On the application of heat it becomes opaque, and has then a great re- semblance to milk diluted with a large quantity of water. At the same time it exhales the odour of boiled white of egg. Acids render it more transparent. Alka- lies precipitate an animal matter in small fiakos. Alcohol likewise produces a flaky precipitate, which, when collected and dried, becomes transparent, and very like glue. The infusion of nut galls pro- duces a very copious brown coloured precipitate, Nitrate of silver occasions a white precipitate, which is insoluble in nitric acid, and consequently is muriate of silver. The liquor of the amnios of the cow has a viscidity similar to mucil- age of gum arabic, a brownish red colour, aii acid and bitter taste, and a peculiar* odour, not unlike that of some vegetable extracts. Its specific gravity is 1.028. It reddens the tincture of turnsole, and therefore contains an acid. Muriate of barytes causes a very abundant precipi- tate, which renders it probable that it contains sulphuric acid. Alcohol sepa- rates from it a great quantity of a reddish coloured matter. The animal matter possesses the following properties : It lias a reddish brown colour and a peculi- ar taste ; it is very soluble in water, but insoluble in alcohol, which has the pro- perty of separating it from water. Wh eiv exposed to a strong heat, it swells, ex- hales first the odour of burning gum, then of empyreumatic oil, and of ammonia, and at last the peculiar odour of prussic acid becomes very conspicuous. It dif- fers from gelatine in the viscidity which it communicates to water, in not forming a jelly when concentrated, ami in not be- ing precipitated by tannin. It must be therefore ranked among the very unde- fined and inaccurate class of animal muci- lages. When burnt, it leaves a large por- tion of coal, which is readily incinerated and leaves a little white ashes, composed of phosphate of magnesia, and a small proportion of phosphate of lime. AMOMUM, in botany, a genus of the Monandria Monogynia class and order, the characters of which are, that the calyx is a peria lithium, oneHeafed, cylin- draceous, and unequally trifid : the co- rolla is monopetalous and funnel-shaped, tube cylindraceous, border three-parted, parts oblong and spreading" : the nectary two-leaved or two-lipped, lower lip in- serted under the upper segment of the corolla, spreading almost erect, entire or three-lobed ; the stamina have no fila- ment, except the upper lip of the necta- ry smaller than the lower, and opposite to it, accuminate or three-lobed at the tip ; along the middle or at the end of which grows longitudinally a large ob- long anther, germinate, or divided by z longitudinal furrow into two, which are one-valved; the pistillum has an inferior, oblong germ, style filiform, drawn through the suture of the anther, stigma turbi- nate, obtuse and ciliate ; the pericarpi- um a flt:shy capsule, ovate, three-corner- ed, three-celled, and three-valved ; the seeds arc several, covered with a sort of VMO AMO berried aril. Gmelin, in his edition ot Linn?eus, enumerates twenty species. A. zinziber, narrow-leaved ginger, cultivat- ed by Miller, and flowering- in Septem- ber, is a native of the East Indies, and other countries of Asia, and is much used there and in the West Indies. The dried roots furnish a considerable article of commerce from our West -India islands ; they are of great use in the kitchen and in medicine, and when preserved green as a sweet-meat are preferable to every other sort. A. zerumbet, cultivated at Hampton-court, in 1690, and flowering with us from September to November, when the stalks perish like those of the true ginger; a native of the East Indies, Chochinchina, &c. and also in Otaheite, and the other Society Isles. This is used externally in the East, in cataplasms and fomentations ; but not internally, as spice or medicine; though Garcias says, that it makes a better preserve with sugar than the other. As to the propagation and culture of these plants, it may be ob- served, that they are tender, and require a warm stove to preserve them in this country. They are easily propagated by parting their roots, which should be done in the spring, before they put out new shoots; in parting the roots, they must not be divided into small pieces, espe- cially if they are designed to have flow- t rsf nor should they be planted in very large pots. They thrive best in a light rich earth, such as that of the kitchen garden ; and with this the pots should be tilled within two inches of the top, and the roots should be placed in the middle of the pots, with their crowns upwards, und the pots should then be filled with the same earth; they should be plunged into a hot-bed of tanner's bark, and spa- ringly watered, till their stalks appeal- above ground, when they will admit of more moisture, especially in the summer months ; but in autumn, the waterings must not be frequent nor plentiful, and during 1 winter very sparing. The pots must constantly remain plunged in the tan-bed; for if they are taken out and placed on shelves in the stove, their fib res often shrink, and thus their roots decay. Bv this management these plants have greatly multiplied, and the common gin- ger has produced roots weighing five or six ounces ; but the others have been nearly a pound weight. In the West In- dies the ginger thrives best in a rich cool soil ; in a more clayey soil the root shrinks less in scalding. ' The land laid out for the culture of it is first well cleaved and hoed, and then slightly trenched, and planted in March or April; it flowers about September; and when the stalks* are wholly withered, the roots are fit to be taken up, which is generally done in January and February AMONTONS, (WILLIAM), in biogra- phy, an ingenious French experimental philosopher, was born in Normandy the 31st of August, 1663. While at the gram- mar school, he by sickness contracted a deafness that almost excluded him from the conversation of mankind. In this situation he applied himself to the study of geometry and mechanics, with which he was so delighted, that it is said he refused to try any remedy for his dis- order, either because he deemed it incu- rable, or because it increased his atten- tion to his studies. Among other objects of his study were, the arts of drawing, of land-surveying, and of building; and shortly after he acquired some knowledge of those more sublime laws by which the universe is regulated. He studied with great care the nature of barometers and thermometers ; and wrote his treatise of " Observations and experiments concern- ing a new Hour-glass, and concerning Barometers, Thermometers, and Hygros- copes;" as also some pieces in the Jour- nal des Savans. In 1687, he presented a new hygroscope to the Academy of Sci- ences, which was much approved. He found out a method of conveying intelli- gence to a great distance in a short space of time ; this was by making signals from one person to another, placed at as great distances from each other as they could see the signals by means of telescopes : this was unquestionably done upon the principle of modern telegraphs, which were brought into general use in 1794, almost a century after the death of Amon- tons. Amontons was chosen a member of the Royal Academy in 1699, as an eleve under the third astronomer; and he read there his " New Theory of Fric- tion," in which he happily cleared up an important object in Mechanics. He had a particular genius for making experi- ments ; his notions were just and delicate: he knew how to prevent the inconve- niences of his new inventions, and had a wonderful skill in executing them. He died of an inflammation in his bowels, the llth of October, 1705, being only 42 vears of age. His pieces are contained in the different volumes of the memoirs of the Academy of Sciences; these are numerous, and upon various subjects ; us the air, action of fire, barometers, AMP AMP thermometers, hygrometers, friction, ma- chines, heat, cold, rarefactions, pumps, &c. They may be seen in the volumes for the years 1696, 1699, 17J2, 1703, 1704, and 1705. The character of Amon- tons for integrity, modesty, and candour, was no less distinguished than his talents and genius in philosophical pursuits. Upon his death in 1705, M. Fontenelle delivered an elegant and impressive eulo- gium on his merits. See MEMOIRS of the Academy for that year. AMORPHA, in 'botany, bastard indigo, a genus of plants belonging to the Dia- delphia Decandria class of Linnaeus ; the flower of which consists of one petal, vertically ovated, hollow, and erect ; and the fruit is a lunulated pod, of a com- pressed form, and covered with tuber- cles, in which are contained two seeds, of an oblong kidney -like shape. There are two species. This shrub grows naturally in Carolina, where formerly the inhabitants made a coarse sort of indigo, which occasioned its name of the bastard indigo. It rises with many irregular stems to the height of twelve or fourteen feet, with very long winged leaves. It was observed by Thun- berg in the island of Niphon, belonging to japan, but is now become very com- mon in the gardens and nurseries near London, where it is propagated as a flowering shrub. It is propagated by seeds sent from America. , AMPELIS, in natural history, the chat- terer, a genus of birds of the order Passeres, bill straight, convex, subincur- ved, each mandible notched : nostrils covered with bristles : tongue sharp, car- tilaginous, bifid : middle toe connected at the base to the outside. There are, ac- cording to Gmelin, fourteen species : we shall notice the following : A. garrulus, or waxen chatterer ; a beautiful bird about eight inches long. Its bill is black, and has a small notch at the end; its eyes are placed in a band of black, which passes from the base of the bill to the hinder part of the head. Its throat is black ; its feathers on the head are long, forming a crest ; all the upper parts of the body are of a reddish ash colour; the breast and belly inclining to purple ; the tail feathers are black, tipped with pale yellow ; the quills are black, the third and/ourth tipped on their outer edges with white : the five following with straw colour, but in some bright yellow ; the secondaries are tipped with white, each being pointed with a flat horny sub- Stance of a bright vermilion colour. VOL. I. These appendages vary in different sub- jects. This rare bird visits our island only at uncertain intervals. Their sum- mer residence is supposed to be in the northern parts of Europe, within the arc- tic circle, whence they spread themselves into other countries, where they remain during the winter, and return in the spring to their usual haunts. The food of this bird is berries of various kinds; in some countries it is said to be extreme- ly fond of grapes. Only this species of the chatterer is found in Europe, the others are natives of America. See plate 1. Aves, fig. 5. A. carunculata, has a black bill, with a pendulous, expansile, movea- ble caruncle at the base, inhabits Cayenne and Brazil, and is about twelve inches long. The bill is an inch and a half long, and black ; at the base is a fleshy carbun- cle hanging over it, like that of a turkey cock. The female is furnished with one as well as the male. These .birds are said to have a very loud voice, to be heard half a league off, which is composed of merely two syllables, in, an, uttered in a drawling tone ; but some have compared it to the sound of a bell. A. Americana, cedar bird : this has been considered by the European naturalists as a mere varie- ty of their chatterer; but Mr. Wilson has shewn it to be a distinct species. AMP ELITES, cannel-coal, a hard, opaque, fossil, inflammable substance, of a black colour. The ampelites, examined by a microscope, appears composed of in- numerable very small thin plates, laid closely and firmly upon one another, and full of very small specks, of a blacker and more shining matter than the rest. There is a large quarry of it in Alencon, in France. It is dug also in many parts of England ; but the most beautiful is found in Lancashire and Cheshire : it lies usu- ally at considerable depth. It is capable of a very fine polish, and is made into trinkets, and will pass for jet. Husband- men dress their vines with it, as it kills the vermin which infest them : it is like- wise used for dying the hair black. AMPHIBIA, in natural history, a class of animals that live either on land or in water. The title Amphibia, applied to this class of animals by Linnaeus, may perhaps be considered as not absolutely unexceptionable, the power of living with equal facility both in land and water be- ing not granted to all the animals which compose it ; yet, since it is certain that the major part are found to possess that faculty in a considerable degree, the title may be allowed to continue, The Am- T AMP AMP phibia, from the peculiar structure of their organs, and the power which they possess of suspending- respiration at pleasure, can not only support a change of element uninjured, but can also occa- sionally endure an abstinence, which would infallibly prove fatal to the higher order of animals. It bus been a general doctrine among anatomists, that the hearts of the Amphibia were, in the technical phrase, unilocular, or furnished with only one ventricle or cavity ; a doctrine main- tained by many eminent anatomists, and, in general, assented to by the greatest physiologists, as Boerhauve, I-Ialler, &c. &c. and only occasionally called in ques- tion, on viewing in some animals of this tribe a seemingly different structure. Thus the French academicians of the seventeenth century pronounce the heart of an Indian land tortoise, which they examined, to have in reality three ventri- cles instead, of one. Linnaeus, in his Sys- tema Naturae, acquiesces hi the general doctrine, and accordingly makes it a cha- racter of this class of animals. Among later physiologists, however, there are not wanting some who think it more correct to say, that the hearts of the Amphibia are in reality double, or furnished with two ventricles, with a free or immediate communication between them. The lungs of the Amphibia differ widely in their ap- pearance from those of other animals; consisting, in general, of a pair of large bladders or membranaceous receptacles, parted, in the different species, into more or fewer cancelli, or subdivisions, among which are beautifully distributed the pul- monary blood-vessels, which bear but a small proportion to the vesicular part through which they ramify ; whereas, in the lungs of the Mammalia, so great is the proportion of the blood-vessels, and so very small are the vesicles, or air-cells, that the lungs have a fleshy rather than a membranaceous appearance. In the Amphibia, therefore, the vesicular sys- tem may be said greatly to prevail over the vascular ; and in the Mammalia, or warm-blooded animals, the vascular system to prevail over the vesicular. Many of the Amphibia are possessed of a high degree of reproductive power, and will be furnished with new feet, tails, &c. when those parts have by any accident been destroyed. Many are highly beautiful in their colours, as well as elegant in their forms ; while others, on the contrary, are, in the common ac- ceptation of the words, extremely deform- ed, and of unpleasing colours. Their bo- dies are sometimes defended by a hard, horny shield, or covering ; sometimes rather by a coriaceous integument ; some- time by scales ; and sometimes have no particular defence or coating, the skin be- ing merely marked by soft, pustular warts, or protuberances, more or less visible in the different species. The bones of the Amphibia, except in a very few instances, are of a more cartilaginous nature than in either the Mammalia or Birds : many spe- cies are destitute of ribs, while others have those parts very numerous : some are furnished with formidable teeth ; others are toothless : some are fierce and pre- dacious ; others inoffensive. Few, ex- cept among the serpent tribe, are of a poisonous nature, the general prejudice against them having arisen rather on ac- count of their form, than from any real poisonous quality; but among the ser- pents, we meet with some species pos- sessed of the most dreadful poison, as well as with the power of applying it with fatal force to the animals which they at- tack. The number of poisonous serpents is, however, not so great as was formerly imagined ; perhaps not more than a sixth part of the whole number of known spe- cies being of that character. Among no animals do we meet with beings of a more singular form than the Amphibia; some of which present appearances so unusual, so grotesque, and so formidable, that even the imagination of the poet or painter can hardly be supposed to exceed the reali- ties of nature. The amphibia in general are extremely tenacious of life, and will continue to move, and exert many of their animal functions, even when deprived of the head itself. The experiments which have been occasionally made on these subjects can hardly be recited without horror. The natural life of some of the Amphibia, more particularly of the tor- toise tribe, is extremely long; and even to the smaller tribes of frogs and lizards a considerable space seems allotted. The same is also highly probable with respect to the serpent tribe. By far the major part of the Amphibia are oviparous, some excluding eggs covered with a hard or calcareous shell, like those of birds ; others, such as are covered only with a tough skin, resembling parchment ; and in many, they are perfectly gelatinous, without any kind of external cpvering, as is the spawn of the common frog. Some few are viviparous ; ihe eggs first hatch- ing internally, and the young being after- wards excluded in their perfect form, as in the viper, &c. &c. In cold and tempe- AMP AMP rate climates, most of the Amphibia pass the winter in a torpid state ; and that sometimes ia a degree of cold which would seem but ill calculated for the pre- servation of animal life. The common large water-newt, in particular, is said to have been occasionally found completely embedded in large masses of ice, in which it must have remained inclosed for a very considerable period; and yet, on the dis- solution of the ice, has been restored to life. The Amphibia may be divided into four distributions, viz. Testudmes, Ranae, Lacertse, and Serpentes; or Tortoises, Frogs, Lizards, and Serpents. The ani- mals belonging to the three former of these divisions constitute the order enti- tled Reptilia, containing the Amphibia Pedata, or Footed Amphibia. The last division, or that of Serpents, constitutes the order Serpentes ; containing the Am- phibia Apoda, or Footless Amphibia. AMPHITRITE, a genus of worms, of the order Molusca; body projecting from a tube, and annulate ; peduncles or feet small, numerous ; feelers two, approxi- mate, feathered; no eyes. There are seven species: of which the A. renifurmis, with a rounded body and simple feelers, is three inches long, and inhabits the seas about Iceland. The body is of a most beautiful red ; head defended by two semicircular arches; plumes fourteen, and alternately red and white ; annulations of the body from 80 to 90, with each a mi- nute tubercle on each side ; tail pointed, and not jointed; tube red, tough, cori- aceous, simple, and four inches long. AMPH1SBJHNA, in natural history, a genus of Serpents, of which the generic character is, body cylindric, equal; an- nular divisions on body and tail. Accord- ing to Gmelin there are five species ; but Dr. Shaw mentions two only, viz. the Alba and the Fuliginosa. The whole genus is allied to that of the Anguis, and in some degree to the Lacerta : it is, however, readily distinguished by the manner in which the exterior surface of its skin is marked in well-defined numerous circles or rings, completely surrounding, the body, and divided in a longitudinal direc- tion by still more numerous straight lines, thus forming so many square or parrallelo- gramic scales. The alba is about 18 or 20^ inches long, and of a proportional thickness. The head, which is covered with large scales, being but little larger in diameter than the body ; the tail is short, terminating in a rounded extremity. The colour is, as the name imports, white, though in some instances it is tinged with a pale rose colour. The usual number of circles in this snake is about 223 on the body, and 16 on the tail. It is a na- tive of South-America, where it is found in woods, preying on insects and worms. It is a harmless animal; but on being handled, it excites a slight itching on the skin, accompanied by small pustules, owing to an acrimonious moisture ex- uding from the animal. A. fuliginosa is at all times readily distinguished by its colours. There are about 230 rings on its body and tail. It is white, variegated with black or deep brown spots. The head is without spots. It is found in ma- ny parts of South-America, resembling the alba in its manners, and being equally innoxious. The skin of the amphisbiena is remarkably strong and tenacious, and of a smooth or glossy surface : it is sup- posed to be able to perforate the ground with great facility, in the manner of earth worms, to obtain its food. The other species are found in America. See plate Serpentes, fig 2. AMPLITUDE, in astronomy, an arch of the horizon intercepted between the east or west point thereof, and the centre of the sun, star, or planet, at its rising and setting, and so is either north or south. If the amplitude be taken from the rising sun, or star, it is called its rising or ortive amplitude ; if, when it sets, its setting or occasive amplitude. The sun's amplitude, either rising or setting, is found by the globes, by bringing the sun's place to the horizon, either on the east or west side, and the degrees from the east point, either north or south, are the amplitude required. To find the ampli- tude trigonometrically, say, as the cosine of the latitude : radius : : sine of the pre- sent declination : sine of the amplitude. This problem is useful in navigation, to find the variation of the compass. Thus, in latitude 51 31', when the sun's decli- nation is 23 28', then we say, As 60. S. 61 31', : 10. &c. : : S. 28 28' : S. Amp. or, as 9.793990 : 10. &c. : : 9.600118 : 9.806127 = sine of 39 47' = the amplitude sought : that is, the suu then rises or sets 39 47' from the east or west point to the north or south, us the declination is either north or south. AMPLITUDE, magnetical, the different rising or setting of the sun, from the east or west points of the compass. It is found by observing the sun, at his' rising and setting, by an amplitude compass. The difference between the magneticul ampli- tude and the true amplitude is the vari- AMY AMY tion of the compass. If the magnetical amplitude be found to be . . 61 55' at the time it is computed as above to be . . 39 47' th'en the difference 22 8' is the variation westward. AMPLITUDK of the range of a projectile, the horizontal line subtending the path in which the projectile moved. See PRO- JECTILE. AMPUTATION, in surgery, the cut- ting off a limb, or other part of the body, with an instrument. AMULET, a charm, or preservative against mischief, witchcraft or diseases. Amulets were made of stone, metal, sim- ples, animals, and, in a word, of every thing which fancy or caprice suggested ; and sometimes they consisted of words, characters, and sentences, ranged in a particular order, and engraved upon wood, Sec. and worn about the neck, or some other part of the body. At other times they were neither written nor en- graved, but prepared with many super- stitious ceremonies, great regard being usually paid to the influence of the stars. The Arabians have given to this species of amulet the name of talisman. All nations have been fond of amulets ; the Jews were extremely superstitiows in the use of them, to drive away diseases : and the Misna forbids them, unless re- ceived from an approved man, who had cured at least three persons before, by the same means. Even among the Christians of the early times, amulets were made of the wood of the cross, or ribbands with atext of scripture written in them, as preserva- tives against diseases; and therefore the council of Laodicea forbids ecclesiastics to make such amulets, and orders all such as wore them to be cast out of the church. AMYGDALOID. See TRAPS THAN- SITI03V. AMYGDALUS, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Monogynia class and or- der; its characters are, that the calyx is a perianthium, one-leaved, tubulous, in- ferior, quinquefid, deciduous, divisions spreading and obtuse ; the corolla of five petals, oblong-ovate, obtuse, concave, in- serted into the calyx ; the stamina have filaments about 30, filiform, erect, shorter by half than the corolla, inserted into the calyx; anthers simple ; the pistillum has a roundish, viilosc germ, simple style, of the length of the stamens, and headed stigma: the pericarpium is a roundish, villose, large drupe, with a longitudinal furrow ; the seed is a nut, ovate, com- pressed, acute, with prominent sutures on each side, reticulated with furrows, and dotted with small holes. The nut of the almond is covered with a dry skin ; that of the peach with a small pulp. There are seven species, of which we shall no- tice, 1. A persica, with all the serratures- of the leaves acute, and the flowers ses- sile and solitary. There are two varie- ties, viz. the peach-tree, with downy fruit, and the nectarine, with smooth fruit. 2. A. communis, the almond tree, with the lower serratures of the leaves glandulous, and the flowers sessile and in couplets. The common almond has leaves which re- semble those of the peach, but the lower serratures are glandular; they proceed from buds, -both above and below the flowers, and not, as in the peach, from the ends of the shoots above and not be- low the flowers. The form of the flower is not very different; but they usually come out in pairs, and vary more in their colour from the fine blush of the apple- blossom to a snowy whiteness. The chief obvious distinction is in the fruit, which is flatter, with a coriaceous covering in- stead of the rich pulp of the peach and nectarine, opening spontaneously when the kernel is ripe. The shell is not so hard, as in the first species, and is some- times tender and very brittle ; it is flatter, smoother, and the furrows or holes are more superficial. This tree is a great object in some parts of Italy, and in the south of France ; and there are large plantations of it in Provence and Dau- phine. It is common in China, and most of the eastern countries ; and also in Bar- bary, where it is a native. In the time of Cato it seems not to have been cultivated in Italy ; for he calls the fruit nuces Grae- cae, or Greek nuts. With us it is valuable as an ornamental tree in clumps, shrub- beries, &c. within view of the mansion; for it displays its delicate red-purple bloom in the month of March, when few other trees have either leaves or flowers. An almond tree, covered with its beauti- ful blossoms, is one of the most elegant objects in nature. In a forward spring they often appear in February ; but in this case the frost generally destroys them, and they bear little or no fruit; but when they flower in March, they seldom fail to bear plenty of fruit, very sweet, and fitfor the table when green; but they will not keep long. The amygdalus, or almond-tree is cultivated both for the ad- vantage of the fruit, and as being highlv AMY AMY ornamental in shrubberies, plantations, and other descriptions of pleasure ground, from its coming 1 into bloom early in the spring-. It is, however less important in the former than the latter point of view, as the fruit is often liable to miscarry in this climate. All the species and varie- ties of this tree are deciduous, and of a hardy nature, thriving- well in most com- mon garden soils. Those of the tree kind frequently rise to fifteen or twenty feet in height, dividing into many spreading branches, which ultimately form beauti- ful heads, that are generally well adorned in the beginning of March with innume- rable flowers, which continue in full bloom for a fortnight or three weeks, and are followed by the leaves, which are long and narrow, and the fruit takes its growth. This is downy, rather large, and of an oval form ; consisting of a thick tough, leathery substance, that embraces an oblong nut or stone, in which the ker- nel or almond is inclosed, which is the only part of the fruit that is capable of being made use of. The dwarf, shrubby sorts of this tree do not, however, in ge- neral exceed three or four feet in height, having slender stems, which send forth a great number of small branches near to the ground ; and in the single-flowered kind various suckers are frequently sent up from the root. And in both the double and single-flowered almond tree,all the young branches are thickly beset with flowers in the spring, which, from their having a fine pale red colour, and continuing some time in blow, are highly ornamental. The single sort have their flowers coming out about the end of March, and the double kind in the beginning- of April, each re- maining about a fortnight in blow. The sorts chiefly cultivated for use in this country are, according to Mr. Forsyth, the tender-shelled almond, the sweet al- mond, the common or bitter almond, the sweet Jordan almond, and the hard-shell- ed almond. Those propagated only for ornament are, the dwarf and the double- flowering almonds. Amygdalus Persica, or peach-tree. Its native country is not known. It came to the Romans from Persia, as its Latin name, mains Persica, indicates : and it has been cultivated from time immmemorial in most parts of Asia ; it has been adopted by almost every na- tion of Europe, and now flourishes abun- dantly in America, where it has been in- troduced by the Europeans. Of this tree we have only one distinct species ; but there are a great many varieties, and by producing them from the seed or kernel. they may be almost indefinitely increased. But though they are capable of being greatly augmented in this manner, it is probable that but very few possess the necessary qualities, as nursery-men sel- dom cultivate more than twenty or thirty sorts. As in the cultivation of this sort of tree much expense is constantly re- quired in walls or other suitable buildings, none but such as produce fine fruit should be attended to. This sort of trees will grow to a considerable height as stan- dards; but, in order to produce and ripen fruit, requires the shelter of warm walls. They flower early in the spring in com- mon, the flowers appearing before the leaves, mostly on the shoots of the pre- ceding year, and either singly or in pairs along their sides. They are formed each of five small petals, with many stamina in the middle, and a small round germen, that becomes the peach . The fruit is dis- tinguished into two sorts, the peach and pavie, from the circumstance of the flesh or pulp quitting or adhering to the stone, as in the former it easily separates, while in the latter it adheres firmly. There are various sorts of peaches that may be cultivated ; but for small gardens Mr. Forsyth recommends the following as the most suitable : the early avant, small mignonne, the Anne peach, royal George, royal Kensington, noblesse, early Ne wing- ton, Galland, early purple, chancellor, ni- vette, the Catharine, the late Newiagton, Amygdalus nucipersica, or the nectarine tree. This is now generally considered as a variety of the peach ; but the two trees cannot by any circumstances in their growth, wood, leaves, or flowers, be dis- tinguished from each other with any de- gree of certainty. The fruits are, how- ever, readily discriminated in all their different stages of growth, that of the nectarine having a smooth, firm cuticle, or rind, while in the peach it is covered with a soft, downy substance. Besides, the pulp or flesh of the former is much more firm than that of the latter. There are many varieties of the nectarine that may be cultivated ; but those that chiefly deserve attention are, the Fairchild's, the violet, the elrouge, the Newington, the Roman, the temple, and the vermash. The white nectarine may also be cultiva- ted, both for the goodness of its fruit, and as being a curious variety. AMYRIS, .a genus of the Octandria Monoginia class and order ; its charac- ters are, that the calyx is a perianthium, one-leafed, four-toothed, acute, erect, small, and permanent ; the corolla con- AMY ANA sists of four oblong 1 , concave, and. spread- ing- petals ; the stamina have awl-shaped, erect filaments ; anthers oblong 1 , erect, of the length of the corolla; the pistillum has a germ, superior, ovate, style thick- ish, of the length of the stamens, and stig- ma four-cornered ; the pericarpium is a drupaceous and roundish berry ; and the seed is a round, shining nut. There are thirteen species, of which we shall notice A. sylvatica, with leaves ternate, crinate, and "acute. This is an erect, leafy shrub, from t\vo to fifteen feet high, according to the soil and situation, abounding with a turpentine of a strong disagreeable smell; it is found plentifully about Carthagena, in woods near the sea, and flowers in Au- gust. A. maritima, small, shrubby, sweet wood, with leaves ternate, crenulated and obtuse. This is a dwarf shrub, yielding a juice like that of the former, but more agreeable, and smelling like rue : the ber- ry is of the size of black pepper, black when ripe, inclosing a globular, brittle nut, in which is a white kernel. Swartz doubts whether the preceding be a dis- tinct species from this. It grows in very barren coppices, in a calcareous rocky Soil, both near the sea, and on the interi- or mountains of Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Cuba, and flowers from June to Septem- ber. A. gileadensis, balsam of Gilead tree, with leaves ternate, quite entire, and peduncles one-flowered and lateral. This species is a shrub with purplish branches, having protuberant buds loaded with bal- samic rosin ; the flowers proceed from the same buds by threes ; the bracte minute, and slightly bifid. It has been doubted whether this be a distinct species in itself. A. ambrosiaca, with leaves pinnate and petiolate, and panicles crowded and axil- lary. This is a tree, with a trunk thirty feet high, branching at the top, with branchlets leafy and flowery : leaves al- ternate, with two or three opposite, ovate leaflets on each side, ending in long points, smooth, entire, on short petioles, gibbous at the base ; flowers yellowish white, axillary, and corymbed; perianth very small and four-toothed ; petals lanceolate, spreading at the tip : filaments filiform, half as long as the calyx, inserted into the tube ; germ superior, subglobose, style cylindrical ; stigma capitated, depressed, and four-cornered; fruit ovate, oblique, four-celled, resembling that of the laurel, the nucleus involved in a brittle covering, four-celled, with four stones wrapped up in a viscid red pulp, having a balsamic smell and taste, hardening into a grey rosin, and used for burning as a perfume. The whole tree is sweet-scented, and yields a very odoriferous balsam from the wounded trunk or branches, which is used in the dysentery ; the dose is one dram in red wine ; it is also used in hou- ses and churches for burning as a per- fume. It grows in the woods of Guiana, and by the sea-shore; flowering and fruit- ing in September. A. balsamifera, sweet amyris, white candle-wood, or rose-wood, with leaves two-paired. This grows to a considerable size, and is one of the most valuable trees in the island of Jamaica ; the wood is white, and of a curled grain when young, but grows of a dirty cloud- ed ash colour with age, bearing a fine polish, and having a pleasant smell ; it is heavy, and much esteemed among cabi- net-makers. All the parts of this tree are full of warm aromatic particles, and may be used in baths and fomentations ; the berries are oblong, and have the taste of the balsam copaiba. An infusion of the leaves has a pleasant flavour, is highly ce- phalic, strengthens the nerves, and is par- ticularly restorative to weak eyes. In Jamaica there are several species of amy- ris, the leaves and bark of which yield a fine balsamic juice ; and if the body were tapped at the proper season, a thick liquor would transude, resembling that of the Gilead balsam, to which the taste of the bark and wood of the smaller branch- es bears a very exact relation. Dr. Wright apprehends that this wood, by distillation, would yield a perfume equal to the oleum rhodii. ANA, among physicians, denotes an equal quantity of the ingredients which immediately precede it in prescriptions : it is written by abbreviation a or a a ; thus, g, thur. mijrth. alum, a a, ^ j : that is, take frankincense, myrrh, and allum, each a scruple. ANA, in matters of literature, a Latin termination, added to the titles of several books in other languages. They are collections of the conversa- tion and memorable sayings of men of wit and learning; the scaligeriana was the first book that appeared with a title in ana, and was afterwards followed by the Perroniana, Thuuna, Nudxana, Menagi- ana, and even by Arlequiniana, in ridicule of all books in ana. The Menagiana are accounted the best. ANA, among occult philosophers, a term used to denote the human mind ; from whence some will have anasaptu, u daemon invoked by sick persons, to be derived. ANA ANA ANABASIS, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Digynia class and order : es- sen. char. ; calyx, three-leaved ; cor. five- petalled ; berry, one-seeded, surrounded by a calyx : there are four species. ANACARDIUM, in botany, acajou, a genus of the EnneandriaMonogynia class and order; its characters are, that it has hermaphrodite flowers, and male flowers, either mixed with the hermaphrodites, or on a distinct tree. The calyx of the former is a perianthium, five-leaved, leaf- lets ovate, concave, coloured, erect, and deciduous; the corolla has five petals, lanceolate, acute, three times as long as thejcalyx, upright at bottom, reflex at the end; the stamina have ten filaments, united at the base and upright, nine of them capillary, shorter than the calyx ; the pistillum has a germ, kidney-shaped, obliquely emarginate in front, .style subu- late, bent in, the length of the corolla; stigma small, roundish, depressed and concave ; no pericarpium ; receptacle fleshy, very large and obovate ; the seed a nut, kidney-shaped, large at the top of the receptacle, with a thick shell, cellular within, and abounding in oil. The calyx, corolla, and stamina, of the male flowers, as in the hermaphrodites ; the pistillum has either no germ, or one that is abor- tive. There is one species, viz. A. occi- clentale, cashew -nut, cassu or acajou. The cashew is an elegant tree, 12 or 16 feet high, spreading much as it rises, and beginning to branch at the. height of five feet, according to Browne ; but Long af- firms that in good soil it spreads to the size of a walnut tree, which it resembles in the shape and smell of the leaves ; the trunk seldom exceeds half a foot in diameter ; the leaves are coriaceous, sub- ovate, shining, entire, petioled, and scat- tered alternately, and terminating, con- taining many small, sweet-smelling flow- ers, on oblong receptacles, scarcely dis- tinguishable from the peduncle ; the co- rolla red, with commonly 10 stamens, one of which has no anther, but it has fre- quently eight, or only seven, all fertile ; and there are sometimes female flowers, entirely destitute of stamens. The fruit has an agreeable subacid flavour, in some degree restringent ; in some of a yellow, and in others of a red colour, which dif- ference may be probably owing to the soil or culture. The juice of the fruit, fer- mented, affords a pleasant wine ; and distilled, yields a spirit exceeding arrack r rum, and serves to make punch, and also to promote urine. The ripe fruit is sometimes roasted and sliced, and thus used for giving an agreeable flavour to punch. The restringency of the juice has recommended it as a remedy in drop- sical habits. From one end of the apple proceeds the nut, which is kidney-shap- ed, enclosed in two shells, the outer of an ash colour, and smooth, and the inner covers the kernel. Between these shells is lodged a thick, inflammable, and very caustic oil, which, incautiously applied to the lips and mouth,inflames and excoriates them. This oil has been successfully used for eating off ring-worms, cancerous ulcers, and corns ; but it should be very cautiously applied. Some females have used it as a cosmetic, in order to remove the freckles and tan occasioned by the scorching rays of the sun, but it proves so corrosive as to peel off the'skin, and cause the face to inflame and swell; but after enduring the pain of this operation for about a fortnight, thin new skin, as it may be called, appears, fair-like that of a new born infant. This oil also tinges linen of a rusty iron colour, that can hardly be got out ; and when smeared on wood it prevents decay, and might, therefore, serve for preserving house tim- ber and ships' bottoms. The fresh ker- nel has a delicious taste, and abounds with a sweet milky juice ; it is an ingre- dient in puddings, &c. and is eaten raw, roasted and pickled. The negroes of Brazil, who are compelled by their mas- ters, the Portuguese, to eat this nut, for want of other sustenance, obtain relief from this involuntary use of it in various disorders of the stomach. When the kernel is ground with cacao, it improves the chocolate ; but if it be kept too long it becomes shrivelled, and loses its flavour and best qualities. The milky juice of the tree, obtained by tapping or incision, will stain linen of a deep black, which cannot be washed out; but whether this has the same property with that of the eastern anacardium, has not yet been as- certained ; for the inspissated juice of that tree is the best sort of lack which is used for staining black in China or Japan. ANACHRONISM, in matters of litera- ture, an error with respect to chronology, whereby an^event is placed earlier than it really happened, in which sense it stands opposite to parachronism. ANACREONTIC verse, in ancient poe- try, a kind of verse so called from its being much used by the poet Anacreon. It consists of three feet and a half, usually sporidees and iambics, and sometimes anapests ; such is that of Horace, ANA ANA f>ydia die per omnes. The word anacreontic is sometimes placed at the beginning of convivial songs, glees, &c. denotes a gay hilarity of movement, and a free and easy style of performance. ANACYGLUS, in botany, a genus of plants of the Syngenesia Polygamia Su- perflua. Essen, char, receptacle chaffy, seeds crowned with an emarginate mar- gin, those at the ray inembranaceous at the sides. There are five species: of which the creticus and orientalis grow naturally in the islands of the Archipela- go. They are low plants, whose branch- es trail on the ground. The first sort has fine cut leaves, like those of chamo- mile ; the flowers are small, white, and grow single, with their heads declining ; these are like those of common May- weed. The second has leaves like those of the ox-eye; the flowers are white, and like those of chamomile. ANAGALLIS, in botany, a genus of plants, belonging to the Pentandria Mo- nogynia class of Linnaeus ; the flower of which is monopetalous, multifid, and or- bicular ; the fruit is a globose capsule ; containing only one cell, and dividing ho- rizontally into two hemispheres ; the seeds are numerous and angular. There are six species. ANAGRAM, in matters of literature, a 'transposition of the letters of some name, whereby a new word is formed, either to the advantage or disadvantage of the person or thing to which the name belongs ; thus from Galenus is formed Angelus : from James, Simea ; and so of others. Those who adhere strictly to the defi- nition of an anagram, take no other liber- ty than that of omitting or retaining the letter h, at pleasure ; whereas others make no scruple to use e for white ring which surrounds the root of the tail. They are generally furnished with a small tuft on the head, and the most usual colour of the males (gander or stig) is pure white : the bills and feet in both males and females are of an orange red. By studied attention in the breeding, two sorts of these geese have been obtained : the less are by many esteemed as being more delicate eating: the larger are by others preferred, on ac- count of the bountiful appearance they make upon the festive board. The ave- rage weight of the latterkind is between nine and fifteen pounds; but instances are not wanting, where they have been fed to upwards of twenty pounds ; this is, however, to sacrifice the flavour of the food to the size and appearance of the bird, for they become disgustingly fat and surfeiting, and the methods used to cram them up are unnatural and cruel. It is not, however, altogether on account of their use as food that they are valuable ; theirf eathers, their down, and their quills, have long been considered as articles of more importance, and from which their owners reap more advantages. In this respect the poor creatures have not been spared : urged by avarice, their inhuman masters appear to have ascertained the ex- act quantity of plumage of which they can bear to be robbed without being deprived of life. Mr. Pennant, in describing the methods used in Lincolnshire, in breeding, rearing, and plucking geese, says, " they are plucked five times in the year; first at Lady-day for the feathers and quills : this business is renewed, for the feathers only, four times more between that and Mic^Kielmas :" he adds, that he saw the operation performed even upon goslings of six weeks old, from which the feathers of the tails were plucked ; and thut num- bers of the geese die when the season at'- lerwards proves cold. But this unfeeling greedy business is not peculiar to one country, for much the same is practised in others. The care and attention bestow- ed upon the brood geese, while they are engaged in the business of incubation, in the month of April, is nearly the same every where ; wicker pens are provided for them, placed in rows, and tier above tier, not uncommonly under the same roof as their owner. Some place water and corn near the nests ; others drive them to the water twice a day, and replace each female upon her own nest as soon as she returns. This business requires the attendance of the gozzard (goose-herd) a month at least, in which time the young are brought forth : as soon afterwards as the brood are able to waddle along, they are, together with their dams, driven to the contiguous loughs and fens, or marsh- es, on whose grassy margined pools they feed and thrive, without requiring any further attendance until the autumn. To these marshes, which otherwise would be unoccupied, (except by wild birds,) and be only useless watery wastes, we are principally indebted for so great a supply of the goose ; for in almost every country, where lakes and marshes abound, the neighbouring inhabitants keep as many as suit their convenience ; and in this way immense numbers annually attain to full growth and perfection ; but in no part of the world are such numbers reared, as in the fens of Lincolnshire, where it is said to be no uncommon thing for a single per- son to keep a thousand old geese, each of which, on an average, will bring up seven young ones. So far those only are no- ticed which may properly be called the larger flocks, by which particular watery districts are peopled; and, although their aggregate numbers are great, yet they form only a part of the large family: those of the farm yard taken separately, appear as small specks on a great map ; but when they are gathered together, and added to those kept by almost every cot- tager throughout the kingdom, the im- mense whole will appear multiplied in a ratio almost incalculable. A great part of those which are left to provide for them- selves during the summer, in the solitary distant waters, as well as those which en- liven the village green, are put into the stubble fields after harvest, to fatten upon the scattered grain : and some are penned up for this purpose, by which they attain to greater bulk ; and it is hardly neceau- ANAS. ry to observe, that they are then poured in weekly upon the tables of the luxurious citizens of every town in the kingdom. But these distant and divided supplies seem trifling 1 when compared with the multitudes, which, in the season, are driv- en in all directions into the metropolis; the former appear only like the scanty watering's of the petty streamlet ; the lat- ter like the copious overflowing torrent of a large river. To the country market towns they are carried in bags and pan- niers; to the great centre of trade they are sent in droves of many thousands. To a. stranger it is a most curious spectacle to view these hissing, cackling, gabbling, but peaceful armies, with grave deportment, waddling along, (like other armies) to cer- tain destruction. Thedriversare each pro- vided with a long stick, at one end of which a red rag is tied as a lash, and a hook is fixed at the other: with the former,'of which the geese seem much afraid, they are excited forward ; and with the latter, such as attempt to stray are caught by the neck and kept in order ; or if lame, they are put into an hospital-cart, which usually follows each large drove. In this manner they perform their journies from distant parts, and are said to get forward at the rate of eight or ten miles in a day, from three in the morning till nine at night : those which become fatigued are fed with oats, and the rest with barley. The tame goose lays from seven to twelve eggs, and sometimes more : these the care- ful housewife divides equally among her brood geese, when they begin to sit. Those of her geese which lay a second time in the course of the summer, are sel- dom, if ever, permitted to have a second hatching ; but the eggs are used for house- hold purposes. In some countries the do- mestic geese require much less care and attendance than those of this country. The goose has for many ages been celebrated on account of its vigilance. The story of the saving Rome by the alarm they gave, when the Gauls were attempting the Capi- tol, is well known, and was probably the first time of their watchfulness being re- corded, and, on thataccount, they were af- terwards held in the highest estimation by the Roman people. It is certain that noth- ing can stir in the night, nor the least or most distant noise be made, but the geese are roused, and immediately begin to hold their cackling converse ; and on the near- er approach of apprehended danger, they set up their more shrill and clamorous cries. It is on account of this property that they arc esteemed by many persons as the most vigilant of all centinels, when placed in particular situations. Anas Erithrophus, or barnacle of Eu- rope. The barnacle weighs about five pounds, and measures more than two feet in length, and nearly four and a half in breadth. The bill, from the tip to the corners of the mouth, is scarcely an inch and a half long, black, and crossed with a pale reddish streak on each side : a nar- row black line passes from the bill to the eyes, the irides of which are brown : the head is small, and as far as the crown, together with the cheeks and throat, white : the rest of the head and neck, to the breast and shoulders, is black. The upper part of the plumage is prettily mar- bled or barred with blue-grey, black, and white : the feathers of the back are black, edged with white, and those of the wing- coverts and scapulars blue-grey, border- ed with black near their margins, and edged with white : the quills black, edged a little way from the tips with" blue-grey ; the under parts of the tail coverts white : the thighs are marked with dusky lines or spots, and are black near the knees : the tail is black, and five inches and a half long : the legs and feet dusky, very thick and short, and have a stumpy appearance. In severe winters, these birds are not un- common in England, particularly in the northern and western parts, where, how- ever they remain only a short time, but depart early in the spring to their north ern wilds, to breed and spend the summer. Anas Bernicla, Brent Goose. Brown; head, breast, and neck black, the latter with a lateral white spot : tail coverts and vent white : plentiful on the sea coast of North America in autumn. It is consi- dered by Mr. Wilson as the same with the Barnacle Goose (A. Erythropus.) Anas molissima, or eider duck. This wild, but valuable species is of a size be- tween the goose and the domestic duck, and appears to be one of the graduated links of the chain which connects the two kinds. The full-grown old males general- ly measure about two feet two inches in length, and two feet eight in breadth, and weigh from six to above seven pounds. The female is nearly of the same shape, though less than the male, weighing only between five and six pounds; but her plumage is quite different, the ground co- lour being of a reddish brown, prettily crossed with waved black lines; and in some specimens the neck, breast, and belly, are tinged with ash ; the wings are crossed with two bars of white : quills ANA ANA dark : the neck is marked with longitudi- nal dusky streaks, and the belly is deep brown, spotted obscurely with black. The eider duck lays from three to five large, smooth, pale, olive-coloured eggs : these she deposits and conceals in a nest, or bed, made of a great quantity of the soft, warm, elastic down, plucked from her own breast, and sometimes from that of her mate. The ground-work, or foun- dation of the nest is formed of bent-grass, sea-weeds, or such like coarse materials, and it is placed in as sheltered a spot as the bleak and solitary place can afford. In Greenland, Iceland, Spitzbergen, Lap- land, and some parts of the coast of Nor- way, the eiders flock together, in particu- lar breeding places, in such numbers, and their nests are so close together, that a person in walking along can hardly avoid treading upon them. The natives of these cold climates eagerly watch the time when the first hatchings of the eggs are laid : of these they rob the nest, and also of the more important article, the down with which it is lined, which they carefully gather and carry off. These birds will af- terwards strip themselves of their remain- ing down, and lay a second hatching, of which also they are sometimes robbed : but it is said that when this cruel treat- ment is too often repeated, they leave the place, and return to it no more. The quan- tity of this valuable commodity, which is thus annually collected in various parts, is uncertain. Buffbn mentions one par- ticular year, in which the Icelandic com- pany sold as much as amounted to upwards of eight hundred and fifty pounds sterling. This, however, must be only a smail por- tion of the produce, which is all sold by the hardy natives, to stuff the couches of the pampered citizens of more polished nations. The great body of these birds constantly resides in the remote northern, frozen climates, the rigours of which their thick clothing well enables them to bear. They are said to keep together in flocks in the open parts of the sea, fishing and diving very deep in quest of shell-fish and other food, with which the bottom is co- vered; and when they have satisfied them- selves, they retire to the shore, whither they at all times repair for shelter, on the approach of a storm. Other less numerous flocks of the eiders branch out, colonize, and breed further southward, in both Eu- rope and America : they are found on til- promontories and numerous isles of the coa** of Norway, and on those of the nor- thern, and the Hebrides or western isles of Scotland, and also on the fern isles, on the Northumberland coast, which latter is the only place where they are known to breed in England, and may be said to be their utmost southern limit in Lat quarter, although a few solitary instances of single birds being shot further southward along the coast have sometimes happened. Anas Marilla, scaup duck, or Blue-bill. This species measures, when stretched out, nearly twenty inches in length, and thirty-two in breadth. The bill is broad, and flat, more than two inches long, from the corners of the mouth to the * "p, and of a fine pale blue or lead colour, with the nail black : irides bright deep yellow : the head and upper half of the neck are ' "ack, glossed with green .- the lower part cf the latter, au:l the breast, are of a sleek plain black: the throat, rump, upper and under coverts of the tail, and part of the '.highs, are of the same colour, but dull am! more inclining to brown. The tail, when spread out, is fan-shaped, and consists of fourteen short brown feathers. The legs are short, toes long, and, as well as the ouU r or la- teral webs of the inner toes, are of a dirty pale blue colour; all the joints and the rest of the webs are dusky. These birds are said to vary greatly in their plumage, as '.veil as size; but those which iiave come under the author's observation were all nearly alike. The scaup duck, like others of the same genus, quits the ri- gours of the dreary north in the winter months, and in that season only is met. with on various parts of the An :rican shores. It is well known in England. Anas Clangula, the golden-eye. The weight of this species varies from twenty- six ounces to two pounds. The length is nineteen inches, and the breadth thirty- one. These birds do not congregate in large flocks, they are vai-ied with black and white ; head tumid, violet; at each corner of the mouth a white spot They are frequent in the waters of the United States during the winter, and take their departure northward in the spring. In their flight they make the air whistle with the vigorous quick strokes of their wings; they are excellent divers, and seldom set foot on the shore, upon which, it is said, they walk with great apparent difficulty, and, except in the breeding season, only repair to it for the purpose of taking their repose. The attempts which were made by M.Baillon to doir.esticate these b ; rds, he informs the Count de Buffo n, quite failed of success. See Plate III. Aves, fig. 1 to 5. ANAS ARC A, in medicine, a species of dropsy, wherein the skin appears puffed ANA up and swelled, and yields to the impres- sion of the fingers, like dough. See ME- DICINE. ANASTATICA, the rose of Jericho, in botany, a genus of the Tetradynamia Sili- culosa class of plants, the calyx of which is a deciduous perianthium, consisting of four oval, oblong, concave, erect, and de- ciduous leaves : its flowers consist of four roundish petals, disposed in the form of a cross ; and its fruit is a short bilocular pod, containing in each cell a single roundish seed. There are two species; one is found growing naturally on the coast of the Red sea, in Palestine, and near Cairo, in sandy places. The stalks are ligneous, though the plant is annual. It is preser- ved in botanic gardens for the variety, and in some curious gardens for the odd- ness of the plant, which, if taken up before it is withered, and kept entire in a dry room, may be long preserved, and after being many years in this situation, if the root is placed in a glass of water a few hours, the buds of the flowers will swell, open, and appear as if newly taken out of the ground. The second species, called the A. syriaca, is a native of Austria, Ste- ria, Carniola, Syria, and Sumatra. These plants, being annual, can be propagated only by seeds, which rarely ripen in Eng- land. ANATOMY is the art of examining ani- mal bodies by dissection. It teaches the structure and functions of these bodies, and shews nearly on what life and health depend. When these are well understood, a great step is made towards the know- ledge and cure of diseases. It is derived from the Greek verb, etvccTEf&va, I cut up : yet do we not com- prehend under it the mere cutting of dead bodies ; but every operation, by which we endeavour to discover the structure and use of any part of the body. As every animal body is the subject of anatomy, we divide it into the human and comparative. The first of these, which is confined to the human body, forms the subject of the present article; the last, which is extended to the whole animal creation, will be considered under the head of COMPARATIVE ANATOMY. The offices or functions of the various parts of the body are the objects of the science of PHYSIOLOGY : to which article the reader is referred for those subjects. The limits to which we are confined, by the nature of the present work, will prevent us from entering much into the de- tails of the structure and composition of the human body. We shall present the VOL. I. ANA reader with a general sketch of the sub- ject, as being more suited to the space which this article is allowed to occupy. After a cursory view of the origin and progress of anatomical science, we shall give a general description of the compo- nent parts of the human body, and their functions ; and proceed in the last place to the more particular enumeration and description of the various organs. HISTORY OF ANATOMY. The want of records leaves us in the dark with regard to the origin of this art; yet it is reasonable to conclude, that, like most other arts, it had no precise begin- ning. The nature of the thing would not admit of its lying for a time altogether concealed, and of being suddenly brought to light, either by chance, or genius, or industry. All the studies and arts which are ne- cessary in human life are so interesting and obvious, that man in every situation has always by instinct and common sense turned his thoughts to them, and made some progress in the cultivation of them. To talk seriously of the invention of agri- culture, architecture, astronomy, naviga- tion, mechanics, physic, surgery, or ana- tomy, by some particular man, or in one particular country, or at a time subsequent to some prior aera, would be to discover great ignorance of human nature. We might just as well suppose, that, till a cer- tain period of time, man was without in- stinctive appetites, and without observa- tion and reflection, and that in a happy hour he found out the art of supporting life by taking food. All such arts, in a less or more cultivated state, were, from the beginning, and ever will be, found in all parts of the inhabited world. The first men who lived must soon have acquired some notions of the structure of their own bodies, particularly of the ex- ternal parts, and of some even of the in- ternal, such as bones, joints, and sinews ; which are exposed to the examination of the senses in the living body. This rude knowledge was indeed gra- dually improved by the accidents to which the body is exposed, by the necessities of life, and by the various customs, ceremo- nies, and superstitions of different nations. Thus, the observance of bodies killed by violence, attention to wounded men, and to many diseases, the various ways of put- ting criminals to death, the funeral cere- monies, and a variety of such things, must have shewn men, every day, more and ANATOMY. more of themselves ; especially as curiosi- ty and self-love would urge them power- fully to observation and reflection. The brute creation having 1 such an af- finity to man, in outward form, motions, senses, and ways of life, the generation of the species, and the effect of death upon the body, being observed to be so nearly the same in both, the conclusion was not only obvious, but unavoidable, that their bodies were formed nearly upon the same model. The opportunities of examining the bodies of brutes were so easily procu- red, indeed so necessarily occurred in the common business of life, that the hunts- man in making use of his prey, the priest in sacrificing, the augur in divination, and, above all, the butcher, or those who might out of curiosity attend his opera- tions, would have been daily adding to the little stock of anatomical knowledge. Accordingly we find, in fact, that the South-sea islanders, who have been left to their own observation and reasoning, with- out the assistance of letters, have yet a considerable share of rude or wild anato- mical and physiological knowledge When Omai was in Dr. Hunter's museum, al- though he could not explain himself intel- ligibly, it appeared plainly that he knew the principal parts of the body, and something likewise of their uses, and ma- nifested a great curiosity, or desire, of naving the functions of the internal parts of the body explained to him ; particular- ly the relative functions of the two sexes, which, with him, seemed to be the most interesting object of the human mind. The poems of Homer likewise shew us that many facts were popularly known in his time ; he probably possessed the gene- ral information on the subject. The fol- lowing passages display a knowledge of some of the internal parts of the body : " Antilochus, as Thoon turn'd him round, Transpierc'd his back with a dishonest wound. The hollow vein that to the neck ex- tends, Along the chine, his eager jav'lin rends." Iliad, b. 13. The stone, which Diomed threw at JEneas, is said to have broken the acetabulum, and to have torn both the ligaments which connect the thigh in its situation. These particulars are not mentioned in Mr.Pope's translation, we therefore cite the original : ' xorvv JV re 01 revovrg II. 5. 1. 305. From the sources which have been just enumerated was derived the anatomical knowledge of early times. This know- ledge was general or popular. Anatomy, properly so called, viz. the knowledge of the structure of the body, obtained by dissections expressly instituted for that purpose, is of much more recent origin. Civilization and improvement of every kind would naturally begin in fertile coun- tries and healthful climates, where there would be leisure for reflection, and an ap- petite for amusement. It seems now to be clearly made out, that writing, and ma- ny other useful and ornamental inventions and arts, were cultivated in the eastern parts of Asia,long before the earliest times that are treated of by the Greek or other European writers ; and that the arts and learning of those eastern people were, in subsequent times, gradually communica- ted to adjacent countries, especially by the medium of traffic. The customs, su- perstitions, and climates of eastern coun- tries, appear, however, to have been as unfavourable to practical anatomy, as they were inviting to the study of astronomy, geometry, poetry, and all the softer arts of peace. In those warm climates, animal bodies run so quickly into nauseous putre- faction, that the early inhabitants must have avoided such offensive employments as anatomical inquiries, like their posteri- ty at this day. And, in fact, it does not ap- pear, by the writings of the Grecians, Jews, or Phoenicians, that anatomy was particu- larly cultivated by any of those nations. The progress of anatomy in the early ages of the world was more particularly prevented by a very generally prevalent opinion, that the touch of a dead body communicated a moral pollution. When we consider the extent and inveteracy of this prejudice, we shall cease to wonder at the imperfect state of anatomical know- ledge in the periods now under review. The practice of embalming the bodies of the dead did not at all reconcile the Egyp- tians to dissections. The person who made the incision, through which the viscera were removed, immediately ran away, fol- lowed by the imprecations and even vio- lence of the bye-standers, who considered hjm to have violated the body of a friend. The ceremonial law of the Jews was very rigorous in this respect. To touch seve ANATOMY. v'al animals which they accounted unclean, subjected the person to the necessity of purifications, &c. To touch a dead body made a person unclean for seven days. " Whosoever (says the Jewish lawgiver) toucheth the body of any man that is dead and purifieth not himself, defileth the ta- bernacle of the Lord ; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel." In tracing it backwards in its infancy, we cannot go farther into antiquity than the times of the Grecian philosophers. As an art in the state of some cultivation, it may be said to have been brought forth and bred up among them, as a branch of natural knowledge. We discover in the writings of Plato, that he had paid atten- tion to the organization and functions of the human body. Hippocrates, who lived about four hun- dred years before Christ, and was reckon- ed the eighteenth in descent from JEscu- lapius, was the first who separated the professions of philosophy and physic, and devoted himself exclusively to the latter pursuit. He is generally supposed to be the first who wrote upon anatomy. After the restoration of Greek learning, in the fifteenth century, it was so fashionable for two hundred years together, to extol the knowledge of the ancients in anatomy, as in other things, that anatomists seem to have made it a point of emulation, who should be most lavish in their praise ; some from a diffidence in themselves; others through the love of detracting from the merit of contemporaries ; many from having laboriously studied ancient learn- ing, and having become enthusiasts in Greek literature ; but more, perhaps, be- cause it was the fashionable turn of the times, and was held up as the mark of good education and fine taste. If, how- ever, we read the works of Hippacrates with impartiality, and apply his accounts of the parts to what we now know of the human body, we must allow his dc"rip- tions to be imperfect, incorrect, some- times extravagant, and often unintelli- gible, that of the bones only excepted. From Hippocrates to Galen, who flou- rished towards the end of the second cen- tury, in the decline of the Roman empire, that is, in the space of six hundred years, anatomy was greatly improved ; the phi- losophers still considering it as a most cu- rious and interesting branch of natural knowledge, and the physicians as a prin- cipal foundation of their art. Both of them in that interval of time, contributed daily to the common stock, by more accurate and extended observations, and by the lights of improving philosophy. Aristotle, a disciple of Plato, and pre- ceptor of Alexander the Great, is no less entitled to immortality for his immense labours in natural history, and compara- tive anatomy, than as the founder of the Peripatetic philosophy, which for two thousand years held undisputed sway over the whole learned world. He had formed the most enlarged design which perhaps was ever conceived by any man ; no less than that of a general and detailed history of all nature, a plan by far too vast for the short life of an individual. The love of science which distinguished Alexander no less than his ambition and thirst for glory, led him to encourage and assist the plans of Aristotle in a manner worthy of so great a prince, of so exalted a genius, and of such magnificent designs. The sum of money which he was thereby enabled to devote to his works on natural history would be almost incredible, did we not consider the traits of greatness which mark every action of Alexander, and were not the circumstance stated by writers of unexceptionable authority. Athenaeus, Pliny, and .Elian, concur in representing it at between one and two hundred thou- sand pounds. Shortly after the foundation of Alexan- dria, a celebrated school was established there, to which the Greeks and other for- eigners resorted for instruction, and where physic and every branch of natural knowledge were taught in the greatest perfection. Herophilus and Erasistratus, two anatomists of this school, are particu- larly celebrated in the history of anato- my. They seem to be the first who dis- sected the human body. At least in the time of Aristotle, who precededthese ana- tomists by a very short interval, brutes only had been anatomised. It might have bee'n expected that the practice of em- balming would afford favourable opportu- nities of anatomical investigation, but the rude manner in which the body was pre- pared, and the dread of pollution, pre- vented all instructive examination. The progress of the science required that ana- tomists should have subjects, on which careful anddeliberate dissection might be prosecuted without fear of interruption. This benefit was obtained through the taste which the princes of that time dis- played for the arts and sciences. The PtOr lomies inherited, with their share of the empire of Alexander, the love of science, which shone so conspicuously in that mon- arch. Ptolemy Philadelphus invited to his capital the greatest men of the age ; and by collecting books from all parts, at an immense expense, laid the foundation ANATOMY. of the magnificent Alexandrian library. This king and his predecessor seem to have overcome the religious scruples which forbade the touch of the dead body, and gave up to the physicians the bodies of those who had forfeited their lives to the law. Nay, if the testimony of several au- thors may be believed, Herophilus and Erasistratus dissected several unfortunate criminals alive. There is, however, some- thing in this practice so repuguant to every feeling of humanity, that we ought probably to consider it only as an exagge- rated report of the novel practice of dis- secting the human subject. The writings of these anatomists have not descended to us : our knowledge of their progress in anatomy is derived only from a few ex- tracts and notices which occur in the works of Galen ; but these prove them to have made great advances in the know- ledge of the structure of the human body. The Romans, in prosecuting their schemes of universal conquest and domi- nion, soon became acquainted with the Greeks, and the intercourse of the two na- tions was constantly increasing. Thus the arts, the philosophy, and the manners of the Greeks were introduced into Italy. Military glory and patriotism, which had formerly been the ruling passion of the Roman people, now gave way in some de- gree to the soft arts of peace. The lead- ing men of the Roman rebublic sought the company and conversation of the learned Greeks ; thus literature and philosophy were transported from the Greeks to the Romans, and gave rise to the taste and ele- gance of the Augustan age. In this way did conquered Greece triumph over the unpolished roughness of her conquerors. Graecia captaferum victorem cepit, et artes Intulit agresti Latio Although Rome produced orators, poets, philosophers, and historians which may be brought into competition with those of the Greeks, to the eternal disgrace of their empire, it must be allowed that their his- tory is hardly embellished with the name of a single Roman who was great in science or art, in painting or sculpture, in physic, or in any branch of natural knowledge. We cannot therefore introduce one Rom- an into the history of anatomy. Pliny and Celsus were mere compilers from the Greeks. We may account for this appa- rent neglect of anatomy among the Ro- mans, as well indeed as for its slow pro- gress among the Greeks, from some of their religious tenets, as well as from the notion already mentioned, of pollution be- ing communicated by touching a dead bo- dy. It was believed, that the souls of the mt~ buried were not admitted into the abodes of the dead, or, at least, that they wander- ed for a hundred years along the river Styx, before they were allowed to cross it. Whoever saw a dead body was oblig- ed to throw some earth upon it, and if he neglected to do so, he was obliged to ex- piate his crime by sacrificing to Ceres. It was unlawful for the pontifex maximus not only to touch a dead body, but even to look at it ; and the flamen of Jupiter might not even go where there was a grave. Persons who had attended a fu- neral were purified by a sprinkling of wa- ter from the hands of the priest, and the house was purified in the same manner. If any one (says Euripides, in Iphigenia) pollutes his hands by a murder, by touch- ing a corpse, or a woman who has lain in, the altars of God are interdicted to him. There was no anatomist or physiologist, of sufficient reputation to attract our no- tice, from the times of Herophilus and Erasistratus to the age of Galen. This il- lustrious character was born at Pergamus, in Asia Minor, about the 130th year of the Christian aera. No expense was spared in his education ; after the completion of which, he visited all the most famous schools of philosophy which then existed ; and afterwards resided chiefly at Rome, in the service of the emperors of that time. To all the knowledge which could be derived from the writings of Hippocrates, and the philosophical schools of the time, Galen added the results of his own labours and observations,and compiled from these sources a voluminous system of medicine. It is generally considered that the subjects of his anatomical labours were chiefly brutes ; and it is manifest from several passages that his descriptions are drawn from monkeys. Indeed, he never expres- ly states that he has dissected the human subject, although he says he has seen hu- man skeletons. He must be accounted the first who placed anatomical science on a respectable footing ; and deserves our gratitude for this, that he was the only source of anatomical knowledge for about ten centuries. The science declined with Galen; his successors were contented with copying him ; and there is no proof of a dissection of any human body from Galen to the emperor Frederick II. We may observe, that when any man arrives at the reputation of having carried his art far be- yond all others, it seems to throw the rest of the world into a kind of despair. Hope- less of being able to improve their art still further, they do nothing. The great man, who was at first only respectable, grows ANATOMY. everyday into higher credit, till at length he is deified, and every page of his wri- tings becomes sacred and infallible. This was actually the fortune of Aristotle in philosophy, and of Galen in anatomy, for many ages ; and such respect shewn to any man in any age must always be a mark of declining science. Anatomy experienced the same fate as learning in general on the decline and fall of the Roman empire. The moral and intellectual character of the Romans had been much debased in the later ages of the empire. Philosophy and science were manifestly degenerating, and their place was supplied by a debased and corrupted theology. The successive irruptions of the northern barbarians accelerated the approaching ruin. The great inundation of the Goths into Italy, in the fifth centu- ry, extinguished with the Roman empire, its laws, manners, and learning, and plun- ged the world into the depths of ignorance and superstition. The succeeding ten centuries, which have received the appel- lation of the dark ages of the world, pre- sent a melancholy picture to the philoso- phic observer of human nature ; a barren and dreary waste, not enlivened by a sin- gle trace of cultivation. The followers of the Arabian prophet dissipated the little remains of learning that were left in Asia and Egypt. A con- tempt of all human knowledge, and the religious obligation of extending the Ma- hometan faith by means of the sword, made these ignorant barbarians the most danger- ous and destructive foes to science and the arts. The city of Alexandria, the school of which had been the resort of the learn- ed for centuries, wns taken in the year 640, by Amrou, the general of the Caliph Omar ; the celebrated library was burnt, with the exception of those books which related to medicine, which the love of life induced the Arabians to spare. When the Saracens were established in their new conquests, they began to dis- cern the utility of learning in the arts and sciences, and particularly in physic. Ma- homet had made it death for any Mussul- man to learn the liberal arts : this prohi- bition was gradually neglected, and many of the caliphs distinguished themselves by their love of letters, and the munificent institations which they founded for the propagation of learning. The Greek au- thors were collected, translated, and com- mented on ; but there was no improve- ment nor extension of science made. In anatomy, the Arabians went no further than Galen, the perusal of whose works suppliedthe place of dissection. Theywere preventedfromtouchingthedeadbytheiiT tenets respecting uncleanness and pollu- tion,which theyhad derived from the Jews. The Arabian empire in the east was overturned by the Turks, who, still more barbarous and illiterate than the Sara- cens, carried ignorance and oppression wherever they directed their footsteps. They soon destroyed all the institutions which the Saracens had formed for the propagation of science, and threatened Constantinople itself, which still retained the faint and almost dying embers of Greek knowledge. This city was taken and sacked in the middle of the fifteenth century ; and the learned Greeks fled for safety to the western nations of Eu- rope bringing with them the Grecian au- thors on medicine, and translating them ; which works, the invention of printing, that happened about the same time, greatlycontnbuted to disperse throughout Europe. People had now an opportunity of becoming acquainted with the writings of Galen and the ancients, and, by these means, of arriving at the source of that knowledge which they had hitherto ob- tained only through the channel of the Arabian physicians. The superiority of the former was soon discovered, and the opinions of the Grecian writers were consi- dered even in anatomy, as unimpeachable. For the restoration of anatomy, as well as that of science in general, we are in- debted to the Italians. But the first men who signalized themselves in this path partook of that blind reverence for the words of Galen, which had reigned uni- versally in medicine since his death, and which concurred with the universally pre- vailing prejudices of those times, con- cerning the violation of the dead, to ob- struct all advancement of the science. As an instance of the latter circumstance, we may mention a decree of Pope Boniface Vlll.prohibiting the boiling and preparing of bones, which put a stop to the research- es of Mundinus. Among the circumstances which contri- buted to the restoration of anatomy is to be reckoned, the assistance which it deri- ved from the great painters and sculptors of this age. A knowledge of the anatomy of the surface of the body, at least, is es- sential to the prosecution of these arts. Michael Angelo dissected men and ani- mals, in order to learn the muscleswhich lie under the skin. A collection of anato- mical drawings made by Leonardo da Vinci at this period, is still extant, and, with subjoined explanations, are found in the library of the king. Dr. Hunter bears witness to the minute and accurate know- ANATOMY. ledge which these sketches discover, and does -not hesitate in considering 1 Leonardo as the best anatomist of that time. About the middle of the sixteenth cen- tury the great Vesalius appeared. He was born at Brussels, and studied successive- ly at the different universities of France and Italy. Thus he acquired all the know- ledge of antiquity. Not contented with this, he took every opportunity of examin- ing the human body, and followed the army of the emperor Charles V. into France for that purpose. Vesalius was the first who maintained that dissection was the proper way of learning anatomy, in opposition to the study of the works of Galen. His extensive researches into the structure of man and animals led him to detect the errors of Galen, which he freely exposed, shewing from many parts of his works, that this great man had described the human body from the dissection of brutes. This conduct, which should have excited the admiration and esteem of his contemporaries, served only to rouse in their minds the base and sordid passions of jealousy and envy. Galen had held an undisputed sway over the minds of men for many centuries. His works were re- garded as the only source of anatomical knowledge, and his opinion on medical subjects, like that of Aristotle in philoso- phy, was resorted to in all disputes as final and decisive proof. The first man who penetrated this intellectual mist, and erected the standard of reason and truth, in opposition to that of prejudice and au- thority, might naturally expect to encoun- ter the opposition of those who had been contented to go on in the beaten track. The anatomists, who had always held up Galen in their lectures as the source of all information, were indignant that his faults should be discovered and laid open by so young a man as Vesalius. The con- troversies which arose from this cause were favourable to the progress of anato- my, as the several disputants were obliged to confirm their own opinions, or invali- date those of their opponents, by argu- ments drawn from dissection Vesalius published, at the age of 25, his grand work on the structure of the human body, with numerous elegant figures, sup- posed to have been draw n by the celebra- ted Titian. This work contains such a mass of new information, that it muy justly be considered as forming an aera in the history of anatomy. We cannot help being surprised that so young a man could have investigated the subject so deeply, at a time when dissection was esteemed sacri- legious, and was therefore carried on se- cretly, with greater danger and difficulty The great reputation of Vesalius procur- ed for him the esteem and confidence of Charles V. who made him his physician, and kept him about his person in all his expeditions. His zeal for science proved the cause of his death : for having opened a person too soon, the heart was seen to palpitate. He was condemned to perform a pilgrimage to Jerusalem ; and as he was returning to take the place of anatomical professor at Venice, he was shipwrecked on the island of Zante, and perished of hunger. It would be unjust to pass over unnoticed the names of Fallopius and of Eustachius, who were contemporary with Vesalius, and contributed greatly to the advancement of anatomy. The anatomical plates drawn and engraved by the latter are executed with an accuracy which can- not fail to excite surprise, even in an ana- tomist of the present day. From the time of Vesalius, the study of anatomy gradually diffused itself over Eu- rope; insomuch, that for the last hundred and fifty years it has been daily improving by the labour of many professed anato- mists in almost every country of Europe. In the year 1628, our immortal country- man, Harvey, published his discovery of the circulation of the blood. It was by far the most important step that has been made in the knowledge of animal bodies in any age. It not only reflected useful lights upon what had been already found out in anatomy, but also pointed out the means of furtherinvestigation; andaccord- ingly we see that, from Harvey to the pre- sent time, anatomy has been so much im- proved, that we may reasonably question if the ancients have been farther outdone by the moderns in any other branch of knowledge. From one day to another there has been a constant succession of discoveries, relating either to the struc- ture orfunctions of our body; and new ana- tomical processes, both of investigation anddemonstration,have been dailyinvent- ed. Many parts of the body, which were not known in Harvey's time, have since then been brought to light ; and of those which were known, the internal composition and functions remained unexplained ; and in- deed must have remained inexplicable, without the knowledge of the circulation. The principal facts relating to this sub- ject were known before the time of Har- vey: it remained for him to reject the spe- cious conjectures then maintained con- cerning the blood's motion, and to exam, ine thetruthof those facts which werethen known, and by experiments to discover those which remained to be detected. ANATOMY. This he did, and thereby rendered his name immortal. It seems proper in this place to review the several steps which were made in the investigation of this important subject. Hippocrates believed that all the vessels communicated with each other, and that the blood underwent a kind of flux and re- flux from and to the heart, like the ebbing and flowing of the sea. The anatomists at Alexandria adopted a wrong but ingenious opinion ; as they found the arteries empty, and the veins containing blood, in their dissections, they imagined that the former were tubes for the distribution of air, and gave them that name, which they have re- tained ever since ; and that the veins were the only channels for the blood. Galen ascertained that the blood flowed both by the arteries and veins, though he knew not then its natural course. On the revival of anatomy in Europe, the pulmonary circu- lation was known to many eminent men. This was certainly the case with Servetus, who fell a sacrifice, on account of his reli- gious opinions, to the savage bigotry and intolerance of Calvin. Fabricius ab Aqua- pendente, the preceptor of our famous Harvey, particularly described the valves of the veins, the mechanism of which would absolutely prevent the blood from flowing in those vessels towards the ex- tremities. When Harvey returned from his studies in Italy, his attention being ex- cited to the subject, he began those expe- riments, by which he learned and demon- strated the fact of the circulation. Har- vey's first proposition of the subject im- presses conviction so strongly on the mind, that we are left in perfect astonishment, how a circumstance so luminously evident should have remained so long unobserved. It must be granted, that the heart projects about two ounces of blood into the arte- ries at every pulse ; what then, it may be asked, becomes of this large quantity of blood, unless it circulates ? It must be granted that the heart receives that quan- tity prior to every pulse. From whence is it received, unless the blood circulates ? Harvey tied an artery, and the correspond- ing vein received no blood ; he tied a vein, and all its branches, and those of the cor- responding artery were choaked with blood, even to the entire obstruction of circulation and motion. But Harvey was not acquainted with the direct communi- cation that exists between these vessels. He imagined that the blood transuded from the arteries into the veins through a spongy substance. Much yet remained to be ascertained by microscopical observa- tions, and subtle anatomical injections and dissections. As opportunities of dissection became more numerous, the defects of the old wri- ters in anatomy were discovered. Ingeni- ous men, having gone through their edu- cation, determined to consult nature for themselves. It is not to be wondered at, that errors and deficiencies in anatomy were found in every page of the works of Galen, to say nothing of Hippocrates, since the human body, in his time, could not be consulted for information. The authority of the Greek writers on these subjects was quickly demolished, and anatomy began to be taught from the subject itself. We must not omit the influence, which the writings of our immortal countryman, Ba- con, had on the prosecution of natural knowledge, and in every species of rea- soning. The philosophy of Aristotle was driven from the pre-eminent station which it had so long occupied, to make'room for the only solid and secure method of obser- vation, experiment, and induction. At this time the Academy del Cimento arose in Italy, the Royal Society in London, and the Royal Academy in Paris. From this peri- od, the important doctrine of rejecting all hypothesis, or general knowledge, till a sufficient number of facts shall have been, ascertained, by careful observation and ju- dicious experiments, has been every day growing into more credit. The anatomists and phisiologists of these times distin- guished themselves by a patient observa- tion of nature itself, and an accurate ac- count of the phenomena which they ob- served. After the discovery and knowledge of the circulation of the blood, the next ques- tion would naturally be about the passage and route of the nutritious part of the food, or chyle, from the bowels to the blood- vessels. The name of Aselli, an Italian physician, is rendered illustrious by the discovery of the vessels which carry the chyle from the intestines. He observed them full of a white liquor on the mysen- tery of living animals, and from this cir- cumstance called them milky or lacteal vessels. For many years the anatomists in all parts of Europe were daily opening living animals, either to see the lacteals, or to observe the phenomena of the circula- tion. In makingan experiment of this kind, Pecquet,in France, was fortunate enough to discover the thoracic duct, or common trunk of all the lacteals, which conveys the chyle into the subclavian vein. And now, the lacteals having been traced from the intestines to the thoracic duct, and that. ANATOMY. fuct having been traced to its termination In a blood-vessel, the passage of the chyle was completely made out. The discovery of the absorbent vessels in other parts of the body, where they are known by the name of lymphatics, from the transparent colour of their contents, very soon follow- ed that of the lacteal and thoracic duct. Rudbeck, a Swede, is generally allowed to have been the first who discovered these vessels; but this honour was disputed with him by Bartholin, a learned Dane. By these vessels the old particles of our bodies, which are no longer fit to remain in it, are removed and conveyed into the blood, to be eliminated by the excretory organs. Leeuenhoeck took up the subject of anatomical inquiry, where others had left it. He investigated the minute structure of the body by the help of magnifying glasses ; and was thereby enabled to de- monstrate the circulation of the blood in the pellucid part of living animals ; the red globules of the blood, and the animal- cula of the semen, were first observed by this anatomist. Malpighi also directed his attention chiefly to the developement of minute structure ; as that of the glands or secretory organs of the body. About this time anatomy made two great steps, by the invention of injections, and the method of making anatomical pre- parations. For these we are indebted to the Dutch, particularly Swammerdamand Ruysch. The anatomists of former ages had no other knowledge of the blood-ves- sels than what they could collect from la- borious dissections, and from examining the smaller branches of them upon some lucky occasion, when they were found more than commonly loaded with red blood. But filling the vascular system with a white coloured wax, enables us to trace the large vessels with great ease, renders the smaller much more conspicuous, and makes thousands of the very minute ones visible, which, from their delicacy and the transparency of their natural contents, are otherwise imperceptible. The modern art of corroding the fleshy parts with a menstruum, and of leaving the moulded wax entire, is so exceedingly useful, and at the same time so ornamental, that it does great honour to the ingenious inventor, Dr. Nichols. The method of casting figures in wax, plaister, or lead, is also a great ac- quisition to anatomy, as it enables us to preserve a very perfect likeness of such subjects as we but seldom meet with, or cannot well preserve in a natural state. The modern improved methods of pre- serving animal bodies, or parts of them, in spirits, has been of the greatest service to anatomy ; especially in saving the time and labour of the anatomist, in the nicer dissections of the small parts of the body, For now, whatever he has prepared with care, he can preserve, and the object is ready to be seen at any time. And, in the same manner, he can preserve anatomical curiosities and rarities of every kind; such as parts that are uncommonly form- ed ; parts that are diseased ; the parts of the pregnant uterus, and its contents. Large collections of such curiosities, which modern anatomists are striving every where to procure, are of infinite service to the art ; especially in the hands of teachers. They give students clear ideas about many things, which it is very essential to know, and yet which it is im- possible that a teacher should be able to shew otherwise, were he ever so well supplied with fresh subjects. When anatomy had thus become a clear and distinct science, it was inculcated and taught, in the different nations of Europe, by numerous professors,, with a zeal and industry highly honourable to themselves, and useful to mankind. As the prejudices of mankind respecting dissection nave in a great measure subsided, the difficulties, which formerly obstructed anatomical re- searches, have mostly disappeared, and a sufficient quantity of subjects for anatomi- cal purposes can generally be procured, In most, perhaps in all, the countries of the continent of Europe, the government has provided for the want of anatomists in this particular. In England, however, it still remains a matter of considerable difficulty and expense to procure the means of instruction in practical anatomy; and, accordingly, while foreigners have been enriching science with many splen- did works, the name of one Englishman cannot for many years past be recorded in the annals of anatomy. We wish we could announce to our readers any pros- pect of a change in this respect : but here literature and science are left to themselves, and must advance unaided by the patronage of government, or not advance at all. It would occupy us too long to detail the labours and discoveries of all the emi- nent men, who have immortalized them- selves in anatomy during the last century. We may state generally, that every part of the human body has been most thoroughly and minutely examined and described; and accurate and elegant engravings have appeared of every part. So that a student, in these days, possesses every facility for the prosecution of his anatomical labours. The bones and muscles have been most ANATOMY. represented and described by Albinus, Cheselden, Sue, and Cowper. The vascular system has been illustrated by a splendid work of the immortal Haller. Walker and Meckel of Berlin, and Scarpa at Pavia, have bestowed equal, or eyi-n su- perior, diligence in tracing" the distribu- tion of the most important nerves, and re- presenting 1 them in faithful engravings. Mr. Cruikshank distinguished himself by an excellent book on the absorbing sys- tem ; and Mascagni has lately given to the public a most elaborate account of the ab- sorbing vessels, with very splendid plates. Dr. Hunter, to whom anatomy owes more in this country than to any individual, has Kublished a complete history with beauti- il explanatory engravings, of the growth of the human ovum, and of the changes which the uterus undergoes, after the ovum has been received into its cavity. His brother, Mr. John Hunter, also de- mands mention in this place, as an accu- rate and minute dissector, and a patient experimentalist. He surveyed, in his re- searches, the whole field of animated na- ture, and greatly promoted the science of phisiology. He formed also the grand- est and mos't beautiful anatomical cabinet in Europe; and this precious treasure has now passed into the bauds of the Royal College cff Surgeons in London. The structure of the brain has been represent- ed with unrivalled elegance, by Viccj D'Azyr, a French anatomist, in a folio volume of coloured plates, which we hesi- tate not to applaud as a chef d'ceuvre of anatomical science, and a most splendid monument of the arts. Some parts of this most important organ have also been illustrated by the labours of Soemmering 1 , who still prosecutes the study of anatomy with unwearied industry. We have late- ly, from his hands, two most finished pro- ductions, in every respect, on the anatomy of the eye and ear. It would be unjust not to enumerate, with a due tribute of applause, the labours of Zinn, Cassebohm, and Scurpa, on the same subjects. Morgagni, who taught anatomy in Pa- dua, published a work of great utility on morbid anatomy. Dr. Bailie has of late in this country prosecuted the same subject, though in a different manner. He has published a book on the morbid anatomy of the body, and has illustrated his descrip- tions by a collection of the most elegant, expressive, and accurate plates. Winslow, Sabatier, and Bichat, are the authors of the most approved anatomical systems in France, and Soemmering and Ilildebrant in Germany. We regret that it is not in our power to mention am* cor- VOL. r rect and complete system by an English writer. The imperfect and contemptible ephemeral productions, published under the auspices of booksellers, cannot have a place in this enumeration. UTILITY OF ANATOMY. Astronomy and anatomy, as Fontenelle observes, are the studies which present us with the most striking view of the two greatest at tributes of the Supreme Being. The first of these fills the mind with the idr.i of his immensity, in the largeness, distances, and number of the heavenly bodies ; the last astonishes, with his intel- ligence and art in the variety and delicacy of animal mechanism. The human body has been commonly enough known by the name of microcos- mus ; as if it did -not differ so much from the universal system of nature, in the sym- metry and number of its parts, as in their size. Galen's excellent treatise on the use of the parts was composed as a prose hymti to the Creator, and abounds with as irre- sistible proofs of a Supreme Cause, and governing Providence, as we find in mo- dern phisico-theology. And Cicero dwells more on the' structure and economy of animals, than on all the productions of na- ture besides, when he wants to prove the existence of the Gods, from the order and beauty of the universe. He there takes a survey of the body of man, in a most ele- gant synopsis of anatomy, and concludes thus : '' Quibus rebus expositis, satis do- cuisse videor, hominis natura quanto cm- lies antoiret animales. Ex quo debet in-- telligi, necfiguramsitumque membrorum, nee ingenii mentisque,vim talem efficipo- tnisse fortuna." The satisfaction of mind which arises from the study of anatomy, and the influence which it must naturally have on our minds as philosophers, cannot be better conveyed than by the following passage from the same author: " Quse con- tuens animus, accepit ab his cognitionem deorum, ex qua oritur pietas : cui con- juncta justitia est, reliquxque virtutes ; ex quibus vita beata ercsistit, par et similis deorum, nulla a^a re nisi immortalitate, qux nihil ad bene vivendum pertinet, cedens coclestibus." It would be endless to quote the ani- mated passages of this sort, which are to be found in the physicians, philosophers, and theologists, who have considered the structure and functions of animals, with a view towards the Creator. It is a view that must strike us with the most awful conviction. "Who can kf.ow and eonsidir Y ANATOMY. fhe thousand evident proofs of the aston- ishing art of the Creator, in forming and sustaining an animal body such as ours, without feeling the most pleasing enthu- siasm ? Can we seriously reflect upon this awful subject, without being almost lost in adoration ! Without longing for another life after this, in which we may be grati- fied with the highest enjoyment which our faculties and nature seem capable of, the seeingandcomprehendingthe whole plan of the Creator, in forming the universe, and directing its operations. In the excellent work of Archdeacon Paley, on natural theology, this view of the subject is most ably explained and illustrated; and the subject is pursued through all its details. We strongly re- commend tins work, as exhibiting, in a popular form, a very interesting view of the structure and functions of animal bo- dies; and we subjoin the following ex- tract, as a very successful application of the argument. " It has been said, that a man cannot lift his hand to his head, without finding enough to convince him of the existence of a God. And it is well said ; for he has only to reflect, familiar as this action is, and simple as it seems to be, how many things are requisite for the performing of it; how many things which we understand, to say nothing of many more, probably, which we do not ; viz first, a long, hard, strong cylinder, to give to the arm its firm- ness and tension ; but which, being rigid, and, in its substance, inflexible, can only turn upon joints : secondly, therefore, joints for this purpose, one at the shoulder to raise the arm, another at the elbow to bend it ; these joints continually fed with a soft mucilage, to make the parts slide easily upon one another, and holden to- gether by strong braces, to keep them in their position : then, thirdly, strings and wires, i.e. muscles and tendons, artificially inserted, for the purpose of drawing the bones in the directions in which the joints allow them to move. Hitherto, we seem to understand the mechanism pretty well ; and,understandingthis,we possess enough for our conclusion : nevertheless, we have hitherto cnly a machine standing still ; a dead organization an apparatus. To put the system iu a state of activity; to set it nt work ; a further provision is necessary, r/3. a communication with the brain by means of nerves. We know the existence of this communication, because we can see the communicating threads, and can trace them to the brain ; its necessity we also irnow, because, if the thread be cut, if the -nmmunieation be faterr epted, the muscle becomes paralytic ; but beyond tins We know little ; the organization being too minute and subtle for our inspection. " To what has been enumerated, as offi- ciating in the single act of a man's raising his hand to his head, must be added, like- wise, ail that is necessary, and all that con- tributes to the growth, nourishment, and sustentation of the limb, the repair of it waste, the preservation of its health ; such as the circulation of the blood through every part of it; its lymphatics, exhalants, absorbents ; its execretions and integu- ments. All these share in the result ; join in the effect : and how all these, or any of them, come together, without a design- ing, disposing intelligence, it is impossi- ble to conceive." But the more immediate purposes of anatomy concern those who are to be the guardians of health, as this study is ne- cessary to lay a foundation for all the branches of medicine. The more we know of our fabric, the more reason we have to believe, that, if our senses were more acute, and our judg- ment more enlarged, we should be able to trace many springs of life, which are now hidden from us ; by the same sagacity we should discover the true causes and na- ture of diseases, and thereby be enabled to restore the health of many, who are now, from our more confined knowledge, said to labour under incurable disorders. By such an intimate acquaintance with the economy of our bodies, we should disco- ver even the seeds of diseases, and de- stroy them before they hud taken root in the constitution. This, indeed, is a pitch of knowledge which we must not expect to attain. But, surely, we may go some way; and, there- fore, let us endeavour to go as far as we can. And if we consider that health and disease are the opposites of each other, there can be no doubt, that the 'study of the natural state of the body, which con- stitutes the one, must be the direct road to the knowledge of the other. What has been said, of the usefulness of anatomy in phyaic, will only be called in question by the more illiterate empirics among Ehysicians. They would discourage others om the pursuit of knowledge which they have not themselves, and which, therefore, they cannot know the value of, and tell us that a little of anatomy is enough for a physician. That anatomy is the very basis of sur- gery every body allows. Tt is dissection alone that can teach us where we may cut the living body with freedom and dis- patch; where we may venture with AN ATOM!. circumspection and delicacy ; and where we must not, upon any account, attempt it This informs the "head, gives dexte- rity to the hand, and familiarizes the heart with a sort of necessary inhumanity, the use of cutting instruments upon our fel- low-creatures. Were it possible to doubt of the advan- tages which arise in surgery, from a know- ledge of anatomy, we might have ample conviction, by comparing 1 the present practice with that of the ancients: and upon tracing the improvements which havebeenmade inlater times, they would be found, generally, to have sprung from a more accurate knowledge of the parts concerned. In the hands of a good anato- mist, surgery is a salutary, a divine art ; but when practised by men who know not the structure of the human body, it often becomes barbarous and criminal. The comparison of a physician to a ge- neral is both rational and instructive. The human body, under a disease, is the coun- try which labours under a civil war or an invasion. The physician is, or should be, the dictator or general, who is to take the command, and to direct all the necessary operations. To do his duty with full ad- vantage, a general, besides other acquire- ments, useful in his profession, must make himself master of the anatomy and physi- ology, as we may call it, of the country. He may be said to be master of the ana- tomy of the country, when he knows the figure, dimension, situation, and connec- tion, of all the principal constituent parts; such as the lakes, rivers, marshes, moun- tains, precipices, plains, woods, roads, passes, fords, towns, fortifications, 8cc. By the physiology of the country, which he ought likewise to understand, is meant all the variety of active influence which is produced by the inhabitants. If the general be well instructed in all these points, he will find a hundred occasions of drawing advantages from them ; and without such knowledge, he will be for- ever exposed to some fatal blunder. GENERAL ACCOUNT OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE BODY. After having considered the rise and progress of anatomy ; the various disco- veries that have been made in it from time to time ; the great number of dili- gent observers who have applied them- selves to this art ; and the importance of the study, not only for the prevention and cure of diseases, but in furnishing the liveliest proofs of divine wisdom ; the following questions seem naturally to arise. For what purpose is there such a variety of parts in the human body? Why such a complication of nice and tendep machinery? Why was there not rather a more simple, less delicate, and less ex- pensive frame? That beginners in the study of anatomy may acquire a satisfactory, general, idea of these subjects, we shall furnish them with clear answers to all such questions. Let us then, in our imagination, make a man : in other words, let us suppose that the mind, or immaterial part, is to be pla- ced in a corporeal fabric, to hold a corres- pondence with other material beings, by the intervention of the body ; and then consider, a prieri, what will be wanted for her accommodation. In this inquiry we shall plainly see the necessity, or advan- tage, and therefore the final cause, of most of the parts, which we actually find in the human body. And if we consider, that, in oi-der to answer some of the requi- sites, human art and invention would be very insufficient, we need not be surpris- ed if we meet with some parts of the body, the use of which we cannot yetmake out; and with some operations or functions which we cannot explain. We can see and comprehend that the whole bears the strongest marks of excelling wisdom and ingenuity ; but the imperfect senses and capacity of man cannot pretend to reach every part of a machine, which nothingless than the intelligence and power of the Su- preme Being could contrive and execute. To proceed then ; in the first place, the mind, the thinking immaterial agent, must be provided with a place of imme- diate residence, which shall have all the requisites for the union of spirit and body; accordingly, she is provided with the brain, where she dwells as governor and superintendant of the whole fabric. In the second place, as she is to hold a correspondence with all the material be- ings which surround her, she mtistbe sup- plied with organs fitted to receive the dif- ferent kinds of impressions that they will make. In fact, therefore, we see that she is provided with the organs of sense, as we call them ; the eye is adapted to light, the ear to sound, the nose to smell, the mouth to taste, and the skin to touch. In the third place, she must be provid- ed with organs of communication be- tween herself, in the brain, and those or- gans of sense, to give her information of all the impressions that are made upon them: and she must have organs between her- self, in the brain, and every other part of the body, fitted to convey her commands and influence over the whole. For these purposes the nerves are actually given. ANATOMY. They are chords, which rise from the brain, the immediate residence of the mind, and disperse themselves in branches through all parts of the body. They are intended to be occasional monitors against all such impressions as might endanger the well-being of the whole, or of any parti- cular part, which vindicates the Creator of all things in having actually subjected us to those many disagreeable and pain- ful sensations, which we are exposed to from a thousand accidents in life. Further, the mind, in this corporeal system, must be endued with the power of moving from place to place, that she may have intercourse with a variety of objects ; that she may fly from such as are disagreeable, dangerous, or hurtful, and pursue such as are pleasant or use- ful to her. And accordingly she is fur- nished with limbs, and with muscles and tendons, the instruments ofmotion, which are found in every part of the fabric Avhere motion is necessary. But to support, to gite firmness and shape to the fabric, to keep the softer parts in their proper places, to give fixed points and the proper direction to its mo- tions, as well as to protect some of the more important and tender organs from external injuries, there must be some firm prop-work interwoven through the whole. And, in fact, for such purposes the bones are given. The prop-work must not be made into one rigid fabric, for that would prevent motion. Therefore there are a number of bones. These pieces must all be firmly bound together, to prevent their disloca- tion, and this end is perfectly well an- swered by the ligaments. The extremi- ties of these bony pieces, where they move and rub upon one another, must have smooth and slippery surfaces, for easy motion. This is most happily pro- vided for by the cartilages and mucus of the joints. The interstices of all these parts must be filled up with some soft and ductile matter, which shall keep them in their places, unite them, and at the same time allow them to move a little upon one an- other. This end is accordingly answered by the cellular membrane or adipous substance. There must be an outward covering over the whole apparatus, both to give it ft firm compactness and to defend it from a, thousand injuries, which, in fact, are the very purposes of the skin, and other in- teguments. As she is made ibr society and inter- course with beings of her own kind, she must be endued with powers of expres- sing and communicating her thoughts by some sensible marks or signs, which shall be both easy to herself, and admit of great variety. Hence she is provided with the organs and faculty of speech, by which she can throw out signs with amazing fa- cility, and vary them without end. Thus we have built up an animal body, which would seem to be pretty complete ; but we have not yet made any provision for its duration : and, as it is the nature of matter to be altered and worked upon by matter, so in a very little time such a living creaturemustbe destroyed, if there is no provision for repairing the injuries which she must commit upon herself, and the injuries which she must be exposed to from without. Therefore a treasure of blood is actually provided in the heart and vascular system, full of nutritious and healing particles, fluid enough to pene- trate into the minutest parts of the animal. Impelled by the heart, and conveyed by the arteries, it washes every part, builds up what was broken down, and sweeps away the old and useless materials. Hence we see the necessity or advan- tage of the heart and arterial system : the overplus of this blood, beyond what was required to repair the present damages of the machine, must not be lost, but should be returned again to the heart ; and for this purpose the venal system is actually provided. These requisites in the animal explain, a priori, the circula- tion of the blood. The old materials, which are become useless, and are swept off' by the current of blood, must be separated and thrown out of the system. Therefore glands, the organs of secretion, are given, for strain- ing whatever is redundant, vapid, or noxi- ous, from the mass of blood: and, when strained, it is thrown out by excre- tories. Now, as the fabric must be constantly wearing, the reparation must be carried on without intermission, and the strainers must always be employed : therefore there is actually a perpetual circulation of the blood, and the secretions are al- ways going on. But even all this provision would not be sufficient; for that store of blood would soon be consumed, and the fabric would break down, if there were not a provision made for fresh supplies. These we ob- serve, in fact, are profusely scattered round her n. L he animal and vegetable kingdoms; and she is provided with hands, the finest instruments that could have been contrived for gathering them, and ANATOMY. for preparing them in a variety of differ- ent ways for the mouth. These supplies, which we call food, must be considerably changed; they must be converted into hlood : therefore she is provided with teeth for cutting and bruising the food, and with a stomach for melting it down ; in short, with all the organs subservient to digestion. The finer parts of the aliments only can be useful in the constitution : these must be taken up, and conveyed in- to the blood, and tne dregs must be thrown off. With this view the intestinal canal is constructed. It separates the nutritious part, which we call chyle, to be conveyed into the blood by the system of absorbent vessels ; and the feces pass downwards, to be conducted out of the body. Now we have got our animal, not only furnished with what is wanted for its im- mediate existence, but also with the pow- er of spinning out that existence to an in- definite length of time. But its duration, we may presume,must necessarily be limi- ted : for as it is nourished, grows, and is raised up to its full strength and perfec- tion, so it must, in time, in common with all material things, begin to decay, and then hurry on to final ruin. Hence we see the necessity of a scheme for renova- tion. Accordingly, a wise Providence, to perpetuate, as well as to preserve his work, besides giving a strong appetite for life and self-preservation, has made ani- mals male and female, and given them such organs and pasjiions as will secure the propagation of the species to the end of the world. Thus we see, that by the very imper- fect survey which human reason is able to take of this subject, the animal man must necessarily be complex in his cor- poreal system, and in its operations. He must have one great and general system, the vascular,branching through the whole for circulation: another, the nervous, with its appendages, the organs of sense, for every kind of feeling : and a third, for the union and connection of all those parts. Besides these primary and general sys- tems, he requires others, which may be more local or confined : one for strength, support, and protection ; the bony corn- pages : another for the requisite motions of the parts among themselves, as well as for moving from place to place ; the mus- cular part of the body : another to pre- pare nourishment for the daily, recruit of the body ; the digestive organs : and one for propagating the species ; the organs of generation. In taking this general survey of what would appear, a priori, to be necssaryfor adapting an animal to the situations of humanity, we observe, with great satis- faction, that man is in fact made of such systems, and for such purposes. He has them all, and he has nothing more, except the organs of respiration. Breathing we cannot account for a priori, we only know that it is in fact essential to life. Not- withstanding this, when we see all the other parts of the body, and their func- tions, so well accounted for, and so wisely adapted to their several purposes, we can. not doubt that respiration is so likewise. We find, in fact, that the blood in its cir- culation becomes altered in its properties, and that these are renewed by the ab- sorption of the oxygenous or pure part of the atmosphere in the lungs ; we find, al- so, that this function is the means of sup- porting the temperature of the animal. The use and necessity of all the differ- ent systems in a man's body is not more apparent,thanthe wisdom and contrivance which has been exerted in putting them all into the most compact and convenient form, and in disposing them so, that they shall mutually receive and give helps to one another, and that all, or many of the parts, shall not only answer their princi- pal end or purpose, but operate success- fully and usefully in many secondary ways. If we understand and consider the whole animal machine in this light, and compare it with any machine, in which hu- man art has done its utmost, suppose the best constructed ship that ever was built, we shall be convinced, beyond the possi- bility of doubt, that there is intelligence and power far surpassing what humanity- can boast of. In making* such a comparison, there is a peculiarity and superiority in the natu- ral machine, which cannot escape obser- vation. Itisthis; in machines of human contrivance or art, there is no internal power, no principle in the machine itself, by which it can alter or accommodate it- self to any injury which it may suffer, Cr make up any injury which is reparable. But in the natural machine, the animal body, this is most wonderfully provided for by internal powers in the machine it- self, many of which are not more certain or obvious in their effects, than they arc- above all human comprehension as to the manner and means of their operation. Thus, a wound heals up of itself ; a bro- ken bone is made firm again by callus ; a dead part is separated and thrown off; noxious juices are driven out by some of the emunctories ; a redundancy is remo- ved by some spontaneous bleeding ; a ANATOMY. bleeding naturally stops of itself; and a great loss of blood, from any cause, is in .some measure compensated by a contract- ing power in the vascular system, which accommodates the capacity of the vessels to the quantity contained. The stomach gives information when the supplies have been expended, represents with great ex- actness the quantity and quality of what is wanted in the present state of the ma- chine, and in proportion as she meets with neglect, rises in her demand, urges her petition in a louder voice, and with more forcible arguments. For its protection, an animal bocfy resists heat and cold in a very wonderful nianner, and preserves an equal temperature in a burning and in a freezing atmosphere. There is a farther excellence? or supe- riority in the natural machine, if possible, still more astonishing, more beyond all human comprehension, than what we Lave been speaking of. Besides those internal powers of self-preservation in each individual, when two of them co- operate, or act in concert, they are en- dued with powers of making other ani- mals or machines like themselves, which again are possessed of the same powers of producing others, and so of multiply- ing the species without end. These are powers which mock all human invention or imitation, they are characteristics of the Divine Architect. As the body is a compound of solids and fluids, anatomy is divided into, 1. The anatomy of the solids, and 2. The anatomy of the fluids. The solids of the human body consist of, 1. Bones, which give support to the other parts of the body ; 2. Cartilages, or gristles, which are much softer than the bones, and also flexi- ble and elastic ; 3. Ligaments, which are more flexible still, and connect the ends of the bones to each other ; 4. Membranes, or planes of minutely interwoven and condensed cellular sub- -.unce ; 5. Cellular substance, which is formed of fibres and plates of animal matter more loosely connected, and which forms the general uniting medium of all the struc- tures of the body ; 6. Fat, or adipous substance, an animal oil contained in the cells of the cellular -jmembrane ; 7. Muscles, which are bundles of fibres, endued with a power of contraction ; in popular language, they form the flesh of nn animal ; 8. Tendons, hard inelastic cords, which connect the muscles or moving powers to the bones or instruments of motion ; 9. Viscera, .which are various parts, adapted for different purposes in the ani- mal economy, and contained in the cavi- ties of the body, as the head, chest, abdo- men, and pelvis ; 10. Glands, organs which secrete or se- parate various fluids from the blood ; 11. Vessels, which are membranous ca- nals, dividing into branches, and trans- mitting blood and other fluids ; 12. Cerebral substance, or that which composes the brain and spinal marrow, which is a peculiar soft kind of animal matter : 13. Nerves, which are bundles of white fibrous cords, connected by one end to the brain, or spinal marrow, and thence expanded over every part of the body, in order to receive impressions from exter- nal objects, or to convey the commands Oi' the will, and thereby produce muscu- lar motion. The fluids of the human body are, 1. Blood, which circulates through the vessels, and nourishes the whole fabric ; 2. Perspirable matter, excreted by the vessels of the skin ; 3. Sebaceous matter, by the glands of the skin ; 4. Urine, by the kidneys ; 5. Ceruminous matter, secreted by the glands of the external ear; 6. Tears, by the lachrymal glands ; 7. Saliva, by the salivary glands ; 8. Mucus, by glands in various parts of the body, and by various membranes ; 9. Serous fluid, by membranes lining- circumscribed cavities ; 10. Pancreatic juice, by the pancreas ; 11. Bile, by the liver ; 12. Gastric juice, by the stomach ; 13. Oil, by the vessels of the adipose membrane ; 14. Synovia, by the internal surfaces of the joints, for the purpose of lubricating them ; 15. Seminal fluids, by the testes ; 16. Milk, by the mammary glands. The account of these animal fluids will be found chiefly under the article PHYSI- OLOGY . The anatomical description of the body is technically arranged under the follow- ing heads : 1. Osteology, or the description of the structure, shape, and uses of the bones. 2. Syndesmology, or a description of the connection of bones by ligaments, and of the structure of the joints. ANATOMY. S. Myology, or doctrine of the moving powers or muscles. 4. Angeiology, or description of the vessels engaged in nourishing the body, in absorption, and in the removal of super- fluous parts. 5. Adenology, or account of the glands, in which various liquors are separated or prepared from the blood. 6. Splanchnology, or a description of the different bowels, which serve various and dissimilar purposes in the animal eco- nomy. 7. Neurology, under which title the brain, the nerves, and the organs of sense, must be comp rehended. The functions carried on in animals, in the explanation of which physiology con- sists, and for the detailed account of which we refer the reader to the article PHYSIO- LOGY, may be thus arranged. 1. Digestion, or the conversion of extra- neous matter into a substance fit for the nourishment of their own bodies. 2. Absorption, by which the nutritive fluid is taken up and conveyed into the vascular system, and by which the old parts of our body are removed. 3. Respiration, or the exposure of the nutritive fluid to the action of the atmos- phere. 4. Circulation, or the distribution of the converted matter to every part of the animal, for its repair and augmentation. The process is named circulation, from the mode in which it is carried on in the gene- rality of animals. 5. Secretion, or the separation and de- position of the particles composing the structure of animals and vegetables, as well as the formation of various substan- ces which they produce from the circly According (o tfie obvious differences in their forms, bones are divided into the long and flat. Two kinds of structure may be obserr ed in all bones ; in the one, the bony substance is condensed, and leaves no in- terstices ; in the other, there is a mere net-work of bony fibres and plates, leav- ing numerous intervals. The latter is termed the cancellous substance of bones, The cylinder of a long bone is com- posed entirely of the firmer substance, and in its centre is hollowed out to con- tain the marrow. In those extremities of the bones, \vhich form the joints, which are greatly expanded, in order to increase the extent of surface, there is a thin layer of the compact substance, but all the in- terior is cancellous. In broad or flat bones, the firmer substance is formed into two plates or tables, and the interval be- tween these is occupied by cancelli. Many advantages arise from this ar- rangement of the earth of bones. The long bones are made slender in the mid- dle, to allow of the convenient collocation of the large muscles around them ; they become expanded at their extremities, to afford an extent of surface for the forma- tion of joints, and the support of the weight of the body. A cavity is left in the middle ; for if all the earthy matter had been compacted into the smallest possible space, the bones would have been such slender stems, as to be very unsuitable to their offices ; and if they had been of their present dimensions, and solid throughout, they would have been unnecessarily strong and weighty. The phenomena, which result from feeding an animal with madder, sufficient- ly demonstrate the existence of blood- vessels and absorbents in the bones. There is a strong attraction between the earth of bone and the colouring matter ; by means of which they unite and form a beautiful red substance. The whole of the bones of an animal assume this colour soon after an animal has been taking the madder. If it be left off, the bones in a short time resume their natural white ap- pearance, from the absorption of the red colouring substance. The shv;rt tune in which growing bones become thoroughly dyed, and in which again the preternatu- ral tint is lost, prove that even in these, the hardest parts of our frames, there is a process of removal of old parts, and de- position of new ones, constantly going on. That bones possess IK r/es, as well as arteries, veins, and absorbents, rannot be doubted. Although in the natural state they seem to oe insensible, they become extremely painful when diseased; and again, a fungus, which is sensible, some- ANATOMY. times grows out of a bone, though it may have no connexion whatever with the sur- rounding 1 soft parts ; of course it must have derived its nerves, by means of which it possesses sensation, from the bone out of which it arose. Bones are covered by a strong" and firm membrane, termed periosteum, on which the vessels are first distributed ; from this they descend into the substance of the bone. The vessels enter through holes which are evident on the surface, and which are larger and more numerous in the extremities of the long bones than in the middle. OF THE MARROW. This is of an oily nature. It hardens, when cold, in herbaceous animals; but it remains fluid in those which are carni- vorous. It has a reddish and bloody ap- pearance in young animals ; but this soon goes off. It is contained in fine membra- nous cells, which do not communicate with each other. The marrow occupies the tube left in the middle of the long bones, and also fills the cancelli of their extremities. The cellular substance, which contains the marrow, being condensed upon the inside of the walls of the bone, and adhe- ring to them, has been termed the perios- teum internum. We observe in the principal bones arte- ries, much larger than those which nou- rish the bone, penetrating these bodies obliquely, and spreading their branches upon the medullary cells. Various unsatisfactory opinions have been proposed concerning the use of the marrow. The utility of the bones be- ing- formed as they are, small and tubular in the middle, expanded and spongy at their extremities, has been already ex- plained. If then spaces are necessarily left in their interior parts, those spaces must be filled with something; for they cannot be left void, or the immense pres- sure of the atmosphere would crush their sides, and destroy the vacuum. There is no matter in the animal body more suit- at^e to fill their spaces than the marrow ; and it is to be regarded as a part of the adipous system of the animal. From the circumstances which have been detailed in the foregoing account, viz. the great and general vascularity of bones; the quantity of soft substance ex- isting in every part of them ; their growth and mutation of form in disease, &c. it is natural to conclude, that there exist in the composition of every bony fibre, arte- ries for its formation, absorbents for its removal, cellular substance for the con- nexion of its parts, and nerves to give ani- mation to the whole. In this view of the subject, we see no essential difference of structure between bones and other parts of the body ; nor do we expect any essen- nal difference in the functions of their nutrient and other vessels. We naturally conclude that bony fibres are formed and repaired, and that they undergo mutuation and removal, in the same manner, and from the same causes, that soft parts do. CARTILAGE Is a semi pellucid substance, of a milk- Wiiite or pearly colour, entering into the composition of several parts of the body. It holds a middle rank, in point of firm- ness, between bones, or hard parts, and the softer constituents of the human frame. It appears, on a superficial ex- amination, to be homogeneous in its tex- ture ; for, when cut, the surface is uni- form, and contains no visible cells, cavi- ties, nor pores ; but resembles the section of a piece of glue. It possesses a very high degree of elasticity ; which property distinguishes it from all other parts of the body. Hence it enters into the compo- sition of parts, whose functions require the combination of firmness with pliancy and flexibility : the preservation of a cer- tain external form, with the power of yielding to external force or pressure. Cartilages are covered by a membrane, resembling, in texture and appearance, as well as in its office, the periosteum of bones; this is termed the perichondrium. They receive arteries and veins from this membrane : these vessels, however, have never been demonstrated in the cartila- ginous crusts of articular surfaces. Ab- sorbent vessels cannot be actually shewn, but their existence is abundantly proved by many phenomena. The conversion of cartilage into bone is alone sufficient for this purpose. The cartilaginous sub- stance is gradually removed, as the for- mation of the bone advances. In affec- tions of the joints, their cartilaginous co- verings are often both entirely destroyed, or partially removed : which appearances can only be ascribed to the action of ab- sorbent vessels. It does not seem to possess nerves, as it is entirely destitute of sensibility. The thinner cartilages of the body are resolved by maceration into a kind of fibrous substance : e, ^. those of the or- ANATOMY. gans of sense. Those of the ribs are found by long maceration to consist of concentric oval laminae. In some there are tendinous fibres intermixed ; as in those of the vertebrae. Anatomists divide cartilages into two kinds ; the temporary and the permanent. The former are confined to the earlier stages of existence : the latter common- ly retain their cartilaginous structure throughout every period of life. The temporary cartilages are those in which the bones of the body are formed. They are hence called by the Latin wri- ters ossescentes. All the bones of the body, except the teeth, are formed in a ivdus of cartilage. The form of the bone, with its various processes, is accurately repre- sented in these cartilaginous primordia ; and it is the substance alone which changes. The permanent cartilages are of vari- ous kinds. We find them composing the external ear, external aperture of the nos- trils ?.'vl eye-lids. The larynx is entirely composed of this substance ; and the tra- chea, with its branches, is furnished with cartilaginous hoops, by which these tubes fire kept permanently open, for the ready passage of air to and from the lungs. The bodies of the vertebrae are joined by large masses of a peculiar substance ; p'artaking of the properties and appear- ance of cartilage and ligament, which allow of the motions of these parts on each other, without weakening the support that is afforded to the upper parts of the body in general, and to the head in particular, by the vertebral column. These carti- lages impart a great elasticity to the spine; by which the effects of concussion from jumping, from falls, &c. are weakened, and destroyed, before they can be propa- gated to the head. When the body has been long in an erect position, the com- pression of these cartilages, by the supe- rior parts, diminishes the height of the person. They recover theirformer length, when freed from this pressure : hence a person is taller when he rises in the morn- ing, than after sustaining the fatigues of the day, and the difference has sometimes amounted to an inch. Cartilages are sometimes interposed be- tween the articular surfaces of bones, where they fill up irregularities, that might otherwise impede the motions of the part; and increase the security of the joint, by adapting the articular surfaces to each other. The articular surfaces of bones are, in .very instance, covered by a thin crust of cartilage, having its surface most exqui~ sitely polished, by which all friction in the motions of the joint is avoided, and the ends of the bones glide over each other with the most perfect facility. Nomenclature of bones. The processes or apophyses of bones bear different names, according to their figures. Hence we find them described under the terms* of head (roundish ball;) condyle (a flat- tened head;) neck; tuberosity ; spine; &c. others have particular names from supposed resemblances. The cavities or depressions of bones are called cotyloid, when deep ; glenoid, when shallow. Again, we have pits, iur- rows, notches, sinuosities, fossae, sinuses, foramina, and canals. Connection of bones. Anatomists have divided these into three classes: Symphy- sis, Synarthrosis, and Diarthrosis. The term symphysis merely denotes the union of the conjoined bones, without any reference to peculiar form or motion; hence it is divided, accordingto the means by which it is affected, into. 1. Synchondrosis, where cartilage is the connecting medium : this is exempli- fied in the junction of the ribs and ster- num ; of the bodies of the vertebrae ; and of the ossapubis: 2. Synneurosis or syndesmosis ; where ligaments are the connecting bodies, as in all the moveable articulations: 3. Syssarcosis ; where muscles are stretched from one bone to another. The synarthrosis, or immoveable con- junction of bones, consists of, 1. Suture ; where the bones are mutu- ally indented, as if sewn together : 2. Harmonia ; where the conjunction is effected by plane surfaces : 3. Gomphosis; where one bone is fixed in another, as a nail is in a board. The teeth afford the only specimen : 4. Schindylesis ; where the edge of one bone is received into a groove in another: as the nasal plate of the ethmoid, in the vomer. Diarthrosis, or moveable conjunction of bones. The conjoined parts of the bones are covered with a smooth cartilage, and connected by one or more ligaments. It has three subdivisions j viz. 1. Enarthrosis, or ball and socket; where a round head of one bone is re- ceived into a cavity of another, and con- sequently is capable of motions in all di- rections; 2. Arthrodia ; where the cavity is more superficial, and much motion not allowed: 3. Ginglymus ; where the motions arc ANATOMY. restricted to two directions, as in the hinge of a door. The skeleton consists of an assemblage of all the bones in the body, excepting the os hyoides. It is said to be a natural ske- leton, when the bones are connected by means of their own ligaments or cartila- ges ; an artificial one, when wire or other extraneous substances are employ- ed. It is divided into the head, trunk, and extremities. The head consists of the cranium and the face. The former of these parts con- sists of 1 or 2 ossa frontis; 2 bssa parieta- lia; 1 os sphenobasilare ; 2 ossa tempo- rum ; 2 mallei ; 2 incudes ; 2 orbicularia ; 2 stapedes ; and 1 os jethmoideum : on the whole, of 15 or 16 bones. The face has 2 ossa maxillaria superi- ora; 2 ossa palati ; 2 ossa malae ; 2 ossa nasi ; 2 ossa lacrymalia or uncuis ; 2 ossa tiirbinata inferiora ; 1 osvomer; 1 max- illa inferior ; 32 teeth; on the whole, 46 bones. The os hyoides consists of a body, 2 la- teral portions called cornua, and 2 sural processes called appendices. The bones of the head are therefore 61 r 62 ; with the os hyoides 66 or 67. In the neck there are 7 cervical verte- brce : in the chest 12 dorsal vertebrae ; 24 ribs ; 2 or 3 bones of the sternum ; in the loins 5 lumbar vertebra ; in the pelvis 1 sacrum, 4 ossa coccygis, 2 ossa innomi- nata. Therefore the whole trunk has 57 or 58 bones. The shoulders have two clavicles, and 2 scapulae ; the arms 2 humeri ; the fore- arms 2 ulnae and 2 radii ; the wrists 2 os- sa scaphoidea ; 2 ossa lunaria ; 2 ossa cuneiformia ; 2 ossa pisiformia; 2 ossa tra- pezia : 2 ossa trapezioidea ; 2 ossa magna; 2 ossa unciformia ; the metacarpi 10 meta- carpal bones; the fingers 10 posterior phalanges, 8 middle phalanges, 10 ante- rior phalanges, and 8 sesamoid bones. The bones of the upper extremities are in the whole 72. The thighs have 2 femora; the legs 2 tibise, 2 patellae, and 2 fibulae; the tarsi 2 astragali, 2 ossa calcis, 2 ossa navicularia, 6 cuneiform bones, 2 ossa cuboidea; the metatarsi 10 metatarsal bones ; the toes 10 posterior phalanges, 8 middle phalan- ges, 10 anterior phalanges, and 6 sesamoid bones. The bones of the lower extremities are 66. The whole skeleton contains 259 or 261 bones. Of the bones just enumerated, the os frontis, spheno-occipitale, ethmoideum, vomer, inferior maxilla, the vertebrae, sa- crum, and os coccygis, the bones of the sternum, and the os linguale medium, or body of the os hyoides, are single bones ; and being placed in the middle of the bo- dy, are consequently symmetrical. Of all the other bones, there is a pair, consisting 1 of a bone for the right, and another for the left side. The structure of the whole skeleton is therefore symmetrical ; since an imagina- ry perpendicular line drawn through the whole would divide even the single bones into a right and a left half, exactly resem- bling each other. This observation must however be taken with some allowance ; since the corresponding bones of one side are not always perfectly similar to those of the opposite ; nor do the two halves of the single bones always exactly agree in form, &c. The entire natural skeleton of a man of middle stature, in a dried state, weighs from 150 to 200 ounces ; that of a woman from 100 to 160 ounces. Jiones of the head. The cranium is the oval bony cavity containing the brain ; the face is placed at the anterior and low- er part of this cavity, and holds some of the organs of sense, and the instruments of mastication. The bones of the head are joined by- sutures, a mode of union nearly peculiar to themselves ; hence, when all the soft parts are destroyed by maceration, they still remain most firmly connected to each other, excepting the front teeth and the lower jaw. The sutures are formed by numerous sharp and ramified processes of the opposed edges of the different bones, shooting into corresponding vacui- ties of each other. In some instances, however, the bones seem to be joined by the opposition of plane surfaces, and here the union appears externally like a mere line, instead of the irregular zigz.ig course which it takes in the former case. The last mentioned junction is called liar- mo nia. In the fcetal state, the bones of the cra- nium do not touch each other, but are separated by considerable intervals of membrane, and have thin extenuated margins, which allow them to ride over each other when subjected to pressure. The larger and more conspicuous of these intervals are called fontanelles, and allow of the pulsation of the brain being felt in a young subject. The importance of this structure, in allowing the head to accom- ANATOMY. modate itself to the varying 1 figure of the parts through which it passes, in the act of parturition, and to sustain the violent pressure which it experiences in the same act, is sufficiently obvious. In the pro- gress of ossification the edges of the bones meet each other, and become uni- ted by the sutures. The use of these in the adult cranium cannot be satisfactorily assigned, nor do we see any difference that would arise, if the head had been composed of one piece only, without any suture. In old persons the sutures often become more or less generally obliterated. The individual bones are very firmly connected by this mode of union. The edges of the different bones overlap each other at different parts, so that they are mechanically locked together, and can- not be driven in by any force ab externo. The bones of the cranium are compo- sed of two plates of compact bony sub- stance, called the external, and internal or vitreous tables; and an intervening more or less obvious reticular texture, termed diploe. The proportion of these constituent parts varies very considerably; the diploe is in no case of a very loose or open tt-xture. The thickness of indivi- dual skulls i's subject to great variety; iind there is much difference in the va- rious pai-ts of the same skull. For the internal surface is every where exactly moulded to the form of its contents, in- stead of influencing them, as we might have expected a priori. Hence the con- volutions of the brain, the vessels which ramify on its surface, &c. all leave prints on the inner table. The ordinary thick- ?iess varies from about the fifth of an inch to almost a mere line. The common number of the bones of the cranium is, as we have already stated, 7 : but this is often increased by small portions formed between the others, and surrounded by distinct sutures. These are called ossa triquetra, or wormiana. The form of the cranium is elliptical, and pretty regularly so, particularly on the front, upper and back part, and sides. The smaller circle of the ellipse is in front, and the larger behind. It is tolera- bly smooth, externally, except its basis, and it is almost entire or unperfbrated, except at the same part. In this situation, however, it possesses numerous holes, or, as they are technically named, foramina, which transmit blood-vessels to the brain, and the nine pairs of nerves which arise from that organ. The upper and lateral parts of the era- mum constitute a bony vault or arch, for protecting the brain : this part is distin- guished by the name of the skull cap. Individual bones of the head. The os frontis forms the upper and anterior part of the skull, the eyebrow, and the roof of the orbit. The ossa parietalia are called also ossa bregmatis, since the fontanelles or breg- mata are formed between their edges. They compose the whole upper and most of the lateral parts of the skull, and pos- sess an irregularly quadrangular figure. The ossaternporum compose the lower part of the sides, and the middle of the basis of the cranium. They are divided into a squamous portion, a mamillary, and a petrous portion. The former of these has a process contributing to the zygoma, or bony arch, at the side of the cranium, under which the temporal muscle passes. The second is also remarkable, by forming a large nipple-like protuberance towards the basis cranii. The third, which pro- jects into the cavity of the skull, con- tains the organ of hearing. The os spheno-occipitale has generally been described as two bones. The occi- pital portion forms the posterior portion of the basis cranii, and a part also of ;he back of the bony ca.se. Tlu sphenoid portion is situated in the middle of the base of the skull, and ex- tends across it from one temple to another. Jt is extremely irregular in its figure, and divided into a body placed in the middle, two alae on the sides, and two pterygoid processes projecting downwards. The os ethmoides ; occupies the middle of the forepart of the basis cranii. It lies in the interval between the two orbits, and contributes to the cavity of the nose. It consists of an irregular assemblage of bony cells and processes, of a very thin and delicate formation. It has a cribri- form or horizontal plate towards the brain : a nasal or perpendicular plate ; two turbi- nated bones; cells; and two orbital plates. The stutures joining these are the co- ronal, between the os frontis and the two ossa parietalia; the sagittal, be- tween the two ossa parietalia; the lamb- doidal, joining the ossa parietalia to the os occipitis ; the squamous, between the temporal and parietal bones. The foramina occurring in the cranium, for the transmission of nerves, are; 1, those of the cribriform plate of the eth- moid bone : 2, f. optica : 3, f. lacera or bitalia : 4, f. rotunda : 5, f. ovalia : 6, meatus auditorii interni : 7, f. lacera in basi cranii : 8, f. condyloidea anteriora : 9, foramen magnum. ANATOMY. Those which transmit blood vessels are : 1, canales caroctici : 2, f. spinosa : '1, f. lacera in basi cranii : 4, f. magnum. JSones of the face. The ossa nusi con- stitute the arch of the nose. The ossa lacrymaliaorunguisare placed at the fore- part of the inner edge of the orbits, and contain an excavation which holds the lacrymal bag 1 . The ossa malarum form the prominen- ces of the cheeks. The ossa maxillavia superiora form the largest portion of the upper jaw, and most of the bony palate, or roof of the mouth ; they contain also the upper teeth. The ossa palati form the back part of the bony palate. The ossa turbinata inferiora are situat- ed in the cavity of the nose. The former completes, with the nasal portion of the ethmoid, the septum that divides the two nostrils. The maxilla inferior is articulated to the basis cranii, and holds the lower teeth. The bones of the cranium and face compose the two orbits, or pyramidal bo- ny cavities, holding the organs of vision ; to each of these, seven bones contribute. They also form the cavity of the nose, which is very extensive, and includes portions of nearly all the bones of the face, and some of the skull. It has va- rious cells, formed in the bones of the skull and face, opening into it. The teeth. These organs are composed internally of a very hard bony substance ; and are covered externally by a still hard- er matter, called the cortex or enamel. Each tooth has a body or crown, which is the part seen in the mouth ; a neck, round which the gum adheres ; and one or more fangs or roots, which are sunk in a process of the jaw, called the alveolar. These bodies are not formed in a nidus of cartilage, like bones, but on a soft vascular body called a pulp, which may be compared to the core, on which a horn is formed. This is surrounded by a deli- cute membrane, called the capsule of the tooth. When the teeth are being formed, these pulps and capsules, with the rudi- ments of the teeth, are lodged in cavities hollowed out of the jaw bone. They af- terwards rise, and, piercing the gum, ap- pear in the mouth. Teeth differ from other bones in pos- sessing no vessels nor nerves in their sub- stance. As they are destined for the merely mechanical functions of triturating the food, such parts would not have been suitable to tin's office. The pain of tooth- ach arises from a nerve, which, with a vessel, resides in a hollow, formed in the centre of the fang and body of each tooth. These parts are exposed by the decay. The teeth, in consequence of possessing no vessels, are only affected by chemical and mechanical causes. They do not repair the effects of trituration, nor of accidental injury ; nor do they suffer from any of the diseases which affect other bones. There are two sets of teeth ; the first are fewer in number and smaller in size ; as they fall out at a certain age, to make room for other larger ones, they are call- ed deciduous or temporary. The second set lasts throughout life, and are called the adult or permanent set. The latter consists of 32 teeth ; 16 in each jaw. There are four incisores or cutting teeth in front ; 2 canini or cuspi- dati, or dog teeth, placed one on each side of the former ; 4 bicuspides behind the last; and 6 molares behind these. From the late period at which the last moluris appears, it is called the dens sa- pientiae, or wise tooth. The temporary set consists of twenty teeth ; ten in each jaw. There are 4 in- cisores ; 2 cuspidati ; and 4 molares. The permanent teeth are lodged at first in cavities of the jaw, near the roots of the temporary ones; and, as these last are shed, rise up to supply their places. The bone of the tongue is called os hyoideS; from its very accurate resem- blance to the Greek y. It consists of a body, two cornua, and two appendices, which are in fact so many separate bits of bone. The bones of the trunk consist of those of the spine, thorax, and pelvis. The spine consists of twenty-four true or moveable vertebra; ; an os sacrum, and an os coccygis (which indeed is compo- sed of four pieces) ; these last bones, bearing considerable resemblance to the vertebrae, are called sometimes the false vertebrae. Each vertebra has a body, which is situated anteriorly, and consists of a cy- lindrical piece of bone ; a perforation be- hind this, in which the spinal marrow runs ; two superior and two inferior arti- culating processes, by which it is joined to the bone immediately above and below it ; two transverse processes, and one spi- nous process, which, projecting behind, forms a sharp ridge, from which the name of spine has been applied to the whole column. The vertebrae are divided into three classes, according to their situation : the seven upper ones are called cervical : of ANATOMY. these, the first, that immediately supports the head, is called the atlas ; and the second, from a remarkable bony process which it possesses, the vertebrae clentata. The twelve next are called dorsal verte- bra, and are distinguished by having the ribs articulated to them. The five last are called lumbar. These all differ from each other in some circumstances. The most obvious distinction arises from the size : the upper ones are the smallest, and there is a gradual increase as we descend. The column of the spine, when viewed altogether, is not perpendicular ; it stands Forward in the neck, recedes in the up- per part of the back, and projects again in the loins. Holes are left between the bones, for the transmission of the nerves which arise from the spinal marrow. The sacrum forms the back of the pel- vis, and is followed out in front. In form it is triangular, and the base is joined to the last vertebra. It is perforated by a canal, in which the termination of the me- dulla spinalis is lodged. Its apex has connected to it the os coccygis. The thorax is formed by the twelve dorsal vertebrae, the ribs, and sternum. The ribs are long, curved, flattened, and narrow bones, attached behind to the dorsal vertebrae, both in their bodies and transverse processes, and joined in front to a piece of cartilage. They are twelve in number, and the seven upper ones, whose cartilages are affixed to the sides of the sternum, are called true ribs; the five lower ones, the cartilages of which do not reach so far, are called the false ribs. The sternum is a broad and fiat bone, placed in the front of the chest It con- sists of two pieces of bone, and of a carti- lage called the ensiform. The clavicles are articulated towards its upper parts, and the cartilages of the ribs are joined to its sides. The pelvis is formed by the two ossa innominata, or haunch bones, the sacrum, and os coccygis. The former are very large and flat bones, expanded into a broad surface above for the support of the abdominal viscera, and the attachment of the abdominal muscles, and furnished with large tuberoshies below, for the sup- port of the body in the sitting position. Each os innominatum is divided into the ilium, ischium, and pubes. It is firmly joined to the sacrum behind, and to the 'opposite bone in front, by the symphisis pubis. The conjoined portions form an arch, called the arch of the pubes. The cavity of the pelvis is much larger in the female than in the male, as it holds the uterus and vagina, in addition to what it contains in the male, and as the foetus passes through it in parturition. The bones of the upper extremity are distributed into those of the shoulder, arm, fore-arm, and hand. The shoulder contains two ; the scapula and clavicle. The former is situated at the upper and outer part of the chest, and is joined to the end of the clavicle. The humerus is a long and nearly cy- lindrical bone, joined by a round head to the scapula above, and articulated with the radius and ulna below. The fore-arm has two bones ; the ulna, which is joined by a hinge or ginglymus to the humerus ; and the radius, which has a cavity playing upon a rounded head of that bone. The prominent extremity of the ulna, which forms the elbow, is called the olecranon. The hand is divided into the carpus, or wrist, the metacarpus, and the fingers and thumb. The carpus contains eight bones, dis- posed in two phalanges, of which the first forms, with the radius, the joint of the wrist, and the second is articulated to the metacarpus. The bones of the first phalanx are the os scaphoides, lunare, cuneiforme, and pisiforme : those of the second, os tra- pezium, trapezioides magnum, and unci- forme. The metacarpus has five bones, and each of the fingers three ; the thumb only two. In the lower extremity we have the fe- mur, the largest of the cylindrical bones in the body. This has a round head, con- tained in a socket of the os innominatum; the great trochanter forms a conspicuous process at the upper and outer part of the bone. Below it has two condyles, which form part of the knee. The leg has two bones ; the tibia and fibula. A large flat portion of the former, covered only by skin, is called the shin. The foot is composed of the tarsus, meta- tarsus, and toes. The tarsus has seven bones: 1. Astragalus, composing the ankle, with the lower portion of the tibia and fibula. 2. Os calcis. 3. Os navicu- lare. 4. Os cuboides. 5, 6, 7. Ossa cu- neiformia. The metatarsal bones are five in number, and the bones of each toe are three, except the great toe, which has only two. SYSTDESMOLOGY, OR DOCTRINE OF THE JOINTS. Construction of a joint. The opposed surfaces of bones, which form joints, are ANATOMY. Covered by a thin crust of cartilage, most exquisitely smooth and polished. Hence they move on each other, in whatever di- rection their structure admits, without any hindrance from friction. They are tied together by strong and unyielding cords, resembling tendons, and known by the name of ligaments. These keep the surfaces of the bones together, and re- strict their motions to certain directions. In order still further to promote the fa- cility of motion, and to obviate every pos- sibility of friction, the cartilaginous sur- faces are smeared with an unctuous fluid, called cynovia, which makes them per- fectly slippery. This fluid is confined to the surface of the joint by means of a thin and delicate membrane, called the cap- sular ligament, which envelopes the joint. It is secreted from portionsof a fatty sub- stance, called the synovial glands. The ligaments are usually situated on the out- side of the capsula ; but in many instances they are contained in the cavity of the joint, passing from the centre of one bone to another. These are called interarticu- lar ligaments. Particular joints. Joint of the lower jaw. This is formed between the con- dyle of the jaw and a hollow in the tem- poral bone. It contains a moveable car- tilage, which renders the articulation more secure, when the jaw is brought forwards on the bone under certain cir- cumstances. The connection of the head to the ver- tebrae is effected by means of two promi- nences of the occiput, which are received into corresponding cavities of the atlas. By this joint the nodding motions of the head are performed. But the atlas itself turns horizontally round the tooth-like process of the vertebra dentata, and as the head is closely connected to the atlas, it is carried round at the same time. Therefore, the lateral or rotatory motions of the head are performed by a different joint from that which performs the nod- ding motions. Neither of these articula- tions admits of very extensive motion ; but the deficiency is compensated by the mobility of the vertebrae, which enable us to carry the head freely in any direc- tion we may wish. The head rests near- ly in equilibrio on the spinal column ; yet, if left to itself, it would fall forwards, as the joint is not precisely in the centre of the basis cranii. To counteract this ten- dency, there is a ligamentous substance extended from the spinous processes of the cervical vertebrae to the occiput, and VOL. 1 called the ligamentum muchx. In quad- rupeds this can be best seen, as the weight of the head is there supported to a much greater disadvantage. The mus- cles also contribute to keep the head up- right ; and hence, when a man drops asleep sitting, the relaxation of -the ex- tensor muscles causes the head to nod forwards. Joints of the spine. The spine, or back- bone, is a chain of joints of very wonder- ful construction. Various, difficult, and almost inconsistent, offices were to be ex- ecuted by the same instrument. It was to be firm, yet flexible ; firm, to support the erect position of the body ; flexible, to allow of the bending of the trunk in all degrees of curvature. It was further, also, to become a pipe or conduit for the safe conveyance ot'a most important part of the animal frame, the spinal marrow : a substance, not only of the first necessity to action, if not to life, but of a nature so delicate and tender, so susceptible, and so impatient of injury, as that any umisual pressure upon it, or any considerable ob- struction of its course, is followed by paralysis or death. It was also to afford a fulcrum, stay, or basis for the insertion of the muscles which are spread over the trunk of the body, in which trunk there are not, as in the limbs, cylindrical bones, to which they can be fastened; and like- wise, which is a similar use, to furnish a support for the ends of the ribs to rest upon. The breadth of the basis, upon which the parts severally rest, and the closeness of the junction, give to the chain its firm- ness and stability ; the number of parts, and consequent frequency of joints, its flexibility; which flexibility, we may also observe, varies in different parts of the chain ; is least in the back, where strength more than flexure is wanted ; greater in the loins, which it was necessary should be more supple than the back; and great- est of all in the neck, for the free motion of the head. Then, secondly, in order to afford a passage for the descent of the medullary substance, each of these bones is bored through in the middle in such a manner, as that, when put together, the hole in one bone falls into a line, and cor- responds with the holes in the two bones contiguous to it; by which means the perforated pieces, when joined, form an entire, close, uninterrupted channel. But, as a settled posture is inconsistent with its use, a great difficulty still remained, which was, to prevent the vertebrae from A a ANATOMY. shifting upon one another, so as to break the line of the canal as often as the body moves or twists, or the joints gaping ex- ternally, whenever the body is bent for- wards, and the spine thereupon made to take the form of a bow. These dangers, which are mechanical, are mechanical- ly provided against. The vertebrae, by means of their processes and projections, and of the articulations which some of these form with one another at their ex- tremities, are so locked in and confined, as to maintain, in what are called the bo- dies or broad surfaces of the bones, the relative position nearly unaltered ; and to throw the change and the pressure pro- duced by flexion almost entirely upon the intervening cartilages, the springiness and yielding nature of whose substance admits of all the motion which is necessa- ry to be performed upon them, without any chasm being produced by a separa- tion of the parts. I say of all the motion which is necessary; for, although we bend our backs to every degree almost of inclination, the motion of each vertebrae is very small : such is the advantage which we receive from the chain being composed of son;any links. Had it been composed of three or four bones only, in bending the body the spinal marrow must have been bruised at every angle. The substances which connect the bo- dies of the vertebrae to each other, called the intervertebral cartilages, are thick, firm, and elastic. They are similar in shape, and nearly so in size, to the bones which they join. They are thicker before than behind, so that, when we stoop for- wards, the compressible cartilage, yield- ing to the force, brings the surfaces of the adjoining vertebrae nearer to a state of parallelism than they were before, instead of increasing the inclination of their planes, which must have occasioned a fissure or opening between them : and their elasticity restores the body to its former state, when the compressing force ceases. In order still further to increase the strength of the compages, and to add a greater security against luxation, the ver- tebrae are articulated to each other by means of the processes before mentioned. And these processes so lock in with and overwrap one another, as to secure the body of the vertebra, not only from acci- dentally slipping, but even from being pushed out of its place by any violence short of that which would break the bone. The roots of the spinous processes are also joined to each other by very strong and highly elastic ligamentous substances which will tend powerfully to restore the column after it has been bent forwards. The general result is, that not only the motions of the human body, necessary for the ordinary offices of life, are performed with safety, but that it is an accident hardly ever heard of, that even the ges- ticulations of a harlequin distort his spine. The ribs are articulated by their pos- terior extremities to the bodies and to the transverse processes of the vertebrae, and the true ribs are also joined by means of their cartilages to the sternum. Two great advantages are derived from the ribs having this cartilaginous portion The effect of blows, or of any accidental violence, is eluded, by the flexibility which they thus obtain ; and the elastic power of the cartilages restores the ribs to their former position, after they have been raised by the intercostal muscles in breathing. Joints of the upper extremity. The clavi- cle is articulated to the sternum at one end, and to the scapula at the other. The shoulder is formed by a round head of the humerus, which plays in a cup of the scapula ; and the ends of the bones are enclosed by a thick and strong ligamentous membrane, called the orbi- cular ligament. There is here, therefore, every latitude of motion allowed. In the elbow, on the contrary, the joint is a mere hinge : lateral motion is restrain- ed by strong ligaments placed at the sides of the joint, and the fore -arm can there- fore be moved only forwards and back- wards. This joint is formed between the ulna and the humerus. The wrist is formed by the junction of the radius with the first phalanx of carpal bones. Its motion is very little more than that of a ginglymus. The rotation of the hand and wrist, or what anatomists call the pronation and supination, are per- formed by the radius revolving round the ulna, and carrying the hand with it. In this case the elbow joint is fixed ; neither does the joint of the wrist move ; but the radius moves freely round the ulna, and the hand is included in the motion. The pronation and supination of the hand are well exemplified in the use of the broad- sword, and in cudgel-playing. The carpal and metacarpal bones are united by joints and ligaments, but have no obvious motion on each other. The phalanges of the fingers are also articu- lated by ginglymi. The bones of the pelvis are inseparably ANATOMY. connected by adhering cartilaginous sur- faces and immense ligaments. Such is the streiKVii of this union, that it will yield to no force but one that would destroy and crush the whole fabric. Joints of the lower extremity. In the hip, which supports the whole body ,and which is the centre of motion of the whole in moving from place to place, we find an apparatus, admitting of extensive motion, but at the same time most carefully guard- ed and strengthened. There is a very large rounded head of the thigh received into a deep cup of the os innominatum. Here it can revolve freely, and is prevent- ed from escaping by thick and strong rising edges, that guard the brim of the cavity. From these edges there springs a very tough and stout orbicular ligament, which is firmly stretched over the head of the bone, and implanted into a contracted part called the neck. In order to provide still further for the security of so impor- tant a joint as the hip, there is a short, strong ligament arising from the head of the bull, and implanted in the bottom of the cup. This affords a very great obsta- cle to any force tending to displace the bone; but at the same time lies in the bottom of the cavity, so as not to interfere with any of the ordinary motions. The knee-joint is formed by three bones : the head of the tibia, the condyles of the femur, and' the patella. It is a gin- glymus, and its motions are accordingly restrained by two strong lateral ligaments, and it is secured still further by two im- mense ligamentous ropes within the ca- vity of the joint, called the crucial liga- ments. The ankle is a ginglymoid joint, formed by the tibia and fibula, together with the astragalus. This joint, which is an im- portant one, as bearing the weight of the whole body, is strengthened at its sides by two bony processes, called the inter- nal and external malleoii or ankles. The bone?, of the tarsus, metatarsus, and toes, are articulated, like those of the hand. Muscles consist of bundles of red fi- bres ; but the colour is not essential, since it can be removed by repeated washings ftiul maceration. The threads composing a muscle are enveloped by cellular substance, which connects it to the surrounding parts. Each bundle consists of numerous fibres, i>o small, that ottr instruments of research cannot arrive at the ultimate or original fibre ; hence, any perceivable fibre, how- ever small, is formed by the juxta-position of numerous fibrillx ; and, as we employ magnifying instruments of greater power, a fibre, which before seemed simple, re- solves itself into a congeries of still more minute threads. We pass over in silence the dreams of various investigators, who have busied themselves in looking for the ultimate muscular fibre ; these researches do not assist us in explaining the pheno- mena of muscular action. The cohesion of the constituent particles of the moving fibre is maintained by the vital power : hence, a dead muscle will be torn by a weight of a few ounces, which in the living body would have supported many pounds. The muscular fibre receives a copious supply of vessels and nerves. Tendons are formed by an assemblage of logitudinal parallel fibres. They are extremely dense and tough, of a splendid white colour, which is beautifully con- trasted with the florid red of a healthy muscle. The muscular fibres terminate in these bodies, and they are connected to the bones. They possess no apparent nerves, and very few and small blood- vessels. There is always an exact relation be- tween the joint and the muscles that move it. Whatever motion the joint, by its me- chanical construction, is capable of per- formingjthat motion the annexed muscles, by their position, are capable of produc- ing. For example, if there be, as at the knee and elbow, a hinge joint, capable of motion only in the same plane, the muscles and tendons are placed in directions pa- rallel to the bone, so as by their construc- tion to produce that motion, and no other. If these joints were capable of freer mo- tion, there are no muscles to produce it. Whereas, at the shoulder and hip, where the ball and socket joint allows by its construction a rotatory or sweeping mo- tion, tendons ^are placed in such a posi- tion, and pull in such a direction, as to pro* duce the motion of which the joint admits. In the head and hand, there is a specific mechanism in the bones for rotatory mo- tion ; and there is accordingly, in the ob- lique direction of the muscles belonging to them, a specific provision for putting this mechanism of the bones into action. The oblique muscles would have been in- efficient without that particular articula- tion, and that particulararticulation would have been useless without the muscles. As the muscles act only by contraction, it is evident that the recirocal e ANATOMY. jnotion of the limbs, or their motion with force in opposite directions, can only be produced by the instrumentality of oppo- site or antagonist muscles, of flexors* and extensors answering to each other. For instance, the biceps and brachialis inter- nus, placed in the front of the arm, by their contraction, bend the elbow, and with such degree of force as the case re- quires, or the strength admits of. The relaxation of these muscles after the effort would merely let the fore-arm drop down: for the backstroke, therefore, and that the arm may not only bend at the elbow, but also extend and straighten itself with force, other muscles, as the triceps and anconeus, placed on the hinder part of the arm, fetch back the fore-arm into a straight line with the humerus, with no less force than that with which it was be nt out of it. It is evident, therefore, that the animal functions require that particular disposition of the muscles which we call antagonist muscles. It often happens that the action of mus- cles is wanted where their situation would be inconvenient. In which case, the body of the muscle is placed in some commo- dious position at a distance, and it com- municates with the point of action by slender tendons. If the muscles which move the fingers had been placed in the palm or back of the hand, they would have swelled that part to an awkward and clumsy thickness. The beauty, the proportions of the part, would have been destroyed. They are therefore disposed in the arm, and even up to the elbow, and act by long tendons strapped down at the wrist, and passing under the ligament to the fingers, and to the joints of the fin- gers, which they are severally to move. In the same manner the muscles, which move the toes and many of the joints of the foot, are gracefully disposed in the calf of the leg, instead of forming an un- wieldy tumefaction in the foot itself. The great mechanical variety in the figure of the muscles may be thus stated. It appears to be a fixed law, that the con- traction of a muscle shall be towards its centre. Therefore the subject for me- chanism on each occasion is, so to modify the figure, and adjust the position of the muscle, as to produce the motion requir- ed, agreeably with this law. This can only be done by giving to different mus- cles a diversity of configuration, suited to their several offices, and to their situation with respect to the work which they have to perform. On which account \ve $nd them under a multiplicity of forms and attitudes ; sometimes with dot ft. sometimes with treble tendons, some times with none ; sometimes one tendon to several muscles, at other times one muscle to several tendons. The shape of the organ is susceptible of an incalcula- ble variety, whilst the original property of the muscle, the law and line of its contraction, remains the same, and is simple. Herein the muscular system may be said to bear a perfect resemblance to our works of art. An artist does not alter the native quality of his materials, or their laws of action. He takes these as he finds them. His skill and ingenuity are employed in turning them, such as they are, to his account, by giving to the parts of his machine a form and relation, in which these unalterable properties may operate to the production of the ef- fects intended. The muscular system would afford us numerous examples of what may be call- ed mechanical structure : i. e. of such contrivances, employed to attain certain objects, as a human artist would adopt on similar occasions. One of the muscles of the eye-ball presents us with a very per- fect pully; by means of which the globe of the eye is moved in a direction exactly contrary to the original application ot'tlu force. This muscle, which is called the trochlearis, arises from the very back part of the orbit : it has a long and slen- der tendon, running through a pulley in the inner part of the front margin of the orbit, and then going back to be fixed in the hind portion of the eye-ball. Thus it draws the globe obliquely upwards and forwards, although the line of the contrac- tion of the muscle is directly back- ward. In the toes and fingers the long ten- don, which bends the first joint, passes through the short tendon, which bend* the second joint. The foot is placed at a considerable- angle with the leg. It is manifest, there- fore, that flexible strings, passing along the interior of the angle, if left to them- selves, would, when stretched, start from it. The obvious preventive is to tie them down, and this is done in fact. Across the instep, or rather just above it, the anatomist finds a strong ligament, under which the tendons pass to the foot. The effect of the ligament, as a bandage, can be made evident to the senses ; for if it be cut, the tendons start up. The sim- plicity, yet the clearness of this contri vance, its exact resemblance to establish- ed resources of art, place it among tfie- ANATOMY. most indubitable manifestations of design with which we are acquainted. The number of the muscles of the human body is so great, and the circum- stances which demand attention in every muscle are likewise so numerous, that a particular description of each would ex- tend this article beyond its prescribed limits. We shall therefore merely give a catalogue of the muscles ; which, toge- ther with the references to the annexed plates, will give the reader a sufficiently clear notion of the subject. Muscles of the scalp. 1. Fronto-occipi- talis, or epicranius. Muscles of the ear. 1. Attollens auricu- lam ; 2. anterior aurus ; 3, 4. retrahentes auriculura ; 5. major helicis ; 6. minor he- licis ; 7. tragicus ; 8. antitragicus ; 9. transversus auriculae ; 10. laxator tympa- ni major ; 11. laxator tympani minor ; 12. tensor tympani ; 13. stapedeus. Muscles of the eye. 1. Orbicularis pal- pebrarum ; 2. corrugator supercilii; 3. levator palpebrae superioris ; 4 attollens oculi; 5. abductor oculi ; 6. depressor oculi ; 7. abductor oculi: these are also called recti : viz. rectus superior, exter- nus inferior, and internus; 8. obliquus superior oculi, ortrochlearis; 9. obliquus inferior oculi. Muscles of the nose.l. Compressor na- rium ; 2. levator labii superioris et alse na- si ; 3. nasalis labii superioris ; 4. depres- sor al?e nasi. Muscles of the lips. I. Levator labii su- perioris ; 2. zygomaticus major ; 3. zygo- maticus minor ; 4. levator anguli oris ; 5. depressor anguli oris; 6. depressor labii inferioris; 7. buccinator; 8. orbicularis oris ; 9. anomalus maxilla: superioris ; 10. levator menti. Lower jaw. 1. Biventer maxillx, or di- gastricus ; 2. masseter ; 3. temporalis ; 4. pterygoideus externus;5. pterygoideus internus. Neck. 1. Latissimus colli, or platysma myoides ; 2 sterno-cleido-mastoideus. Tongue and thyroid cartilage. 1. Omo- hyoideus ; 2. sternohyoideus ; 3. sterno- thyreoideus ; 4. hyothyreoideus ; 5. mus- culus glandulse thyreoidea; ; 6. stylohy- oidens ; 7. styloglossus ; 8. mylohyoideus; 9. geniohyoideus ; lO.hyoglossus; 11. ge- nioglossns ; 12. lingualis. Muscles of the pharynx and palate. 1. Stylopharyngeus ; 2. constrictor pharyn- gis superior ; 3. constrictor medius ; 4. constrictor inferior; 5. salpingo-pharyn- geus ; 6. palato-pharyngeus ; 7. constric- tor isthmi f'uirium : 8. levator palat? mol- Us ; 9. circumflexus palati ; 10. a2ygus uvul?e. Muscles of the larynor. 1. Cricothireoi- deus ; 2. crico-arytenoideus posticus ; 3. crico-arytenoideus lateralis ; 4. arytenoi- deus obliquus ; 5. arytenoideus trunsver- sus ; 6. thyreo-arytenoideus ; 7. thyreo- epiglotticus. The whole number of muscles about the head, neck, and throat, is therefore 72, Muscles of the abdomen. I. Obliquus externusabdominus ; 2. obliquus intermix abdominis ; 3. transversalis abdominis ; 4. rectus abdominus ; 5. pyramidalis ; 6. dia- phragma or septum transversum. Muschs of the thorax. 1. Sterno costa- lis, or triangularis sterni ; 2. serratus pos- ticus superior ; 3. serratus posticus infe- rior ; 4, 5, 6, scalenus anterior, medius, and posterior ; 7 to 18. levatores brevio- res costarum ; 19 to 21. levatores long 1 !- ores costarum ; 22. intercostales extern! ; 23. intercostales intern! ; 24. quadratus lumborum. Muscles moving the head and spine 1. Splenius capitis ; 2. splenius cerricis ; 3, biventer cervicis ; 4. complexus ; 5 tra- chelomastoideus ; 6. transversus cervicis ; 7. cervicis descendens ; 8. longissimus dorsi : 9. sacrolumbalis ; 10. spinalis cer- vicis; 11. spinalis dorsi ; 12. multifidus* spinae ; 13 to 22. interspinales cervicis ; 23 to 28. interspinales lumborum ; 29. rectus capitis posticus major; 30. rectus capitis posticus minor; 31. obliquus ca- pitis superior; 32. obliquus capitis infe- rior ; 33. rectus lateralis ; 34. rectus ca- pitis anticus major; 35. rectus anticus minor ; 36. longus colli ; 37 to 43. inter- transversi colli priores ; 44 to 49. inter- transversi colli posteriores; 50 to 57. in- tertransversi dorsi ; 58 to 62. intertrans- versi lumborum. Muscles of the anus and perineum. 1. transversus perinei ; 2. transversus peri- nei alter; 3. sphincter ani ; 4. levator ani ; 5. musculus coccygeus ; 6. curvator coc- cygis. Muscles peculiar to the male organs of ge- neration. 1. Cremaster ; 2. erector penis ; 3. accelerator; 4. compressor prostatx. Muscles peculiar to the female organs of generation. 1. Erector clitoridis; 2. . sphincter vaginae ; 3. depressor uretlirae. The whole number of muscles of the trunk 105. Muscles of the upper extremity. Shou] . der. 1. Pectoralis major ; 2. pectoralis minor; 3. subchwius; 4. serratus mag- nus ; 5. trepazius ; 6. latissimus dorsi ; 7. rhomboideus minor; 8. rhomboideus major : 9. lovator anguli scapula: ; 10, ANATOMY. deltoides; 11. supraspinatus ; 12. infra- spinatus: 13. teres major; 14. teres mi- nor; 15. Subscapularis. Arm. 1. Biceps flexor cubiti -, 2. bra- ehialis internus; 3. coracobrachialis; 4. triceps extensor cubiti ; 5. anconeus. Fore-arm. 1. supinator radii longus ; 2, 3. extensor carpi radialis longior et brevior ; 4. extensor carpi ulnaris ; 5. ex- tensor communis digitorum manus ; 6. extensor proprius auricularis; 7. abduc- tor longus pollicis manus ; 8. extensor major pollicis manus ; 9. extensor minor poilicis; 10. indicator ; 11. flexor carpi ulnaris ; 12. palmaris long-us ; 13. flexor carpi radialis; 14. pronator radii teres; 15. flexor digitorum sublimis, or perfora- tus ; 16. flexor profundus, or peiforans ; 17 to 20. musculi lumbricalcs ; 21. flexor longus pollicis manus ; 22. supinator ra- dii brevis; 23. pronator radii quadratus. Jfttsdes of the hand 1. abductor bre- vis pollicis manus ; 2. opponens pollicis manus ; 3. flexor brevis pollicis ; 4. ab- ductor pollicis; 5. palmaris brevis; 6. abductor digiti minimi: 7. flexor propri- us dig-iii minimi ; 8. abductor ossis meta- carpi digiti minimi ; 9 to 11. interossei intern! manus ; 12 to 15. interossei exter- ni manus. The muscles of the upper extremity are 58. Muscles of the thigh 1. Tensor fasciae latx ; 2. gluteus maximus ; 3 glutens rnedius: 4. gluteus minimus ; 5. pyrifor- mis ; 6, 7, geminus superior and inferior; 8. obdurator internus ; 9. quadratus femo- ris ; 10. biceps flexor cruris ; 11. semi- tendinosus ; 12. semimembranosus ; 13. j)soas minor; 14. psoas major; 15. ilia- cus internus ; 16. sartorius; 17. gracilis ; 18. rectus extensor cruris ; 19. vastus externus ; 20. vastus internus; 21. cru- ralis ; 22. pectineus ; 23. triceps abductor fernoris; 24. obturator externus. Muscles of the leg. 1. Gastrocnemius or gemellus ; 2. soleus ; 3. plantaris ; 4. popliteus; 5. flexor longus digitorum pe- dis; 6 to 9. lumbricales pcdis; 10. flexor longus hallucis ; 11. tibialis posticus ; 12. peroneus longus; 13. peroneus bre- vis ; 14. tabialis anticus ; 15. extensor longus digitorurn pedis; 16. peroneus tertius. Muscles of the foot. 1. Extensor pro- prius hallucis; 2. extensor brevis digito- rum pedis ; 3. flexor brevis digitorum pedis; 4. abductor 1;: windings, is towards the right groin, where the ilium terminates by en- tering ihe coecum. The small intestine possesses three coats similar to those of the stomach, viz. an external or peritoneal ; a middle or muscular ; and an internal, or villous. tu- nic. The latter forms a great many trans- >erse, loose, and Moating processes, call- ed valvulx conniventes ; by means of which the extent of surface of the villous coat is very much augmented. Numerous glandular bodies are found in parts of the canal, collected into small parcels, and hence called glandular agminate. The food, which is reduced by the ac- tion of the stomach into an homogeneous mass, called chyme, enters the small in- testine, where it undergoes a further change, and becomes chyle. It is pro- pelled along the canal by the muscular coat of the intestine, and the villous tu- nic absorbs from it the nutritious parti- cles. It pusses along every turn and wind- ing of this long canal, continually subject- ed to the action of the absorbing vessels. The residue of the alimentary matter is sent into the large intestine, from which it is expelled in the form offices. The large intestine is a canal of about two or three inches in diameter, and seven feet in length. It is divided into the cce- cum, colon, and rectum. The coecum is a bag situated in the right groin, and receiv- ing the termination of the ilium. The latter interstice enters in such a manner, jhat the passage of the aliment is allowed YWL. !. from it into the ctecum, but prevented from returning. The part which effects this is called the valvula coli. A small process, about equal in size to an earth- worm, is connected to the coecum. It is culled appendix cceci vermiibrmis, and its use is unknown. From the right groin the intestine ascends on the right side of the abdomen over the kidney, under the name of co- lon : it turns completely over the abdomen at the upper part, and descends along the lef- side to the left groin ; here it makes a large turn over the brim of the pelvis, and enters that cavity, where it takes the name of rectum, which terminates at the anus. We distinguish in the colon the right or ascending portion ; the middle or trans- verse arch ; the. left or descending ; and the sigmoid flexure. The right and left portions of this gut are closely bound down in their situations by two portions of peritoneum, called ligamenti coli. The transverse arch h:is a broad process con- nected to it, by which it is loosely attach- ed : this is called the mesocolon. Tiie large intestines have a peritonea], a muscular, and a villous coat ; but they have no valvulx conniventes. The longi- tudinal muscular fibres are collected into three bands, whi< :> being shorter than the rest of the intestine, occasion the rUier coatsto be gathered up in in folds bei w t ^n them, and thereby give the intestine a sacculated appearance. The residue of the alimentary matter, which the large intestine receives from the small, is converted in the former ca- nal into a substance of peculiar odour, colour, and consistence, called faeces ; in which form it is expelled from the body. Parts subservient to the functions of the ali- mentary canal, and contained in the cavit'it of the abdomen. The liver is the larg-est glandular msrss in the body, and is placed towards the right side of the epigastric region. Ifr, thickest portion fills the right hypochon- drium; a thinner part of the gland extends across the middle of the epigastric region to the left hypochondrium. Its size is greater in proportion as the animal is younger. In the adult it is contained within the cartilages of the ribs ; but in the foetus it extends to the navel, and fills half the belly. Its upper surface is con- vex, and in close contact with the concave under surface of the diaphragm. Its under, or concave surface rests chieHy on the stomach. It is divided into a ri^ht and left lobe, .and lobulus spigelu. It has a B b ANATOMY. posterior and thick, an anterior and thin, margin. Its colour, in the most healthy state, is of a reddish brown ; but it often deviates from this. Its weight, in an adult man of middling stature, is about 3 pounds. It is connected to the diaphragm by four ligaments, viz, 1. ligamentum latum, or suspensorium, which divides the right and left lobes from each other. The front edge of this part contains the fibrous re- mains of the umbilical cord of the foetus, which, assuming the appearance of around rope, is called the round ligament. 2, 3. Ligamenta lateralia, or dextrum, et sinis- trum. 4. Ligamentum coronarium. The liver is covered exteriorly by peri- toneum, and there are certain fissures and excavations on its surface. 1. Fossa, for the gall-bladder, in the under surface of the right lobe. 2. Fissure on the anterior thin margin, for the entrance of the umbi- lical vein. 3. Portse, or large transverse notch, at which the blood-vessels enter, and from which the hepatic duct proceeds. 4. Notch for the inferior vena cava. 5. Excavation for the bodies of the vertebrae. The liver is composed of a tolerably firm and close substance, consisting of a closely united congeries of different ves- sels. These vessels are the vena porta- rum, the hepatic artery, the hepatic veins, and the biliary ducts. The former vessel carries to the liver the blood which has circulated through the different abdomi- nal viscera. It ramifies in the liver like an artery, and the secretion of the bile is supposed to take place from the blood which it conveys to the liver. The blood of this vein, as well as that brought by the hepatic artery, for the nourishment of the liver, is returned by the large hepatic veins to the inferior vena cava. The small branches of the hepatic duct, which convey the secreted bile from the liver, appear like small yellow pores, when a section of the liver is made, and hence they are called pori biliarii. The mesogaster, or little omentum, is attached to the ports; of the liver. The vena portarum, the biliary ducts, the he- patic artery, and the hepatic plexus of nerves, pass along the right side of this process ; and the part in which they are situated is called the capsula Glissoni. Under the edge of this part is an opening, leading to the bag of the great omentum, and called the foramen epiploicum. G A LL-B LADDER AXJ) BILIARY DUCTS. The gall-bladder is a membranous bag, serving as -a reservoir for the bile. Its shape is that of a pear, being broader at one end, and diminishing conically to- wards the opposite extremity. The broad end is called the fundus ; and the small- er part of the neck the viscus. Its ave- rage capacity may be about one ounce. It is firmly bound to the surface of the liver by peritoneum. Its inner surface is elegantly reticulated, and furnishes a viscid mucus that mingles with the bile. The hepatic duct is continued in u straight course from the liver to the duo- denum, in which it opens. It passes, how- ever, in an oblique manner, between the coats of the intestine, before opening into its cavity. Hence the contents of the in- testine cannot enter the duct; and the more fully the intestine is distended, the more completely is this prevented by the compression of the duct between the in- testinal tunics. The neck of the gall- bladder is gradually contracted into a small tube, called the cystic duct, which joins the hepatic at an acute angle, after first running parallel with it. The re- mainder of the hepatic duct, after the junction with the cystic, is often called the ductus communis choledochus. The surface of the cystic duct, as well as that of the neck of the gall-bladder, has nu- merous small folds of the internal mem- brane, which must retard and obstruct the course of the bile. Pancreas Is a gland of the conglome- rate kind ; that is, composed of numerous minute portions, united by cellular sub- stance. It is connected by one end to the commencement of the duodenum, and ex tends across the vertebrae, behind the les- ser arch of the stomach, to the spleen. Its length is about six inches, its breadth one and a half, and its thickness half an inch. Each of the small molecules which com- pose this gland has an excretory duct ; these unite together into larger and larger trunks, and the main tube of all runs along the centre of the gland, and joins the ductus communis choledochus just before that duct opens into the duodenum. Spleen. This part, which in common language is called the milt, is a soft and livid mass, interposed between the great end of the stomach and the diaphragm. It weighs about six or seven ounces. It consists of a congeries of cells filled with blood, as the arteries and veins of the organ communicate with them. It is closely connected to the great end of the stomach by vascular ramifications, which the splenic vessels send to the stomach, It has a concave and convex surface ; an. anterior and posterior extremity ; and :u external peritoneal covering. ANATOMY. ORGANS OP HKSPIHATION. As these are contained in the caVity of *he thorax, we shall consider the subject in the form of a description of that cavity and its contents. The cavity of the thorax is the space included by the dorsal vertebrae behind, by the ribs with their cartilages, the ster- num, and intercostal muscles, at the sides and fore part ; and by the diaphragm be- low. This cavity is lined by a membrane called the pleura, which has a smooth in- ternal surface, constantly moistened by a serous exhalation. The cavity of the chest contains two distinct membranous bag's, called th.e right and left bags of the pleura ; each of these holds the lung of its own side, and is entirely separated from the oppo- site one. The pleura not only forms a bag which holds the lung, but is also re- flected over the surface of the viscus, be- stowing on it a smooth exterior invest- ment. This is called the pleura pulmo- nalis, to distinguish it froin the other, which is named pleura costalis. If the cartilages of the ribs be divided on one side of the chest, the correspond- ing bag of the pleura will be opened; and it will then appear, that this is separated from the opposite one by a partition, which extends from the sternum in front to the vertebrae behind, and is known by the name of mediastinum. The pleura may be compared to two bladders placed late- rally with respect to each other, but adher- ing only partially, and separated by vari- ous intervening bodies. Thus, the heart and adjoining large blood-vessels, the oesophagus, and the division of the trachea into the two bronchi, are placed between the two pleurae. The mediastinum then is the space included betweenthe opposed surfaces of the two bags of the pleurae, and containing the parts above mentioned. The name of anterior mediastinum is ap- plied to a small interval left between the two pleurae, just behind the sternum, and occupied only by a loose cellular texture. The posterior mediastinum is a larger space in front of the bodies of the verte- brae ; it contains the descending aorta, the vena azygos, thoracic duct, oesophagus, and the par vagum. The capacity of the chest taken altoge- ther varies, according as we estimate it in a state of inspiration or expiration ; being largest in the former, and smallest in the latter state. The right bag of the pleura is considerably larger than the left, as is also the right lung. In the living state, the lung is in close contact with the surface of the cavity, and follows all the motions of the sides of the chest. It is distended by the influx of air, when the chest is enlarged ; and the air is expelled from the lung, when the chest is diminished. As soon as the thorax is opened in the dead subject, the lung falls down from the sides of the chest, or, in technical language, collapses, and then a large empty space is seen between it and the ribs. From this representation it should appear, that the lungs are quite passive in the business of respiration. The lungs are two in number : one be- ing contained in each bag of the pleura. They are loose and unconnected in these bags, except atone point, towards the up- per and posterior portion of each vi.scus, where the great vessels enter them, and where the bag of the pleura is continu- ous with the reflected portion of thfrihem- brane. These are called the ligaments of the lungs. Their colour varies considerably. It is always verging more to a red, in propor- tion as the subject is younger: in the adult, it has more of a spotted and livid cast. Towards the back of the lungs it is always much deeper, from the gravitation of blood in the vessels in consequence of the posi- tion of the subject. It is lighter, when the lungs contain much air. The lungs are subdivided into lobes ; of which the right contains three, and the left two. Their substance is composed of a congeries of minute membranous cells, about equal in size to a pin's head, and as these are more or less filled with air, they give the lung a peculiar spongy feel. These cells communicate with the ulti- mate ramifications of the air vessels, and receive air from that source. The pul- monary vessels ramify minutely in them, and thereby expose the blood to the ef- fects of the contained air ; and in this ex- posure the object of respirationis effected. T/ie -windpipe. The tube, which con- veys the external air into the lungs, may be divided into three parts ; the larynx, the trachea, and the bronchi. The larynx is a hollow cartilaginous or- gan, placed at the top of the trachea. The air which passes through this from the lungs, in expiration, produces the voice. The cavity of the larynx opens above at the root of the tongue, and below into the trachea. The organ is composed of live pieces of cartilage viz. the thyroid and cricoid cartilages and epiglottis, and two arytenoid cartilages. The thyroid cartilage is the largest, and ANATOMY. consists of two irregularly quadrangular pieces, united in front at an obtuse angle. This part projects in the front of the neck, and much more conspicuously in the male than in the female sex: it is called po- mum Adami. The cricoid cartilage may be compared to a ring with a seal, of which the broad or seal part is placed behind, and the nar- rower portion in front. It is directly un- der the thyroid cartilage. The arytenoid are two pyramidal por- tions of cartilage, connected by regular moveable articulations to the back of the cricoid. The epiglottis is the softest cartilage of the larynx. It has a basis firmly tied to the thyroid cartilage, while its opposite extremity, which is very thin, is of a rounded, figure, and stands directly up- wards,, .except during deglutition, when it desceirt&iso as to cover the opening of the larynx. The thyroid cartilage is tied by three ligaments to the os hyoides above, and by as many to the cricoid cartilage below; but the most important ligaments of these parts are the ligamenta glottidis ; which arise from the front of the arytenoid car- nlages, and are attached to the posterior surface of the front portion of the thyroid: A longitudinal slit, culled the rima glotti- dis, is left between these, and it is by the passage of the air through that slit that the voice is formed. Hence, from the great share which these ligaments have in forming the voice, the name of chordae vocales has been given to them. " The larynx is lined by a vascular and very sensible membrane, copiously mois- tened with mucus, in order to defend it from the external air. It admits of free motion in the neck, and its parts are also moved on each other ; particularly the arytenoid cartilages, whose movements, by altering the size of the ruina glottidis, and the state of tension of the chordae vo- cales, contribute most immediately to the variations in the tone of the voice. The trachea is that portion of the aerial tube which is placed between the cricoid cartilages and the origin of the bronchi. It is a cylindrical membranoustube,of from 5 to 7-8ths of an inch m diameter. It runs along the middle of the fore-part of the neck, having the large blood-vessels of the head on each side, and being con- nected behind to the oesophagus. Soon after it has entered the chest, it divides into the two bronchi. The tube of the trachea is furnished with hoops of cartilage, by which it is kept permanently open for the passage of the air ; these are not, however, complete circles, being deficient behind. The lin- ing of the tube is highly vascular and sensible, and covered with a copious mu- cous secretion, which is rendered neces- sary by the constant current of air to which it is exposed. The bronchi are merely the two bran- ches into which the trachea divides for the two lungs? and of these the right is the largest and shortest. They ramify through the lungs, dividing into smaller and smaller branches; and the ultimate ramifications communicate with the air- cells. ORGANS OF CIRCULATION. The heart is the centre of the circulat- ing system ; being the source of the ar- teries, and the termination of the veins. The younger the subject, the larger is the heart in proportion to the body. It is often smaller in tall and strong men, than under different circumstances. It is connected at its posterior part, be- hind the sternum, by the large bloodves- sels, being unattached every where else, and merely confined in its situation by the pericardium. The pericardium is placed in the cavity of the chest, behind the second, third, fourth, and fifth ribs of the left side. It is covered to the right and left by the bags of the pleura, which adhere by a loose cellular membrane. It is not actual- ly connected by any part of its surface to the sternum. Below, it rests on the diaphragm, and adheres very firmly to the superior surface of the tendon of that muscle. The cavity of the pericardium is larger than the heart, so that this viscus can move freely in it. The bag of the pericardium in shape resembles the figure of the heart itself, being conical. Its substance is thick and compact, and it is much more dense and strong than the peritoneum or pleura. Where the great vessels are connected to the heart, this membrane becomes re- flected over its surface; and hence the substance of the heart has a close invest- ment from this membrane, besides being contained loosely in the bag-like portion. A small portion of the large blood-ves- sels is included within the cavity of the pericardium ; particularly of the aorta and pulmonary artery ; which are conse- quently covered by the reflected por- tions. The internal surface of the pcrir,ard : ANATOMY. um is moistened by a serous secretion from the exhalant arteries ; which is col- lected after death into a few drops of a clear light yellow liquor. It is an un- natural increase of this that constitutes dropsy of the pericardium. This fluid in the living state lubricates the opposed surfaces of the heart and pericardium, and thereby facilitates their motion on each other, and prevents their accretion. The heart, which is contained almost entirely in the left side of the chest, re- sembles a half cone ; hence we distin- guish in it a basis or broad part, and an apex or narrower portion; a convex and a flat surface. The basis is placed to- wards the right, and backwards; the apex points obliquely to the left, forwards and downwards. The basis is opposite to the seventh or eighth vertebra of the back, and the apex points to the cartilage of the fifth or sixth left rib. The position however varies by the motion of the diaphragm in respiration, as it is drawn down in a strong inspiration, and again rises in expiration. Its position also seems to vary slightly, according to the situation of the body in lying. A small portion of the left lung seems, as it were, removed just at the apex of the heart ; so that that part of the viscus is not covered by the lung like the rest, but touches the front of the chest. Those cavities of the heart which are called the right are placed in front ; and the left cavities are towards the back part ; so that the epithets anterior and posterior would correspond more nearly with the true position of these parts, than those of right and left. The flat surface of the heart looks di- rectly downwards, and rests on the ten- don of the diaphragm; this, therefore, in point of position, is inferior ; the convex surface is turned upwards, forwards, and obliquely towards the left, so that it may be called the superior surface. The weight of the human heart, when removed from the body, with its pericar- dium, is from 10 to 15 ounces. Like the heart of all warm-blooded animals, this organ consists of two hearts, closely and intimately connected. One of these is concerned with the cir- culation through the body, or the greater irculation ; the other with the circula- tion through the lungs, or the minor cir- culation. These might perform their of- fices, if separate and even distant from each other. Each of these hearts con- sists of two cavities; an auricle, or mem- branous bag, placed at the mouths of the veins; a ventricle, or strong muscular organ, placed at the orifice of the artery, and constructed for the purpose of driv- ing the blood into that vessel and it$ branches. The two auricles are placed at the ba- sis or broadest part of the heart ; and the two ventricles, composing the chief bulk of the organ, are found in front of the former cavities. In the following description of the structure of the heart, we shall trace the parts in the same order in which the blood passes through them. This fluid, then, after circulating through the blood- vessels of the body, after serving the various purposes of nutrition, secretion, &.c. is returned into the right auricle of the heart by three large veins, viz. the superior and inferior vena cava, and the great coronary vein. The properties of this blood have been so altered in its course, that it is necessary for it to be subjected to the action of the atmosphere in the lungs, before it is again fit to be sent into the arteries of the body. The right auricle derives its name of auricle from a small fringed process, which is found at its anterior part ; the rest of the cavity is called the sinus of the vense cavze. The lining of this bag, as indeed that of all the other parts of the heart, consists of a smooth and polished surface. The muscular fibres of the auricle are not nu- merous nor large ; they are arranged in parallel fasciculi, which have been com- pared to the teeth of a comb ; and hence the epithet of musculi pectinati has been given to them. The right auricle transmits the blood into the right, anterior, or pulmonary ventricle, through a large circular orifice, called the annulus venosus, or the auri- cular orifice of the ventricle. When this latter cavity contracts, the blood would be driven back towards the auricle, were not this prevented by a valve, called the tricuspidal of triglochine. This valve is formed by a production of the of the heart, divided into three pointed portions. These are tied by tendinous strings to certain projecting packets of the muscular fibres, called the fleshy co- lumns of the ventricle. The structure of the ventricle is very different from that of the auricle. It is a strong mus- cular cavity, adapted to the office of for- cibly projecting the blood through the- arterial ramifications ; whereas the auri- cle is a mere reservoir, holding the blood until the ventricle has emptied itself by its contraction. ANATOMY. The pulmonary artery, which arises from the upper and anterior part of this ventricle, conveys the blood into the lungs. The opening of this artery, which is called the arterial orifice of the ventri- cle, is furnished with three valves, called sigmoid or semilunar, which prevent any retrograde motion of the blood from the artery towards the heart. The venous blood, by being exposed to the atmospheric air in the lungs, is alter- ed in its properties, and becomes arterial blood, in which state it is returned to the left auricle of the heart by four pulmo- nary veins, two of which belong to each lung. This left or posterior auricle con- sists of a large cavity, called the sinus of the pulmonary veins ; and of a smaller process or auricula. It is situated quite at the upper and back part of the heart, and ^ransmits the blood through the au- orifice of the left ventricle into th;V, cavity. This opening is perfectly si- milar in all essential circumstances to the corresponding part on the right side of the heart But its valve, being divided into t-vo portions only, is called mitralis, from a comparison with a bishop's mitre. The left ventricle is much thicker and stronger than the right. It feels exter- nally almost like a solid mass of flesh ; while the right is comparatively thin and flabby. The reason of this difference is obvious. The left ventricle has to drive the blood to the most remote parts of the body, whereas the right only sends it through the lungs. The aorta arises from the left ventricle, and its mouth is guard- ed by three semilunar valves. This is the trunk from which the arteries of the whole body arise. STRUCTURE OF THE ARTEIUES. Those vessels, through which the blood flows from the heart into every part of the body, are called arteries. The term, which is derived from cttjp, air, and rtjpe a, I hold, was first adopted by the anato- mists of the Alexandrian school, in con- sequence of the erroneous opinion which they entertained, that these vessels were designed for the distribution of air throughout the body. The larger arteries have thick and clastic sides, so that they remain open when divided, and present a regularly circular aperture. The sides may be se- parated into three strata of dissimilar substances, which are technically called coats. The innermost, which is generally termed the cuticular coat, is thin, strong, and highly elastic. The internal surface of this coat is perfectly smooth, so that the blood glides along it without impedi- ment ; the external surface is connected to that coat which surrounds it. The middle, or, as it is called, the muscular coat, is composed of a congeries of cir- cular fibres, separable into numerous strata, but not much resembling muscu- lar fibres as found in other situations. The external coat of the artery is made of condensed cellular substance, which unites these vessels to the neighbouring parts. It appears that the larger vessels have the greatest elastic power, with the small- est muscular force ; while these proper- ties exist in reversed proportions in the smaller vessels. In the large arteries muscular power is unnecessary, for the force of the heart is fully adequate to the propulsion of the blood; but in the small- er arteries, where the effect of the heart's action declines, a pi-oportionate muscular power is allotted to the vessels, to urge on the circulating fluids. The arteries have their nutrient arte- ries and veins, their absorbents, and their nerves. All the arteries proceed from one great vessel, as the branches, spring from the trunk of a tree ; and we proceed to no- tice certain circumstances observable in their ramifications. 1. When an artery gives off a branch, the conjoined areas of the two vessels make a greater space for the blood to move in, than the area of the original ves- sel. The increase of dimensions in the branches of a large artery is slight; but in those of a small one it is so considerable, that Haller has estimated it as surpassing by one third that of the trunk from which they sprung. The conjoined areas of all the small arteries so greatly exceed that of the aorta, that the same anatomist, in opposition to former opinions, affirms that these vessels are conical, the basis of the cone being in the extreme arteries, and the apex in the heart. 2. When a large artery sends off a branch, its course does not in general de- viate further from that of the trunk than an angle of 45 degrees. Sometimes a branch, which has gone off at an acute angle, returns, and proceeds in a contrary direction to that of the trunk. Sometimes indeed a large artery does proceed from the trunk at nearly a right angle, as the renal arteries. Though the large arteries generally ramify at acute angles, there is great diversity in the branching of thr smaller ones. ANATOMY. 3. Arteries in general do not pursue a straight, but a serpentine course ; this is remarkably the case in some instances; as in the spermatics, those of the face and occiput, and in most of the smaller arte- ries. 4. Though the ramification of arteries may be compared to the branching of trees, yet it differs materially in this par- ticular, that the different branches fre- quently conjoin. This conjunction is tech- nically*termed,if we borrow the term from the Greek language, their anastomosis ; if from the Latin, their inosculation. This union of arteries rarely happens among the larger ones, but frequently among the smaller ; and increases in number in pro- portion to the minuteness of the vessels. The utility of the inosculations of arteries is evident; were it not for this circum- stsnce, if any arterial trunk were acci- dentally compressed, so that the current of blood in it should be for some time obstructed, the parts which it supplied must perish. But in consequence of the frequent communications of these tubes with each other, the blood can pass from the adjacent arteries into all the branch- es of any one accidentally obstructed. When arteries inosculate, two currents o^ blood, moving in opposite directions, must come together, and retard each other's motion. This probably is the rea- son, why larger arteries, in which the blood flows with rapidity, so seldom con- join ; whilst the smaller ones in which the blood's motion is more tardy, communi- cate in surprising numbers, and with a frequency proportionate to their minute- ness. The very frequent communications of the minute arteries prevent the preju- dicial consequences of obstruction of the trunks almost as effectually, as if those arteries themselves communicated by more direct and larger channels. All these minute arterial tubes are capa- ble of enlargement ; and it is an ascertain- ed fact, that even the aorta itself may be gradually obstructed at some distance from the heart, without the parts which it supplies being deprived of nourishment. From an attentive consideration of all these circumstances it has been conclud- ed, that the moderate increase of the area of the branches of large arteries ; the ucute angles at which they divide ; their nearly rectilinear course ; and the rare oc- currence of inosculation between them ; are designed to facilitate the rapid motion of the blood in them, so that it may arrive unchanged, and in the same state that it was in when projected from the heai't, at that part of the body, for the nourishment of which it was intended : whilst, on the contrary, the great increase of the area of the smaller vessels, the variety of their angles, their tortuous course, and their frequent communications, were designed to check the velocity of the blood's mo- tion, when it has arrived at that part where secretion is to be performed, and nutri- tion is to take place. Contrary opinions have indeed been maintained ; and for the further discussion of this subject, we must refer the reader to the remarks on the circulation in the article PHYSIOLOGY. Termination of the arteries. When these vessels have become very minute, they terminate in two ways : they either turn back again, and become veins, and return the blood to the heart, or they send off" fine vessels, which abstract something from the circulating blood, and are there- fore called secerning arteries. Though none but minute arteries are ever reflect- ed to become veins, yet many of them are of sufficient magnitude to admit common waxen injection ; and when this experi- ment succeeds, the continuity of the ar- teries and veins is very manifest. It seems therefore to follow from this facility of communication, that the mass of the blood is constanntly and freely circulating, in order to undergo that change which is ef- fected in the lungs, whilst but a small part of it proceeds into the verv" minute arte- ries, for the purpose of having secretions made from it. For these arteries, however minute, mustbe considered large, in com- parison with the exility of others, which cannot be injected with wax, and even reject the red globules of the blood, or admit them in such small proportion, that they do not impart the red colour to the fluid which moves in those vessels. Now, we may venture to affirm that these glo- bules do not much exceed in diameter the 150,000th part of an inch, which cir- cumstance sufficiently sho\vs the minute- ness of the lesser arteries. The secerning arteries are in general too minute to admit of demonstration ; they are however evident in some glands ; in the kidney, for instance, they may be seen continued into the excretory vessels. Subtile injections, when thrown into the larger arterial trunks, ooze out on the sur- faces of membranes, and into the cellular substance, and they are generally suppos- ed to be poured forth from the open orifi. ces of secerning arteries. Analogy, there- fore, rather than actual demonstration, leads us to believe, that the secerning arte- ries abstract the particles of nutrition, or the materials which compose the fabric of the body, from the circulating fluids, and ANATOMY. deposit them from their open mouths, so as by this means to build up and keep in repair the structure of the body. Distribution of the nrteries. The great artery, whose brandies supply the whole of the body, is named the aorta. It arises from the upper part of the left ventricle, and emerges from the heart between the pulmonary artery and the right auricle. It first ascends in the chest ; opposite the upper edge of the second rib it bends backwards till it reaches the left side of the spine, in which situation it descends from the fourth or fifth dorsal to the last lumbar vertebra. By the arch of the oarta is meant that part of the vessel which arises from the heart and bends across the chest. It sends off' the following branches : the two first arising at right angles close to the heart ; the three following from the con- vexity of the arch : 1. Right coronary artery of the heart. 2. Left coronary artery of the heart. 3. Arteria innominata, a common trunk, dividing into 1. Right subclavian. 2. Right common carotid. 0.7 Left common carotid. 4 $ Left subclavian. The common carotid artery is destined for the supply of the head. It emerges from the chest by the side of the trachea; mounts upwards in front of the vertebrae, and parallel with the trachea, till it reach- es the upper margin of the thyroid carti- lage, without sending off' a single branch. At this part it divides into the external and internal carotid arteries, the former of which is distributed to the outside of the head ; the latter to the brain. The external carotid continues its course upwards between the jaw and the ear, being imbedded in the substance of ".he parotid gland. Hranches of the external carotid artery. 1. Superior thyroideal. a. Laryngeal branch. 2. Lingual artery. a. Hyoideal branch. b. Artery to the back of the tongue. c. Raminal artery. 3. Facial or labial, or external maxil- lary. a. Ascending palatine branch. b. Arteries to the surrounding glands. c. Interior labial artery. d. Coronary artery of the lower lip. c'. Coronary artery of the upper lip. /. Nasal arteries. 4. Ascending pharyngeal artery. 5. Occipital artery. 6. 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Several very minute converging 1 tubes are seen running through the uriniferous por- tion, and terminating by open mouths on their conical points ; these, which can be filled with minute injection from the ar- teries, and the open mouths of which can be seen with the aid of a small magnify- ing power, are the excretory tubes, or tubuli urirtiferi, of the kidney. The urini- ferous portion of the gland forms about fifteen conical projections, termed papil- la: ; on each side of which the excretory tubes open in great numbers. The pa- pillae project into short membranous ca- nals, called infundibula ; and these ter- minate in a common receptacle, situated at the notch of the kidney, and known by the name of the pelvis. From this a ca- nal about equal in size to a writing quill, the ureter, conveys the secreted fluid into the bladder. The bladder is a membranous and mus- cular reservoir, receiving 1 the urine as it is found in the kidnies, retaining it until it has accumulated in some quantity, and then expelling it through a canal called the urethra. The internal surface of the bladder is formed by a smooth membrane, constant- ly covered with a mucous secretion, which defends it from the irritating effects of the contained fluid. It has a muscular coat, sometimes described as a muscle, under the name of detrusor urinae ; and that part of the fibres, which is situated round the opening of the urethra, is called the sphincter vesicae, as it keeps the aperture constantly closed, until we make an effort for the expulsion of the contained fluid. The ureters open into the lower part of the bladder ; and open in such a manner that, although the urine flows readily from them into the receptacle, none can return. They pass between the muscular and in- ternal tunics, before they penetrate the latter. The bladder is situated just behind the ossa pubis ; and is partly covered by the peritoneum. The urethra proceeds from its lower and anterior surface, and this part is called the neck of the bladder ; it then goes under the arch of the pubis. It forms in the female a canal about an inch and a half, or two inches long, which opens in the cavity left between the labia pudendi. In the male it is about nine in- ches in length, and runs along the under part of the penis to the extremity of that organ, where it opens. ORGAXS OF GENERATION. The parts which the two sexes per- form, in the important business of pro- pagating the species, are so entirely dif- ferent, that we shall not be surprised at finding that the male and female organs ot generation are wholly dissimilar to each other. The germs or rudiments of the future beings are produced by the female, in or- gans called the ovaria. But these remain inert and useless, unless called into ac- tion by the fecundating influence o, the male. The fecundating fluid is prepared in two glands, called the testes. When the germ has been acted on by this fluid, it passes through a canai called the iallo- pian tube, into the uterus, where it is re- tained until it has acquired a considerable magnitude ; and from which it is expell- ed at the end of nine months. The se- minal liquor of the male is poured into the urethra, and is introduced by means of the penis into a membranous cavity of the female, called the vagina. External parts of generation in the fa- male. Over the surface of the pubis, there is a greater accumulation of fat and cellular substance than in the male ; and the prominence caused by this structure is called mons veneris. A longitudinal cavity extends from this eminence in front to the anus behind ; and the sides of it are bounded by two folds of the skin, called labia pudendi, or alac majores. The whole of these parts taken together constitute the pudendum, or sinus puclo- ris. The mons veneris, and the outer surface of the labia, are covered with hair to a greater or less extent. The parts contained within this longi- tudinal cavity are covered by a more de- licate kind of integuments, than that which composes the general surface of the body. A change takes place in the organization of the skin, somewhat simi- lar to that which is observed at the lips. Hence the surface of the parts contained within the labia has a red, smooth, and soft covering ; which is besmeared with a cebaceous secretion of peculiar odour, furnished by numerous small glands, lying just under the surface. This unctuous matter is required in order to defend the parts from the urine ; and also to obviate the effects of that rubbing on each other, which must be occasioned by the motions of the body. Towards the upper part of the longi- tudinal slit, left between the labia, a small prominent organ is discerned, call- ed the clitoris. This exactly resembles the male penis in structure. It only pro- jects, however, about a quarter of an ANATOMY. inch. We distinguish in it a glans and preputium, which resemble, on a small scale, the parts of the same name in the male. Below the clitoris are two small folds, called the nymphs. These are connected above to the preputium clitoridis ; they diverge from eacii other as they extend below. They vary much in size ; in a natural state they may measure about halt' an inch at the broadest part. They are of a much greater magnitude in the Hottentot female, and have given rise to the reports of travellers, that the sinus pudoris is covered in those persons by a curtain or apron of skin. About three quarters of an inch below the clitoris, we meet with a round aperture, which is the termination of the female urethra: and just below this is the opening of the vagina; which opening is technically called os externum uteri. This has a very different appearance in a young girl and in a married woman. In the latter it is a large and free aperture, fully ade- quate in size to the admission of the pe- nis; in the former it is shut up in a great measure by a thin membrane, called the hymen. This closes the lower portion of the os externum, to various extents in different subjects; and is torn and de- stroyed by the consummation of mar- riage. Some little excrescences, suppos- ed to be the remains of the ruptured hy- men, are called carunculae myrtiformes. The anus is found about one inch behind the commencement of the vagina. The vagina, or canalis uteri, is a mem- branous canal, about five inches in length, extending almost directly backwards from the os externum. Its sides are dense and tough ; and the surface is covered with numerous wrinkles and prominences, which are less conspicuous in women who have had children than in virgins. The uterus is a hollow organ ; but its cavity is so small in the impregnated state, and its sides are so thick and dense, that it feels like a solid fleshy mass. Its broadest and largest part, which is called the fundus, is situated directly upwards. The smaller and narrower portion, term- ed the neck, is downwards. The length ' of the organ, from the fundus to the end of the neck, is about three inches; its breadth at the fundus about one inch, and at the cervix considerably less. It is si- tuated within the cavity included by the bones of the pelvis. The peritoneum passes from the bladder *o the anterior surface ot the uterus, ana completely co- vers the organ. It is extended from the two sides of the uterus to the bones of the pelvis, forming two broad duplica- tures, called the broad ligaments of the uterus; each of which includes three parts, named the appendages of the ute- rus: 'viz. the ovarium, fallopian tube, and round ligament. The cavity of the uterus opens into the posterior part of the vagina by an orifice, named the os tincx or os internum uteri. The round ligament of the uterus is a fibrous chord, passing from the fundus uteri through the abdominal ring, and serving to confine this organ in its pro- per situation. The ovarium is an oval fleshy body, si- tuated towards the posterior surface of the broad ligament. It contains some small watery vesicles, called ovula g^aafi- ana, which are supposed to be the germs of the future beings, that are to be called into action by the stimulus of the male semen. The fallopian tube is a convoluted ca- nal, commencing by a very minute orifice from the corner of the uterus, running along the upper margin of the broad liga- ments, and gradually increasing in size, till it ends near the ovarium by a broad trumpet-shaped mouth, open to the ca- vity of the abdomen, and having an ele- gant arrangement of plaits and fringes surrounding the aperture, whence it is often called the u'mbriated extremity of the tube. Male organs of generation. The testes, or glands, which produce the semen, are contained in the scrotum, a bag formed of common integuments, and hanging from the front of the pelvis between the thighs. A prominent line, called the raphe, runs along the middle of this, and divides it into two equal portions. The testes are surrounded and connected in their situa- tion by a loose cellular substance. They are of an oval shape, and about equal in size to a pigeon's egg. They hang from the abdomen by the spermatic chords, which consist of the arteries, veins, lym- phatics, and excretory tubes of the testes, united by a cellular substance, and cover- ed by a muscle, called the cremaster, by the action of which the testis is occasion- ally drawn up towards the belly. The substance of the testis is covered by two membranous tunics, one, which immediately invests it, and is called tu- nica albuginea ; another, which surrounds this more closely, and forms a bag, in which the testis' hangs, the tunica vagi- nalis. ANATOMY. There is a small body, partly distinct from the testis, and placed behind it, called the epididymis. The substance of the testis is found by dissection to be soft; and it is composed of a congeries of very minute tubes, named tubuli seminiferi, which may be unravelled and separated by macerating in water, although they were previously connected into the appearance of a fleshy mass. The diameter of these tubes is estimated at l-200th of an inch ; and the number of them at about 60,000. If they were joined together, they would form a tube of about 5000 feet long. These tubes terminate ultimately in a single small canal, which, by its innumerable turns and windings, makes up the whole epididymis. If this could be completely drawn out, it would be about 30 feet long. It increases rather in size towards the end of the epididymis, and leaves that body in the form of a simple and unconvoluted tube, assuming the name of vas deferens, and ascending along the back of the spermatic chord to the abdo- men. It can be readily distinguished in that situation in the living person : it feels like a hard chord, about the size of a crow quill. When the spermatic chord has entered the abdomen, the vas deferens leaves it, runs along the back of the bladder, and opens into the commencement of the urethra. Vesiculce seminales. Before the vas de- ferens terminates in the urethra, it is joined at an acute angle by the canal of the vesicula seminalis. These vesicles are two soft bodies, ly- ing in contact with the under surface of the bladder, and formed, each of them, by the convolutions of a single membran- ous tube. An injected liquor thrown into the vas deferens will pass into the vesi- cula seminalis, rather than into the ure- thra ; for the opening into that canal is extremely small, while the communica- tion with the vesicula is large and free. Hence it has been supposed that these vesicles are reservoirs for retaining the fluid formed in the testicles until it is wanted. Mr. John Hunter has however pretty clearly demonstrated that the vesiculx are not intended to contain semen, but that they secrete a peculiar fluid, to sub- serve the purpose of generation. See his "Observations on certain parts of the Animal Economy." Prostate gland. The origin of the ure- thra is surrounded bv the substance of this gland, which in sue and form muck resembles the chesmit. Numerous open- ings are found in the commencement ef the urethra, which discharge on pressure a whitish viscid fluid, secreteu in the substance of the prostate. A portion of the gland projects into the lower part of the commencement of the urethra, and has received the name of caput gallinagi- nis: it is on this that the openings of the canals, formed by the junction of the vasa deferentia and vesiculae seminales, are found. The urethra is subservient to two pur- poses; the expulsion of the semen in the act of copulation, and the conveyance of the urine from the bladder. Its surface is perfectly smooth, and is covered and pro- tected by a mucous secretion. The dia- meter of this canal varies slightly at dif- ferent parts, but may be stated generally at about one-eighth or an inch. At its first departure from the bladder, it is surrounded for one inch by the prostate ; it is then continued as a simple membran- ous tube, but surrounded by muscular fibres for another inch ; this is called the membranous portion of the urethra. In the rest of its passage it is surrounded bv a vascular substance, called corpus spon- giosum ; this is accumulated in a consi- derable mass at its commencement,where indeed the urethra is broader than in any other situation, and this is called the bulb. The seminal and prostatic liquors are poured into the bulb of the urethra, and are forcibly expelled from thence by a sort of convulsive contraction of a muscle, whose fibres surround this part of the canal; the ejaculator seminis. The glans penis is nothing more than a portion of the same vascular mass, which surrounds the rest of the urethra, cover- ed by a very delicate, sensible, and finely organized integument. The bulb, corpus spongiosum, and glans, are susceptible of the same erec- tion as the body of the penis; which is indeed essential to the performance of their functions, m conveying the fecun- dating liquor into the body of the female, The penis consists of two bodies, call- ed crura, or corpora cavenosa, which arise separately from the bones of the pelvis; but join so as to form afterwards a single organ. Each crus consists of a very strong and dense ligamentous tube,, filled internally with cellular substance, into the cells of which tiie arteries open, and from which the vt.ins coian.cnce The arteries pour the i.iuod into these organs with great energy, in obedience' ANATOMY. to the passions of the mind, and thereby distend the ligamentous tubes until they feel perfectly hard and rigid, in which state the whole organ is fitted for the function which it has to perform in the act of copulation. The urethra, sur- rounded by its spongy substance, runs along the under surface of the corpora cavernosa, and the glans penis is situated at the anterior extremity of these parts. The body of the penis is covered by common integuments, which, being adapt- ed to cover the organ in its extended state, fall into wrinkles when it is col- lapsed. These are continued beyond the end of the glands, and are inflected, so as to form a hood or covering to the glans, called the prepuce. The latter part is connected to the mouth of the urethra by a small fold named the frenum. The surface of the glans, and the lining of the prepuce, are smeared with an unctu- ous matter of peculiar odour, furnished by some small glands. OF THE BIUIST AND NERVES. The brain is a soft and somewhat white substance, situated in the cavity of the skull, and corresponding in form to that cavity. Its parts are supported by a firm membrane, called the dura mater, and its substance is more immediately invested by a delicate membrane, called the pia mater. The structure of the brain is remark- ably constant and uniform ; very seldom deviating from the accustomed standard. Varieties of formation occur, not unfre- quently, in most other parts of the body ; but the parts of the brain preserve an al- most invariable relation of form, position, magnitude, and connection ; which seems to prove, that the right performance of the functions of this organ requires an exactness in the structure of individual parts. According to Soemmering, the weight of the brain varies from 2lb. 5\oz. to 3/. 3f 02. Of two hundred brains, which this anatomist examined, none weighed four pounds, whereas Haller states its weight as amounting in general to five pounds. The weight of the brain, compared to that of the body, is an inverse ratio to the age of the subject. In young foetuses it is soft and almost fluid : it becomes of a more solid consistence in increasing age, and is firmest in old persons. The dura mater is a very firm and compact membrane, adhering closely by vessels and fibres to the internal surface VOL. I, of the cranium. It is therefore to berg- garded as the periosteum of the internal table of the cranium, as well as a mem- brane for supporting and investing the brain. It is described by anatomists as consisting of two layers, intimately con- nected in general, but separated from each other at particular parts, so as to leave vacancies between them, called si- nuses, into which the veins of the brain pour their blood. The chief of these are, the superior longitudinal, the two lateral, and the torcula herophili. There are besides some smaller ones, as the infe- rior longitudinal, the cavernous, the cir- cular, the superior, and the anterior pe- trosal. They all terminate ultimately in the lateral sinus, which, quitting the cra- nium, takes the name of internal jugular vein. On the upper part of the dura mater some small eminences are observed, aris- ing from clusters of white granular bo- dies, situated between this membrane and the pia mater ; they are the glandulce Pacchioni, and fill the pits which may be observed in the skull-cap. The ramifica- tions of the spinous artery, which is the chief nutrient vessel of the dura mater, are very conspicuous on each side of the head. The inner surface of the dura mater is smooth and shining, and has no connection with the pia mater, except where veins pass from the latter mem- brane to the sinuses. The processes which the dura mater forms, for separating and supporting the different parts of the brain, are, 1. the falx cerebri ; 2. tentorium cerebelli ; 3. falx cerebelli. The two membranes which immedi- ately invest the brain were considered as one, and called the pia mater, until a more minute investigation had shewn that it could be divided into two layers. The outer one is called tunica arachnoi- dea. This is spread over the visible sur- face of the brain, is of a pale white co- lour, yet in some degree transparent, ve- ry thin, and devoid of evident vessels. It is seen most evidently, where it passes be- tween the two lobes of the cerebellum, and about the middle of the basis cere- bri : in other parts it adheres so intimate- ly to the pia mater, that the distinction can scarcely be demonstrated. The pia mater every where covers the external surface of the brain, and there- fore sends processes into all the convolu- tions of this organ. It is extremely vas- cular, and a great portion of the blood, which the brain receives, is spread out ANATOMY. upon its surface in minute vessels. The outer surface is tolerably smooth ; the inner universally villous, from the torn orifices of innumerable vessels, which en- tered the substance of the brain. The surface of the brain appears con- voluted, so as to resemble the windings of the small intestines. These convolutions do not in general penetrate more than one inch, or an inch and a half, into the substance. The contents of the cranium are divid- ed into cerebrum, cerebellum, and medul- la oblongata. The cerebrum is the upper, and by far the largest, portion : it occupies all the superior part of the vaulted cavity of the skull, and rests below on the tentorium, the petrous portions of the temporal bones, the sphenoid alae, and the orbits. Its upper surface presents a regularly convex oval, narrower in front} than be- hind. It is divided into a right and left hemisphere by a deep longitudinal fis- sure, into which the falx cerebri descends. Each hemisphere is divided into two lobes by means of the fissura magna Syl- vii. This fissure commences at the basis of the brain, opposite to the lesser ala of the sphenoid bone ; the anterior lobe is that portion of the hemisphere situated in front of the fissure ; and the posterior lobe is the division placed behind. The hemispheres of the cerebrum are united together at about two inches and a half from the surface of the brain, by means of a medullary body, called corpws callosum. This is about three inches in length, and three quarters of an inch in breadth. As there are no distinguishable parts in the upper portions of the hemispheres of the cerebrum, it is customary to pare all these away in dissection, nearly to the level of the corpus callosum, in ,order that we may be able more easily to open, and more particularly to examine, certain cavities, which are situated at the sides of that body, and are called the lateral ven- tricles. On making a section of the brain, we perceive that it is composed of two sub- stances ; an exterior one, which is of a grey colour, and an interior one, which is white. These are simply termed the ci- neritious and white substances, or sub- stantia cinerea et alba ; or, from the for- mer surrounding the latter, as the bark does the wood of a tree, they are named, in contradistinction, the cortical and me- dullary substances of the brain. The two lateral ventricles are situated in the substance of the brain, by the side of the corpus callosum, (one in either he- misphere.) The cavity begins in the front lobe of the brain, as far forwards as the commencement of the corpus callosum ; it runs from before backwards, in a direc- tion parallel to that body, and at its poste- rior end bends dow n \vards,and returns ob- liquely from behind forwards, to terminate almost under its superior extremity. At the place where the ventricle bends, in order to run downwards, there is a parti- cular elongation passing into the posterior lobe, forming a triangular-pointed cavity, and terminating in a cul de sac. This is the digital cavity, or cornu posterius, of the lateral ventricle. These and the other ventricies of the brain contain a small quantity of a watery fluid. The disease of h} drocephalus is a- morbid increase of quantity in this fluid, which accumulates sometimes to the amount of some pounds, distending and dilating the ventricles enormously. The learned Soemmering, who may justly be esteemed the first of modern anatomists,. places the censorium commune in this fluid. He has traced all the nerves of the brain to the sides of the ventricles; and concludes, that impres- sions made on these nerves will be trans- mitted to the water of the ventricles, which he considers as the organ of the soul. The two lateral ventricles are separated by a perpendicular partition, called the septum lucidum,. which passes from the corpus calloaum to the fornix. It contains a small triangular cavity, called by some the fifth ventricle of the brain. It has no communication with the other cavities of the brain. The fornix is a roundish medullary bo- dy, lying between the two ventricles at the lower part. It arises by two anterior crura from the front of the brain ; these unite to form the body or pillar of the fornix, which separates behind into two posterior crura, that run into the reflected portion of the ventricles. Under the anterior part of the fornix is a small slit-like opening, by which the two lateral ventricles communicate. The choroid plexus is a production of the pia mater, containing a vast number of arterial and venous ramifications, float- ing almost loosely in the cavity of the ven- tricles. It is first observed in the reflect- ed portion of the ventricle, where it is the broadest and largest : it diminishes in size as it ascends/ and terminates just at the opening of communication between the two cavities. The choroid plexuses of the t\vo ventricles are united bv a middle ex- ANATOMY, pansion, passing under the fornix, and called the velum. The lateral ventricle contains certain eminences, which form its sides; the cor- pus striatum is the anterior and superior eminence, grey on its external surface, and striated internally. The posterior emi- nence in each ventricle is called the thala- mus nervi optici ; it is hemispherical, and white, and joined to its opposite one by an union of substance, called the soft com- missure. The hippocampus major is a large elongated eminence, lying in the de- scending portion of the lateral ventricle : and the hippocampus minor is u smaller one, in the digital cavity. The pineal gland, orconarium, is found behind the optic thalami. Its size is about that of a small horse-bean ; its colour grey, and figure conical. Two small me- dullary chords connect it to the optic tha- lami. In the substance of this body is found a small quantity of a gritty matter, nearly resembling sand. It consists of a number of semi-transparent and light yel- low grains. Soemmering, who first dis- covered that this belonged to the healthy structure of the brain, calls it the acervulus of the pineal gland. This liitle body has been more attended to and noticed than it would otherwise have been, in conse- quence of the chimerical dream of Des- cartes, who represented it as the seat of the soul. Below the pineal gland is a square por- tion of the brain, divided into four super- ficial eminences, called corpora quadrige- mina, and from these a thin production extends to the cerebellum, under the name of valvula cerebri. By drawing asunder the optic thalami, and separating their soft commissure, we expose the third ventricle of the brain. This appears as an oblong cavity, about jin inch and a quarter in length. A round medullary rope is seen in front of it, and a similar one behind ; these are called the anterior and posterior commissures. A round aperture is observed under the an- terior commissure, beyond which the ven- tricle terminates by a pointed and conical extremity, from which a short process is continued to the pituitary gland, under the name of infundibulum. The foramen commune anterius is an opening observed between the optic ihalami before they are disturbed, and lending from the aperture of communication, which connects the two lateral ventricles under the fornix, in- to the third ventricle. Just before the pos- terior commissure a round opening is found, leading through a shoi-t canal, in front of the tubercula quadrigetnina, t o the fourth ventricle. It is named canulis me- dius, iter ad quartum ventriculurn, or aquseductus Sylvii. Thus the four first ventricles of the brain have a free com- munication with each other. Under the posterior lobes of the cere- brum there is found a transverse produc- tion of dura mater, called tentorium,which is attached to the internal transverse ridge of the occiput behind, and to the petrous portions of the temporal bone in front. Under this membrane lie the two lobes of the cerebellum, separated by a small per- pendicular production, called the falx ce- rebelli. The fourth ventricle is a cavity, left be- tween the upper and posterior surface of the medulla oblongata,and the front of the cerebellum. It extends laterally to a con- siderable distance in the crura cerebelli : a groove runs along the middle of the me- dulla oblongata, which constitutes the front of the ventricle, and terminates at the end of the cavity in a point. From the lateral productions, and the pointed ter- mination of the cavity, it has been named the calamus scriptorius. The pituitary gland is a firm substance, differing in texture from the brain, and lodged in the sella turcica. Its name is derived from a supposition that it secreted the mucus of the nose, which in ancient times was supposed to flow from the head. It is connected by the infundibulum to the basis of the brain. Behind the last men- tioned part, at the basis cerebri, are seen two small rounded eminences, called cor- pora subrotunda. The crura cerebri are two large medullary processes going from the cerebrum to the medulla oblongata. The cerebellum is situated in the lower fossae of the occipital bone, under the ten- torium. It consists of an intermixture of cortical and medullary substance, arrang- ed differently from the order observed in the cerebrum. A perpendicular section of this part discovers a very elegant structure in this respect. A thick trunk of medul- lary matter sends off processes, in every direction ; from these other branches pro- ceed, all of which are surrounded by cor- tex. This is called the arbor vit this list a very large addition might be ir.ade, but it would consist of names, like several of the above, often local, and confined exclusively to a particular state strict, or applied, in different parts of the country, to fish in every respect unlike each other. This vague nomenclature is a source of constant error, and obviously in- dicates the convenience, and even neces- sity, of an universal language, such as sci- entific natural history presents us with. Baits for fish are principally natural ; a few art;ficial ones are used, chiefly in fishing for pike and perch, made to imi- tate small fish, frogs, &c. The natural baits arc whatever is commonly eaten by fish, as worms, maggots, grubs, caterpil- lars, snails, small fish, frogs, roe of fish, beetles, butterflies, moths, wasps, grass- hoppers. Vegetable baits are sometimes used, as beans, wheat, barley, and peas, which last are best when green, and slightly builcd ; paste made of dough, bread, or flour, mixed with oil, and a little cotton to unite it together, also forms bait. It is generally best to colour it red, parti- cularly for smelts. Maggots are best procurer! by hanging up a bullock's liver, scarified pretty deep- ly all over, covered loosel), so as to ad- mit flies, in two or three days, living maggots will appear on it, when it should be taken down and put into a pan, till the gentles attain their full size ; a suffi- cient quantity of fine sand and bran is then to be put over the liver in the pan; and the maggots will in a few days come into it and scour themselves, which ren- ders them tough, clean, and fit to be han- dled. Those produced in autumn will continue in that state all the winter, if they can get just under the surface of the earth. In the spring, as the weather be- comes warm, they change into flies. The cadbate is a very excellent bait. This is an imperfect insect, resembling a worm, inclosed in a tube formed of ag- glutinated pebbles, out of which the head and six feet are protruded when in mo- tion ; it is the larva of the genus Phryga- nea, ami is to be found in great plenty in gravelly and stony rivulets, and by the side of streams in large rivers a^-nong stones ; when you want them, turn up the stones, and you will find the best sticking to them. When a sufficient quantity of them are procured, hang them up in a linen bag, and dip them, in the bag,onct a" day into water, for four or five days. They will then turn yellow, and become tough and fit for use, being much better than when they first came out of the w r ater. The lob, or dew worm, is found in gar- dens and pastures, late in summer even- ings, by using a lanthom nml candle. They are also dug up in fields, and by the sides of drains and ditches. To scour and preserve them for use, take some moss, dip it into clean water, wring it dry, put half of it into an earthen pot, then put in the worms, and the rest ofthe moss at top; cover it close, that they may not get out, and keep it in a cool place in summer, and in a warmer in winter; the moss should be changed every fifth or sixth clay. In a week the worms will be fit for use. These directions will also ansvverforother species of worms. Brandlings, red-worms, and gilt-heads, are found in the same dunghills together/ which consists of hogs' dung, horses' dung, and rotten earth. But the worms which are found in tanner's bark, after it has been used and become quite rotten, arc the best of all ; but they are generally better for angling without any scouring. Long white worms, found chiefly in tur- nip fields, are good bait, especially in muddy water. They are preserved best in some of their own earth, kept damp, with some moss over it. Marsh worms, found in marshy grounds and rich banks of rivers. The red worms, found in cow dung, and dock worms, found about the roots of docks, flags, and sedges, are all good bait. As are likewise the grubs found in cow dung, called cow-dung bobs, which are of a yellowish white, with red heads, and the short bobs, or grubs, found in mellow sandy land, which have pale red heads, yellowish tails, and bodies of the colour ofthe earth wherein they are found, but which when scoured are of a pale white. These last are an excellent winter bait ; the best way to render them tough is, to put them into boiling milk, for about two minutes, on the morning which they are to be used. Caterpillars, found by beating the branches of oaks, and other trees, that grow over highwa) s, paths, and open pla- ces, and the cabbage grubs found on and in the hearts of cabbages, are also excel- lent bait; these last are to be fed, and preserved, with the same kind of leaves on which they are found. Shad-roe is like- wise a good bait; but the numerous pastes ANGLING. and oils, which many have prescribed for enticing fish to bite, are in the opinion of the most experienced anglers, only idle chimseras. Worms are best put on hooks, by run- ning the hooks in at the head of one worm, and out about his middle, drawing it up over the shank, and putting on a se- cond worm beneath the first, in the mid- dle of whose body the point of the hook is to be concealed; the tails of both worms hanging loose will entice the fish. Ground bait is often used with good effect, particularly for barbel and for perch. It should be a general rule, that the ground bait should be always inferior to that which is used on the hook; greaves therefore should not be used, as is cus- tomary with some ; but for this purpose, malt grains, bran, blood, parts of lob- worms, and clay, all worked up together and made into small balls, is the most proper composition ; and two or three of these balls, thrown into the place where you desire to '>sh, is sufficient at a time. This may be repeated now and then, but much should not be used ; for if this should be done, the fish will glut themselves, and become less eager for the bait on the hook. A good ground bait is made for perch, by taking three or four balls of the stiffest clay that can be procured, making holes in them, putting one end of a lob- worm into each hole, and closingthe clay fast on them. These balls should then be thrown into the water, about a yard from each other, when the worms, being alive in the balls, will move and twist about, which tempts the fish to feed upon them. But by angling with worms of a superior kind, the fish will on sight of them leave those in the clay, and seize the others with the greatest avidity. The tackle necessary for fishing con- sists of fishing rods, lines, links of hair, and of other materials usual ; hooks, floats, spare-caps, split shot, bait of different sorts, including ground bait, shoemakers' wax, twine, silk, a clearing ring, which being passed over the rod, when the hook is entangled, and drawn down the line by a strong twine attached to it for the pur- pose, to the hook or below it, if the ob- struction is caused by weeds, will either free the hook or break the line near it, and prevent its being strained in any other lace, by pulling the twine with sufficient >rce. A landing net is also useful to land large fish ; and a gaff, when fishing for salmon, to be used for the same pur- VOL. I, pose ; which instrument consists of a large hook attached to the end of a pliable stick ; by passing the hook into the nose or gills of the fish, it may be easily lifted out of the water, for which purpose a landing net is too small. A disgorger is also necessary, to put down the throat of a fish, when he has gorged the hook, till you touch it, when on pulling the line it will be free. The disgorger is formed by a piece of flat wood, about six inches long, and half an inch wide, forked at the ends. To these articles a fish-basket should be added, to carry the iish in. Fishing rods are made of various lengths, according to the sort of fish they are intended for; those for salmon are about 18 feet long, those for trout 14 or 15 feet, those for pike the same as for salmon ; and for other fish, either the trout or the salmon, rods may be used ac- cording to their size and strength. All rods should be made to taper evenly from the buts; and when not formed of pieces of the natural growth, which should al- ways consist of ground shoots, they should be made of cleft, timber, as sawed pieces can never be depended on. Ash or hickory are best for the lower joints, yew for the next, and the extremity of the top should always consist of whalebo ne ; the fewer joints used in the rod the more equal will be its elasticity in every part ; some have the joints formed with screw ferules, and some with sliding connections retained by plain ferules ; but none are better for the elasticity of the rod, and for security, than simple spliced joints, secured by well waxed twine ; some re- commend those latter joints to be previ- ously glued together, before the waxed twine is applied, with glue prepared with strong lime water : but it is obvious that the wet to which rods are exposed must render glue of little use : thick white paint, or some of the varnish hereafter mentioned, would probably cement the pieces together more durably. Whatever may be the number of permanent joints, the long rods need not be made to sepa- rate into more than three long pieces, and a short top ; and the short rods into two pieces, and a short top ; the lower joint of trout rods should be bored hollow, to contain a second top ; for every trout rod should have two tops made for it ; one very pliable for fly fishing, and the other stiffer for bait; the top not in use will be conveniently and safely kept in the hol- low butt. The rod should be furnished with rings for the line to pass through, from the top to within tw<> feet of the ANGLING. reel ; and when it is completed, it should be well varnished over with a varnish form- ed by boiling a little scraped Indian rub- ber, or coutchouc, in half a pint of drying 1 linseed oil till it dissolves ; the varnish should be skimmed, and be used warm. The rod, after being- varnished, should be laid aside till quite dry ; the varnish will then appear on it like a fine thin bark, will be very durable, and will preserve it from being- worm eaten, and from other injuries. The hollow part of the rod should be rubbed inside with linseed oil, three or four times each year, which may be done by a rag* dipped in the oil, and tied to the end of a stick. Hair lines should be long, round, clear, and free from knots, frets, or scales. For fly fishing, a line should be prepared from nine to twelve yards long, gradually ta- pering to the extremity. It is formed of a number of links of hair, twisted first, and then knotted to each other. The four lowest links consist of three hairs each, with the weak tops cut off all of a length ; the next four links have four hairs each ; the third four links five hairs; and so on till the line is completed. The links are to be knotted together with the fisherman's or water knot ; the short ends of the hairs are to be cut oflT pretty close to the knots, and the knots to be whipped over with well-waxed silk. A loop should be made at each end of this line: the upper loop to fasten it to the end of the running line at the top of the rod, and the lower loop to fasten the lower links to, which should never con- sist of more than two or three, of either gut or hair, for fly or bottom fishing. The best colours for lines are pale bluish, green, or watery grey, and light bay. Running hair lines, or those all of one thickness, are made on engines prepared and sold at the fishing-tackle shops. They may likewise be made by passing hairs through three short tubes made of quills or reeds, secured by pegs at the lower ends. The hairs are to be knotted toge- ther at the top, and the quills being then turned round all together between the fingers will form an equal twist above them ; which being drawn out, according as the quills are turned round, make the line, fresh hairs being still put into the quills at the lower ends as the upper hairs are worked into the line. The most excellent hooks are those made of the best tempered fine steel wire, longish in the shanks, and strong- and ra- ther deepish in the bend ; the barbs well formed, and the point fine and straight, and as true as it can be set to be level with the shank, which last for fly fishing should be tapered off to the end of it, that the fly may be finished the neater. Hooks made in this manner so as to lie all in one plane, are much better than twisted so as to pro- ject at one si-.le: they do not make so large an orifice when the fish is hooked, nor are they so liable to break the hold as the others. The two kinds being fairly tried against each other for several sea- sons, considerably more fish were missed in the rising, and in biting at the bottom, and much more lost after being hooked with the crooked hooks, than with those above recommended. The best hooks of the kind are made in Limerick. Floats for angling are mude of many kinds, as of swan quills, goose quills, Mus- covy duck quills, and porcupine quills. The first is the best, when light baits are used in rivers or deep waters, and the others for slow water, or ponds not very- deep. For heavy fishing, with worms or minnows, a cork float is best, made of a pyramidical form, with a quill placed in it lengthwise for the line to pass through. Quill floats must carry shot enough to sink them, so as that the top may appear above water, that the slightest nibble may be better perceived. The cork floats should have sufficient shot placed beneath them on the line, to make them stand upright when the shot is off the bottom, by which it may be known when the shot is on the ground ; for then the float will fall on one side, and no longer stand upright. Anglinghasbeen divided, bythosewho have written on the subject, into many other kinds besides those mentioned. Of these, float angling and ground angling* may be easily understood from what has been mentioned already. Night angling is performed nearly in the same way as day angling; but in it the larger and more conspicuous bait, such as garden worms, snails, and minnows, are best. Some lay long lines in rivers at night, with short lines furnished with hooks attached to them at certain intervals ; and some use lines fastened to floats of various sorts ; but these modes of fishing can scarcely be called angling, properly speaking. The largest and finest fish are often caught by these methods. Sea angling has nothing particular in it, but that small parts of fish, clams or crabs, are mostly used in it for bait. The same fish may be caught at the heads of piers and the mouths of rivers, and by the same bait as at sea, therefore fishing in such places is classed with sea angling. Lastly, trimmer angling is a spec.t ANG ANG float angling. The fl oat consists of a round piece of cork, six inches in diameter, with a groove cut at its edge, in which the line is coiled, except so much next the hook as to allow it to hang in mid-water, and so much at the ether end as will reach to the bank. When a fish takes the bait, and runs with it, the line unwinds off' the trim- mer without giving any check ; but it will be prudent to give a slight jerk, to secure the fish when you come to take up the line. This method is very successful in canals, large ponds, or other still water. Before concluding this article it will be proper to notice, that the weather has much influence on fish. When the wind is in some points, few fish will bite ; the most unfavourable is the eastern quarter. A warm lowering day, with flyin< show- ers, and a slight ripple on the water, is the most favourable. Water slightly disturbed prevents fish from seeing the tackle, and in in they take the bait most readily. Hence, whatever tends to disturb it so as to hide the line, without totally obscuring the bait, is of advantage. In waters affect- ed by the tide, the flood is the best time for angling; but the ebb should not be neglected. Whirlpools, eddies, mill-tails, sides of bridges, and beneath their arches, are places where fish more readily bite, chiefly for the above reason ; and in gen- eral, a certain degree of darkness in the water, whether occasioned by the shade of buildings, rocks, or other bodies, or caus- ed by the agitation of its surface, or by muddy streams flowing into it, is favoura- ble to angling. The proper season for fishing is in ge- neral from the beginning of spring to the end of autumn; but this depends much on the nature of the fish angled for: some may be caught at all times ; others, as those of passage, are only to be met with at particular seasons ; and others, though always confined to one piece of water, are nearly torpid during the winter, and are found only in deep places. See Tay- lor's Angling. ANGUIS, in natural history, the sloto- ivorm, a genus of serpents : the generic character is, scales both on the abdomen and beneath the tail. There are, accord- ing to Gmelin, 26 species. This genus is easily distinguished, by having the abdo- men and under part of the tail covered with scales of a similar appearance to those on the rest of the animal, except that in some few instances they are ra- ther larger. The body is of a shorter and fclore uniformly cylindric form than in the sfenus Coluber : the eyes are in general small, and the tail rather obtuse. No poi- sonous species of anguis has yet been dis- covered. A.fragilis, or common slow-worm, is found in almost all parts of Europe, in similar situations with the common snake, and is a perfectly innoxious animal, living on worms and insects. It is about 10 or 12 inches long : the tail measures more than half the length of the animal, and termi- nates pretty suddenly in a slightly acumi- nated tip. The slow-worm is a viviparous animal, and produces occasionally anumer- ous offspring: like other serpents, it varies in intensity of colours at different periods, and the young are cftmmonly of a deeper cast than the parent animal. The general motions of the slow-worm are tardy, ex- cept when endeavouring to make its es- cape : it can, however, occasionally exert a considerable degree of swiftness, and can readily penetrate the loose soil in or- der to conceal itself from pursuit. They are often found in considerable numbers during winter, at some depth beneath the surface, and lying in a state of torpidity, and again emerging from their conceal- ments on the approach of spring, when they cast their skin, and recover their for- mer liveliness. If struck with violence, the body of this animal will break into pieces. A. corallina, or coral slow-worm, is a very elegant species, about 18 inches long, and of a considerable thickness : the scales are moderately large, and the head and tail are remarkably obtuse. It is a native of South America, where it is found in woods, and to prey on the larger insects, as the scolopenclrae, &c. : in colour it sometimes varies, a mixture of black being blended with the red on the sides. (See Plate I. Serpentes, fig. 3.) A. ven- tralis, or glass slow-worm, is a handsome species, about two feet long : it is a native of sorth America ; body ashy-green, stri- ate ; lateral band black ; belly short, ap- parently joined by a hollow suture ; tail verticillate, three times as long as the bo- dy ; it takes its name from the circum- stance of breaking to pieces in two or three places with a small blow of a stick, the muscles being articulated quite through the vertebrae. A. Jamaicensis, or Jamaica slow-worm, found in Jamaica, about the roots of decayed trees, near ants' nests, &c. and though it has general- ly been deemed poisonous, yet it is really innocuous; its colour is an uniform pale brown, with a kind of silvery gloss on the scales, which are very smooth. ANGULAR motion, in mechanics and astronomy, is a motion of a body which describes an angle, or which moves cir- cularly round a point. Thus a pendulum has an angular motion about its centre of ANI AM motion, and the planets have an angular motion about the sun. The angular mo- tions of revolving bodies, as of the pla- nets about the sun, are reciprocally pro- portional to their periodic times ; and they are also as their real or absolute mo- tions directly, and as their radii of motion inversely. Angular motion is also composed of a right-lined and circular motion, or in which the moveable body slides and re- volves at the same time : such is the mo- tion of a coach-wheel. ANGURIA, in botany, a genus of the Monoecia Diandria class snd order ; calyx five-cleft ; corolla five petalled ; pome in- ferior, two-celled, many-seeded. ANHYDR1LE, in mineralogy, one of the sulphate family, found at Saltz on the Neckar, in Wirtemberg. Colour smalt blue, which passes into a milk white. Massive : not very brittle. Specific gra- vity 2.94. It differs from cube spar in co- lour, fracture, shape of fragments, and in having a higher specific gravity. ANIGOZANTHUS, in botany, a genus of the Hexandria Monogynia class and or- der : corolla six parted, with unequal in- curved segments : stamina inserted in the throat of the corolla: capsule three-celled, many-seeded. There is only a single spe- cies; a native of New-Holland. The stem is leafy, covered at the top with reddish hairs, leaves linear ; flowers umbelled : corolla clothed with reddish hairs. ANIMAL, in natural history, an orga- nised and living body, endowed with the powers of sensation, and of spontane- ous loco-motion. Some have defined ani- mals, from their loco-motion, as being capable of shifting from place to place, whereas plants adhere to the same sub- ject. This property they assume, as the great characteristic by which animals may be distinguished from the other orders of beings. On this principle, however, oys- ters, barnacles, and many zoophytes, would be almost excluded from the class of animals, inasmuch as they usually ad- here or grow to rocks. 8cc. and yet it is certain that these creatures are real ani- mals. But loco-motion alone is not suffi- cient to constitute the generic difference of animals ; nor, indeed, does it sufficient- ly distinguish an animal from a plant. Many instances are produced in which plants manifest loco-motive power. This is the case with those denominated sensi- tive plants, many of which, upon the Slightest touch, shrink back and fold up their leaves ; as the snail on the slightest touch retires into its shell. There are some, on which if a fly perches, instantly close and crush the insect to death. Plants also change their position and form in different circumstances and seasons: they take advantage of good weather, and guard themselves against bad weather; they open their leaves and flowers in the day, and close them at night ; some close before sun-set, and some after; some open to receive rain, and some close to avoid it ; some follow the sun, and some turn from it; the leaves of some plants are in constant motion during the day, and at night they sink to a kind of rest or sleep. It has also been observed, that a plant has a power of directing 1 its roots for procuring food ; and that it has a fa- culty of recovering its natural position after it has been forced from it. A hop- plant, for instance, in twisting round a pole, directs its course from south to west, as the sun does ; if it be tied in the opposite direction, it dies ; but if it be left loose in this direction, it will regain its natural course in a single night. A ho- neysuckle proceeds in a certain direc- tion, till it be too long to sustain itself; it then acquires strength by shooting into a spiral form ; and if it meet with ano- ther plant of the same kind, both these coalesce for mutual support, one twisting to the right and the other to the left. There are other instances in which plants manifest a faculty of loco motion ; and, perhaps, in almost as eminent a degree as some animals. Oysters, e. $. are fixed to one place as much as plants, nor have they any power of motion, besides that of opening and shutting their shells ; nor do they seem, in this respect, to have any superiority, with regard to the powers of motion, to the sensitive plant, and others of a similar kind. In order, therefore, to form a complete and satisfactory distinc- tion between animals and vegetables, as well as minerals, it is necessary to com- bine with spontaneous loco-motion, which they unquestionably possess in a more perfect degree than plants, the powers of sensation. These seem to be unexcep- tionably distinguishing and characteristic. However, M. Buffon. after allowing that, although progressive motion constitute a perceptible difference between an animal and a vegetable, this distinction is neither general nor essential, proceeds to state, that sensation more essentially distinguish- es animals from vegetables. But he adds, that this distinction is neither sufficiently general nor decided. If sensation, he says, implied no more than motion consequent upon a stroke or impulse, the sensitive ANIMAL. plant enjoys this power ; whereas, if by sensation we mean the faculty of perceiv- ing 1 , and of comparing ideas, it is uncer- tain whether brute animals are endowed with this faculty. If it should be allowed to dogs, elephants, &c. whose actions seem to proceed from motives similar to those by which men are actuated, it must be denied to many species of animals, particularly to those that appear not to possess the faculty of progressive motion. If the sensation of an oyster, e. g. differ in degree only from that of a dog why do we not ascribe the same sensation to ve- getables, though in a degree still infe- rior ? In examining the distinction which arises from the manner of feeding, he ob- serves, that animals have organs of ap- prehension, by which they lay hold of their food : they search for pasture, and have a choice in their aliment. But it is alleged, that plants are under the neces- sity of receiving such nourishment as the soil affords them, without exerting any choice in the species of their food, or in the manner of acquiring it. However, if we attend to the organization and action of the roots and leaves, we shall soon be convinced that these are the external or- gans, by which vegetables are enabled to extract their food ; that the roots turn aside from a vein of bad earth, or from any obstacle which they meet with, in search of a better soil; and that they split and separate their fibres in different directions, and even change their form, in order to procure nourishment to the plant. From this investigation, he con- cludes that there is no absolute and es- sential distinction between the animal and vegetable kingdoms; but that nature pro- ceeds by imperceptible degrees, from the most perfect to the most imperfect ani- mal, and from that to the vegetable ; and that the fresh water polypus may be re- garded as the last of animals, and the first of plants. After examining the distinc- tions, this author proceeds to stafe the resemblances which take place between animals and vegetables. The power of reproduction, he says, is common to the two kingdoms, and is an analogy both universal and essential. A second resem- ( blance may be derived from the expan- sion of their parts, which is likewise a common property, for vegetables grow as well as animals; and though some differ- ence in the manner of expansion may be remarked, it is neither general nor essen- tial. A third resemblance results from the manner of their propagation. Some ani- mals, he says, are propagated in the same manner, and by the same means, as vegeta- bles. The multiplication of the sacceron, or vine-fretter, (see Aphis,) which is, he observes, effected without copulation, is similar to that of plants by seed ; and the multiplication of the polypus by cuttings resembles that of plants by slips. Hence it is inferred that animals and vegetables are beings of the same order, and that na- ture passes from the one to the other by imperceptible degrees; since the proper- ties in which they resemble one another are universal and essential ; while those by which they are distinguished are limit- ed and partial. Dr Watson, Bishop of Landaff, has examined, with his usual judgment, the distinguishing marks be- tween animals and vegetables. He re- jects, as insufficient, both figure and spontaneous motion ; and if perception be substituted in their stead, it will be found to be a criterion that is, in many respects, liable to exceptions. However, the ingenious and learned prelate pro- duces many chemical, physical, and meta- physical reasons, which serve to ren- der the supposition not altogether in- defensible, that vegetables are endowed with the faculty of perception. Dr. Per- cival, likewise, in a paper read before the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester, produces several arguments to evince the perceptive power of vege- tables. From the reasoning adduced by both these ingenious writers, of which a more particular account will be given in the sequel of this work (see PLANTS and VKGKTABLES) ; those who duly advert to it will, we conceive, incline to the opi- nion, that plants are not altogether desti- tute of perception. But on a question that has perplexed and divided the most ingenious and inquisitive naturalists, it is very difficult to decide. If we extend to the vegetable kingdom that kind of vita- lity with which sensation and enjoyment are connected, there will remain no dis- cernible boundary between this and the animal kingdom ; and that which has been considered as the distinctive charac- teristic of animals, and by which they are separated from vegetables, will be abolish- ed. We shall now add, that the princi- ple of self-preservation belongs to all ani- mals ; and it has been argued that this principle is the true characteristic of ani- mal life, and that it is unquestionably a consequence of sensation. There is no animal, when apprehensive of danger, that does not put itself into a posiure of defence. A muscle, when it is touched, immediately shuts its shell; and as this ANIMAL. action puts it into a state of defence, it is ascribed to a principle of self-preserva- tion. Those who adopt this reasoning allege that vegetables do not manifest this principle. When the sensitive plant, for instance, contracts from a touch, it is no more in a state of defence than be- fore, for whatever would have destroyed it in its expanded state, will also destroy it in its contracted state. They add, that the motion of the sensitive plant proceeds only from a certain property called irrita- bility ; and which, though possessed by our bodies in an eminent degree, is a cha- racteristic neither of animal nor vegetable life, but belongs to us in common with brute matter. The sensitive plant, after it has contracted, will suffer itself to be cut in pieces, without making the least effort to escape. This is not the case with the meanest animal. An hedge- hog, when alarmed, draws its body toge- ther, and expands its prickles, thus put- ting itself in a posture of defence : when thrown into the water, the same principle of self-preservation prompts it to expand its body and swim. A snail, when touch- ed, withdraws itself into its shell; but if a little quick-lime be sprinkled upon it, so that its shell is no longer a place of safety, it is thrown into agonies, and en- deavours to avail itself of its loco-motive power, in order to escape that danger. Muscles and oysters, also, though they have not the power of progressive motion, constantly use the means which nature has given them for self-preservation. We, ourselves, possess both the animal and vegetable life, and ought to know whether there be any connection between vegetation and sensation, or not. We are conscious that we exist, that we hear, see, &c. but of our vegetation we are abso- lutely unconscious. We feel a pleasure in gratifying the demands of hunger and thirst; but we are totally ignorant of the process by which our aliment is formed into chyle, the chyle mixed with the blood, the circulation of that fluid, and the separation of all the humours from it. If we, then, who are more perfect than other vegetables, are utterly insensible of our own vegetable life, why should we ima- gine that the less perfect vegetables are sensible of it ? We have within ourselves a demonstration, that vegetable life acts without knowing what it does ; and if ve- getables are ignorant of their most saga- cious actions, why should we suppose that they have any sensation of their inferior ones; such as contracting from a touch, turning towards the sun, or advancing to a pole ? As to that power of irritability which is observed in some plants, our so- lids have it, when deprived both of animal and vegetable life ; tor a muscle, cut out of a living body, will continue to contract, if it be irritated by pricking, after it has neither sensation nor vegetation. Encyel. Brit. On the other hand, those who are of opinion that plants possess powers of perception, allege that their hypothesis recommends itself by its consonance to those higher analogies of nature, which lead us to conclude that the greatest pos- sible sum of happiness exists in the uni- verse. The bottom of the ocean is over- spread with plants of the most luxuriant magnitude ; and immense regions of the earth are overspread with perennial fo- rests. Nor are the Alps or the Andes destitute of herbage, though buried in depths of snow ; and can it be imagined that such profusion of life subsists without the least sensation or enjoyment ? Let us rather, with humble reverence, sup- pose that vegetables participate, in some low degree, of the common allotment of vitality ; and that one great Creator hath appointed good to all living things, in number, weight, and measure. ANIMAL flower, a name given to a va- riety of creatures of the Vermes tribe, that bear some resemblance to a flower. These, for the most part, belong to the order Molluscae ; the name is, however, frequently given to a different order, viz. the Zoophyte's. ANIMAL manures, in agriculture, are all substances that are formed from the decomposition of animal substances of any kind; as the muscles, blood, hair, wool, bones, fat, &c These are generally esteemed as more powerful, in promoting vegetation, than such as are derived from vegetable matters. On account, however, of their being but seldom procured in large quantities, they are generally made use of in the state of mixture or combi- nation with other materials. By the ac- tion of ammonia, which is constantly formed during the decomposition of ani- mal substances, the mould is made more suitable for plants. AXIMAL, parts of, substances which compose the bodies of animals may be arranged under the following heads : 1. Bones and Shells 2. Horns and Nails 3. Muscles 4. Skin 5. Membranes 6. Tendons and ligaments ANI ANI f. Glands 8. Brain and nerves 9. Hair and feathers 10. Silk and similar bodies. Besides these substances, which con- stitute the solid part of the bodies of ani- mals, there are a number of fluids, the most important of which is the blood, which pervades every part of the system in all the larger animals : the rest are known by the name of secretions, because they are formed, or secreted, as the ana- tomists term it, from the blood. The Erincipal animal secretions are the fol- >wing : 1. Milk 2. Eggs 3. Saliva 4. Pancreatic juice 5. Bile 6. Cerumen 7. Tears 8. Liquor of the pericardium 9. Humours of the eye 10. Mucus of the nose, &c. 11. Sinovia 12. Semen 13. Liquor of the amnios 14. Poisonous secretions. Various substances are separated either from the blood or the food, on purpose to be afterwards thrown out of the body as useless or hurtful. These are called ex- cretions. The most important of them are, 1. Urine. 2. Fxces. Besides the liquids which are secreted for the different purposes of healthy ani- mals, there are others which make their appearance only during disease, and which may therefore be called morbid secretions. The most important of these are the following : 1. Pus 2. The liquor of dropsy 3. The liquor of blisters. To these we must add several solid bo- dies, which are occasionally formed in different cavities, in consequence of the diseased action of the parts. They may be called morbid concretions. The most remarkable of them are the following : 1. Salivary calculi 2. Concretions in the lungs, liver, brain, &c. 3. Intestinal calculi 4. Biliary calculi 5. Urinary calculi 6. Gouty calculi. ANIMAL substances, or those which have hitherto been detected in the animal kingdom, and of which the different parts of animals, as far as these have been ana- lysed, are found to be composed, may be arranged under the following heads : 1. Gelatine 2. Albumen 3. Mucus 4. Fibrin 5. Urea 6. Saccharine matter 7. Oils 8. Resins 9. Sulphur 10. Phosphorus 11. Acids 12. Alkalies 13. Earths 14. Metals. Seethe several articles in their alphabe- tical order. ANIMAL, functions of. See ASSIMILA- TION, DIGESTION, PERSPIRATION, RESPI- RATION, 8cc. ANIMALS, generation of. See the arti- cle GENERATION. ANIMALS, in heraldry, are much used, both as bearings and supporters. It is to be observed, that in blazoning, animals must be interpreted in the best s^nse, and so as to redound to the greatest ho- nour of the bearers. For exam pie, the fox being renowned for wit, and likewise giv- en to niching for his prey ; if this be the charge of an escutcheon, we must con- ceive the quality represented to be his wit, and not his theft. All beasts must be figured in their most noble action ; as a lion rampant, a leopard or wolf passant, a horse running or vaulting, a greyhound coursing, a deer tripping, and a lamb go- ing with a smooth pace. In like manner, every animal must be moving and looking to the right side of the shield, the right foot being placed foremost. These are the precepts given by Guillim,and yet we find that there are lions passant, couchant, and dormant, as well as rampant. ANIMALCULE, an animal so minute in its size, as not to be the immediate ob- ject of our senses. Animalcules are usually divided into two distinct sections, visible, and micro- scopical. The first, though visible, can- not be accurarely discerned without the help of glasses : the second are discover- ANIMALCULES. able only by the microscope. Some have supposed there are others invisible. The existence of these cannot well be disput- ed, though it cannot be asserted,unless we conclude that the microscope has not yet arrived at its highest degree of perfection. Reason and analogy give some support to the conjectures of naturalists in this re- spect: animalculesare discerned of various sizes, from those which are visible to the naked eye, to such as appear only like moving points under the microscopic len- ses of the greatest powers ; and it is not unreasonable to imagine, therefore, that there are others, which may still resist the action of the microscope, as the fixed stars do that of the telescope, with the greatest powers hitherto invented. Animalcules, visible , amongst these are included an amazing variety of creatures, by no means of analogous natures Those numerous creatures which crowd the wa- ter in the summer months, changing it sometimes of a deep or pale red colour, green, yellow, &c. are of this description. The large kinds are chiefly of the insect, or vermes tribes, and of which the mono- culus pulex is particularly remarkable, being found sometimes in such abundance, as to change the water apparently to a deep red. A simlar appearance is like- wise occasioned by the circaria mutabilis, when it varies in colour from green to red ; vorticella fasciculata also changes it to green ; and rotatoria to yellow. To this section we must also refer many of the acarus and hydrachna genera, and a multitude of other creatures that will be noticed hereafter. Animalcules, microscopical The micro- scope discovers legions of animalcules in most liquors, as water, vinegar, beer,dew, &c. They are also found in rain and several chalybeate waters, and in infu- sions of both animal and vegetable sub- stances, as the seminal fluids of animals, pepper, oats, wheat, and other grain, tea, &c. &c. The contemplation of animal- cules has made the ideas of infinitely small bodies extremely familiar to us A mite was anciently thought the limit of littleness ; but we are not now surprised to be told of animals twenty-seven mil- lions of times smaller than a mite. Mi- nute animals are found proportionably much stronger, more active and vivacious than large ones. The spring of a flea in its leap, how vastly does it outstrip any thing greater animals are capable of! A mite, how vastly faster does it run than a race-horse ! M. de PIsle has given the computation of the velocity of a little creature scarcely visible by its smallness, which he found to run three inches in halt a second : supposing now its feet to be the fifteenth part of a line, it must make five hundred steps in the space of three inches ; that is, it must shift its legs five hundred times in a second, or in the ordi- nary pulsation of an artery. The exces- sive minuteness of microscopical animal- cules conceals them from the human eye. One of tiie wonders of modern philosophy is, to have invented means for bringing creatures, to us so imperceptible, under our cognizance and inspection: an object a thousand times too little to be able to affect our sense should seem to have been very safe. Yet we have extended our views over animals to whom these would be mountains. In reality, most of our mi- croscopical animalcules are of so small a magnitude, that through a lens, whose focal distance is the tenth part of an inch, they only appear as so many points; that: is, their parts cannot be distinguished, so that they appear from the vertex of that lens under an angle not exceeding a mi- nute. If we investigate the magnitude of such an object, it will be found nearly equal to TT ^^ of an inch long. Sup- posing therefore, these animalcules of a cubic figure, that is, of the same length breadth, and thickness, their magnitude w-.uld be expressed by the cube of the fraction ^^^ that is, by the number ' that is ' so man y P arts of 1000,000.000,000.000 . a cubic inch is each animalcule equal to. Leeuwenhoek calculates, that a thousand millions of animalculi, which are disco- vered in common water, are not altoge- ther so large as a ; rain of sand. This author, upon examining the male sperm of various animals, discovered in many infinite numbers of animalculi not larger than those above mentioned. In the milt of a single codfish there are more animals than there are, visible to the naked eye, upon the whole earth ; for a grain of sand is bigger thanfour millions of them. The white matter that sticks to the teeth also abounds with animalcules of various figures, to which vinegar is fatal ; and it is known that vinegar contains animal- cules in the shape of eels. In short, ac- cording to this author, there is scarcely any thing which corrupts without produc- ing food to myriads or animalcules. Ani- malcules are said to be the cause of various disorders. The itch is known to be a disorder arising from the irritation of a species ot acarus, or tick, found in the pustules of the aliment : when the com- ANI ANN Maunication of it by contact from one to another is easily conceived, as also the reason of the cure being 1 effected by cu- taneous applications. In the Philosophi- cal Transactions, vol. lix., is a curious ac- count of the animalcules produced from an infusion of potatoes, and another of hempseed, by the late Mr. Ellis. " On the 25th of May, 1768, Fahrenheit's thermom- eter 70, 1 boiled a potatoe in the New River water, till it was reduced to a mealy consistence. I put part of it, with an equal proportion of the boiling- liquor, into a cy- lindrical glass vessel, that held something 1 less than half a wine-pint, and covered it close immediately with a glass cover. At the same time I sliced an unboiled pota- toe, and, as near as 1 could judge, put the same quantity into a glass vessel of the same kind, with the same proportion of New River water not boiled, and co- vered with a glass cover, and placed both vessels close to each other." "On the 26th of May, 24 hours afterwards, I exa- mined a small drop of each by the first magnifier of Wilson's microscope, whose focal distance is reckoned at l-50th part of an inch ; and, to my amazement, they were both full of animalcula, of a linear shape, very distinguishable, moving to and fro with great celerity, so that there appeai-ed to be more particles of animal than vegetable life in each drop." " This experiment I have repeatedly tried, and always found it to succeed in proportion to the heat of the circumambient air; so that even in winter, if the liquors are kept properly warm, at least in two or three days the experiment will succeed." "I procured hemp-seed from different seeds- men in different parts of the town. Some of it I put into the New River water, some into distilled water, and some into very hard pump-water. The result was, that in proportion to the heat of the weather, or warmth in which they were kept, there was an appearance of millions of minute animalcula in all the infusions; and, some time after, oval ones made their appear- ance. These were much larger than the first, which still continued : these wrig- gled to and fro in an undulatory motion, turning themselves round very quick all the time they moved forwards*. ANIME, a resin obtained from the hy- menaea cburbaril, or locust tree, which is a native of North-America. It resembles copul very much in its appearance, but is readily soluble in alcohol, which copal is not. It is used as a varnish. Alcohol dis- solves it completely ; and distilled over, VOL. I. it acquires both the smell and taste of anime. ANNALS, in matters of literature, a species of history, which relates events in the chronological order wherein they happened. They differ from perfect his- tory in this, that annals are a bare relation of what passes every year, as a journal is of what passes every day ; whereas histo- ry relates not only the transactions them- selves, but also the causes, motives, and springs of actions. Annals require no- thing but brevity, history demands orna- ment. Cicero informsus of the origin of annals : to preserve the memory of events, the pontifex maximus, says he,wrote what passed each year, and exposed it on tab- lets in his own house, where every one was at liberty to read : this they called annaks maxirni; and hence the writers who imitated this simple method of nar- rating facts were called annalists. ANNATES, among ecclesiastical wri- ters, a year's income of a spiritual living. These were, in ancient times, given to the pope throughout all Christendom, upon the decease of any bishop, abbot, or parish-clerk, and were paid by his suc- cessor. In England, the pope claimed them first of such foreigners as he con- ferred benefices upon, by way of provi- sion ; but afterwards they were demanded of all other clerks, on their admission to benefices. At the reformation they were taken from the pope, and vested in the king; and, finally, queen Anne restored them to the church,by appropriating them to the augmentation of poor livings. ANNEALING, or NEALING, the burn- ing or baking glass, earthen-ware, &c. in an oven or furnace. See GLASS. ANNOTATION, in matters of litera- ture, a brief commentary, or remark, upon a book or writing, in order to clear up some passage, or draw some conclusion from it : thus the critics of the last age have made learned annotations upon all the classics. ANttOTTO, in commerce, a kind of red dye, brought from the West-Indies. This is otherwise denominated arnatto. It is procured from the pulp of the seed capsules of a shrub called achiotte and urucu ; the bixa orellana of Linnaeus, which grows seven or eight feet high, and produces oblonghairv pods, somewhat re- sembling those of a chesnut. Within each of these are thirty or forty irregularly figured seeds, which are enveloped in a pulp of a bright red colour and unpleasant smell, somewhat resembling 1 the paint Hh ANN ANN called red lead when mixed up with oil ; and it was used as paint by some of the Indians, in the same mannner as woad was used by the ancient Britons. The seeds, together with the red tough matter that surrounds them, are softened in a wooden trough with water, until, by a kind offer- mentation, which spreads a very nauseous smell, and by diligent stirring 1 and pound- ing, the kernels are separated from the pulp. This mass is then strained through a sieve, and boiled ; and upon which a thick reddish scum, which is the pigment, separates. When skimmed oft", it is care- fully inspissated in another kettle; and after being repeatedly cool, is moulded in roundish lumps, wrapt round with leaves of trees, and packed for sale. It seems to partake of the nature of vegeta- ble albuminous matter. The method of extracting the pulp, and preparing it for market, is simply by boiling the seeds in clear water, till they are perfectly extri- cated; after which the seeds are taken out, and the water left undisturbed for the pulp to subside. It is then drained off, and the sediment distributed into shallow vessels, and dried generally in the shade. The annotto is now only prepared by the Spaniards. The English had formerly a manufacture at St. ^ng-elo, now ruined. This drug is preferred by the dyers to indigo, and sold one fourth dearer. The double Gloucester cheese is coloured with this dye, not with marygolds. Some of the Dutch farmers use it to give a rich colour to their butter, and great quantities are said to be applied to the same purpose in the English dairies. The poor people use it instead of saffron ; and it is some- times mixed as an ingredient in chocolate, during the grinding of the cocoa, in the quantity of about two drams to th,e pound, in order to give it a reddish colour; but the opinion of its being an earth has brought it into disrepute, and this use of it has been discontinued. To water it gives on- ly a pale brownish j ellow colour, and is not soluble in that liquid, nor in spirit of wine; but, in order to be fit for dyeing, it requires an alkaline menstruum, to which it gives a bright orange colour; andhence it is useful as an ingredient in varnishes and lacquers, and in dying wax of a ver- million colour. Wool and silk, boiled in a solution of it by alkaline salts and water, acquire a deep, but not a durable orange dye ; for though it is not changed by alum or acids, it is discharged by soaps, and de- stroyed by exposure to the air. It is said to be an antidote to the poisonous juice of manihot, or cassada. The liquid, sold under the name of " Scott's nankeen dye," seems to be nothing but annotto dissolved in alkaline ley. ANNOYANCE, in law, any injury done to a public place, as a high-way, bridge, or common river ; or to a private way, as laying any thing that may breed infection, by encroaching, Sec. ANNUAL plants, generally called an- nuals, in gardening, signify such plants as are of one year's duration, or which con- tinue for a few months only. Plants that rise from seed sown in the spring arrive at maturity in the summer or autumn fol- lowing, producing flowers and ripe seed, and which afterwards perish in their tops and roots, are commonly regarded as an- nuals. The plants of this tribe are very numerous, as most of those of the herba- ceous kinds, consisting of uncultivated plants, weeds, &c. and also a great number of cultivated garden and field plants, both of the esculent and flowery ornamental kinds, are of this description. The last sort are often termed simply annuals. These are divided into the hardy and tender kinds; the former are sown in places where they are designed to remain without trans- planting, but the latter are usually sown in hot-beds, in order to be transplanted in the spring, either into pots or borders. ANNUITIES, any income of a certain yearly amount, payable at particular peri- ods, which may be either yearly, half- yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, or at any other intervals. They are usually dis- tinguished into annuities certain, and con- tingent annuities, or such as are for an un- certain period, being determinable by some future event, such as the failure of a life or lives. The present value of an annuity is that sum, which, if improved at compound in- terest, would be sufficient to pay the an- nuity ; the present value of an annuity certain, payable yearly, and of which the first payment is to be made at the end of a year, may therefore be calculated in the following manner. Suppose a person has 1001. due to him a twelve month hence, and he wishes to have the value of the same advanced im- mediately, the sum which ought to be giv- en as an equivalent thereto, allowing 5 per cent interest, is 951. 4s. 9$d. for this is the sum, which, put out to interest, at the rate of 5 per cent, will, at the end of the year, amount to 100 1. So also, if a person has 1001. due to him at the end of two years, and he wishes to have the value of the same advanced immediately, the sum which ought to be given as an equivalent ANNUITIES. thereto is 901. Us.0$d. for this isthe sum, which, put out at the same rate of interest, will, at the end of two years, amount to 1001. In like manner, if a person has 1001. due to him at the end of three years, and lie wishes to have the same advanced im- mediately, the sum which ought to be given as an equivalent thereto is 86/. 7s. 8d. for this is the sum which, at the same rate of interest, will at the end of three years amount to 1001. And if these three ralues are added tog-ether, they will make 272/. 6s. 6d. being the sum which ought to be paid down for an annuity of 1001. for three years ; as this sum improved at the given rate of interest is just sufficient to make the three yearly payments. As the amount or present worth of 17. for any given term is usually adopted as the foundation of calculations relating to annuities, let r represent the amount of 17. in one year; that is, one pound in- creased by a year's interest; then r, or r raised to the power whose exponent is any given number of years, will be the amount of II. in those years ; its increase in the same time is r" 1 : now the interest for a single year, or the annui- ty corresponding with the increase, is r 1 ; therefore as i -- 1 is to r" 1, so is u (any given annuity) to a its amount: hence we have EXAMPLE. To what sum will an an- nuity of 50/. amount in 6 years, at 5 per cent, per annum, compound interest ? 50 x"TO-S"> 6 " 1 = 340J. 19s. Id. "~705~~ In this manner the amount of an annuity for any number of years, at any given rate of interest, may be found. But when the term of years is considerable, it will be more convenient to work by logarithms, by which the labour of all calculations re- lating to compound interest is greatly abridged. There is, however, little occa- sion in general to calculate the amount, or present worth of annuities, except for particular rates of interest, as the follow- ing tables, and others of a similar nature, for different rates of interest, which are given in most books on compound inter- est, save much time and labour in com- mon practice, and are therefore in gene- ral use. TABLE I. Shewing the amount of an annuity of 17. in any number of years not exceeding 100, at 5 per cent, per annum, com- pound interest. Yrs Amo. Yrs. Amount. Vrs Amount. 1 1,0000 35 90,3203 69 559,5510 2 2,0500 36 95,8363 70 588,5285 3 3,1525 37 101,6281 71 618,9549 4 4,3101 38 107,7095 72 650,9027 5 5,5256 39 114,0950 73 S 684,4478 6 6,8019 40 120,7998 74i 719,6702 7 8,1420 41 127,8398 75 756,6537 8 9,5491 42 135,2317 76 ! 795,4864 9 11,0266 43 142,9933 77* 836,2607 10 12,5779 44 151,1430 78J 879,0738 11 14,2u68 45 159,7002 791 924,0274 12 15,9171 46 168,6852 80! 971,2288 13 17,7130 47 178,1194! 81 '1020,7903 14 19,5986 48 188,0254 82 : 1 072,8298 15 21,5786 49 198,4267 83.1127,4713 16 23.6575 50 209,3480 84' 11 84,8448 17 25,8404 51 220,8154 85 1245,0871 18 28,1328 52 232,8562 86 1308,3414 19 30,5390 53 245,4990 87 1374,7585 20 33,0659 54 258,7739 88 1444,4964 21 35,7192 55 272,7126 89 1517,7212 22 38,5052 56 28f,3482 90 1594,6073 23 41,4305 57 302,7157 91 1675,3377 24 44,5020 58 318,8514 92 1760,1045 25 47,7271 59 335,7940 93 1849,1098 26 51,1135 60 353,5837 94 1942,5653 27 54,6691 61 372,2629 95 2040,6935 28 58,4026 62 391,8760 96 2143,7282 29 62,3227 63 1412,4698 97 2251,9146 30 66,4388 64 '434,0933 98 2365,5103 31 32 70,7608 75,2988 65 456,7980 66 480,6379 99 100 2484,7859 2610,0250 33 80,0638 67 505,6698 34 (85,0670 68 531,9533 EXAMPLE 1. To what sum will an an- nuity of 1051. amount, in 19 years, at 5 per cent, compound interest ? The number in the table opposite to 19 years is 30,5390, which multiplied by 105 gives the answer, 3206/. 11s. lOd EXAMPLE 2. In what time will an an- nuity of 251. amount to 3575Z. at 5 per cent, compound interest? Divide 35751. by 25/. the quotient is 143; the number nearest to this in the table is 142,9933, and the number of years cor- responding, or 43 years, is the answer. The present worth of an annuity, or the sum to be given in one present payment as an equivalent for an annuity for any given number of years, is found on simi- lar principles ; for as 11. is the present value of r" (its amount in n years,) and as the present value of any other amount, and consequently it X f n 1 of : must bear the same propor- tion to that amount, we have ANNUITIES. EXAMPLE. What is the present value of 50/. per annum for 6 years, at 5 per cent, compound interest ? . Put such questions are much more readi- ly answered by the following table. TABLE II. Shewing" the present value of an annuity of 11. for any number of years not ex- ceeding 100, at 5 per cent, per annum compound interest. Y. Value. Y. Value. Y. Value. 1 ,952381 35 16,374194 6919,309810 2 1,8594H 36 16,546852| 7019,342677 3 2,723248 37 16,711287 7119,373978 4 3,545950 38 16,8678931 72! 19,403788 5 4,329477 39 17,017041 7319,432179 6 5,075692 40 17,159086 7419.459218 7 5,786373 41 17,294368 75:19,484970 8 6,463213 42 17,423208 7619,509495 9 7.107822 43 17,545912 77j 19,532853 10 7,721735 44 17,662773 78119,555.98 11 8,306414 45 t7,774070 79|19,5762U 12 13 8,86325246 9,39357 J 47 17,8800o6 17,981ui6 80 81 19.599460 19,615677 14 9,898641 48 18,077158 82 19,633978 15 10,379658 49 18,168722 83 16,651407 16 10,837770 50 18,255925 84 19,668007 17 11,274066 51 18,338977 85 19,683816 18 11,689587 52 18,418073 86 19,698873 19 12,085321 53 18,493403 87 19,713212 20 12,462210 54 18,565146 88 19,726869 21 12,821153 55 18,633472 9 19,739875 22 13,163003 56 18,698545 :-o 19,752262 23 13,488574 57 18,760519 1 19,764059 24 13,797642 58 18,819542 92 19,775294 25 14,093945 59 18,875754 93 19,785994 26 14,375185 60 18,929294 94 19,796185 27 14,643034 61 18,980276 95 19,805821 28 14,898127 62 19,028830 96 19,815834 29 15,14107463 19,075 84 97 19,823937 3015,372451,64 19,119124 98 19,832321 31 15,592810 65 19,161070 99119,840406 32 15,802677 66 3316,002549 67 34 16.192904 68 19,201019 19,239066 19,275301 100J19,837910 EXAMPLE 1. What is the present val- ue of an annuity of 63/. to continue for 21 years ? The value in the table against 21 years is 12,821153, which multiplied by 3 gives the answer, 807/. 14s 7d. EXAMPLE 2. What present sum is equivalent to a nett rent of 20^. per an- num for 69 years ? The value in the table against 69 years is 19,309,810, which multiplied by 20 gives the answer, 386Z. 3s. lid. If any of the annuities in the above ta- ble, instead of being for an absolute term of years, had been subject to cease, if a given life should fail during the term, it is evident that the value would have been lessened in proportion to the probability of the life failing; and that if, instead of being for a certain number of years, the annuity depended wholly on the uncer- tain continuance of a given life or lives, its value must be ascertained by the pro- bable duration of such life or lives. In order to compute the value of LIFE AN- NUITIES, therefore, it is necessary to have recourse to tables that exhibit the number of persons, which, out of a cer- tain number born, are found to be living at the end of every subsequent year of human life, which thus shew what are termed the probabilities of life. Various tables or' this kind have been formed by the different writers on this subject, as Dr. Halley. Mr. Thomas Simp- son, M. Kersseboom, M. de Parcieux, Dr Price, Dr. Havgarth, Mr- Waryentin, M. Susmilch, and others ; and the true method of computing the value of life an- nuities, according to the probabilities of any table of mortality, is laid down by Mr. William Morgan as follows : ** Was it certain that a person of a given age would live to the end of a year, the value of an annuity of II. on such a life would be the present sum that would in- crease in a year to the value of a life one year older, together with the value of the single payment of II. to be made at the end of a year ; that is, it would be II. to- gether with the value of a life aged one year older than the given life, multiplied by the value of I/, payable at the end of a year. Call the value of a life of one year older than the given life N, and the value of II. payable at the end of a year ; then will the value of an annuity on the given life, on the supposition of a cer- tainty, be i -f *X N = i X 1+Ni But the fact is, that it is uncertain whether the given life will exist to the end of the year or not ; this last value, therefore, must be diminished in the proportion of this un- ANNUITIES. certainty, that is, it must be multiplied by the probability that the given life will b survive one year, or supposing^ to ex- press this probability, it will be X 1-N." The values of annuities on the joint con- tinuance of two lives are found by reason- ing in a similar manner ; and such values, both for single and joint lives, are given in the following tables. TABLE III. Shewing the value of an annuity of II. on a single life, at every age, according to the probabilities of the duration of life at Northampton, reckoning inter- est at 5 per cent, per annum. Age. Value. \ge. r alue. Age. Value. Birth. 8,863 33 ^,740 66 7,034 lyear 1,563 34 2,6^3 67 6,787 2 13,4:0 35 2,502 68 6,536 3 14,135 36 -',377 69 6,281 4 4,613 37 2,249 70 6,023 5 14,827 38 2,116 71 5,764 6 15,041 39 1,979 72 5,504 7 15,166 40 1,837 73 5,245 8 15,2J6 41 11,695 74 4,990 9 15,210 42 11,551 75 4,744 10 15,139 43 11,407 76 4,511 11 15,043 44 11,258 77 4,277 12 14,937 45 11,105 78 4,035 13 14,826 46 10,947 79 3,776 14 '14,710 47 10,784 80 3,515 15 14,588 48 10,616 81 3,263 16 14,460 49 10,443 82 3,020 17 14,334 50 10,269 83 !2,797 18 14,217 51 10,097 84 '2,627 19 14,108 52 9,925 85 |2,47l 20 14,007 53 9,748 86 2,328 21 13,917 54 9,567 87 2,193 22 13,833 55 9,382 88 2,080 23 13,746 56 9,193 89 1,924 24 13,658 57 8,999 90 1,723 25 13,567 58 8,801 91 1,447 26 27 13,473 13,377 59 60 8,599 8,392 92 93 1,153 0,816 28 13,278 61 8,181 94 0,524 29 13,177 62 7,966 95 0,238 30 13,072 63 7,74;j. 96 0,000 31 12,965 64 7,5 ;.4| 32 12,854 65 7,276|( The values in this and the following tables suppose the payments to be mude yearly, and to begin at the end of a year ; but it all the payments are to be half- yearly payments, and to be made at the end of every half year from the time of purchase, the value will be increased about one-fifth of a year's purchase. The above table is formed from the pro- babilities of life, as deduced from the re- gister of mortality at Northampton for 46 years, from 1735 to 1780 ; and as it gives the mean values of lives between the highest and lowest, it is better adapted for general use than any other extant. It has of late years been generally adopted for calculating the rates of assurance on lives, and is well suited to this purpose ; but it is by no means a proper table for individuals or societies to grant life annul- ties from ; for, having been formed from a register comprehending persons of all ages and conditions, it cannot give a cor- rect representation of the duration and value of such lives as usually form a body of annuitants, such persons being gene- rally a selection of the best lives from the common mass, the interest of every per- son who purchases an annuity on any life requiring that he should take care that it is a good life. The best table for regula- ting the grant of life annuities is that formed from the table of mortality pub- lished by Mr. D. Parcieux, from the lists of the French tontines, but even this ta- ble gives the values of the advanced ages considerably too low. ANNUITIES. TABLE IV. Shewing the value of an annuity of 11. on a single life, at every age, according to the probabilities of life, in Mr. De Parcieux's table of the mortality. Interest at 5 per cent. Age Value Age.; Value. Age Value. Age Value. |Age.| Value. 11,083 18 15,631 36 14,065 54 10,418 72 5,540 1 14,620 19 15,550 37 13,930 55 10,168 73 5,232 2 15,135 20 15,474 38 13,786 56 9,930 74 4,942 3 15,509 21 15,401 39 13,632 57 9,682 75 4,674 4 15,750 22 15,328 40 13,466 58 9,431 76 4,429 5 15,324 23 15,256 41 13,296 59 9,177 77 4,190 6 16,041 24 15,184 42 13,116 60 8,923 ! 78 3,953 7 16,118 25 15,112 43 12,931 61 8,669 1 79 3,719 8 16,169 26 j 15,040 44 12,738 62 8,413 80 3,501 9 16,204 27 I 14,969 45 12,539 63 8,155 81 3,283 10 16,210 28 i 14,893 46 12,333 64 7,893 82 3,0)72 11 16,194 29 14,810 47 12,119 65 7,626 83 2,868 12 16,145 30 14,722 48 11,897 66 7,351 84 2,668 13 16,077 31 i 14,627 49 11,666 67 7,069 85 2,461 14 15,994 32 14,527 50 11,425 68 6,778 86 2,237 15 15,901 33 14,421 51 11,178 69 6,479 87 1,976 16 15,807 34 14,306 52 10,926 70 6,171 88 1,688 17 15,716 35 14,189 53 10,673 71 5,586 89 1,409 90 1,164 The calculation of the values of joint lives from any given table of mortality, for every combination of age, is so labo- rious a task, that no such table has yet been published. Mr. Simpson, in his se- lect exercises, gave a table of the values of two joint lives, agreeable to the proba- bilities' of life in London ; but the tables founded on the London bills,representing the rate of mortality among the inhabi- TABLE V. Shewing the value of an annuity of I/, on the joint continuance of two lives, accord- ing to the probabilities of life at Northampton. Interest at 5 per cent. tants, taken in the gross, give the values of lives much too low for the middling and superior classes of the people in London itself j and are wholly improper for gene- ral use. A much more comprehensive table of the value of joint lives has since been calculated by Dr. Price from the Northampton table of mortality, from which the following table is taken. Ages. Value. Ages. Value. Ages, i Value. Ages. Value. II Ages. Value. Ages.l Value. 5-5 11,984 10-45 9,900 20-25(10,989 25-80 3,308 40-45 8,643 55-55| 6,735 5-10 12,315 0-50 9,260 20-30 10,707 30-30 10,255j|40-50 8,177 55-60 6,272 5-15 11,954 10-55 8,560 20-35 10,363 30-35 9,954i 140-55 7,651 55-65 5,671 5-20 11,561 10-60 7,750 20-40 9,937 30-40 9,576 40-60 7,015 55-70! 4,893 5-25 11,281 10-65 6,803 20-45 9,448 30-45 9,135 140-65 6,240 55-75 4,006 5-30 10,959 10-70 5,700 20-50 8,861 30-50 8,596; 40-70 5,298 55-80 3,076 5-35 10,572 10-75 4,522 20-55| 8,216 30-55 7,999 140-75 4,272 60-60 5,888 5-40 10,102 10-80 3,395 20-60! 7,463 30-60 7,292' 40-80 3,236 60-65 5,372 5-45 9,571 15-15 11,960 20-65i 6,576 30-65 6,447, 45-45 8,312 60-70 4,680 5-50 8,941 15-20 11,585 20-70| 5,532 30-70 5,442: 45-50 7,891 60-75 3,866 5-55 8,256 15-25 11,324 20-75 4,424 30-75 4,365 45-55 7,411 60-80 2,992 5-60 7,466 15-30 11,021 20-80 3,325 30-80 3,290 ; 45-60 6,822 65-65 4,960 5-65 6,546 15-35 10,655 25-25' 10,764 35-35 9,680 45~65 6,094 65-70 4,378 5-70 5,472 15-40 10,205 25-3010,499 35-40 9,331 45-70 5,195 65-75 3,665 5-75 4,362 15-45 9,690 25-35; 10,175 35-45 8,921 4575 4,206 65-80 2,873 5-80 3,238 15-50 9,076 25-40) 9,771 35-50 8,415 45-80 3,197 70-70 3,930 10-10 12,665 15-55 8,403 25-45,' 9,304 35-55 7,849 50-50 7,522 70-75 3,347 10-15 12,302 15-60 7,622 25-50! 8,739 35-60 7,174 50-55 7,098 70-80 2,675 10-20 11,906 15-65 6,705 25-55 8,116 35-65 6,360 50-60 6,568 75-75 2,917 10-25 11,627 15-70 5,631 25-60 7,383 35-70 5,382 50-65 5,897 75-80 2,381 10-30 11,304 15-75 4,495 25-65 6,515 35-75 4,327 50-70 5,054 80-80 2,018 10-35 10,916 15-80 3,372 25-70 5,489 35-80 3,268 50-75 5,112 85-85 1,256 10-40 10,442 20-20 11,232 25-75 4,396 40-40 9,016 50-80 3,140 90-90 0,909 ANNUITIES. To find the value of any annuity during the continuance of a life of any given age, or during the joint continuance of two lives, it is only necessary to multiply the value in the table, against the given age, by the annuity ; or to find the annui- ty equivalent to any certain sum, divide the sum by the value in the table against the given age. EXAMPLES. What is the difference in value between an annuity of 50/. during the life of a person aged 35, and an annui- ty of 60/. during two lives of 30 and 35, to cease when either of the two lives shall fail ? The value in Table III. against the age of 35 is 12,502, which multiplied by 50 gives 625.11. the value in table V. against the ages of 30 and 35 is 9.954, which mul- tiplied by 60 gives 597.24^. the value of the former annuity, therefore exceeds the latter by 27/. 17s. 2rf. What annuity during his life, ought a person aged 45 to receive in lieu of an annuity of 201. certain for the term of 18 years ? The value of an annuity certain for 18 years, is by table 11. 11.689587, which multiplied by 20 gives 233.7917/. this sum divided by 11. 105, the value of an annuity during a life of 45, by table HI. gives the answer of 211. Is. What annuity, during his life, ought a person aged 40" to recieve for 500/. ? The value of an annuity during a life of 40 years of age, is by table III. 11.837, and 5001. divided by this sum gives 42/. 4*. 9d. per annum ; but if the value of the life is taken, as in table IV. (or 13.466,) the sum to be received will be 37/. 2s. 7d. For the values of annuities which are not to commence till after a certain peri- od, or after a given life or lives. See RE- VEKSIOSS. Annuities are frequently granted by parishes, trusts, and public societies, for the purpose of raising-money for the erec- tion or repair of churches, chapels, work- houses, bridges, or other expensive build- ings, it being often found practicable to obtain money in this way, when it could not be procured at the ordinary rate of interest; it has likewise the recommenda- tion of gradually extinguishing the debt, which might otherwise often remain a permanent burthen. Life annuities are also frequently granted, for money bor- rowed by persons possessing life estates, and who, therefore, cannot give the lend- er a permanent security. As such annui- ties depend on the life of the grantor, few persons are disposed to purchase them, unless they can be obtained on such terms, as, after allowing for the expense of as- suring the grantor's life, leaves an income somewhat greater than the common rate of interest. It also frequently happens that the annuities are not very punctually paid, -which, with other risks attending them, causes annuities of this description always to sell considerably under their real value ; and in some instances the ne- cessities of the borrowers have led them to make grants of this kind on the most exorbitant terms. To throw, however, some check upon improvident transac- tions of this kind, which are usually car- ried on with great privacy, the statute 17 Geo. III. c. 26, usually called the Annuity Act, has directed, that upon the sale of any life annuity of more than the value of 10/ (unless on a sufficient pledge of lands in fee simple, or stock in the public funds) the true consideration, which shall be in money only, and the names of the parties, shall be set forth and described in the se- curity itself, in words at length ; and a memorial of the date, the names of the parties, and of all the witnesses, and of the consideration money, shall, within twenty days after its execution, be enrol- led in the Court of Chancery, else the se- curity shall be null and void. All con- tracts for the purchase of annuities from persons under 21 years of age are utterly void, and incapable of confirmation after the party becomes of age. Procuring or soliciting a minor to grant any life-annuity, or to promise or engage to ratify it when he becomes of age, is an indictable mis- demeanor, and punishable by fine and im- prisonment; as is likewise the taking more than ten shillings per cent, for procuring money to be advanced for any life annui- ty. This act does not extend to annuities granted by any body corporate, or under any authority or trust created by act of parliament. Notwithstanding these regulations, per- sons having occasion to raise money by the grant of life annuities were obliged to submit to the most disadvantageous terms, as it seldom happened that individual pur- chasers would give for such annuities more than eight years purchase, on lives above 30 years of age ; or 7 years pur- chase on lives above 40 ; while, on the other hand, persons desirous of investi ng money in an annuity on their own life were generally under the necessity of ac- cepting" private security, or of waiting till an opportunity offered of obtaining 1 the security of some local toll or rates. To remedy these inconveniences, an act was ANO ANS passed in 1793, authorising the Royal Ex- change Assurance Company to grant and purchase annuities on lives, either imme- diate or in reversion ; the rates according to which transactions of this kind are re- gulated necessarily vary, in proportion to the current rate of interest at which mo- ney can be improved : a short specimen therefore of the present (1808) rates, at which the Royal Exchange Assurance grant life annuities, will be sufficient. Age. per cent.; Age. per cent. per ann.j per ann. 15. .. . 51 18s. Od. 50. ...71 16s. Od. 20 ... .600 55 . .. .8 6 25 ... .620 60 . .. .9 4 30. .. .6 60 65. . . 10 4 35... .6 10 70. . . 11 8 40. .. .6 16 75. .. 12 18 45.. . .760 80. ..14 8 10 Several other societies, as the Globe Insurance, the Albion, the Rock, and the Eagle Insurance Companies, have lately granted life annuities, but it is presumed they vary their grants according to cir- cumstances, as they none issue a printed table of their rates. ANOMALIES, in music, are those false scales or intervals, which exist necessari- ly in all keyed instruments, from their in- capacity of a true and perfect tempera- ment. ANOMALISTIC AL year, in astronomy, the time that the earth takes to pass through her orbit : it is also called a peri- odical year. The space of time belonging to this year is greater than the tropical year, on account of the precession of the equinoxes. ANOMALOUS verbs, ingrammer, such as are not conjugated conformably to the paradigm of their conjugation : they are found in all languages; in Latin, the verb lego is the paradigm of the third conjuga- tion, and runs thus, lego, legis, legit ; by the same rule it should be,fero,feris,ferit, but we say, fer o,fers, fert ;fero then is an ano- malous verb. In English, the irregularity relates often to the pveter tense and pas- sive participle ; for example, give, were it formed according to rule, would make gived in the preter tense and passive par- ticiple ; whereas, in the former, it makes gave, and in the tetter given. ANOMALY, in grammer, that quality in words which renders them anomalous . See the preceding article. ANOMALY, in astronomy, an irregularity in the motion of the planets, whereby they deviate from the aphelion or apogee .- which inequality is either mean, eccen- tric, or coequate and true. ANOMIA, in natural history, a genus of worms, of the order Testacea. Animal an emarginate ciliate strap-shaped body, with bristles affixed to the upper valve ; two arms, linear, longer than the body, connivent, projecting alternate on the valve, and ciliate each side, the fringe af- fixed to each valve ; shell bivalve, ine- quivalve ; one of the valves flattish, the other gibbous at the base, with a produc- ed beak, generally curved over the hinge ; one of the valves often perforated near the base ; hinge with a linear prominent cica- trix and a lateral tooth placed within, but in the flat valve on the very margin ; two bony rays for the base of the animal. There are nearly fifty species enumerated by Gmelin, found in different parts of the world. A. ephippium has a shell, round- ish, pellucid, with wrinkled plaits ; the flat valve perforated. It inhabits European and American seas, and is frequently found sticking to the common oyster. About two inches long, 2 broad ; the outside rugged and filmy, the inside smooth and pearly : varies in colour, but generally with a silvery hue. ANONA, in botany, a genus of plants belonging to the Polyandria Polygynia class of Linnxus. The perianthium is composed of three cordated, hollowed, and acuminated leaves : the corolla con- sists of six cordated, sessile petals, three alternately interior and smaller ; the sta- mina are scarce visible, but the anthersc are numerous ; the fruit is a large berry, of an oval figure, covered with a squa- mose punctuated bark ; the seeds are nu- merous, hard, of an oblong figure, and are placed circularly. ANSERES , in natural history, the third order of birds, according to the Linnxan system : they are distinguished by a smooth bill, covered with a soft skin, and broader at the point ; feet formed for swimming ; toes palmate, connected by a membrane ; shanks short, and compress- ed ; body fat and downy ; flesh mostly tough; their food is fish, frogs, aquatic plants, worms, &c. They make their nests generally on the ground; the mo- ther takes but little care in providing for the young. They are frequently poly- gamous. They are divided into those genera having bills with, and those with- out, teeth : of the former are the Anas, Mergus, Phaeton, and Plotus ANT ANT Qf the latter are the Alea, Pelecanus, Aptenodytes, Procellaria, Colymbus, Prynchops, Diomedia, and Larus, Sterna. This ordercomprehends all kinds of wa- ler-fowl whose feet are palmated. The webbed feet of these birds are admirably adapted to aid them in swimming; and the greater quantity of oil secreted by the glands near the tail, and rubbed by means of their bills over all the feathers of their body, enable them to live on the water, without ever being wet. They live most- ly on fish, and some of them have been occasionally tamed to the catching offish for the use of their masters. In some of the lakes of China, where the water-fowl abound, the natives have the following in- genious mode of catching them : For se- veral days before they attempt to take them, many empty gourd-shells are set afloat on the water, to habituate the birds to their appearance ; and when they are observed to take no notice of these shells, but to swim- among them, a man, with one of the same kind upon his head, goes into the lake, and wades or swims among the birds, with nothing but his head above the water. He now begins his sport, and taking the birds by their legs, draws them under water, breaks their necks, and fas- tens them to his girdle, one after another, till he is sufficiently loaded, and then re- turns to the shore. ANSWER, in law : On an indictment for perjury, in an answer in Chancery, it is a sufficient proof of identity, if the name subscribed be proved to be the hand-writ- ing of the defendant; and that the same was subscribed by the master, on being sworn before him. ANT. See FOIIMICA. ANTECEDENCE, in astronomy, an ap- parent motion of a planet towards the west, or contrary to the order of the signs, viz. from Taurus towards Aries, &c. ANTECEDENT, in grammar, the word to which a relative refers: thus, God whom we adore, the word God is the an- tecedent to the relative whom. ANTECEDENT term, in mathematics, the first one of any ratio : thus, if the ratio be a : ft, a is the antecedent term. ANTEDATE, among lawyers, a spuri- ous or false date, prior to the true date of a bond, bill, or the like. ANTKLOPE, in natural history, of the Mammalia class of animals, of the order Glires. The generic character is, horns TOT, 1. hollow, seated on a bony core, growing upwards, annulated, or wreathing, per- manent. Front teeth in the lower jaw eight, and no canine teeth. Antelopes constitute a very numerous race: they were formerly, even by Linnaeus, ranged under the genus Capra, but now have ob- tained a rank for themselves : their habits and manners are thus described. They inhabit, two or three species excepted, the hottest parts of the globe ; or, at least, those parts of the temperate zone that lie so near the tropics as to form a doubtful climate. None, therefore, ex- cept the Saiga and the Chamois, are to be met with in Europe ; and notwithstanding the warmth of South America is suited to their nature, but one or two species has yet been discovered in the new World. Their proper climates seem, therefore, to be those of Asia and Africa, where the species are very numerous. " As there appears a generalpgreement inthe nature of the species that form this great genus, it will prevent needless repetition to ob- serve, that the antelopes are animals ge- nerally of a most elegant and active make ; of a restless and timid disposition ; ex- tremely watchful, of great vivacity, re- markably swift and agile, and most of their boundings so light and elastic, as to strike the spectator with astonishment. What is very singular is, that they will stop in the midst of their course, gaze for a moment at their pursuers, and then re- sume their flight. As the chase of these animals is a favourite amusement with the eastern nations, from that may be collect- ed proofs of the rapid speed of the ante- lope tribe. The greyhound, the fleetest of dogs, is usually unequal in the course, and the sportsman is obliged to call in the aid of the falcon, trained for the pur- pose, to seize on the animal, and impede its motions, in order to give the dogs an opportunity of overtaking it. In India and Persia a species of leopard is made use of in the chase : this is an animal that takes its prey, not by swiftness of foot, but by the greatness of its springs, by motions similar to those of the antelope ; but, should the leopard fail in its first essay, the game escapes. The fleetness of the antelope was proverbial in the country it inhabited, even in the earliest times : the speed of Asahel (2 Sam. ii. 18.) is beauti- fully compared to that of the Tzebi ; and the Gadites were said to be as swift as the antelopes upon the mountains. The sacred writers took their similies from such ob- jects as were before the eyes of the peo- ple to whom they addressed themselves; ANTELOPE. There is another instance drawn from the same subject : the disciple raised to life at Joppa, was supposed to have been call- ed Tabitha, i. e. Dorcas, or the antelope, from the beauty of her eyes ; and to this day one of the highest compliments that can be paid to female beauty, in the eastern regions, is Jline el Czazel, ' You have the eyes of an antelope.' Some species of an- telopes form herds of two or three thou- sands, while others keep in troops of five or six. They generally reside in hilly countries, though some inhabit plains : they often brouse like the goat, and feed on the tender shoots of trees, which gives their flesh an excellent flavour. This is to be understood of those which are taken in the chase ; for those which are fatten- ed in houses are far less delicious. The flesh of some species are said to taste of musk, which perhaps depends on the qualities of the plants they feed upon." This preface (says Mr. Pennant) was thought necessary, to point out the dif- ference in nature between this and the goat kind, with which most systematic writers have classed the antelope : but the antelope forms an intermediate ge- nus, a link between the goat and the deer; agreeing with the former in the texture of the horns, which have a core in them, and are never cast ; and with the latter in elegance of form and swiftness. The Common Antelope. The Ante- lope, properly so called, abounds in Bar- bary, and in all the northern parts of Afri- ca. It is somewhat less than the fallow- deer : its horns are about sixteen inches long, surrounded with prominent rings al- most to the top, where they are twelve inches distant from point to point. The horns of the antelope are remarkable for a beautiful double flexion, which gives them the appearance of the lyre of the ancients. The colour of the hair on the back is brown, mixed with red ; the belly and inside of the thighs white ; and the tail short. The Striped Antelope, is a beautiful, tall gazelle, inhabiting the Cape of Good Hope ; has long, slender shanks ; its horns are smooth, twisted spirally, with a pro- minent edge or rib following the wreaths; they are three feet nine inches long, of a pale-brown colour close at the base, and at the points round and sharp. The colour of this animal is a rusty brown ; along the ridge of the back there is a white stripe mixed with brown ; from this are eight or nine white stripes pointing down- wards; the forehead and the fore part of the nose arc brown; a white stripe runs from the corner of each eye, and meets just above the nose; upon each cheek-bone there are two small white spots ; the in- ner edges of the ears are covered with white hair, and the upper part of the neck is adorned with a brown mane, an inch long; beneath the neck, from the throat to the breast, are some long hairs hang- ing down ; the breast and belly are grey, the tail is two feet long, brown above, white beneath, and black at the end. The Gnu, the Hottentot name for a sin- gular animal, which, with respect to its form, is between the horse and the ox. It is about the size of a common galloway, the length of it being somewhat above five feet, and the height rather more than four. This animal is of a dark brown co- lour; the tail and mane of a light grey - f the shag on the chin and breast, and the stiff hairs which stand erect on the fore- head and upper part of the face, are black; the curvature of the horns is singular ; and the animal is represented in the figure in the attitude of butting, to give an idea of their form and position. The legs of the gnu are small ; its hair is very fine ; and it has a cavity beneath each eye, like most of the antelope kind. The Chevrotain and Meminna. The Chevrotain, or little Guinea Deer, is the smallest of all the antelope kind, the least of all cloven-footed quadrupeds, and, we may add, the most beautiful. Its legs at the smallest part are not much thicker than a tobacco-pipe ; it is not more than seven inches in height, and about twelve from the point of the nose to the insertion of the tail; its ears are broad, and its horns, which are straight, and scarcely two inches long, are black, and shining as jet;, the colour of the hair is a reddish brown; in some a beautiful yellow, very short and glossy. These elegant little creatures are natives of Senegal and the hottest parts of Africa ; they are likewise found in India, and in many of the islands belonging to that vast continent. In Ceylon, there is an animal of this kind, called Meminna, which is not larger than a hare, but per- fectly resembling a fallow-deer. It is of a g'-ey colour; the sides and haunches are spotted and barred with white ; its ears are long and open ; and its tail short. None of these small animals can subsist but in a warm climate. They are so ex- tremely delicate, that it is with the utmost difficulty they can be brought alive into Europe, where they soon perish. They are gentle, familiar, most beautifully form- ed, and their agility is such, that they will ANTELOPE. fefcund over a wall twelve feet high. In Guinea they are called Guevei. The fe- male has no horns. The Springer Antelope,is an elegant species, weighs about fifty pounds, and is rather less than a roe-buck ; inhabits the Cape of Good Hope; called there the Springbock, from the prodigious leaps it takes on the sight of any body. When alarmed, it has the power of expanding the white space about the tail into the form of a circle, which returns to its li- near form when the animal is tranquil. They migrate annually from the interior parts in small herds, and continue in the neighbourhood of the Cape for two or three months ; then join companies and go off in troops, consisting of many thou- sands, covering the great plains for seve- ral hours in their passage : are attended in their migrations by numbers of lions, hyaenas and other wild beasts, which make great destruction among them : are excel- lent eating, and with other antelopes, are the venison of the Cape. Mr. Masson in- forms us, that they also make periodical migrations, in seven or eight years, in herds of many hundred thousands, from the north, as he supposes from the interi- or parts of Terra de Natal. They are com- pelled to it by the excessive drought which happens in that region, when sometimes there does not fall a drop of rain for two or three years. These animals, in their course, desolate Caffraria, spread- ing over the whole country, and not leav- ing a blade of grass. Lions attend them : where one of these beasts of prey are, the place is known by the vast void visible in the midst of the timorous herd. On its ap- proach to the Cape, it is observed that the avant guard is very fat, the centre less so, and the rear guard almost starved, being reduced to live on the roots of the plants devoured by those which went before ; but on their return they become the avant guard, and thrive in their turn on the re- newed vegetation ; while the former, now changed into the rear guard, are famish- ed, by being compelled to take up with the leavings of the others. These animals are quite fearless, when assembled in such mighty armies, nor can a man pass through, unless he compels them to give way with a whip or stick. When taken young they are easily domesticated ; the males are very wanton, and are apt to butt at strangers with their horns. The expan- sile white part on the end of the back of this animal is a highly singular circum- stance. It is formed by a duplicature of the skin in that part, the inside and edges being milk-white ; when the uniinul is ai rest, the edges alone appear, resembling a white stripe, but when alarmed, or in motion, the cavity, or white intermediate space, appears in form of a large oval patch of that colour. The Scythian Antelope, or Saiga, which is the only one of the species that is to be found in Europe. The form of its body resembles the domestic goat, but its horns are those of an antelope, be- ing marked by very prominent rings, with furrows between ; they are a foot long, the ends smooth, of a pale yellow colour, almost transparent. The male is covered with rough hair, like the he-goat, and has a strong scent ; the female is smoother, hornless, and timid. The gene- ral colour is a dirty white. \Vhen they are attacked by wolves or dogs, the males stand round the females, forming a circle, with their heads towards the enemy, in which posture they defend their charge.. Their common pace is a trot ; when they go faster, it is by leaps ; and are swifter than roe-bucks. When they feed, they are obliged to go backward, owing to the length of the upper lip, which they lift up. Their skin is soft, and excellent for f loves, belts, &c. They are found in ocks from six to ten thousands, on the banks of the Tanais and Boristhenes. The young are easily tamed, and will readily return to their master when turned out on the desert. The Nilgau, or White-footed Antelope, is a large and beautiful species, known only within the space of a few years past. Its height is four feet one inch to the top of the shoulders, and its length, from the bottom of the neck to the base of the tail, four feet. The colour of the nilgau is a fine dark grey, or slate colour, with a large spot of white beneath the throat, and two white bands or marks above each foot : the ears are large, white within, and edged, with the same colour, and marked inter- nally by two black stripes ; along the top of the neck runs a slight mane of black hair, which is continued to some distance down the back, and on the breast is a much longer mane or hanging tuft of a similar colour; the tail is moderately long, and terminated by a tuft of black hair: the horns are short, pointed, smooth, triangu- lar at their base, distant from each other, bent very slightly forwards, and of a blackish colour. The female resembles the male in general appearance, but is considerably smaller, of a pale brown co- lour, and is destitute of horns : the mane, pectoral tuft, and ears, resemble those of the male, and the feet are marked above the hoof's bv three transverse bars of black ANT AJST and two of white. The nilgau is a native of the interior parts of India. According to Mr Pennant, it abounded in the days of Aurengzebe between Delhi andLahor, on the way to Cashmire, and was called ylgau, or the blue or grey bull. It was one of the objects of the chase with that mighty monarch during his journey : they were inclosed by his army of hunters with- in nets, which being drawn closer and closer, at length formed a small precinct, into which the king and his omrahs and hunters entered, and killed the nilgaus with arrows, spears, and muskets ; and that sometimes in such numbers, that Au- rengzebe used to send quarters as pre- sents to all his great people. The nylgau has of late years been often imported into Europe, and has bred in England. In confinement it is generally pretty gentle, but is sometimes seized with fits of sudden caprice, when it will attack with great violence the objects of its displeasure. When the males fight, they drop on their knees at some distance from each other and gradually advance in that attitude, and at length make a spring at each other with their heads bent low. This action, however, is not peculiar to the nilgau, but is observed in many others of the antelope tribe. The nilgau is said to go with young about nine months, and to produce sometimes two at a birth : the young is of the colour of a fawn. Antelope Leucoryx,or White Antelope, is entirely milk-white, except the mark- ings on the face and limbs. It is an inha- bitant of an island in the Gulf of Bassora. See Plate Mammalia, fig. 1 6. ANTHEM, achurch song performed in cathedral service by choristers, who sing alternately. It was formerly used to de- note both psalms and hymns, when sung in this manner. But at present, anthem is used in a more confined sense, being ap- plied to certain passages taken out of the scriptures, and adapted to a particular so- lemnity. ANTHEMIS, in botany, chamomile, a genus of the Syngenesia Superflua class and order. Receptacle chaffy ; seeds generally crowned with a slight border ; calyx hemispherical, nearly equal; florets of the ray more than five, oblong. There are two divisions of this genus, namely, A. with a differently coloured or white ray ; andB. ray the colour of the disk, or yel- low : there are about forty species. ANTHERJE, among botanists, denote the little roundish or oblong bodies, on the tops of the stamina of plants. The anthers is the principal part of the male organ of generation in plants, an- swering the glans penis in animals. It is tumid and hollow, containing a fine pow- der, called farina frccundans. ANTHERICUM, in botany, a genus of plants of the Hexandria Monogynia class and order. Cor. six-petalled, spreading, permanent; filament .9 uniform; capsule superior, seeds angular. There are three divisions. A. leaves channelled; filaments mostly beardless : B. leaves fleshy ; fila- ments bearded : C. stamina dilated in the middle ; root bulbous. There are be- tween 50 and 60 species. ANTHERYLIUM, a genus of the Ico- sandria Monogynia class and order. Ca- lyx inferior, four-parted ; petals four ; capsule one-celled, three-valved, many- seeded. There is but a single species, a tree found at St. Thomas's Island, ANTIIISTERL\, in botany, a genus of the Polygamia Monoecia class and order, Hermaphrodite ; florets sessile, male flo- rets pedicelled ; calyx four-valved, three or four flowered, coriaceous; corol. glume two-valved, awnless ; filaments three ; styles two ; stigmata clavate ; seed one. There is but a single species. ANTHOCEROS, a genus of the Cryp- togamia Hepaticse. Male; six parted or entire ; antherre three to eight, obovate, in the bottom of the calyx. Female ; ca- lyx sessile, cylindrical and entire. There are four species. ANTHOLOMA, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Monogynia class and or- der. Calyx two to four-leaved ; cor. cup- shaped ; many seeded. There is but a sin- gle species, a shrub found in Caledonia. ANTHOLYZA, in botany, a genus of the Triandria Monogynia class and order. Corol. tubular, six-cleft, unequal, recurv- ed; capsule inferior. There are six spe- cies, ail found at the Cape, ANTHOSPERMUM, in botany, the amber-tree, a genus of plants belonging to the Tetrandria class and order. It is male and female, in different plants, and some are hermaphrodites. The androgynous flower is of one leaf, with two pistils and four stamina, with the germ en below the flower. The male flowers are the same with these, wanting only the pistis and germen. The female flowers have the pistils and germen, but want the stamina. There are three species. ANTHOXANTHUM, in botany, a ge- nus of the Dyandria Uigynia class and ol- der. Gen. char, calyx, glume two-valved> one flowered ; corol. glume two-valved, pointed, awned; seed one. There arc four species. ANTHRENUS, in natural history, a ANT ANT genus of insects of the order Coleoptera. Essen, char, antennae clavate,the club so- lid ; feelers unequal, filiform ; jaws mem- branaceous, linear, bifid ; lip entire ; head hidden under the thorax. There are 13 species, of which the muscoreum is very destructive to collections of perserved animals, insects, &c. ANTHROPOMORPHA, in the Linnx- an system of Zoology, a class of animals, resembling in some degree the human form ; the distinguishing characteristic of which is, that all the animals comprehend- ed in it have four fore teeth in each jaw, and the teats are situated on the breast. Besides the human species, which stands at the head of this class, it likewise com- prehends the monkey and sloth kinds. ANTHYLL1S, the bladder lotus, in bo- tany, a genus of the Diadelphia Decan- dria class of plants, the corolla whereof is papilionaceous ; the fruit is a small roundish legume, composed of two valves, and containing one or two seeds. This genus is separated into the A. herbace- ous, and B. shrubby ; there are of the for- mer 12 species, of the latter nine. A1ST1CHORUS, inbotany, a genus of the Octandria Monogynia class and order. Calyx four-leaved ; petals four ; capsule superior, subulate, four-celled, four-valv- ed ; seeds numerous. There is only one species, found in Arabia. ANT1DESMA, in botany, a genus of the Dioecia Pentandria class of plants, the calyx of which is a perianthium, consist- ing of five oblong, concave leaves ; there is no corolla; the fruit is a cylindric ber- ry, containing one cell, in which is lodg- ed a single seed. There are three spe- cies, found in the East Indies and China. ANTIMONY, in mineralogy, one of the metals that is brittle and easily fused. No metal has attracted so much of the atten- tion of physicians as antimony. One par- ly has extolled it as an infallible specific for every disease : while another decried it as a most virulent poison, which ought to be expunged from the list of medicines. Antimony, as it occurs under that name in the shops, is a natural compound of the^netal with sulphur. To obtain it in a metallic state, the native sulphuret is to be mixed with two-thirds its weight of acidulous tartrite of potash, (in the state of crude tartar,) and one-third of nitrate of potash deprived of its water of crystal- lization. The mixture must be projected, by spoonfuls, into a red-hot crucible ; and the detonated mass poured into an iron mould greased with a little fat. The anti- mony, on account of its specific gravity, will be found at the bottom, adhering to the scoriae, from which it may be separated by the hammer. Or three parts of the sulphuret may be fused in a covered cru- cible, with one of iron filings. The sul- phur quits the antimony, and combines with the iron. Antimony in its metallic state (sometimes called regulus of anti- mony) is of a silvery white colour, very brittle, and of a plated or scaly texture. It is fused by a moderate heat ; and crys- tallizes, on cooling, in the form of pyra- mids. In close vessels it may be vola- tilized, and collected unchanged. It un- dergoes little change when exposed to the atmosphere at its ordinary temperature ; but when fused, with the access of air, it emits white fumes, consisting of an oxide of the metal. This oxide had for- merly the name of flowers of antimony. Antimony combines with phosphorus and sulphur. With the latter, an artificial sulphuret is formed, exactly resembling the native compound, which last may be employed, on account of its cheapness, for exhibiting the properties of this com- bination of antimony. Antimony is dis- solved by most of the acids. Sulphuric acid is decomposed, sulphurous acid be- ing disengaged, and an oxide formed, of which a small proportion only is dis- solved by the remaining acid. Nitric acid dissolves this metal with great vehe- mence ; muriatic acid acts on it by long digestion; but the most convenient sol- vent is the nitro-muriatic acid, which, with the aid of heat, dissolves it from the native sulphuret. With oxygenized muriatic acid, it forms a compound of a thick consistence, formerly called butter of antimony. This may be formed by exposing black sulphuret of antimony to the fumes of oxygenized muriatic acid, and subsequent distillation ; or by distill- ing the powdered regulus with twice its weight of corrosive muriate of mercury. The metal becomes highly oxydized, and unites with muriatic acid in its simple state. On pouring this compound into water, a white oxide falls down, called powder of algaroth. Antimony is sus- ceptible of various states of oxydizement. The first oxide may be obtained by wash- ing algaroth powder with a little caustic potash. It is composed of 18 oxygen, and 81 f metal. That formed by the ac- tion of nitric acid on antimony contains 77 metal, and 23 oxygen. See OHES, analysis of. ANTINOMIANS, in church history, a sect of Christians, who reject the moral law as a rule of conduct to believers. ANT AiNT disown personal and progressive sancti- fication, and hold it to be inconsistent for a oeiiever to pray for the forgiveness of sins. Although these principles will, by some, be thought to lead to mischievous consequences and practice, yet there are, unquestionably, worthy men and virtuous Christians, who avow Antinomian tenets. To the young, the giddy, and the thought- less, such sentiments might, if acted upon, be the source of much evil ; but these, like the doctrine of necessity, are rarely believed, but by persons who have alrea- dy attained to virtuous habits. ANT1PATHES, in natural history, a genus of worms of the order Zoophyta. An animal growing in the form of a plant: stem expanded at the base, internally hovny, beset with small spines, externally covered with a gelatinous flesh, beset with numerous polype-bearing tubercles. Their are lo species. A. spirahs inha- bits the Indian, Mediterranean, and North seas ; of a hard, horny, black substance, exceedingly brittle, very long, and va- riously twisted, about the size of a writ- ing pen. A. alopecuroides, with spinous setaceous closely panicled branches ; in- habits South Carolina ; about two feet high, and rises from a broad spread base, dividing into several large branches, flat on one side, with a groove along the mid- dle ; it then subdivides into smaller branches, forming close panicles, not un- like the fox-tail grass : the outside grey- ish, the inside black, and very brittle. ANTIPODES, in geography, a name given to those inhabitants of the globe that Jive diametrically opposite to one another. They lie under opposite parallels, and opposite meridians. They have the same elevation of their different poles. It is mid-night with the one, when it is noon- day with the other; the longest day with one is the shortest with the other ; and the length of the day with the one is rqual to the night of the other. See GLOBKS, use of. ANTIQUARY, a person who studies and searches after monuments and re- mains of antiquity There were formerly, in the chief cities of Greece and Italy, persons of distinc- tion, called antiquaries, who made it their business to explain the ancient inscrip- tions, and give every other assistance in. their power to strangers, who were lovers of that kind of learning. Foundations of this kind have existed in England. Sir II. Spehnan speaks of a society of anti- quaries in his time, which had been insti- tuted in 1572, by Archbishop Parker, Camdcn, Sir Robert Cotton, Stowe, and others. Application was made in 1589 to Queen Elizabeth for a charter, and house, in which they might hold their meetings, erect a library, &c. But the death of the sovereign put an end to the design. In 1717, this society was revived again, and has continued without inter- ruption ; and at present, it is in a very flourishing state, consisting of learned men in every rank of life. The society was incorporated in 1751, and began to publish an account of its discoveries in 1770, under the title of " Archseologia:" fifteen volumes in quarto are already pub- lished. ANTIQUITIES, a term implying all testimonies or authentic accounts, that have come down to us of ancient nations. According to Lord Bacon, antiquities may be considered as the wrecks of history, or such particulars as industrious and learn- ed persons have collected from genealo- gies, inscriptions, monuments, coins, names, etymologies archives, instru- ments, fragments of history, &c. : in this sense, the study of antiquities leads us to inquire into the origin and early epochas of every nation and people, whether an- cient or modern. Hence the study of an- tiquities, as a science, has become, in al- most every civilized country, an interest- ing pursuit to men of leisure and curiosi- ty. By many persons it has been sufficient to investigate the ancient remains of Greece and Rome ; but others, who have taken a more enlarged, and, what we deem, a more proper view of the subject, include in the science the antiquities of the Jews, Egyptians, Phoenicians, Cartha- ginians, and, in short, all those principal nations mentioned in ancient history. Our view of the subject must necessarily be contracted, and the most we can aim at is, to excite a laudable curiosity in the young, and to direct them to objects that may engage their attention, and to the authors most likely to furnish information under the several heads of inquiry and research. This study has for its chief objects the ceremonies, customs, and usages, which obtained in ancient times, either with re- gard to persons, places, or things. Writ- ers have accordingly divided antiquities into civil and ecclesiastisal ; including under the former head whatever relates to political, military, literary, and domes- tic concerns ; and under the latter, the subjects connected with religion, as the worship, discipline, and faith of ancient times and people, Christians have usually ANTIQUITIES. separated their antiquities into those which relate to the ancient state of the Christian church ; and into whatever be- longs to the ancient laws, ceremonies, events, &c. that occur in the scriptures, These, indeed, form a branch of ecclesi- astical antiquities, and bear a near rela- tion to the Jewish antiquities, concerning which we have many respectable authori- ties. There are persons who would de- duce most of the heathen antiquities from the manners and customs described in the Bible ; while others, as Spencer, take the opposite course, and deduce the antiqui- ties of the Bible from those of heathenism. Perhaps a middle course would be nearer the truth, as it is absolutely necessary, in interpreting- scripture, to attend to the heathen antiquities alluded to in them ; and these not only such as are directly aimed at or approved, but also such as are purposely opposed. National antiquities are those employed in tracing the origin, ancient actions, usages, monuments, re- mains, &c. of some nation or people: and it may be observed, that almost every na- tion lays claim to a greater degree of an- tiquity than the rest of its neighbours. The Scythians, the Phrygians, the Chal- deans, Egyptians, Greeks, Chinese, &c. pretend each to have the honour of being the first inhabitants of the earth: several of these nations, lest they should be sur- passed in their pretensions by any of the rest, have traced up their origin to ages long before the received account of the creation. Hence the appellations " abo- rigines," " indigenae," " terraegenx," " antelunares," &c. The history and antiquities of nations and societies have been objects of inquiry: inasmuch as they enable the mind to se- prrate truth from falsehood, and tradition from evidence ; to establish what had pro- bability for its basis, or to explode what rested only on the vanity of the inventors and propagators: of this we have a strik- ing instance in the Chaldeans, who pre- tend to astronomical observations of near- ly 500,000 years. They mention the king who reigned over them at the time of the deluge, and attribute to him several things which we ascribe to Noah. The Chaldaic antiquities of Berosus are, however, lost, except a few fragments, which have been collected by Joseph Scaliger and Fabri- cius. To supply the chasm, Annius Viter- bo, a Dominican monk, towards the close of the 15th century, forged the work of Berosus, which he published at Rome in 1498. Fie went farther, and produced a supplement to Berosus, supposed to have been written by Manetho, containing de- tails of what happened from the time of .Egyptus, king of Egypt, to the origin of the Roman state. Unfortunately for the credit of the industrious monk, Manetho lived before Berosus, by which the fraud was detected. The first traces of every history were rude and imperfect, which renders the office of the antiquarian of the utmost im- portance to the faithful and diligent histo- rian. Better methods of preserving facts succeeded. The unchiseled stone, or the rudest hieroglyphic, accompanied the songs of the bards, to perpetuate the achievements of a whole nation, or a few individuals ; till the use of letters, and the complicated transactions, claims, and in- terests of men, taught them to multiply memorials, and draw them up with more skill and accuracy. The history contained in the Old Tes- tament is unquestionably the most ancient well-authenticated collection of facts, that has come down to the present times. These records go much beyond the flood, the boundary to the annals of every other nation that lays a just claim to 'credit. The Jews, who are closely connected with this part of history, trace back their an- cestry to the common parents of the hu- man race. The antiquities of this won- derful nation have been treated of by nu- merous writers, whose works are monu- ments of great learning and indefatigable industry ; and it will be admitted, that the fate of a people scattered over the globe, who have been subject to persecu- tions, more or less severe, for so many centuries, who have never amalgamated, if we may so speak, with any other nation under heaven, but have remained distinct, for wise and important ends, cannot but interest the curious inquirer. The history of their origin, ordinances, and vicissi- tudes, previously to the Christian aera, is to be had in the Old Testament : their subsequent ruin and dispersion are pre- dicted by Christ in the New Testament, and treated of at large by Josephus, who flourished at Rome under Vespasian, Ti- tus, and Domitian,and who published his great work on the Jewish Antiquities during the life and reign of the latter. On the same subject we have a multitude of more modern writers, from Ugolinus' Thesaurus, consist'iig of more than thir- ty volumes folio, and comprising all the best works written previously to the mid- dle of the last century, to the octavos Dr. Jennings evidently intended as a mere in- troduction to the subject. The antiquities ANTIQUITIES. of the Jews are supposed to be connected with those of Egypt, since Moses, their great lawgiver, was educated in the schools of Egyptian learning, and was deeply conversant in all their sciences. Many of the metaphors and other allu- sions, found in the first five books of the Bible, are supposed to have some refer- ence to the symbols of the Egyptian priests. If we were, therefore, able to come at a faithful account of the antiqui- ties of Egypt, we might hope to attain an illustration of many things which are still obscure and dark, belonging to the Jewish economy, both civil and sacred. Of Egypt, alas ! once renowned for its laws, the commerce of her cities, the grandeur of her buildings, and the fertility of her ter- ritory, little is left to gratify the laudable curiosity of moderns. Those who have spent much time and labour in appreciat- ing the worth and merits of the ancients, admit that the earliest nations of the world were fed with the produce of Egyp- tian soil, and enriched with the wealth and wisdom obtained in that portion of Africa. Upper Egypt furnished the mate- rials of marble and porphyry, with which the most stupendous works of art were reared : and to Hermes Trismegistus, or, as he is sometimes called, Thoth, are ascribed, among the Egyptians, the inven- tions of chief use in human life. Their priests maintained, that from their hiero- glyphic characters upon the pillars which he erected, and the sacred books, all the philosophy and learning of the world has been derived. Egypt seems itself to have been in- debted for its original population to the northern parts of Arabia and Syria, the Egptians and Abyssinuins having been always wholly distinct from the native na- tions of Africa. The Copts, or original inhabitants, it has been observed by tra- vellers, have no resemblance whatever of the negro features or form ; but a strong likeness may be traced between the make of the visage in the modern Copts, and that presented in the ancient mummies, paintings, and statues. Their complexion, like that of the Arabs, is of a dusky brown. It is represented of the same co- lour in the paintings which may be seen in the tombs of Thebes. The chief anti- quities are, the pyramids, and the tombs near Thebes, recently disclosed, with ma- ny ruins of temples, and other remains of ancient cities. Dr. White, in the " Egyp- tiaca," a work which contains much valu- able information on the subject, says, the celebrated column ascribed to Pompey ornamented a space opposite the temple of Serapis, in which was a great public library. Besides the ancient remains al- ready noticed, we may mention the co- lossal sphynx; Cleopatra's needle; the marble Sarcophagus, reputed to be Alex- ander's tomb ; and the triple inscription from Rosetta, in the hieroglyphic, the ver- nacular Egyptian, and the Greek charac- ters. The writers on Egyptian antiquities are very numerous. Among the ancients may be noted, Herodotus, Pausanias, Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, and Plutarch. Herodotus, Thales, and Pythagoras, were initiated into all the mysteries of the Egyptian priests. The mythology of the country is fully explained in Joblonski's " Pantheon Egyptiacum." On the Egypt of modern times, we have the works of Pocock, Niebuhr, Sonnini, and Denon, which may be consulted with advantage. Greaves and Nordon have written on the pyramids, and the mummies are describ- ed by the celebrated Kircher. The illustration of the antiquities of In- dia is more difficult, but discoveries are still making in that vast extent of coun- try. To that great patriot, philosopher, and legislator, Sir William Jones, we are greatly indebted for much valuable infor- mation on this subject. Mr. Halhed, in- deed, in 1776, gave the first specimen which appeared of the early wisdom of the Indians, and their extensive skill in jurisprudence. In the year 1785, the Bhagvat Geeta was edited by Mr. Wilkins. The theological and metaphysical doc- trines of this work were represented to be of the prof oundest kind, and it was said to contain all the grand mysteries of the Hindoo religion, and laid claim to the an- tiquity of 4000 years. Other works of high reputation have succeeded ; among these are the " Indian Antiquities,'* by Maurice, which have, in a great measure, cleared the ground for the student, and given him a sort of clue for farther inves- tigations. By his labours, the ancient geo- graphical divisions of India, according to the classical writers of Greece and Rome, and of Hindostan, according to the Hin- doos themselves, are reconciled; the ana- logies of the Brahmanic with other sys- tems of theology considered, and the grand code of civil laws, the original form of government, and the literature of Hin- dostan, are compared with the laws, go- vernment, and literature of Persia, Egypt, and Greece. From Sir William Jones's papers, published in the several volumes of the " Asiatic Researches," much solid information on Indian antiquities may be ANTIQUITIES. had in a short compass. By that great man, whose loss cannot be sufficiently lamented, a society was formed for in- quiring 1 into the history, antiquities, arts, sciences, and literature of Asia. Having founded the institution, he gave it celebri- ty [by his own admirable discourses ; of these the first was on the orthography of Asiatic words in Roman letters, a want of attention to which had occasioned much confusion in history and geography. Not contented with pointing out radical de- fects, he proposed a system, which was useful to the learned, and essential to the progress of the student. His other dis- sertations, to which the reader may be referred, were all, in a greater or less de- gree, connected with the antiquities of India. By India is meant the whole ex- tent of country in which the primitive re- ligion and language of the Hindoos pre- vail at this day, and in which the Naegari letters are still used, with more or less deviation from their original form. Its inhabitants have no resemblance, either in their figure or manners, to any of the na- tions contiguous to them. Their sources of wealth are still abundant. In their ma- nufactures of cotton they surpass the other nations of the world ; and though now degenerate and abased, there remains enough to show, that in some early age they were well versed in arts and arms, happy in government, wise in legisla- tion, and eminent in various branches of knowledge. In this place we may briefly notice the Sanscrit language, which, whatever may be its antiquity, is of a very singular struc- ture ; more perfect than the Greek, more copious than the Latin, and more refined than either, yet bearing to both a stronger affinity, both in the roots of verbs, and in the forms of grammar, than could possi- bly have been produced by accident. Of their philosophy it has been observed, that in the more retired scenes, in groves, and in seminaries of learning, we may perceive the Brahmans and the Sarmanas of Clemans disputing in the forms or' lo- gic, or discoursing- on the vanity of human enjoyments, on the immortality of the soul, heremanation from the eternal mind, her debasement, wanderings, and final union with her source. The ancient monuments of Hindostan are very numerous, and of various descrip- tions, exclusive of the tombs and other edifices of the Mahometan conquerors, Someof the most remarkable are, excavat- ed temples, statues, relievos, &c. in an island near Bombay ; but the most mag- VOL. I. nificent and extensive are near the town ot" Ellora, about two hundred miles east of Bombay. The latter are minutely describ- ed, and illustrated with plates, in the sixth volume of the Asiatic Researches. The idols represented seem clearly to belong* to the present mythology of Hindostan : but at what period these edifices were modelled, whether three hundred or three thousand years ago, cannot be easily as>- certained. Several ancient grants of land, some coins, and seals, have also been found, which, however, do not greatly correspond with the exaggerated ideas entertained concerning the early civiliza- tion of this renowned country ; while the Egyptian pyramids,temples, and obelisks, strongly confirm the accounts preserved by ancient historians. Though the my- thology of the Hindoos may pretend to great antiquity, yet their present form of religion is supposed to vary considerably from the ancient. It is inferred, that while the religion ofBoodha, still retained by the Birmans and other adjacent na- tion*. 11 Vas the real ancient system of Hin- dostan, the religion of the Hindoos is art- fully interwoven with the common offices of life ; and the different casts are sup- posed to originate from Brahma, the im- mediate agent of creation, under the Su- preme Power. The remains of architecture and sculp- ture seem to prove an early connection between India and Africa. Of the ancient arts and manufactures little is known, excepting the labours of the Indian loom and needle. The Hindoos are said to have boasted of three inventions, viz. the method of instruction by " apologues," " the decimal scale," and " the game of chess." Of the antiquities of Greece and Rome much has been written that merits the attention of the student in literature : these are subjects, in which every well educated youth is made conversant at an early period. They are taught in all our classical schools, as necessary to the elu- cidation of those works that are read in the attainment of the ancient languages. Potter on the Greek antiquities, and Ren- net and Adams on those of Roman, arp familiar to every ear : in their kind they are truly respectable, though they may be regarded only as elerr.eniary treatises cal- culated rather to excite a taste for the study, than to satisfy the inquirer in pur- suit of knc-.vledg'e. T: e first accounts of Greece are derived from ages long before the common use of letters in the country, so that it is difficult Ivk ANTIQUITIES, to distinguish where fable concludes, and real history begins. From the Phoenician and Egyptian colonies, the Greeks first received the culture of humanity. By the Phoenicians, they were instructed in trade, navigation, and the use of letters ; and by the Egyptians in civil wisdom, the politer sciences, and religious mysteries. The antiquities of such a country, which became in after ages so illustrious in the annals of mankind, cannot fail to have ex- cited a considerable degree of interest in every age : they have accordingly been carefully and minutely investigated, by writers celebrated alike for their erudition and industry. Of these we can enumerate but a small portion, in comparison of the many that have treated on the subject. Bishop Potter, to whom we have already referred, Bos, and others, have drawn up systems or abridgments of the whole, or at least of whatever relates to the religion, the gods, tlit- vows, and the temples of Greece : on the public weal and magis- tracy, Stephanus and Van Dale are well worthy of notice: on the laws and g^nish- ments'of Greece, we have Meursius and Petit : on military concerns, Arrian and JElian are well known : on their gymnas- tic art and exercises, Joubert and Faber may be mentioned: on the theatres and scenic exhibitions, Scaliger and the abbe Barthelemy have written : besides these, we have many writers on their entertain- ments, on their marriages, the education of their children, and their funeral cere- monies. The best relics, which display the formcrsplendour of the Grecian states, hare been preserved by Stuart in his Athens, in the Ionian Antiquities, and in the Voyage Pittoresque de la Grece. The finest specimens of its sculpture, in this country, are to be found among the Townly marbles : and of its coinage, in the cabinet of Dr. Hunter. It may be worthy of notice, in connec- tion with the antiquities of Greece, that the ancient monuments of European Tur- key now exceed in number and import- ance those of any other country. The remains of ancient Athens, in particular, formerly the chosen seat of the arts, have attracted the attention of many travellers, and have accordingly been frequently de- scribed with accuracy and taste. The church dedicated to the Divine Wisdom, usually denominated in the page of histo- ry Sancta Sophia, is a venerable monu- ment of antiquity, and has been preserved from the sixth century, when it was built by Justinian, to the present period. The architecture is very inferior to that of the classical period, yet, by those who hate witnessed it, we are told the effect is grand and impressive, and the cupola is admired as a bold and skilful effort of the art, while the seeming weight is di- minished by the lightness of the materials, being bricks formed of a particular clay that will float in the water. The interior is adorned with columns of various and veiy beautiful descriptions, viz. the Phry- gian purple, the Spartan green, the red and white Canan, and many others. To this may be added, that the French have recently discovered the remains of an ancient sea-port belonging to Sparta, near a promontory which projects from the south of the Morea, and we are informed that the antiquities of that part, now styl- ed Albania, still present an extensive field of research to the student in this depart- ment of science. " Nothing," says Dr. Adams, in the pre- face to his Roman Antiquities, " has more engaged the attention of literary men,thsm to trace from ancient monuments the in- stitutions and laws, the religion, the man- ners and customs of the Romans, under the general name of Roman Antiquities. This branch of knowledge," continues he, " is not only curious in itself, but abso lutely necessary for the understanding the classics, and for reading with advantage the history of that celebrated people. It is particularly necessary for such as prose- cute the study of the civil law. Scarcely on any subject have more books been writ- ten, and many of them by persons of dis- tinguished abilities." We may, as a guide to the student enumerate the writers from whom Dr. Adams chiefly compiled his own work, as these will be the best au- thorities for those persons who would en- ter deeply into the study. To Manutius, Brissonius, and Middleton, he was indebt- ed for his facts relating to the business of the senate : to Pignorius, on slaves : to Lidoniusand Grucchius, Manutius,Huber, Gravina, Murula, Heineccius, for what re- lates to the assemblies of the people, the rights of citizens, the laws and judicial proceedings : with respect to the duties and privileges of magistrates, the art of war, the shows of the circus, and the feats of gladiators, he had recourse to Lipsius : to Sheflfer he applied for information on naval affairs, and carriages : to Ker- mannus, on funerals : to Arbuthnot, OR coins : to Donatus, on the city : to Tur- nebus, Salmasius, Grsevius, Gronovius, Montfaucon, Gesner, and others, upon different subjects scattered through his work. To these may be added one of the ANTIQUITIES. eldest authors on the subject, viz. Diony- sius Halicarnassus, who traced the origin of the Romans, with great fidelity, back to the remotest ages. His accounts are generally preferred to those of Livy, be- cause they are more ample, and his facts are described with more particulars ; and on the ceremonies, worship, sacrifices, manners, customs, discipline, policy, courts, laws, &c. he is perhaps the most authentic writer. These, and other authors that might be cited, have chiefly confined their account to Rome, properly so called ; we might digress, and notice the antiquities of those states, both in Europe and other parts of the globe, whicli were held under the dominion of the Koman power; but this would lead us into a very wide field : we shall, however, in the connection, no- tice those belonging to Spain, which was 500 years under the Roman power. Spain was originally peopled by the Africans and German Gauls : it then be- came the prey of the Carthagenians : to these succeeded the Romans. It was af- terwards held successively in subjection by the Vandals, the Visigoths, and the Arabs or Moors. Of the first of these epochs few remains exist, excepting some tumuli, and other rude monuments. Nor are there any cer- tain relics of the Carthagenians in Spain but coins, which have been found in con- siderable numbers. The Roman antiqui- ties are numerous, of which, however, we shall notice but few. The aqueduct at Segovia is a noble edifice, consisting of 159 arches, extending about 740 yards, and is rather more than 94 feet in height where it crosses the valley. Morviedo, the ancient Saguntum, and Tarragona, the ancient Tarraco, afford many curious remains of antiquity. The theatre is ca- pable of receiving 10,000 people, and is hewn out of a solid rock, the labour of which was less than might at first be ex- pected, as the Spanish rocks are general- ly calcareous, or of gypsum. The Visi- goth kings have left few relics except their coins, which are struck in gold, a metal at that period unknown to the other European mints. Numerous and splendid are the monuments of the Moors in Spain. The mosque at Cordova is one of the chief; this surprizes travellers with the multitude of its columns, which are said to be 800. The Christian antiquities here, as in other places, are, churches, castles, and monasteries. The antiquities of Portugal consist also chiefly of Roman monuments, with some Moorish remains. In the north is an ex^ tensive series of arches, formerly a Ro- man aqueduct. At Evora are well pre- served ruins of a temple of Diana, and art aqueduct ascribed to Quintus Sertorius, whose life was written by Plutarch. Among the antiquities of the middle ages may be noted the monastery of Batalha, in Estremadura, 60 miles north of Lisbon, which is allowed on all hands to be one of the noblest monuments of what is call- ed the Gothic style of architecture. English antiquities fall into the follow- ing divisions, viz. those belonging to the primitive Celtic inhabitants ; those of the Belgic colonies ; those of the Romans ; those of the Saxons ; reliques of the Danes ; and, lastly, Norman monuments. Few of these remains are thoughtto throw- much light upon the history of the coun- try ; but, being interesting and curious in themselves, they may, in this article, which is intended as a guide to the study, be briefly noticed. A radical mistake, ac- cording to Mr. Pinkerton, in the study of English antiquities, has arisen from the confusion of the Celtic and Belgic lan- guages and monuments. The Druids have deservedly attracted much curiosity and research ; but it would be erroneous to impute to them, as is usual, the whole of our earliest remains. Caesar speaks of Druidism as a recent institution ; and if that be the case, it is not improbable that it originated from the Phoenician factories, established in wooden fortresses, the usu- al practice of commercial nations when trading with savage or barbarous people. The tenets correspond with what little exists of Phccnician mythology, and the missionaries of that refined people might have some zeal in their diffusion. Ancient authors, who give us all our information concerning the Druids, minutely describe their religious rites, but are totally silent concerning any monuments of stone being used among them. On the contrary, they mention gloomy groves and spreading oaks as the only scenes of the Dniidic ce- remonies; nevertheless, antiquaries have inferred that Stonehenge is a Druidic monument, though it be situated in an ex- tensive plain, where not a vestige of wood appears, and' where the very soil is re- puted to be adverse to its vegetation. It would be a vain effort to attempt to dis- criminate the remains of the earliest in- habitants from those of the Dmidic pe- riod, and if the opinion of the last-men- tioned author istobe regarded as binding, there is no foundation for any sound or real knowledge on the subject. The fol- lowing have been esteemed as the montf- ANTIQUITIES. ments of the Druids: 1. Single stones erect, 2. Rock idols and pierced stones. 3. Rocking-stones, used as ordeals. 4. Sepulchres of two, three, or more stones. 5. Circular temples, or rather circles of erect stones. 6. Barrows, or tumuli. 7. CronVieehs, or heaps of stones. 8. Rock- basins, imagined to have been used in Druidic expiations. 9. Caves, used as places of retreat in time of war. But as most of these relics may also be found in Germany and Scandinavia, it is difficult to say whether they are Gothic or Celtic ; and as the Germans had no Druids, we cannot, witn any degree of certainty, be- stow the name of Druidic upon such monuments. It is highly probable, that the earliest inhabitants, as is ever the practice in the inf.mcy of society, made use of wood, not of stone, in their religi- ous as well as in their domestic erections. If we survey the various savage regions of the globe, we shall seldom, if ever, per- ceive the use of stone ; and it is certainly JUSL to infer, that the savages of the west were not more skilful than those of the east, nor those of the old continents and islandsthan those of the new. But as many of these monuments are found in Germa- ny, Scandinavia, and Iceland, and as the Icelandic writers in particular of*?n indi- cate their origin and use, which are un- known in thc j . Celtic records, there is eve- ry reason to attribute them to a more ad- vanced stage of society, when the Belgic colonies introduced agriculture, and a lit- tle further progress in the r:de arts of bar- barism. The nature of this work will not admit a formal investigation of such to- pics, but a few remarks may be offered on Stonehenge, a stupendous monument of barbaric industry. Inigo Jones, in attempt- ing to prove that it is Roman, only evin- ces that no talents can avail when science is wanting, and that antiquities require a severe and peculiar train of study. Doctor Stukely, a visionary writer, assigns Stone- Jienge to the Druids ; while Dr. Charlton, perceiving that such irioniiments are found in Denmark, ascribed it to the Danes. If the latter had considered, that the Bclgse were a Gothic nation, of similar language and institutions, he might with more jus- tice have extended his antiquity. From the Icelandic writers we learn, that such circles were called domh-riuyr, that is, lite- rally, doom-ring, or circle of judgment, being the solemn places where courts were held, of all kinds and dignities, from the national council down to the baronial court, or that of a common proprietor of land, for adjusting disputes between his villani and slaves. The magnificence of Stonehenge loudly pronounces that it was the supreme court of the nation, equiva- lent to the Champs de Mars et de Mai of the Franks, where the king and chiefs as- sembled in the circle, and the men capa- ble of arms in the open plain ; nor is it improbable that the chiefs ascended the transverse stones, and declared their re- solves to the surrounding crowd, who, in the description of Tacitus, dissented by loud murmurs, or applauded by clashing their shields. This idea receives confir- mation from the circumstance, that the Belgae, peculiarly so called, as hi- Ing the chief and ruling colony of thai, jeople, were seated in the surround:! 1 ., pi .ivincc, and Sorbiodunum, now Old Sarum, was their capital city. Similar ci.-cles of stone, but far inferior in size, are found in many parts of Great Britain and Ireland, and se- veral undoubtedly as late as the Danish in- roads and usurpations, the practice being 1 continued by that people at least till their conversion to Christianity, in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Some of the smallest, as we learn from the northern antiquaries, were merely places of family sepulture. At a later period, the circles of judgment, which had been polluted with human sa- crifices and other Pagan rites, were aban- doned, and the great courts were held on what were called moot -hills, or hills of meeting, many of which still exist in the British dominions and in the Netherlands. They commonly consist of a central emi- nence, on which sat the judge and his assistants ; beneath was an elevated plat- form for the parties, their friends and conpurgators, who sometimes amounted to a hundred or more ; and this platform was surrounded with a trench, to secure it from the access of the mere spectators. Of the other monuments of this period a more brief consideration naust suffice. When a monarch or distinguished general was buried, a barrow or hillock was erect- ed, to preserve his name and memory to future ages; the size depending on the reputation of the person, which attracted a smaller or larger number of operators. Such monuments are very ancient, and even to this day denote the sepulchres of some of the heroes of the Trojan war. In later times, a large single stone erected was esteemed a sufficient memorial : such single stones also sometimes appear as monuments of remarkable battles, or merely as boundaries. The caves are familiar to most nations in an early state of society. The Belgic reliques are follow- ed by those of the Romans, which arc mostly objects of mere curiosity, and rare, - Jy throw the smallest light on the page ANTIQUITIES. of history. Amphitheatres are said to be still visible at Silchester, in Hampshire, and some other places, The Rc.:.ua cas- tle at Richborough, the ancient Kutupix, in Kent, presents considerable remains of a massy wall, cemented with surprising- firmness. The Roman ruins in this coun- try are commonly composed of stone or flint, with strata of flat bricks at consider- able intervals. The Mosaic pavements, hypocausts, &c.are generally the remains of the villas of opulent Romans, scattered over the country. The greatest number of Roman inscriptions, altars, See. has been found in the north, along- the great frontier wall, which extended from the western sea to the estuary of the Tyne. This vast wall is justly esteemed the most important remain of the Roman power in England, as that of Antoninus is in Scot- land. The extent was about 70 miles, and its construction, forts, &.c. have been illustrated by the labour of several an- tiquaries. Numerous are the more minute relics of the Romans in England, as coins, gems, weapons, ornaments, and the like ; among which, however, the silver dish belonging to the Duke of Northumber- land deserves especial mention. One of the grand causes of the civilization intro- duced by that ruling people into the con- quered states was the highways, which form, indeed, the first germ of national industry, and without which neither com- merce nor society can make any consider- able progress. Conscious of this truth, the Romans seem to have lent particular attention to the construction of roads in the distant provinces ; and those of Eng- land, which may still be traced in various ramifications, present a lasting monument of the justice of their conceptions, the extent of their views, and the utility of their power. A grand trunk, as it may be called, passed from the south to the north, and another to the west, with branches, in almost every direction that general convenience and expedition could require. What is called the Watling- street, led from Richborough, in Kent, the ancient Rutupiae, N. W. through Lon- don to Chester. The Ermin-street passed from London to Lincoln, thence to Car- lisle, and into Scotland, the name being supposed to be corrupted from Herman, which means warrior, as the chief wars lay in the north. The Fosse Way is sup- posed to have led from Bath and the western regions, N. E. till it joined the Ermin-street. The last celebrated road was the Ikenild, or Ikneld, supposed to have extended from near Norwich, S. W. into Dorsetshire. The Saxon antiquities in England are chiefly edifices, sacred or secular; many churches remain, which were altogether, or for the most part, constructed in the Saxon period, and some are extant of the tenth, or per- haps the ninth century. The vaults erect- ed by Grimbaki, at Oxford, in the reign of Alfred, are justly esteemed curious relics of Saxon architecture. Mr. King has ably illustrated the remains of the Saxon castles. The oldest seem to con- sist of one solitary tower, square or hexagonal : one of the rudest specimens is Conhigsburg Castle, in Yorkshire ; but as that region was subject to the Danes till the middle of the tenth century, it is probably Danish. Among the smailer re- mains of Saxon art may be mentioned, the shrines for preserving relics, which some suppose to present the diminutive nidi- ments of what is styled the Gothic archi- tecture ; and the illuminated manuscripts, which often afford curious memorials of the state of manners and knowledge. The Danish power in England, though of con- siderable duration in the north, was in the south brief and transitory. The cuinps of that nation were circular, like those of the Belgx and Saxons, while those of Roman armies are known by the square form : and it is believed that the only distinct relics of the Danes, are some cas- tles to the north of the Humber, and a few stones with Runic inscriptions. The monuments styled Norman, rather to dis- tinguish their epoch, than from any infor- mation that Norman architects were employed, are reputed to commence after the conquest, and to extend to the four- teenth century, when what is called the rich Gothic began to appear, which in the sixteenth century was supplanted by the mixed, and this in its turn yielded to the Grecian. In general, the Norman style far exceeds the Saxon in the size of the edifices, and the decoration of the parts. The churches become more extensive and lofty, and though the windows retain the circular arch, they are larger and more diversified; the circular doors are festooned with more freedom and ele- gance ; and uncouth animals begin to yield to wreaths of leaves and flowers. The solitary keep, or tower, of the Saxon custle, is surrounded with a double wall, inclosing courts and dwellings of large extent, defended by turrets and double ditches, with a separate watch-tower, called the Barbican. Among 1 others, the cathedrals of Durham and Winchester mav be mentioned as venerable monu- ANTIQUITIES. merits of Anglo-Norman architecture ; and the castles are numerous and well known. What is called the Gothic, or pointed arch, is generally supposed to have first appeared in the thirteenth cen- tury, and in the next it became universal in religious edifices. The windows dif- fused to great breadth and loftiness, and divided into branching interstices, enrich- ed with painted glass ; the clustering pillars, of excessive height, spreading in- to various fret-work on the roof, consti- tute, with decorations of smaller note, what is called the rich Gothic style, visi- ble in the chapel of King's college at Cambridge, and many other grand speci- mens in this kingdom. The spire cor- responds with the interior, and begins about the thirteenth century to rise bold- ly from the ancient tower, and diminish from the sight in gradation of pinnacles and ornaments. We now proceed to Scotland, the origi- nal population of which is supposed upon good authority to consist of Cimbri, from the Cimbric Chersonese. About two cen- turies before the Christian sera, the Cim- bri seem to have been driven to the south of Scotland by the Caledonians, or Picti, a Gothic colony from Norway. The Cimbri, a congenerous people with the Welch, continue d to hold the country south of the two firths of Forth and Clyde ; but from the former region they were soon expelkd by the Picti, who, in this corner, becau,e subject for a time to the Anglo- Saxon kings of Bernicia. On the West, the Cumraig kingdom of Strath Clyde continued till the tenth century, when it became subject to the kings of North Britain ; who at the same time extended their authority, by the permission of the English monarch, over the counties of Cumberland and Westmoreland, which, abounding with hills and fortresses on the south and east, were little accessible to the English power, and, while the Danes pos- sessed the country to the north of Hum- ber, could yield little revenue or support to the Anglo-Saxon monarchs. From the Picti originates the population of the Low- lands of Scotland, the Lowlanders having been in all ages a distinct people from those of the western Highlands, though the Irish clergy endeavored to render their language, which was the most smooth and cultivated of the two, the polite dia- logue of the court and superior classes. About the year of Christ 258, the Dalri- ads of Bede, the Attacotti of the Roman writers, passed from Ireland to Argyle- /Oiire, and became the germ of the Scot- tish Highlanders, who speak the Irish 01* Celtic language, while the Lowlanders have always used the Scandinavian or Go- thic. In reference to the antiquities of the country, Mr. Pinkerton divides the early history into seven distinct periods, viz. 1. The original population of Scot- land by the Cimbri and by the Picti. 2. The entrance of Agricola into Scotland, and the subsequent conflicts with the Ro- mans, till the latter abandoned Britain. 3. The settlement of the Dalriads, or At- tacotti, in Argyleshire, about the year 258, and their repulsion to Ireland about the middle of the fifth century. 4. The commencement of what may be called a regular history of Scotland, from the reign of Drust, A. D. 414. 5. The return of the Dalraids, A. D. 503, and the sub- sequent events of Dalriadic story. 6. The introduction of Christianity among 1 the Caledonians, in the reign of Brudi II. A. D. 565. 7. The union of the Picti and Attacotti, under Kenneth, A. D. 843, after which greater civilization began to take place, and the history becomes more au- thentic. The monuments of antiquity belonging to these epochs may be consi- dered in the following order. Of the first epoch, no monuments can exist except those ef the tumular kind ; and it is im- possible to ascertain the period of their formation. The remains of the Roman period in North Britain chiefly appear in the celebrated wall built in the reign of Aiitoninus Pius, between the firths of Forth and Clyde, in the ruins of which many curious inscriptions have been found. Another striking object of this epoch was a small edifice, vulgarly called Arthur's oven, which seems rightly to have been regarded by some antiquaries as a small temple dedicated to the god Terminus, probably after the erection of the wall of Antoninus; for we are not to conceive these walls were the absolute lines beyond which the Romans possessed no territory ; while, on the contrary, in the pacific intervals, the garrisons along the wall may have claimed the forage of the exterior fields ; and the stream of Carron, beyond which this chapel stood, may have been considered as a necessary supply of water. The remains of the wall and forts, and other Roman antiquities, in Scotland, particularly their camps and stations, many of which are remarkably entire, are ably illustrated in a late publi- cation of General Roy; but the ingenious author has perhaps too implicitly followed a common antiquarian error, in ascribing al] these camps, stations, 8cc. to Agricola, ANTIQUITIES. while they maybe more justly assigned to Lollius Urbicus, A. D. 140, or to the Em- peror Severus, A. D. 207, especially in- deed to the latter; for the Emperor's ap- pearance, in person, to conduct two cam- paigns, probably as far as Inverness, must have occasioned the erection of works more eminent and durable than usual, the soldiers being excited by the animating controul of a military monarch. Con- stantius Chlorus also, A. D. 306, made a long progress into Scotland, if we trust the panegyrists. Nay, in the reign of Domitian, Bolanus, as we learn from Sta- tius the poet, erected several works in Britain, probably in the north ; so that it is idle to impute these remains to any one author ; but to a judicious eye, the claims of Lollius Urbicus, and of Severus, seem preferable. The most northerly Roman camp, yet discovered, is that near the source of the river Ythan, Aberdeenshire; periphery about two English miles. A smaller station has also been observed at Old Meldrum, a few miles to the S. E. Roman roads have been traced a consider- able way in the east of Scotland, as far as the county of Angus, affording some evi- dence of the existence of the province of Vespasiana; but the chief remains are within the wall. A hypocaust was also discovered near Perth, and another near Musselburg, so that there was probably some Roman station near the Scotish ca- pital. The smaller remains of Roman an- tiquity found in Scotland, as coins, uten- sils, &c. are numerous. With the fourth epoch may be said to commence the Pik- Ish monuments of antiquity. The tombs it would be difficult to discriminate from those of the first epoch ; but as the Cale- donian kings, when converted to Christi- anity, held their chief residence at Inver- ness, the singular hill in its vicinity, pre- senting the form of a boat reversed, may perhaps be a monument of regal sepul- ture. The places of judgment among the Gothic nations, or what are now styled Druidic temples, are numerous; and there is a remarkable one in the Isle of Lewis, where, probably, the monarchs resided in the most early times ; but this, perhaps, rather belongs to the Norwegian settle- ment in the ninth century. Some of these monuments are of small circuit ; and such are sometimes found at no great distance from each other ; as they were not only sometimes erected merely as temples to Odin, Thor, Freyga, and other Gothic deities, but every chief, or lord of a ma- nor, having jurisdiction over many ser- vants and slaves, such small courts be- came places of necessary awe. T,he housed seem to hare been entirely of wood or turf* but in some spots singular excavations are found, rudely lined with stone ; these are called weems, and it is likely that they were always adjacent to the wooden residence of some chief, and were intend- ed as depositories of stores, &c.,the roofs being too low for comfortable places of refuge. The stations and camps of the natives are distinguished by their round form, while those of the Romans belong to the square. Under the next epoch it would be difficult to discover any genu- ine remains of the Dalriads. The houses, and even the churches, were constructed in wattlework; and the funeral monuments were cairns or heaps of stones. It is pro- bable that Christianity did not immedi- ately dissolve ancient prejudices, and that even the Atticottic kings were buried in this rude manner ; for the genuine chro- nicles do not affirm that they were con- veyed to Hyona or Ilcolmkill ; and the sepulchres there shewn, of Irish and Nor- wegian kings, must be equally fabulous. To the sixth epoch may probably belong a chapel or two, still remaining in Scot- land, for Bede informs us that Nethan III. A. D. 715, obtained architects from Ceolfrid, abbot of Jarro wand Weremouth, to build a church in his dominions, probably at Abernethy; but the round tower there remaining seems of more recent origin. About the year 830, Un- gust II. founded the church of St. An- drew ; and the chapel called that of St. Regulus (who seems unknown in the Roman calendar) may, perhaps, claim even this antiquity. It is probable, that these sacred edifices in stone were soon followed by the erection of those rude round piles, without any cement, called Piks-houses ; yet they may more properly belong to the seventh epoch, when the Danes may share in the honour of the erection, for such edifices have been trac- ed in Scandinavia. They seem to have consisted of a vast hall, open to the sky in the centre, while the cavities in the wall present incommodious recesses for beds, Sec. These buildings are remark- able, as displaying the first elements of the Gothic castle ; and the castle of Co- ningsburg in Yorkshire forms an easy transition. The engraved obelisks found in Forres, and in other parts of Scotland, have been ascribed to the Danish rava- gers, who had not time for such erections. They are, probably, monuments of sig- nal events, raised by the king or chiefs ; and as some are found in Scandinavia, as ANTIQUITIES. recent as the fifteenth century, it is pro- bable that many of the Scotish obelisks are far more modern than is generally imagined. We are next to consider the antiquities of Ireland. The original population of this country passed from Gaul, and was afterwards increased by their brethren the Guydil from England. About the time that the Belgae seized on the south of England, it appears that kindred Gothic tribes passed to the south of Ireland. These are the Firbolg of the Irish tradi- tions, and appear to have been the same people whom the Romans denominated Scoti, after they had emerged to their no- tice, by not only extending their conquest to the north and east in Ireland, but had begun to make maritime excursions against the Roman provinces in Britain. But Ireland had been so much crowded with Celtic tribes, expelled from the con- tinent and Britain, by the progress of the German Goths, that the Belga; almost lost their native speech and distinct character; and from intermarriages, &c. became lit- tle distinguishable from the original po- pulation, except by superior ferocity, for which the Scoti, or those who affected a descent from the Gothic colonies, were remarkable, while the original Gael seem to have been an innocent and harmless people. The epochs in Ireland, to which its antiquities are referrible, are the fol- lowing: 1. The first historical epoch of Ire- land is its original population by the Celtic Gauls, and the subsequent colonization by the Belgae. 2. The maritime excursions of the Scoti against the Roman provinces in Britain. 3. The conversion of Ireland to Christianity in the fifth century, which was followed by a singular effect; for while the mass of the people retained all the ferocity of savage manners, the monasteries pro- duced many men of such piety and learn- ing, that Scoti a or Ireland became celebra- ted all over Christendom. 4. This lustre was diminished by the ravages of the Scan- dinavians, which began with the ninth cen- tury, and can hardly be said to have ceas- ed when the English settlement commen- ced. The island had been split into nume- rous principalities, or kingdoms, as they were styled ; and though a chief monarch was acknowledged, yet his power was sel- dom efficient, and the constant dissensions of o many small tribes rendered ihe island an easy prey. 5. In the year 1170, Henry II. permitted Richard Strongbow, earl of Pembroke, to effect a settlement in Ireland, which laid the foundation of the English possessions in that country. There are however coins of Canute, king of England, struck at Dublin, perhaps in acknowledgment of his power, by the Danish settlers. After this period Ireland became, in some measure, a commercial country, and her history is to be looked for in that of England, with which it is interwoven. Upon a review of the more ancient of these historical epochs, and of the monuments which may be considered as belonging to each, it must be consider- ed, that the edifices having been construct- ed of wood till the eleventh or twelfth century, it cannot be expected that any remains of them should exist. Stone was chiefly employed in the construction of funeral erections of various kinds ; nor are barrows wanting in Ireland, being hil- locks of earth thrown up in commemora- tion of the illustrious dead. Other mo- numents, commonly styled Druidic, may also be found in Ireland ; such as single stones erect, circular temples, or rather places of judgment, and the like, which may more properly be ascribed to the Belgic colony. The conversion of Ire- land to Christianity was followed by the erection of a vast number of churches and monasteries, the latter being comput- ed to exceed one thousand in number ; but all these edifices were originally small, and constructed of interwoven withs, or hewn wood; for St. Bernard, in the twelfth century, mentions a stone church as a singular novelty in Ireland. But the Scandinavian chiefs must before this pe- riod have introduced the use of stone into the castles, necessary for their own de- fence against a nation whom they op- pressed; and sometimes even subterra- neous retreats were deemed expedient, of which Ware and others have engraved specimens. To the Scandinavian period also belong what are called the Danes Raths. or circular intrenchments ; and some chapels, such as those of Glenda- loch, Portaferry, Killaloe, Saul Abbey, St. Doulach, and Cashel, if we may judge from the singularity of the ornaments, which, however, only afford vague conjec- ture. But of the round castles, called Duns in Scotland, and of the obelisks engraven with figures or ornaments, few or none exist in Ireland. Under the Scandinavi- ans the Irish coinage first dawns. Of the eleventh and twelfth centuries many mo- numents, castellated or religious, may probably exist in Ireland. Brian Boro, king of Munster, having been declared sovereign of Ireland in the year 1002, he distinguished himself by his virtues and courage; and Dermid III. A, D. 1041 ANTIQUITIES. 1073, was also an excellent and powerful prince. Under these monarchs, and their successors, Terdulvac and Moriertac, the power of the Scandinavians was consider- ably weakened. The native chiefs had been taught the necessity of fortresses, and were generally devoutly attached to religion ; it is therefore to be inferred, that many castles, < -hurdles, and monaste- ries, now began to be partly constructed in stone, by architects invited from France and England ; but perhaps the round towers were erected by native builders. Among smaller relics of antiquity, the golden trinkets found in a bog near Cul- len, in the south, deserve mention : as gold o-ys found in Gaul, they are perhaps orr::i:,K:i;ts of the ancient chiefs, brought from that region. It remains now to mention the names of some of those authors who have written on the antiquities of our own country. Tacitus was an eye-witness to the ceremo- nies of Druidism in England, as the Ro- mans were in Wales. To him, to Caesar, already referred to, and to Dio Cassius, we refer, as the chief authorities in regard to British history. To these may be add- ed JElian, Diodorus Siculus, Strabo, and Pliny. Cluverius, Pezrori, and Pellouiier, are more modern, but respectable, writers on the same subject. Of the structures erected by the Britons, Abury and Stone- henge may be deemed the principal. Relics of a smaller kind are continually dis- covered a few feet beneath the surface of the earth. On these Stukely and Row- land are the best authorities : the former has written a volume on Abury, a temple of the Druids, in which is a particular ac- count of the first and patriarchal religion, and of the peopling of the British islands : besides his larger work, entitled " Itine- rarium Curiosum," being an account of the antiquities, &c. observed in travels through Great Britain, published in 1724. For the history of the Britons under the Roman Government, Horsley's Brit. Rom. is a work ihat may be depended upon. With respect to the antiquities of the Sax- ons, the illuminated manuscripts are the best records of their manners in the differ- ent centuries, and the most interesting in- formation respecting them has been col- lected by Turner and Strutt. The best collection of Saxon coins is in the British Museum, and of manuscripts in the same place, and in the Bodleian Library. Mr. King has treated of their military antiqui- ties in his History of Castles ; and, inde- pendently of our works on topography, which are numerous, and many of them of the first respectability, and which throw VOL. I. considerable light on the antiquities of the country, we may refer to Henry's History of England, where the subject is discussed systematically and in chronological order ; and to the works of Camden, Strutt, and Gough, to which may be added the whole series of the Gentleman's Magazine, and Pinkerton's Geography, to which we have been indebted for a part of this article. As the antiquities of the united king- dom are in some respects connected with those of the Danes and other northern na- tions, we may suggest to the reader what are the principal remains of those people, as a clue to his future inquiries. The ancient monuments of Denmark and Norway are chiefly Runic, though it is far from certain at what period the use of Runic characters extended so far north. Circles of upright stones are common in. all the Danish dominions, the islands, Nor- way, and Iceland, in which latter country their origin is perfectly ascertained, as some were erected even in recent times of the Icelandic republic, being called domh-ring, or circles of judgment. Some also appear to have been the cemeteries of superior families Monuments also occur of two upright stones with one across ; and of the other forms supposed to be Druidic. The resiliences of the chiefs appear t have as there are very ew isting in Denmark or Norway. Of Sweden the ancient monuments con- sist chiefly of judicial circles and other erections of unhewn stone, together with remains inscribed with Runic characters, none of which are imagined to have exist- ed longer than the eleventh century. In Russia the ancient monuments are neither numerous, nor afford much varie- ty. There are to be met with the tombs of their pagan ancestors, containing weapons and ornaments. From the writings of Herodotus we learn that the Scythians re- garded the cemeteries of their princes with singular veneration : the Sarmatians or Slavons seem to have imbibed the same ideas. The catacombs of Kiow, it is be- lieved, were formed in the pagan period, though they are now replete with marks of Christianity. They are labyrinths of considerable extent, dug, as it should seem, through a mass of hardened clay, but they do not appear to contain the bo- dies of the sovereigns. The idols of Pa- gan Russia are sometimes found cast in. bronze ; and Dr. Guthrie has given a good account of the Slavonic mythology, to whose " Dissertations sur les Antiquites de Russie" we refer the reader. We may however observe, that the pagan L 1 been generally constructed of wood, ere are ver few ancient castles ex- ANTIQUITIES. Russians worshipped one god,supposed to be the author of thunder ; another, that resembled the Pan of the ancients; others, answering to the Sun, Hercules, Mars, Venus, and Cupid. They had also god- desses, corresponding with Ceres, Diana, and Pomona,and their nymphs ofthewoods and waters. They worshipped Znitch or Vesta in the form of fire, and venerated waters, the Bog being as highly regarded by the ancient Russians as the Ganges among the Indians : the Don and the Da- nube were also considered as holy streams; and there was a sacred lake, environed with a thick forest, in the isle of llugen, which was adored by the Slavonic tribes. Antiquities in the Valley of the Mississippi. "Considerable curiosity has been ex- cited by appearances on the Mississippi and its tributary waters, supposed to prove a more ancient population, than the state of the country, or the character of the tribes inhabiting it, when first visited by Europeans, would seem to indicate. " The American bottom is a tract of rich alluvian land, extending on the Mississippi, from the Kaskaskia to the Cahokia river, about eighty miles in length and five in breadth; several handsome streams mean- der through it; the soil of the richest kind, and but li'ttle subject to the effects of the Mississippi floods. If any vestige of an- cient population were to be found, this would be the place to look for it. Ac- cordingly, this tract, as also the bank of the river on the western side, exhibit proofs of an immense population. If the city of Philadelphia* and its environs were deserted, there would not be more numerous traces of human existence. The great number of mounds, and the astonishing quantity of human bones, every day dug up, or found on the surface of the ground, with a thousand other appear- ances, announce that this valley was at one period filled with habitations and vil- lages. The whole face of the bluff, or hill, which abounds to the east, appears to have been a continued burial ground. " But the most remarkable appearances are, two groups of mounds or pyramids, the one about ten miles above Cahokia, the other nearly the same distance below it, which, in all, exceed one hundred and fifty, of various sizes. A more minute de- scription of those above Cahokia will give a tolerable idea of them all. They are mostly of a circular shape, and at a dis- tance resemble enormous haystacks scat- tered through a meadow. "One of the largest is about two hundred paces in cir- cumference at the bottom, the form near- ly square. The top level, with an area sufficient to contain several hundred men. " At the distance of three miles along the bank of the Cahokia there is the largest assemblage the principal one of which is a stupendous pile of a mass of earth, that must have required years, and the labour of thousands, to accomplish. Were it not for the regularity and design which it manifests, the circumstances of its being on alluvial ground, and the other mounds scattered around, it could scarcely be be- lieved to be the work of human hands. The shape is that of a parallelogram, standing from north to south ; on the south side there is a broad apron, or step, about half way down, and from this, another projection into the plain, about fifteen feet wide, which was probably intended as an ascent to the mound. The circum- ference at the base is at least eight hun- dred yards, and the height of the pyramid about ninety feet. " Several of these mounds are almost conical, and at regular distances from each other ; about which are scattered pieces of flint, and fragments of earthen vessels. "A curious discovery, made a few years ago in the state of Tennessee, proves, be- yond a doubt, that at some remote period the valley of the Mississippi had been in- habited by a much more civilized people than when first known to us. Two hu- man bodies were found in a copperas cave, in a surprising state of preservation. They were first wrapped up in a kind of blanket, supposed to have been manufac- tured of the lint of nettles, afterwards with dressed skins, and then a mat of nearly sixty yards in length. They were clad in a beautiful cloth, interwoven with fea- thers, such as was manufactured by the Mexicans. They had been here, perhaps, for centuries, and certainly were of a dif- ferent race from the modern Indians. They might have belonged to the Olmec, who overran Mexico about the seventh century ; to the Toultec, who came centu- ries afterwards ; or to the Aztecs, who founded the great city of Mexico about the thirteenth century. "In tracing the origin of institutions or inventions amongst men, we are apt to forget, that nations, however diversified * " The Saline, below St. Genevieve, cleared out some time ago, and deepened, was found to contain waggon loads of earthen-ware, some fragments bespeaking vessels as large as a barrel, and proving that the Salines had been worked before they were known to the whites." ANT >y manners and languages, are yet of the same species, and that the same institu- tions may originate amongst twenty differ- ent people. The wonder would be, that they should not shew a resemblance. We find these mounds in every part of the globe ; in the north of Europe, and in Great Britain, they are numerous, and much resemble ours, but less considerable. The pyramids of Egypt are perhaps the oldest monuments of human labour in that country, so favourable to the production of a numerous population. The pyramids of Mexico, which are but little known, and yet scarcely less considerable, like those of Egypt, have their origin hid in the night of oblivion. " Who will assign, as the age of Ame- rica, a period of years different from that allowed to, what has been denominated, the old world ? The multiplicity of proofs contradict the recency of her origin ; deeply imbedded stories of carbonated wood, the traces of ancient volcanoes! We could appeal to her time-worn cataracts, and channels of mighty rivers, and to her venerable mountains. Grant, then, that America may have existed a few thousand years ; the same causes prevailing-, like effects will be produced ; the same revo- lutions as have been known in the old world may have taken place here."* See Views of Louisiana, by H. M. Brecken- ridge, Esq. ANTIRRHINUM, snapdragon, toad, fax, in botany, a genus of the Didynamia Angiospermia. Calyx five-parted ; corol with a nectariferous prominence at its base, pointing downwards ; the orifice closed and furnished with a cloven convex palate ; capsule two-celled. This genus is separated into five divisions, viz. A. leaves angular ; capsules many valved. B. leaves opposite ; capsules many valved. C. leaves alternate ; capsules many valved. D. corols without spur ; capsules perfora- ted with three pores. E. leaves pinnati- fid. There are 12 species of the first di- vision ; nearly 40 of the second division ; 11 of the third; 7 of the fourth; and 2 of the last. ANTISTROPHE, in grammar, a figure, by which two things mutually dependent on one another are reciprocally convert- ed. As the servant of the master, and the master of the servant. ANTISTROPHE, among lyric poets, that part of a song and dance in use among the ancients, which was performed AOR before the altar, in returning from west to east, in opposition to strophe. See the articles STROPHE and ODE. ANTITHESIS, in rhetoric, a contrast drawn between two things, which thereby serve as shades to set oil' the opposite qualities of each other. The poets, historians, and orators, im- prove their subject, and greatly heighten the pleasure of the reader, by the pleasing opposition of their characters and de- scriptions. The beautiful antithesis of Cicero, in his second Cartilinarian, may serve for an example : " On the one side stands mo- desty, on the other impudence ; on the one fidelity, on the other deceit ; here piety, there sacrilege ; here continency, there lust, &c." And Virgil, in his admi- rable description of Dido's despair, the night before her death, represents all the rest of the creation enjoying profound tranquillity, to render the disquietude of that miserable queen the more affecting. ANTOECI, in geography, an appella- tion given to those inhabitants of the earth who live under the same meridian, but on different sides of the equator, and at equal distances from it. These have noon, and midnight, and all hours at the same time, but contrary sea- sens of the year ; that is, when it is spring with the one, it is autumn with the other : when summer with the one, win- ter with the other. And the days of the one are equal to the nights of the other, and vice versa. ANTONOM ASIA, in rhetoric, a figure, by which the proper name of one thing is applied to several others ; or, on the con- trary, the name of several things to one. Thus we call a cruel person, a Nero : and we say the philosopher, to denote Aristo- tle. ANTS, acid of. See FORMIC ACID. ANVIL, an iron instrument, on which smiths hammer or forge their work, and usually mounted on a firm wooden block. A forged anvil is reckoned better than one of cast work. ANUS, in anatomy, the extremity of the intestinum rectum, or orifice of the fundament. See ANATOMY. AOR1ST, among grammarians, a tense peculiar to the Greek language, compre- hending all the tenses ; or rather express- ing an action in an indeterminate manner, without any regard to past, present, or future. * Many of the curiosities found in the weitcrn country are deposited in the museum of the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia. APE APH AORTA, in anatomy, called also arte- ria rnagna, a large artery, arising with a single trunk from the left ventricle of the heart above its valves, culled x seinilunares, and serves to convey the mass of blood to all parts of the body. After ascending a little upwards, its trunk is bent, in manner of an arch, and from this part it sends, in human subjects, usually three ascending branches. This is called the aorta ascendens. The descendens is that part of the trunk, which, after the arch-like inflection, descends through the thorax and the ab- domen down to the os sacrum, and is usually larger in women than in men. The aorta hath four tunics, a nervous, a glandulous, a muscular, and a membra- nous one. See ANATOMY. APACTIS, in botany, a genus of the Dodecandria Monogynia class and order. No calyx ; petals four, crenate, unequal ; germ superior ; fruit. There is but a sin- gle species, vis. the Japonica,a tree found, as its name imports, in Japan. APALUS, in natural history, a genus of insects of the order Coleoptera Gen. char, antennae filiform ; feelers equal, fili- form ; jaw horny, one-toothed ; lip mem- branaceous, truncate, entire. There are two species : quadrimaculatus ; rufous ; head, and two spots on the shells, black ; inhabits North America : bimaculatus, of northern Europe. APAEGIA, in botany, a genus of the Syngenesia JEqualis class and order. Re- ceptacle naked ; calyx imbricate ; down feathery, sessile. There are 17 species. APATITE, in mineralogy, one of the species of the phosphates, occurs in tin veins, and is found in Cornwall and Ger- many. Colours white, green, blue and red, of various shades. The primitive form of its crystals is a regular six-sided prism. Specific gravity between 2.8 and 3.2- When laid on ignited coals it emits a green light, and is almost entirely solu- ble in nitric acid. By rubbing it shews signs of electricity. It was formerly con- sidered as a species of schorl ; afterwards, on account of its colour and crystalliza- tion, it was arranged with beryll ; others described it as fluor, but Werner soon found that it was a new species. Its fal- lacious resemblance to other minerals in- duced Werner to give it this name, whicli is derived from ctTrefletw, " to deceive." APE. See SIMIA. APETALOSE, or APETALOUS, among botanists, an appellation given to such plants as have no flower leaves. APEX, in antiquity, the crest of a hel- met, but more especially a kind of cap worn by the rlameus. APM^ERESIS, in grammar, a figure by which a letter or syllable is cut off' from the beginning of a word. APH^UESIS, that part of surgery which teaaies to